Background

Here are a collection of essays on physics and business strategy which have been done by Cactus owners throughout their various studies, some will give more background on Cactus whilst others are there for the benefit of anyone with a passing interest in any of the subjects. Anyone wishing to reference these or those with any questions please do get in touch.

1. The Physics of Traffic Jams
Traffic phenomenon was investigated through the comparison of fluids and granular media physics. It was found that traffic is governed by a set of transitions between physical states much like fluids. Macroscopically traffic was analysed as a set of waves and this led to the presentation of evidence to suggest traffic is chaotic. To view the full essay please click here.

2. Marks and Spencers - business strategies
This essay outlines the key components of Marks and Spencer’s current and historic strategies, exploring how different theoretical strategic models account for the success of M&S. Also included will be an analysis of the difficulties that M&S’s present strategy is likely to encounter in the future as well as recommendations for future strategies. To view the full essay please click here.

3. Investigation of Low Temperature Resistance
An experiment was conducted to investigate the dependence of resistivity on temperature for both conductors and semiconductors. It was found that copper and constantan that are conductors have a linear increase of resistivity as temperature increases. Investigation of germanium a semiconductor showed that resistivity increased as temperature increased but dropped off exponentially at high temperature. The properties of germanium were investigated further and the energy gap was determined to be 0.73±0.01 eV. To view the full essay please click here.

4. Investigation of High Temperature Superconductivity
It is an often unappreciated phenomenon in physics how through a solid there can be the transport of heat, electricity and matter itself. It is a remarkable occurrence when given thought; an energetic projectile can make its way through a complex crystalline structure under the influence of something as simple as a slight electric field potential. To read on please click here.

5. Business Strategies for the Entrepreneur
In a small organisation particularly with start up companies financial and human resources are limited much more than with those competitors in the corporate world. To succeed the aspiring entrepreneur must therefore take care to avoid the so called ‘planning paralyses’ in order to dedicate enough time and resources to developing their main core competence. As stated by Pearson “a core competence is a combination of capabilities such as advanced technologies and superior management skills, which provide a firm with a leadership position” (Pearson, 1999, p170). To read on please click here.