Behind-the-scenes in business

Industry Week took students behind-the-scenes at a number of leading Merseyside companies.

Visits to a number of important Merseyside-based organisations saw students witness first-hand how companies function.

As part of the Business School’s annual Industry Week, first and second-year students were invited onsite to see behind-the-scenes and hear about the challenges faced by employers in today’s dynamic - and often volatile - environment.

The week began with an inspirational visit to the Plaza Community Cinema in Crosby, Liverpool, where students learned how the local community fought against a development company’s plans to turn the local cinema into offices.

The community mobilised and were able to purchase the site, opening the largely volunteer-staffed Crosby Plaza in 1997, with the cinema continuing to go from strength-tostrength. To cap off the visit, the students were treated to a screening of The Invisible Man.

At the other end of the commercial scale, a group of students and staff toured Everton Football Club’s Goodison Park stadium, before receiving a number of briefings from the club’s key departments, including Finance, Marketing, HR and Everton in the Community. The visit provided a fascinating insight into the business operations of a locally based, but multi-million-pound global institution.

Students interested in retail were treated to an overview of the Liverpool Bid Company’s strategy to support retail and trading in Liverpool city centre. This was followed by behind-the-scenes tours at Primark and Lush in Liverpool’s main shopping area.

The Industry Week activities concluded with a visit to First Ark Group, a social business that works collaboratively with the public, private and social sectors to add value and create life-changing opportunities through its social business model.

Reflecting on the week’s activities, Ian McKenna, Subject Leader for Business Management & Marketing, said: “Industry Week is always a key point in the Business School’s academic year. It helps our students contextualise a lot of the theory and business models that they have been exposed to in the classroom. It also gives them new insights and knowledge that serve them well in their assessments and in their career planning strategies.