Business Matters From The University Of Bedfordshire Business School

David Maddocks of Astra Zeneca joins Stephen Hyde, Professor in Management Practice, to discuss this very topical question.

Loved or loathed, Jeremy Clarkson has been the BBC's most valuable personality for some years, generating many millions for BBC Worldwide through the sale of Top Gear series and other events across the globe. But is it too risky to align your product with one personality? Join Professors in Management Practice Stephen Hyde and Colin Bradshaw to discuss this topic.

Mergers, takeovers and disposals are in the business headlines every week but what is it actually like to be involved in a takeover battle and its aftermath? Join Professor in Management Practice Stephen Hyde and David Maddocks, Global Pricing and Reimbursement Director, Diabetes at Astra Zeneca to discuss these matters and hear particularly about David's experience of Pfizer's ultimately unsuccessful bid to acquire Astra Zeneca.

Not everyone is lucky enough to be an accountant! There are even a few people who are not sure they want to be an accountant! But, get those exams out of the way and the world is your oyster. All sorts of business opportunities can open up for you and most of them don't involve slaving over a hot calculator! Join in our discussion about life in the real business world with Professor in Management Practice Stephen Hyde and Allan McNab, who has held senior management roles in Thomas Cook, Trinity Mirror, Smith Kline and Coopers & Lybrand Consulting and was President of CIMA.

Many businesses go through periods when cashflows are not as positive as they need to be. Ultimately the results of this can be terminal. Managing the business in these circumstances is tough - cost to be cut, employees laid-off, wages cut, difficult conversations with your bank. And these are issues for the whole management team - not just the Finance Director. Join in our discussion of how things go in the real business world. With Professor in Management Practice Stephen Hyde (over 30 years management experience including a number of different tight cash situations) and fellow Professor in Management Practice, Colin Bradshaw.

Business executives all have people to manage in their teams. This can often be daunting, especially when difficult decisions have to be taken - redundancies, under-performance, relocation etc. Join in our discussion of how things go in the real business world. With Professor in Management Practice Stephen Hyde (over 30 years management experience in large companies such as Tesco and small ones such as Emma Bridgewater) and Senior Lecturer in HRM Sarah Jones (ex HR Manager at Thomsonfly/Britannia Airways.)

The first-ever Business Matters session with Professors in Management Practice Stephen Hyde and Colin Bradshaw. Businesses in the UK and many other parts of the developed world have been mired in recession and the austerity policies of national governments since 2008. Companies have adopted different strategies for survival but now this period of austerity is coming to an end, how can businesses adapt to make the most of growing economies both at home and abroad? As business school students, what should we expect to see happen in the next few years? Who will be the winners? Will there be losers?