It was recently announced that the company Nestle are planning to streamline one of their more prominent coffee factories in a bid to streamline. This comes as no surprise in what is still an economic downturn. With economic conditions still making business success difficult for many, it seems that streamlining is fast becoming a popular choice. This response may seem drastic, however it does not necessarily imply that jobs must be lost in the process; there are plenty of other methods which can help to cut costs during challenging times. One simple way to streamline is to reduce paperwork. Organising...

As we are approaching January’s halfway point, the nostalgia from New Year celebrations is calming down. It is now time to look forward and do so by looking forward to one of the most anticipate events of the last few years. The Olympics. I, for one, am indifferent to this fortnight of sport. I honestly cannot make my mind up whether it is worth the billions of pounds of investment or if it will flop and embarrass the UK on the international stage. Whichever side you are on, the simple fact is that the Olympic games are going to happen and we are stuck with it. So what are we to expect? Well, a skip...

The start of 2011/2012 academic year is well underway along with the changes the government is proposing for education. The introduction of the ‘Free Schools’ system is looking to give fewer restrictions to schools and, just this week, we have now learnt of the plan to give heads the power to fire teachers who are struggling to meet standards, within a month. Understandably, some are upset by these proposed changes and it can be a daunting fact for prospective teachers. Especially as the government plans to change the National Curriculum by 2014 and give the new ‘Free Schools’ the option to...

Richmond News has announced that office parties during the festive season are now making a comeback, after the last few years of economic troubles. Whilst this is considered to be good news by most professionals, employers can be left feeling a bit overwhelmed by the organisational aspects of a Christmas party. Here are a few tips to ensure that this year’s party goes as smoothly as possible. The venue is the first thing that must be organised. If the office space is limited, then consider hiring a hotel meeting or function room, which will offer plenty of space. Make sure that the room is large...

Just a day before its formal release, a carrier bag levy has triggered a whole lot of confusion within Wales’s shops and businesses. Despite the welsh government sending out information packs to announce its plans to make all carrier bags chargeable, it looks like a good few work places are pretty oblivious of this new requirement and are quite frankly a little confused! Taking on Ireland’s superb example of a 90% reduction in plastic bag use, the Welsh Government wants to cut down on the “excessive” number of bags by charging at least 5p for a single use bag in all shops. Penalties of...

Moonpig is certainly climbing further up the market ladder, announcing online digital photo service Photobox shall be merging with the popular greetings card company as part of plans to expand Moonpigs personalised cards service onto mugs, t-shirts and bottles too! Founded in 1999, Moonpig.com have reeled a spectacular 3 million customers, selling more than 12 million personalised greetings cards a year. No wonder Funkypigeon.com have jumped on the bandwagon! Printed mugs, personalised t-shirts, branded bottles….The guys at Gift Selection don’t just stop at that! The sky really is the limit. If you...

iPhones, iPods, iPads… People are going nuts for them! And recent figures have shown that Apples profits have soared past sales expectations and actually doubled! It seems the slick stylish devices, notoriously known for their finely printed apple logos are being sold to thousands of Apple lovers, racking in a Net income of 4.6bn in the three months to 25th June. This involved a tremendous 20 million iPhones sold in the quarter and 9.25 million iPads. I’m feeling a little left out in all of this! The iPad has been on my ‘iWant’ list for quite some time now but I don’t think my...

Last Friday Britain’s Royal Mail announced the unveiling of 10 new stamps to mark the one-year countdown until the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The first class stamps, entitled ‘get ready for 2012’ will go on sale on July 27th, exactly one year before the official start of the games. On the stamps are depictions of classic sports such as, Athletics, Gymnastics and the Triathlon as well as Paralympic sports, Wheelchair Tennis and Wheelchair Rugby. The stamps are the last in a series of collections unveiled by the Royal Mail in a 3 year countdown until the Games, each stamp designed by...

In February of this year, the official emblem of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was unveiled by Buckingham palace and the BBC Blue Peter programme. The chance to draw the Queen’s official Jubilee emblem was a competition launched by Blue Peter last year, 35,000 entries were sent in and the winner and runners up from each age category were able to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace at a special reception to show off their designs. This is only the second ever Diamond Jubilee and it is the first time an official emblem has been drawn by a child. The winner, Katherine Dewar, aged 10 from Chester created...

It’s day one of the Open at Royal St. Georges, all hopes are on Rory McElroy the young champion who won his first golf open in the US just a few short weeks ago. McElroy is bidding to become to youngest Open Champion since 1893, he is the likely favorite for the start of the competition. In his group teeing off at 9:09 BST are Ernie Els and rising American star Rickie Fowler in the first round of the 140th Open. Let’s hope the young Irish man can get another Open under his belt! If your company requires branded golf gear of any kind, ranging from golf balls & umbrellas all the way through...