Tag Archives: Business

Empowering Enterprises in Stoke-on-Trent: Groundwork’s Sustainable Ventures

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by Groundwork West Midlands

In an era where environmental consciousness and business success go hand in hand, Groundwork West Midlands ‘Sustainable Ventures’ project provides free support to businesses and community organisations who are stepping up to the sustainability challenge. Embracing eco-friendly practices not only mitigates their carbon footprint, but also reduces running costs and enhances competitiveness and resilience.

Groundwork’s Sustainable Ventures project aims to inform organisations on the most viable solutions available to them. Delving into the realm of ‘Sustainable Ventures’, we can see how energy audits, training, and actionable decarbonisation plans empower organisations to take positive steps towards a greener future.

Energy Audits: Illuminating the Path to Efficiency

Energy audits serve as the cornerstone of the Sustainable Ventures project. Audits involve assessing a business’s energy consumption patterns by identifying areas of wastage and inefficiency. By pinpointing energy-saving opportunities, organisations can achieve substantial cost reductions and reduce their carbon footprint simultaneously.

Every business has a unique set of energy demands and usage patterns. Conducting an ‘on-site’ energy audit tailors the energy-saving strategies to the specific needs of each organisation, making them more effective, relevant and achievable.

Energy reports provide a range of improvements that organisations can make. From simple, zero cost changes, to large-scale retrofit projects, all prioritised and costed to ensure that organisations have clear guidance to fold into their overall business strategy, to improve sustainability, reduce bills and lower carbon emissions.

Audits – a starting point for energy reduction and cost savings

Unlocking the Benefits

Beyond the environmental gains, organisations can reap financial rewards through reduced operating costs and improved resource management.

Decarbonisation plans form strategic roadmaps that guide organisations towards long-term sustainability. Plans outline a series of steps to reduce carbon emissions over time, which includes adopting renewable energy sources, transitioning to low-carbon technologies, and optimising supply chain operations. By committing to decarbonisation, enterprises position themselves as ESG responsible, attracting environmentally conscious customers and investors.

Groundwork, supported by Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, will be hosting conferences every quarter to share success stories, provide training, and facilitate networking opportunities for organisations wishing to embrace more efficient ways of operating. This collaboration will foster knowledge exchange and will enable organisations to navigate the complexities of sustainable business practices more effectively.

Conclusion

The path to sustainable success for small and medium sized businesses is paved with energy audits, sustainability training, and decarbonisation plans. By identifying inefficiencies, fostering awareness, and committing to long-term emissions reduction, organisations can drive positive change while reaping numerous benefits.

As these ‘sustainable ventures’ become more mainstream, SMEs will lead by example, showing that businesses can thrive whilst being environmentally responsible. The time for action is now, and SMEs and Charities are well-positioned to shape a greener and more prosperous future for all.

How to Engage in the Project?

Partnership

Delivered by Groundwork West Midlands

Partnered with Stoke-on-Trent Council

Funded by the UK Government (UK Shared Prosperity Fund/Levelling up)

New to Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire? Here’s a guide to the area

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Clearing at Staffordshire University
Places still available – Clearing open – 0800 590 830

Ema Talam, Lecturer, Staffordshire University

Some of you might be moving to a new city when starting university. I moved to Stoke-on-Trent several years ago, and since then, I have discovered that Stoke-on-Trent and its surrounding areas are home to some of the friendliest people I have met and have a lot to offer, whether you are up for a nice meal, shopping trip, an amazing hiking trip or day trip elsewhere:

  1. Our campus is a vibrant place and has several coffee shops, bars and restaurants. Head to SqueezeBox, Ember Lounge, Pavillion, or new Catalyst Bistro for some great coffee, tea or food. If you want to venture outside of campus:

a.Trentham Gardens and Shopping Village are home to beautiful gardens, the monkey forest (home to 140 monkeys), which is truly a unique experience, number of shops and restaurants and tree top adventure park.

b. Piccadilly in Hanley is a home to some fantastic restaurants and also theatres (Regent Theatre and Victoria Hall), Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, live music venues, escape rooms, etc. Hanley, as the city centre, is where number of events take place – for example, annual arts festival The Big Feast or Wizarding World Wand Installation was displayed early in 2022. – see what Events are coming for Autumn 2022 to the area.

Wizarding World Wand Installation in Hanley

c. The neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme (if you are not fan of walking, bus number 25 will take you directly from the campus to Newcastle), there are a number of nice coffee shops and restaurants, cinema, mini golf course, bowling alley and escape rooms. Newcastle-under-Lyme is also a home to New Vic theatre.

d. Festival Park is another great place to venture to – it has range of shops, restaurants, cinema, bowling alley, mini golf course, ski centre, and a waterpark.

e. Famous Alton Towers theme park is short journey away from Stoke-on-Trent. There are number of theme events on during the different times of the year at Alton Towers (such as Octoberfest or Scarefest, which takes place during Halloween). Besides the rides, Alton Towers have water park, mini golf course and a spa. Additionally, did you know that Staffordshire University runs a degree in partnership with Alton Towers Resort? If you decide to visit the Alton Towers, you are likely to meet a fellow Staffordshire University student!

Alton Towers attraction
Alton Towers attraction
  1. Stoke-on-Trent has a rich potteries heritage. Gladstone Potteries Museum or World of Wedgewood are the places to visit if you are interested in pottery. Even if you are not interested in pottery, I would highly recommend visiting Middleport Pottery, not least so because of its stunning location or fantastic view over the canal, or Emma Bridgewater factory in Hanley for an afternoon tea or giving a go at decorating pottery. Additionally, British Ceramics Biennial is fantastic event to visit (and to support your fellow Staffordshire University colleagues whose work is exhibited during the Biennial)!
  1. Stoke-on-Trent is a great place for those interested in running or hiking. Stoke-on-Trent hosts weekly parkruns at two locations: Trentham Gardens (and admissions to Gardens is free at the time of parkrun), and Hanley Park. In addition, there is also the Wammy park run in neighbouring Newcastle-under-Lyme. Additionally, University has its own running group (and range of other organised sport activities) – keep an eye on Sport at Staffs on Twitter for any announcements.

    For the keen runners, Stoke-on-Trent hosts annual Potters ‘Arf half-marathon. The challenging route (Stoke-on-Trent is a hilly place!) is open for walking or running and it takes you through various neighbourhoods of Stoke. The race finishes with the infamous Heartbreak Hill, which leads you back to the city centre. The atmosphere at the race is absolutely fantastic – lot of residents stand on the streets or in front of their houses to support walkers/runners!

    If you are interested in walking or hiking, Stoke-on-Trent is in a close proximity to several stunning walking or hiking location. Staffordshire University has its own nature reserve in case you want to stay on campus. Trentham Gardens or even Hanley Park in Stoke-on-Trent, or Knypersley Reservoir, Tittesworth Reservoir, and Rudyard Lake, in the close proximity of Stoke-on-Trent are all great locations for walking. Additionally, Stoke-on-Trent is in the close proximity to the Peak District for all interested in hiking, canoeing and other outdoor activities. If you are unsure of how to find great hiking trails, check out Walk the Moorlands group or keep an eye on Staffordshire Moorlands Walking Festival. If you like hiking, Staffordshire has its own Staffordshire 3 Peaks Challenge you can do!
Hanley Park
Hanley Park is right next to the campus – a regular park Run and other events are held there
  1. Stoke-on-Trent is well-linked to other cities in the UK. You are short train journey(s) away from Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Chester, beaches of Wales, or even London. Don’t forget to get your RailCard to get some discounts on your train journeys.

Staffordshire University has a range of unique business courses, both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Whether you are interested in business management, innovation, entrepreneurship, finance, visitor attraction and resort management, or digital marketing, you will be taught by a team of friendly academics and practitioners, who will go an extra mile to support you in your academic journey and beyond.

All of our courses will provide you with a strong theoretical foundations, focus on application of the theory to real-life problems and discussion of contemporary issues, in order to prepare you for your future career. More information about our business courses is available on our website or you can visit one of our open days to find out more about what we have to offer.

Clearing at Staffordshire University

Clearing events available or call the Clearing team on 0800 590 830

Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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Dr Bharati Singh, Course Leader, Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship course is not only about being an entrepreneur or setting up your own business but it is actually understanding how innovation and entrepreneurship should really be at the heart of any business decision. Successful businesses today are the ones who have been really innovative, they have fresh thinking with an entrepreneurial mindset. In today’s dynamic business setting, both small and large companies harness entrepreneurial streaks.  

Business photo created by rawpixel.com – www.freepik.com

Entrepreneurship and innovation play a very important role within businesses of all shapes and sizes. Employees are expected to think outside the box which can only happen if employees can think innovatively. Today’s world is rather dynamic with the speed of innovation becoming faster, a shorter product life cycle, ever-changing consumer taste, technological advancement, competitor threat, changing government and legal landscape and other external factors not in the control of businesses.

In the face of the current pandemic, it becomes ever so important to be aware of the surrounding economic conditions and the political climate. To explore the ethical and unethical anomalies in the contemporary global political and global economic systems. Such systems can provide both challenges and opportunities.  

Sustainability has become a buzz word today. It is not only about shareholders and profitability anymore. Consumers, suppliers, governments and many other stakeholders now question the practices of businesses. Companies are expected to run their businesses with a social responsibility. The triple bottom line (Elkington 2018); which translates to people, profit and planet, need to be considered.  

Social vector created by freepik – www.freepik.com

Creative Destruction (Schumpeter, 1942) has taken a different meaning altogether in todays business environment. We are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution and ‘disruption’ is at the heart of it. Companies go through continuous organisational change and hence, have to assess how to leverage innovative business models to remain competitive.   

Of course, to innovate or have an entrepreneurial streak and to sustain a competitive edge, it is imperative for individuals and companies to have a strategy. Strategy is key in business planning and entrepreneurial success. 

Thus, to gauge global challenges and opportunities, understand about the social enterprise, develop an entrepreneurial mindset, to be creative and innovative, develop sustainable business practices, leverage change management and have a strategy to maintain competitive advantage, reading for a degree in Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship will enable students to hit the ground running. 

References: 

Elkington, J. (2018). 25 Years Ago I Coined the Phrase “Triple Bottom Line.” Here’s Why It’s Time to Rethink It. Harvard Business Review, June 25, 2018  

Schumpeter, J. 1942. Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy. New York: Harper & Bros.  

Marketing Campaigns that hit the mark

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Angela Lawrence, Chartered Marketer, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and Associate Dean in Staffordshire Business School

I’ve always been a lover of clever marketing campaigns and frequently pondered on what makes a campaign so successful. Having identified some really smart campaigns over the years, I decided that four things matter and I developed my own model. There are already a couple of well-known marketing models with four-letter acronyms, to support marketing communications planning – Chris Fill’s DRIP model and Elmo Lewis’ classic, long-established AIDA model. I’d like to propose a third, MIMI. Here’s how it goes:


The first M stands for MEMORABLE. If you remember a marketing campaign then you probably talk to your friends and family about it. Word of mouth is like a bush fire – it spreads! Getting people to talk about your marketing campaign is a sure way to drive engagement and acquisition.

One of the most memorable campaigns of my lifetime was probably the 1971 Coca Cola advert which was absolute genius in its time and one of my first early memories of colour TV. “It’s the Real Thing”, the famous Coca Cola tagline will forever ring out to the tune of “I’d like to teach the world to sing” for me – most definitely memorable!


The I is for IMPACTFUL. If a campaign doesn’t make an impact, doesn’t drive a call to action, doesn’t change anything, then its probably a wasted investment. We invest in marketing campaigns because we want something to happen, whether that be purchase of a product or service, driving awareness or encouragement to sign up for further communications.

My favourite campaign in terms of the impact that it had, was the 2004 Dove Real Beauty campaign by the then Ogilvy and Mather. In terms of impact, this campaign

  • displaced 171 million banners with negative impact
  • reached 5.5 million unique women
  • drove 50% of the women who visited the Dove Ad Makeover site to create a message

The campaign extended beyond promoting a vision for beauty equality, by increasing sales of Dove from $2.5 to $4 billion in the campaigns’ first ten years. Dove soap bars became Unilever’s best-selling product company wide. That’s what I call impact!

The second M of my model stands for MEASUREABLE. Marketing costs money and every good finance officer will demand to know what the ROI will be before agreeing to your budget request. In todays world of digital marketing this is so much easier, with metrics such as Cost Per Click (CPC), Cost per Impression (CPI), Click Through Rate (CTR), conversion rate, number of visitors, post engagement, interactions, page views and many, many more. The hashtag has become a strong indicator of success – #MeToo, #BeKind, #LikeaGirl, #BlackLivesMatter and #NeverAgain resonate with me and illustrate the power of the online environment.

A truly measurable campaign that I think was just brilliant in its time was the EPICA award-winning Mini Getaway campaign in 2010. iPhones had only been around for 3 years, so a campaign developed around an app, to engage and encourage involvement was truly genius. I would hazard a guess that not many readers of this blog have ever seen this campaign, watch the video at the link above and I think you’ll agree that it’s Memorable, Impactful and Measurable without a doubt.


Finally, there is another I, this time for IDENTIFIABLE. It’s imperative that receivers of any campaign messaging need to be able to identify the product or brand. Some brands are identifiable purely by their colour – did you know that RAC orange is a unique colour? What colour are the McDonald arches? If I mention Cadburys, what colour would you associate with the brand?

Other brands are identifiable by a tune containing the tag line or even the brand name – think of Go Compare and you will no doubt sing it. The monotone, single note tune for We Buy Any Car still ring in my head, and as I’ve already said, Coca Cola is the Real Thing in the song from the 70’s ad. Other brands are identifiable by a character, such as the Compare the Market meercats, the Michelin Man, the Jolly Green Giant providing your sweetcorn, the Pillsbury Doughboy and my personal favourite, Captain Birdseye.

Memorable, Impactful, Measurable and Identifiable – I challenge you to apply my MIMI model to your favourite marketing campaign. In fact, why not come and study a marketing qualification with us at Staffordshire Business School, to learn for yourself how to develop and deliver marketing campaigns that truly hit the mark.

BA (Hons) Digital and Social Media Marketing

Masters in Digital Marketing Management

CIM Certificate or Diploma in Professional Digital Marketing

Trust – an important ingredient towards work/life balance

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Dr Bharati Singh, Senior Lecturer, Staffordshire Business School

This is my 3rd blog and I will continue with the theme of sharing my thoughts from previous corporate employment. So, this one is dedicated to work-life balance.


While teaching on a level 6 module ‘Change and Transformation’ we watched a video where the HR Manager for sales in Google was talking about creating trust and people management (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRsJbpppvEU). She stated that she does not check on how much time her team spends in office or how many sick days they take. She further said that there was no rule on specific office timings. It was all about performance which was evaluated quarterly and an individual could decide how they met their targets as they were adults and could work out their own schedules and holidays; thus, managing their work/life balance.

This reminded me of one of my favourite bosses in the corporate world. I had to travel home which was in another city on a personal emergency and in my request did mention that all work will be taken care of – his reply – I don’t care if you work out of Timbuktu, till the work is done. That was the trust my boss had in me and that trust helped in creating the best work/life balance I had in my corporate life.

A checklist by CMI, confirms that the employers need to provide the control to employees to manage their working arrangements taking into consideration their social aspects  and also achieve organisational objectives.

If organisations offer flexitime, the communication should be clear and the corporate culture should support it. Creating a culture of respect and trust (Grimes, 2011) is the first step towards successful flexitime policies supporting work/life balance. This is not easy and has its challenges; however, with correct implementation, this can lead to employer/employee satisfaction, thriving organisations and increased employee retention.

In the face of the pandemic, when working from home has become the ‘new normal,’ the need for trust between employer and employee has further heightened. Many companies like Unilever have gone on record about increased productivity and increased employee engagement as an outcome of remote working.

In a study conducted on ethical behaviours by managers, trust shown by senior management and supervisors and their support for work/life balance was perceived to be ethical (Cowart, et al., 2014).

The Mental Health Foundation, UK has also confirmed that 1 in 6 people will experience mental health issues emanating from a negative work/life balance. Thus, it is imperative that organisations support work/life balance. This can be achieved by:

  1. Clear guidelines by the organisation
  2. Transparent dialogue between employer and employee
  3. Expectations management
  4. Trust across the ranks and not only limited to a few employees
  5. Taking personal responsibility
  6. Conducive work environment
  7. Clear demarcation between work and life

20 years’ smart city research marching on – what’s next?

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Professor Fang Zhao, Associate Dean Research and Enterprise, Staffordshire Business School

By 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in towns and cities, resulting in the consumption of over 70% of energy, and the emission of an equal amount of greenhouse gases (European Commission, 2019). The Covid-19 pandemic is exacerbating the challenges that cities have already been facing from multiple fronts such as rapid urbanisation, digital disruptions, demographic, climate and environmental changes, economic restructuring and reforms. Covid-19 is changing how urban residents live, work and commute and reshaping economic structures and business models. In the current global battle against Covid-19, smart cities have a pivotal role to play in responding to the crisis in terms of track-and-trace of coronavirus cases using smart technologies, enforcing social distancing rules, getting homeless people off the streets, and special emergency measures for care homes, to give just a few examples.

The concept of a smart city has been seen as a strategy to tackle the grand challenges facing urban planning and development. Smart city is a fuzzy word with various terms being used – intelligent city, digital city, green city, knowledge city, and smart sustainable city. Research on smart city can be traced back to the 1990s, taking on many perspectives, mostly in four aspects: the technological aspect including the technological infrastructure and support network for building smart cities, the socio-cultural aspect, or citizen engagement, the political-institutional aspect, such as government support and policies, and the economic-business aspect, namely business models and profitability.

A team of researchers (Prof Zhao, Dr Olushola Fashola, Dr Tolulope Olarewaju and Dr Ijeoma Onwumere) at Staffordshire Business School have been investigating what has been done in smart city research over the past 20 years. After a systematic and comprehensive literature review, the research team found that smart city research tends to revolve around six key areas: digital technology diffusion, smart city strategy and implementation, supply chains and logistics, urban planning and governance, smart city entrepreneurship and innovation, and Smart city evaluation and measurement. The team also identified four major challenges for small city research: (a) smart city research is often fragmented and technology-driven; (b) many studies are on perceived benefits of smart cities and fewer on the downsides of the effect of technologies and failure projects; (c) there is a need to build new theories for smart city research; and (d) there is a lack of empirical testing of the conceptual frameworks developed in smart city research. Furthermore, the team found that there was very limited research on crisis management in smart city before 2020. However, the research landscape is changing with emerging literature investigating how smart cities respond to crises and pandemics, and exploring strategies that can be used to tackle swiftly the crisis effectively at both strategic and operational levels.

Directions for future research and practice in smart cities are proposed.  If you want to know more and/or seeking for collaboration, please contact Prof Fang Zhao – Associate Dean Research and Enterprise at fang.zhao@staffs.ac.uk.

Which to use: Quick Ratio or Current Ratio for Liquidity Measurement in business

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Just as businesses are adapting to the shock of Brexit, the global pandemic presents another disruption to businesses. These two events have created huge uncertainty for most small businesses while some have benefited . The striving small businesses are revaluating their strengths with financial metrics to enhance their sustainability as the new markets are emerging. Financial metrics present small businesses with the opportunities to increase efficiency in their operations, liquidity, profitability and stability during uncertainty period. Some commentators argue that inadequate liquidity is the major reason small businesses collapse during the uncertainty period.

The quick ratio helps the business managers to evaluate their businesses financial liquidity. This informs the business managers of how current assets excluding inventories can be quickly converted to cash to meet their current liabilities. This ignores inventory because it is not easily converted to cash. Unlike the current ratio which considers inventory value, the quick ratio is generally viewed as the conservative evaluation of business liquidity as it’s based on the business most liquid assets. For instance, a business has current assets worth £40,000 of which inventory is £10,000, and £15,000 worth of current liabilities thus the business has a 2:1 quick ratio. This indicates that the business can afford to meet the short-term liabilities twice with the short-term assets.

Money

Businesses with a 1:1 or lower quick ratio could be at risk of becoming a going concern. Thus, small businesses with limited access to funds might fire sale their non-current assets to meet the current liabilities.

Many businesses have already closed due to Brexit and the global pandemic and it has been estimated that a further approximately, 98,000 small businesses might not survive the current pandemic. Thus, small business managers that are currently struggling to survive should pay attention to their financial metrics especially the quick ratio.

Unlike the quick ratio, many commentators argue that the current ratio cannot accurately evaluate some businesses short-term liquidity power. For instance, a retail business that targets seasonal customers will stock up inventory for the season. Thus, toward this period the current ratio rises and fall after the seasonal sales. Hence, the quick ratio would be best to evaluation the liquidity ability of such businesses as it ignores the inventory value.

However, other commentators argue that excluding the inventory value from the current assets could be an inefficient way of evaluating liquidity ability for some businesses. For instance, small business such as corner shops that a large percentage of their current assets are fast-moving inventory. Thus, excluding the inventory from the current asset would relatively inflate the current liability. Hence, the quick ratio will present an inaccurate picture of the business to cover their current liability with their most liquid assets.

In conclusion, business managers need to consider both the quick ratio and current ratio, especially during the uncertainty period. This would provide a more accurate measurement of their business ability to pay their short-term liabilities without being forced to fire sale their non-current asset.

Business managers need to ensure that the quick ratio and current ratio is not too excessive compared to other competitors in their sector as this could indicate poor control of working capital. This might suggest that the business is not turning over its inventory quickly enough or is carrying slow-moving or obsolete inventory and has poor credit control practices resulting in their customers delaying payments beyond the agreed terms.

STOP PRESS: We are now recruiting for cohort 5 of the Small Business Leadership Programme (free starts 30th March).

Mayowa Akinbote FCCA
Lecturer in Accounting and Finance
Staffordshire Business School
Staff Page: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/people/mayowa-akinbote
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/mayowa-akinbote-33448895

Awareness and Corporate Social Responsibility

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Storm Barratt, Course Director, Staffordshire Business School

Almost never a day goes by, when we aren’t reminded that “today” is National, International or even Global “something” awareness day or week or month. From the ever-popular Christmas Jumper day to my own particular favourite – National Squirrel Appreciation Day (!), from National Allotment week to Fairtrade fortnight to National Bed month.

All of these campaigns are designed to raise awareness and/or funds for some serious and not so serious issues. So, why as a business, would you want to know this?

Firstly, all businesses have basic ethical and legal responsibilities; however, the most successful businesses establish a strong foundation of corporate citizenship, showing a commitment to ethical behaviour by creating a balance between the needs of shareholders and the needs of the community and environment in the surrounding area. These practices help bring in consumers and establish brand and company loyalty.

It is considered normal for businesses to balance the other stakeholders’ needs with those of the shareholders during the decision-making process. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goes even further, making the general public a stakeholder and shows that the business wishes to actively improve things for everyone.

Image Source: www.growthbusiness.co.uk

For any business making a profit is still key and, of course, the needs of employees, customers and suppliers must be satisfied if the business is to survive. However, Corporate Social Responsibility has become far more important over the last few decades with consumers worrying about how the products they buy were made and how companies that they buy from are run. On many company websites there will be narratives of how they look after the environment and all the CSR initiatives of which they are a part.

Corporate social responsibility comes in many forms. Even the smallest company impacts social change by making a simple donation to a local food bank. Some of the most common examples of CSR include:

  • Reducing carbon footprints
  • Improving labour policies
  • Participating in Fairtrade
  • Charitable giving
  • Volunteering in the community
  • Corporate policies that benefit the environment
  • Socially and environmentally conscious investments

The growing popularity of National Awareness Days can tap into these initiatives helping a company both internally and externally.


One internal perspective is if your employees can see that the business is taking a caring approach, by raising funds for charity for instance, involving the staff may mean that they become more motivated to engage with each other working towards a common goal. In fact, whilst “Wear a Christmas Jumper to Work” day seems an opportunity to raise a smile amongst colleagues as we approach the long dark winter months, the serious aspect is that the jumper wearers are raising money for a great cause.

Another perspective is using “Awareness Days” to help a business promote their product or service (all the better if this can also highlight the CSR approach taken by the company). The issues can make an ideal marketing tool for a business, providing inspiration for marketing content.

By adding context to an awareness day, a business can plan their content by linking a day to their product or service, so for example an artisan baker could showcase their expertise and knowledge during Real Bread Week, or a nutritionist could use National Allotment Week to encourage healthy and organic eating whilst promoting their own healthy eating programme.

It’s not just about direct promotion though. Awareness days can provide a great opportunity for a business to engage in conversation with future consumers via social media using hashtags associated with the cause, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This will allow people to find and contact you, consequently building your audience.

From engaging with employees to good PR to corporate social responsibility, supporting a national awareness day is a great way to show which values are important to you and your business. It can differentiate you from your competitors and allow you to build partnerships with charities and organisations that share your beliefs. With the potential to build trust as well as give a little back, it’s a win-win situation for all.

Become a responsible leader of global business.

Do you want to be at the forefront of modern enterprise? Our BA (Hons) Business Management and Sustainability course challenges the traditional interpretations of enterprise and will open your mind to a broad range of contemporary themes in business.

Our emphasis on ethical business and sustainability will position you to create long-lasting value for your organisation and you will learn the practical skills needed to become a responsible business leader.

How COVID-19 Exposed The Ethnic Poverty and Enterprise Rift (Participate in Our Research)

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Dr Tolu Olarewaju, Lecturer, Staffordshire business School

The British Academy (the United Kingdom’s national academy for the humanities and the social sciences) has tasked us with investigating the specific challenges that UK business owners faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, the strategies that they used to keep their businesses afloat, and how they engaged with financial and regional support.

We are also interested in how best to support members of the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) business community.

To participate in our study, kindly fill the survey below and/or please share the URL with your networks if you know any other business owners:

URL: http://staffordshire.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_50kNUNYOKJFFQNM

Photograph: benjamin lehman | URL: https://unsplash.com/photos/gkZ-k3xf25w | Unsplash

Ethnic minorities were particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK and US, as in some other countries. In particular, the risk of death for some ethnic minority individuals who contracted COVID-19 in these countries was two to three times more compared to white individuals.

This disparity was a result of the underlying social and economic risk factors that ethnic minorities face, such as living in overcrowded and urban accommodation, being employed in riskier lower-skilled jobs, reduced access to healthcare, and structural racism. In other words, ethnic poverty in developed countries is driving higher infection and consequently death rates for ethnic minorities.

Drivers of Ethnic Poverty

Underlying the drivers of poverty for ethnic minorities in many developed countries are several socio-economic factors which include historical factors, discrimination, educational and entrepreneurial variations, and employment and pay disparities between ethnic groups.

Despite facsimile policies that emphasize equal access to education and employment in many developed countries, discrimination remains a critical barrier to equal employment. Several studies have found that both ethnic minorities are called back for interviews 50% less frequently than comparable whites, hired less often for high-skill jobs, and once hired are paid less. Thus, despite the increasing educational gains made by ethnic minority individuals, many are overqualified for the jobs that they do. Ethnic minority workers also often report not being given pay rises and being passed over for promotion.

Another very important driver for the disproportionately high poverty rates among ethnic minority groups is the concentration of such workers in low-paid work. Ethnic minority workers are more likely to work in low-paid sectors with limited progression opportunities and lower wages. Lack of movement out of low-paid work increases the risk of poverty among ethnic groups. In addition, there is generally a lower percentage of ethnic minority workers who are managers, directors, and senior officials.

Photograph: Maria Oswalt URL: https://unsplash.com/photos/qFkVFe9_d38 | Unsplash

Business Ownership Disparities

Before the pandemic, BAME business owners were less likely than non-BAME business owners to obtain mainstream business support and in the early days of coronavirus, nearly two-thirds of BAME business owners felt unable to access state-backed loans and grants, leaving many on the brink of financial ruin.

BAME-owned businesses are traditionally concentrated in the sectors worst hit by lockdown such as retail, health and social care, education, restaurants and accommodation.

The economic crisis facing these businesses is aggravated by the fact that they are more likely to hire a considerable number of BAME employees and attract more BAME customers. The significantly higher risk among such groups from COVID-19 implies that these businesses would have had to incur considerable costs to protect their staff and customers.

Solutions

Ethnic minorities consistently report reduced access to education, lack of social and financial capital, unemployment, low-pay, and poor progression from low-paid sector work. This suggests similar solutions for all groups, which would lead to better-quality jobs and higher pay. However, given that some of the drivers of poverty, such as higher unemployment and inactivity rates disproportionately affect ethnic groups, specific forms of outreach activity and drawing on local knowledge may be needed in these contexts.

Similarly, government solutions to reduce ethnic poverty in developed country contexts include interventions that ensure that education, training and apprenticeships are provided for ethnic minorities as well as schemes that help tackle low pay among ethnic minority workers. There is a need for policies that focus the on education, skills and training for ethnic groups particularly digital, literacy, and numeracy skills. Moreover, policies should also be encouraged that monitor the workforce in relation to ethnicity, which should include the recruitment, retention and progression phases of jobs.

Authorities need to work with employers to provide better-paid jobs and they should do more to listen to and encourage employers to hire a diverse range of skills and experiences. It is advisable to consider putting targets for ethnic minority representation on boards, something that has proven successful in the case of gender. It is also important to recognise the benefits of positive discrimination in the labour market, rather than view legislation to combat ethnic inequality as red tape or political correctness. Mortgage market discrimination needs to be eliminated as this would allow ethnic minorities to take advantage of the benefits that come with owning a home.

State-backed grants and loans should be made more accessible as an incentive to business owners who have incurred additional costs to protect customers and staff. Crucially, the process to obtain them should not be too onerous and the criteria should be fair. Regional governments should also take care to plug BAME businesses into the supply chains of local projects in response to the pandemic.

Source: Author

All these should reduce ethnic poverty and the economic and health inequalities that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted.

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Notes: Excerpts for this essay was taking from my book chapter: “Ethnic Poverty: Causes, Implications, and Solutions” available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344725834_Ethnic_Poverty_Causes_Implications_and_Solutions

Fail to plan, plan to fail

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Angela Lawrence, Associate Dean, Staffordshire Business School

This morning I was labelled a geek. I don’t mind being called a geek (I probably am a bit of a geek) but what is interesting is that this label was awarded as a result of me sharing a plan on twitter. The plan for my allotment in 2021.

Now I don’t feel that planning makes me geeky – I’m a big believer in planning and the saying “fail to plan, plan to fail” is one that I use often. I plan a work “To Do” list at the end of each working day, a shopping list before walking down to the shops, I plan holidays months if not years in advance and yes, I plan which vegetables I am going to grow at my allotment and which beds they will go into. That way I can be sure that the soil will be right for them, the light conditions will suit them and that everything grows together in harmony to produce bountiful harvests.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Planning is a big part of business success – we create business plans, marketing plans and project plans in all aspects of our working life. Without things like business continuity planning, risk management, financial planning, many businesses fail to survive in today’s fast-moving work environment. Students are taught planning not only as part of their studies, but also as part of their own lifestyle management as a student – our students even brought together some tips to share with others in this YouTube video.

Some would say planning has been difficult during 2020 and it’s hard to plan when we don’t know what we will be able to do. I think this is actually all the more reason to plan – if plans didn’t materialise, as so many failed to during 2020, then we suck it up and plan all over again, whether it be a holiday, a birthday, a wedding or a study plan for the year. What has been bumped from the top of the list now goes back into the list again for re-scheduling.

Plans give us hope and they psychologically prepare us, they build anticipation, and they demonstrate commitment. When we plan, we mentally get organised and prepare ourselves and this is a good thing – it saves us from stressing about the unknown, relieves some uncertainty and helps us to cope better. 

Plans don’t have to be big, they don’t have to be impressive, they don’t have to be written down (although I do get great satisfaction from planning on paper) and they don’t have to be shared. They may not mean a thing to anybody but you, and that’s just fine. I can guarantee that you will enjoy your planned activities far more for having planned them and that you will stress less and cope better with things that challenge you.

Happy planning – you have a whole year ahead of you, LET’S GO!

Staffordshire Business School is a premier centre for business education with decades of experience in providing business courses at the forefront of industry and technological developments. Business planning is integrated into all of our new business courses – click here to find out more.