The Bottom Line

What is the best way of cutting costs and transforming a business? Bosses often have to prune their operations - either to reinvest the cash to grow the business in other directions or because costs have got out of control. But can cuts go too far and damage an organisation? It was reported that British Airways' computer meltdown earlier this year was caused in part because the company had moved too quickly to make efficiency savings. It now faces paying its customers millions of pounds in compensation. Evan Davis and panel discuss the good, bad and the ugly of cost cutting and business transformation.

Guests:

Ashley Almanza, Chief Executive of G4S

Evan Davis discusses the reasons why some companies have multiple brands. Is it to bamboozle or does it help consumers navigate the wide variety of choices? Can there be too many? When does product proliferation make sense? Evan talks to three guests: a brand consultant, a marketing executive from drinks company Diageo and a representative from Johnson & Johnson about how we can better understand the world of brands.

GUESTS

Robert Jones - Brand consultant at Wolf Olins and a visiting professor at the University of East Anglia

Evan Davis presents the business magazine.

Are white collar workers under threat from the new robotic workforce? Manufacturing companies have been replacing production line workers with robots for years, but as the technology becomes more advanced, they are being increasingly used in healthcare, law firms and HR departments. So is the white collar worker under threat? Evan Davis talks to three guests, a roboticist, an Artificial Intelligence consultancy worker and the CEO of a hotel chain who is already using robots in his business.

GUESTS

Thrishantha Nanayakkara - Roboticist, Imperial College

Dr. Michael Chui - Partner, IT and innovation, McKinsey Global Institute

Hubert Viriot - CEO, Yotel.

Corporate theft has played a big part in business history from Porcelain and Tea from China, to the French attempting to get their hands on the blueprint for the Spinning Jenny. In this week's programme Evan Davis and guests discuss more modern copyright infringement and how to protect against it.

GUESTS

Chris Morgan-Jones, Crime fiction author and Consultant, K2 Intelligence

Vicki Salmon, Lawyer and Patent Attorney, IP Asset Partnership, Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys and Chair of CIPA's Litigation Committee

Mandy Haberman, Director and Founder of Haberman Products Limited.

What's the future for UK Farming? Evan Davis meets three food producers from across the country to talk about the daily challenges of farming in Britain today. Guests include one of the biggest carrot producers in the country, a Wiltshire Beef farmer and Deputy President of the National Farmers Union and a lowland sheep farmer whose herd shares the land with cadets from the Ministry of Defence in Kent.

GUESTS

Guy Poskitt, Managing Director, M H Poskitt Ltd

Marie Prebble, Lowland Sheep farmer

Minette Batters, Beef farmer and Deputy President of the National Farmers Union.

Business and its place in society is a prominent issue at the moment. Zero hours contracts, executive pay, tax avoidance are all issues where opinion has shifted dramatically. Has Shareholder driven capitalism finally gone too far?

Britain's multi-billion pound nuclear dream. EDF is building the country's first new nuclear power station in decades at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. But that's just the start. Two other companies also have dreams of bringing nuclear to sites in Cumbria and on Anglesey. But the financing and logistics of these projects are tough. Power stations cost billions to build and investors won't see returns for more than five years. Critics of the nuclear option argue that renewables - wind and solar power - would be a better option to generate electricity. Just what are the options and the costs involved? Three nuclear rivals join Evan Davis.

Guests:

Migrant entrepreneurs create one in seven businesses in the UK. This week Evan Davis talks to three entrepreneurs who all arrived from overseas with very little and then went on to create a successful business.

GUESTS

Tony Kitous, Founder, Comptoir Libanais

Razan Alsous, Yorkshire Dama Cheese

Surinder Arora, Founder and Chairman, Arora Group.

The UK is a world leader in financial services technology, otherwise known as fintech.

Presenter Evan Davis asks how Britain has beaten Silicon Valley and what challenges fintech poses to traditional banking?

Guests:

Producer: Julie Ball.