The Bottom Line

What is the role of a business leader? To tell staff what to do or allow them to decide for themselves? One theory about management is that it should turn itself upside-down and permit those closest to the customer to dictate all sorts of business decisions including pricing, marketing and how to deal with complaints. Discussing these issues with Evan Davis are:

John Timpson, Chairman Timpson Group

Producer : Rosamund Jones.

Where can you find a hand-stitched crochet blanket, the latest Lady Gaga video or sell your old sofa? Trading online makes it easier than ever to find a marketplace and gives the consumer a different and faster way to shop and browse. On The Bottom Line Evan Davis discusses the issues with:

Nic Jones, Senior Vice President International, VEVO;

Where there is war and fear there's money to be made from protection. In The Bottom Line, Evan Davis talks to ex-army leaders turned businessmen about the world of private defence and security work.

Why are governments employing private contractors to do work previously done by the armed forces? How do those businesses maintain their reputations in such a controversial sector?

Guests:

Major General Graham Binns CBE, DSO, MC, a former British army officer, now CEO of Aegis Defence Services Limited.

Major General Andrew Pringle, CB, CBE, President of KBR UK and a former British army officer.

Gabriel Carter, Managing Director of LPD Risk Management.

Producer: Smita Patel.

Big data has become big business as improvements in computer memory storage have made it possible to keep and analyse digital data on a scale previously unknown. Evan Davis and guests discuss how the ability to store information about us has created new industries and transformed others.

Presenter: Evan Davis

Guests: Dave Coplin, Chief Envisioning Officer and Director of Search, Microsoft UK; Konrad Feldman, CEO Quantcast; Lawrence Jones, Founder UK Fast.

The power of investors and their role in changing how business functions and is run is the discussion for Evan Davis and his guests. What is it like to be voted off the board by your shareholders? And is investor activism here to stay? And how should a company boss best manage the owners of the company?

Guests

Producers: Rosamund Jones/Lucy Proctor.

Water is the world's most precious resource. It's also big business. As climate changes and populations shift, getting water where it needs to be is a huge global challenge. And that's without the added problem of leakage. And how much should consumers pay for something that none of us can live without?

Predicting the future is a skill that can earn investors and businesses a fortune - but get it wrong and disaster looms. In sectors like energy and technology planning decades ahead is an absolute necessity - but how can CEOs know what the world will look like in 2030 and how do they persuade shareholders and staff to come along for the ride? Evan Davis meets three business leaders who are placing massive bets on the future of farming, biomass fuel and the creation of a hyper-connected global society and finds out about timing, balancing risk and holding your nerve.

Also, the view from America, Sweden and the UK on corporate tax is discussed.

Guests:

Producer:

What do you do when it all goes wrong? How to manage corporations in times of crisis is the subject under discussion by Evan Davis and his guests.

Business leaders should expect the ride sometimes to be bumpy - but what is it reasonable to expect? And what is the best way to proceed when the truly unexpected happens?

Guests

Producer : Rosamund Jones.

Entrepreneurs discuss how much money you need to start a business - and where to get it from - with Evan Davis.

Why do some start-ups require millions and others just a few hundred pounds? And what are the benefits and pitfalls of finding investors on the web? It's called crowd-funding and many consider it to be the next big thing in venture capital.

Guests:

The food industry is increasingly in the spotlight as consumers and government worry about obesity, sustainability and safety.

Evan Davis finds out from three very different food companies about how their supply chains work and how much oversight any company leader can have. Guests discuss how to create an efficient and cost effective system that delivers on quality and safety. Do consumers elsewhere in Europe and the world demand the same level of locally-sourced credentials as the British now do and are these ideals worthwhile?

Guests:

Producer: Lucy Proctor.