

Business Nightmares on TV
Companies rarely become household names without taking the occasional risk—and sometimes risks don’t pay off. Evan Davis and business leaders including entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, inventor Sir James Dyson and branding supremo Rita Clifton analyse stories of business mistakes from the 1970s to the present day.
In this entertaining and fast-paced series, company insiders reveal how their carefully laid plans and projects unravelled. The results are dramatic: public outcry, plummeting share price, lost reputations, lost jobs and even company collapse.
Business Nightmares is on BBC Two, Monday nights from May 9th 2011, with a late-night Thursday repeat. For full broadcast times, and to watch online, visit bbc.co.uk.
More from the series
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Learning from business mistakes
Richard Branson and other big names of British business discuss the mistakes they made - and the lessons they learned as a result
Watch nowLearning from business mistakesVideo
Level: 1 Introductory
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Getting branding right
Watch Britain's brightest business brains talk about the importance of getting a brand noticed and understood
Watch nowGetting branding rightVideo
Level: 1 Introductory
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Taking business risks
Gerald Ratner and some of Britain's other notable entrepreneurs and business people talk about taking risks and the thin line between success and failure
Watch nowTaking business risksVideo
Level: 1 Introductory
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Business Nightmares on the BBC TV blog
Blog post by Evan Davis introducing Business Nightmares and sharing his concerns that you might enjoy it "too much"
Read moreBusiness Nightmares on the BBC TV blog
More from the OU's business experts
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tnarik under CC-BY-SA under Creative-Commons license
Unpacking Brands
Branding and marketing are key tools to help manufacturers build awareness of products. What are the key principles?
Read nowUnpacking BrandsArticle
Level: 1 Introductory
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Learn more about the OU Business School
The Open University Business School provides flexible, high quality management and professional development by distance learning across the globe.
Read moreLearn more about the OU Business School
Take it further with an OU course
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An introduction to business studies
This course explores the question ‘what is a business?’ and investigates the business functions of human resource management, marketing, accounting and finance.
Read moreAn introduction to business studies -
An introduction to retail management and marketing
This course from The Open University shows how retailing has developed within a business context, and how retail outlets work and apply retail marketing.
Read moreAn introduction to retail management and marketing
Try a free LearningSpace module
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An introduction to business cultures
Disney and Google are just two companies renowned for their ‘business culture’. This unit explores the concept of culture in different businesses.
Read moreAn introduction to business cultures
Business Bursts: videos from the OU
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Business Bursts: Failure
There's many reasons why even great companies can fail—and a difficult economy can exacerbate the problems
Watch nowBusiness Bursts: FailureVideo
Level: 1 Introductory
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Business Bursts: Branding
Your brand is more than a logo. Business Bursts explains the value of a brand—and how to cherish one.
Watch nowBusiness Bursts: BrandingVideo
Level: 1 Introductory
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Business Bursts: Marketing
There are many motivations for businesses to get their marketing right - Business Bursts examines how these messages are getting ever more sophisticated.
Watch nowBusiness Bursts: MarketingVideo
Level: 1 Introductory
- Coming later in 2011: Evan Davis discovers that the UK is still a manufacturing nation in Made In Britain.
- You can download a series of videos exploring retail management and marketing from The Open University in iTunesU
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