Commercial awareness

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Commercial awareness

• 12 October 2009

Peter Goode
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IntroductionSchedule

• Mercer
• Who are we?
• Commercial awareness
• What is it?
• Why do we need it?
• How do you demonstrate it?
• How do you improve it?
• How is it tested?
• Summary

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Mercer who are we?

• Mercer is a leading global provider of
  consulting, outsourcing and investment services,
  with more than 25,000 clients worldwide.
• Founded in 1937 as employee benefits department
  of MMC, headquarters in New York, wholly owned by
  MMC
• Globally
• Annual revenues over 3 billion
• 18,000 employees
• Locations in 40 countries
• UK
• 19 of global revenues
• 3,000 employees
• 17 locations

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Mercer who are we? MMC Structure
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Business Areas

• Retirement, risk financial consulting
• Investment consulting
• Outsourcing
• Human capital
• Health benefits
• Communication
• Investment management
• Mergers acquisitions
• Work alone or in combination to offer services to
  our clients

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Who are our clients?
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Our UK Offices

• Offices in Blue are the offices we recruit grads
  and interns into

Aberdeen
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Belfast
Leeds
Liverpool
Manchester
Birmingham
Solihull
Brentwood
Bristol
London

Windsor
Croydon

Southampton
Leatherhead
Chichester
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Where are we around the world?
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Commercial awareness
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Commercial awarenessWhat is it?

• "At heart, commercial awareness is about being
  able to talk to clients, finding out what they
  want, why they want it, what they will do with it
  and what they are prepared to pay, and then
  delivering it in the way they want.
• To do that you need to understand how
  organisations work, the issues they face and the
  role of people within them.
• Christopher Stoakes
• 'All You Need to Know About Commercial
  Awareness'

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Commercial awarenessWhat is it?

• General business awareness
• Organisation/sector specific knowledge

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Test your knowledge General business awareness

• In groups discuss the answer to these questions
• Do you know where the phrase "the bottom line"
  comes from and what it means?
• What is the role of the International Monetary
  Fund?
• Why is Corporate Social Responsibility important
  to organisations?
• What is the name of the UK's Chancellor of the
  Exchequer?
• What does private equity mean?

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Test your knowledge Answers

• 1) The term bottom line comes from the fact it
  is found at the bottom of the balance sheet and
  refers to a companies net income
• 2) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an
  organization of 186 countries, working to foster
  global monetary cooperation, secure financial
  stability, facilitate international trade,
  promote high employment and sustainable economic
  growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
  (http//www.imf.org/external/index.htm)
• 3) Many reasons here are a few
• Brand differentiation
• Risk management
• Public relations
• Recruitment and retention
• 4) Alastair Darling
• 5) Shares in unquoted companies. Usually high
  risk, high return in nature.

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Commercial awareness organisation/sector
specific knowledge

• How does the business attract and keep customers?
• How has the business responded to globalisation?
• How can good relationships be maintained with
  customers, employees and suppliers?
• What impact is the state of the economy likely to
  have on business decisions?
• What impact might the political environment have
  on a business?

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Commercial awarenessWhy is it important

• Commercially aware individuals
• appreciate the processes, relationships, risks
  and costs involved in commercial transactions and
  are able to assess whether value for money has
  been achieved.
• work towards the companys objectives and
  strategy.
• are aware of all the companys stakeholders.
• You dont have to be applying for a career in
  commerce to need commercial awareness skills.

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Commercial awarenessHow do you improve it?

• Keep up to date with current business issues
• Newspapers, magazines, internet and television
  (e.g. Financial times, BBCs working lunch)
• Professional bodies/associations websites
  generally provide information on industry trends,
  recent research and a range of related
  information. (e.g. www.actuaries.org.uk/)
• Company/organisation websites provide more
  specific information about the organisation and
  its products/services. (e.g. www.mercer.com)

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Commercial awarenessHow do you improve it?

• When thinking about a specific organisation the
  SWOT analysis technique is useful.
• This a technique used to evaluate the Strengths,
  Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved
  in a business.
• Other useful techniques
• PESTLE
• Porters 5 forces

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Commercial awarenessHow does Mercer test it?

• Online application
• Telephone interview questions
• Assessment centre interview questions
• Group case study
• Written case study

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Commercial awarenessSummary

• Graduates who are commercially aware are highly
  prized
• You may well already possess commercial awareness
  skills and these can be developed further.
• Do your research!

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Mercer Limited is authorised and regulated by the
Financial Services Authority Registered in
England No. 984275 Registered Office 1 Tower
Place West, Tower Place, London EC3R 5BU