Studying Business at Southampton Studying Business at Southampton

MWR: Is It Possible to Separate Work and Leisure?

It’s no secret that most employees strive for a more attractive work-life balance, but is this even possible any more, or do we now have no choice but to accept the reality of the work-life merge? Step onto any commuter train, and you will be met by the sight of hordes of workers glued to their phone or laptop screens, already checking emails or starting their work. With figures from the Office for National Statistics indicating that 3. Continue reading →

MWR: What Drives Our Decision Making Process?

The brain is a decision making machine - every day we are presented with choices. This is especially apparent in Business, where making good decisions is of great importance. What are the mechanisms of choice however, how do we make decisions? How do they go right, and how do they go wrong? In our society we value reason and rational thought, we tend to think that good decisions are based on careful consideration, and a thorough examination of the relevant facts. Continue reading →

MWR: When Was the Last Time You Actually Switched off Your Work Mode?

Working from home seems to be 2 in 1, but does it actually help to find balance between work and life? Working outside of the home makes it possible to go home to relax. A woman, working from home, was asked where she goes when she wants to relax and she replied with laughter and said: “Nowhere, nowhere at all” (Crosbie and Moore, 2004). Looks like working from home is not as enjoyable as it seemed at the first sight. Continue reading →

HIL: Rebuilding After Tragedy

The Ocean Stars charity was established after the tragedy of a Tsunami, which devastated parts of Sri Lanka in 2004, with the aim of rebuilding communities and families that had been shattered by this catastrophic event. At the age of 16, I was given the opportunity to travel across the world to teach Sri Lankan children in chosen partner schools. Continue reading →

MWR: Do the Rich Have Better Opportunities?

The rich and the poor, one of the world’s oldest conflicts. There is such a contrast between them, socially, environmentally and economically. But why is this the case? The key factor I believe is down to opportunity. Opportunity to develop and be able to interface with business. The gap between the rich and poor is growing and will only worsen (Ireland, 2015). Continue reading →

MWR: Why Are Businesses Becoming so Ethically Focused?

The sincerity of a business’s ethical stance has always posed great doubt in my mind. We all know the main motive of any business is to generate as much profit as possible. So why over the last decade or so, have companies pumped more and more of their annual budget into corporate social responsibility? Quite simply, companies care about their corporate social responsibility because their customers do. Continue reading →

Is this the Most Secure Coin in the World?

Royal MintRichard Farmer, University of East Anglia Although people are becoming increasingly reliant on electronic forms of financial transaction, the introduction of a new coin still feels like an important occasion. The new £1 coin, which enters circulation on March 28, is described by the Royal Mint as “the most secure coin in the world”. It is likely to be controversial. Continue reading →

MWR: It’s Not Business, It’s Personal

I know, that’s not the statement that is usually declared, however it represents how for me certain aspects of ethical business are backwards. In my opinion, the idea of acting ethically in business as ‘doing the right thing when that will cost more than we want to pay’ (Richmond, 2013) contradicts with the more common statement as ‘Profit (being) the ultimate aim of almost all business firms’ (Sivagnanam and Srinivasan, 2010). Continue reading →

MWR: Students Are Seeking a Top-End Job

Like myself, nearly all students attending University are seeking a top-end job in their chosen subject area after graduating. As we know, University fees have already increased ridiculously over the last few decades, but now Government ministers plan to increase the fee’s “above £9000 for the next academic year” (Pells, 2016). Continue reading →

Book Review: Wonderland, by Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson likes to take the long view. His latest book Wonderland: How play made the modern world is a long view of something we often consider to be short-term fun, inconsequential, and childish; that thing is play. This 297 page book, the latest in a series by Johnson on the history of innovative, is organised into six lengthy chapters: fashion and shopping, music, taste, illusion, games, and public space. Continue reading →

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