Portfolio Committee of Business Systems Meeting

Hello,

You may or may not know that i am one half of the Business Management Student Representation this year alongside my friend Kirsty. We attend regular meetings every two weeks where we share issues that other students have come to us with and basically find answers and get things resolved. Myself and Kirsty got an email about a Portfolio Committee of Business Systems Meeting which was taking place on the Luton campus last week (4th December) and we thought we would go along and give our input on the course and raise anything that other students have come to us with…pretty much a standard meeting, however, in the presence of more influential people within the Business School.

We were really looking forward to the meeting as it is something we have never done before and we were hoping for the best possible outcome. However, what we experienced was a steep learning curve in being able to get our points across and getting others to understand how passionate we felt about the issues in hand. It was a challenge to get our voices heard, especially when there are lots of other members of staff and students there voicing their challenges too. No one said that being a student was easy, but we did leave the meeting feeling a little disappointed as it hadn't been as successful as we had first hoped. Not one to be deterred, myself and Kirsty attend regular meetings and we are hoping to raise this issue and figure out why everything spiralled at the meeting. From a business perspective every side will have an opinion and it is a great learning opportunity on our part as when we graduate we would hope to be high up in businesses just like the committee. Communication is a vital component and it is something that is constantly required in business.

We will keep you all posted…

Burberry vs Apple

Hello Everyone,

The news about how Burberry Chief Executive is taking the plunge and moving over to Apple is no new news but i thought i had to write up a post about it. As an independent blogger who is closely linked to beauty, fashion and lifestyle i just had to include this on the business blog…the perfect combination of my favourite things…fashion and business.
Burberry chief executive Angela Ahrendts is leaving the luxury goods firm next year to join the technology giant which is Apple. A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to chat about the news in a Strategy and Change Management seminar and i thought it was just great. How someone so influential in the fashion world is moving over to such a huge company like Apple which is in a completely different market and sector really fascinated me. I totally feel that she will have some kind of beneficial aspect on the business as it is going to be something totally unique and different. Angela Ahrendts has been with Burberry for almost a decade and has been credited with turning it into a more globally recognised company.

Angela Ahrendts will have oversights of the strategic direction, expansion and operation of both Apple retail and online stores, which have redefined the shopping experience for hundreds of millions of customers around the world according to Apple themselves. Apple retail stores set the standard for customer service with innovative features like the Genius Bar, Personal Setup and One to One personal training to help customers get the most out of their Apple products…it makes you wonder about what they will think of next.  In an intriguing marriage of fashion and technology, Angela Ahrendts will arrive as Apple seeks to rev up a brand whose devices have become ubiquitous and whose stores have lost some of their initial novelty. Their are some rivals such as Samsung, Tesco, Sony and so on who have stolen taken some of Apples flair with distinctive products and glitzy marketing. There have been rumours about how Apple are planning a 'iWatch' which links within the fashion side and where Angela Ahrendts would have the upper hand advantage over other technology competitors. I for one am quite excited to see what she has up her sleeve and how she is planning to take Apple to the next level.

What do you think about the new Burberry vs Apple scenario? Do you think Angela Ahrendts will have an influential and positive affect on Apple?