Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] Smartphones Are Designed to Be Addicting

February 23, 2018

If you’ve ever thought that you check your smartphone too much, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, the 2.5 billion people around the globe who currently own smartphones likely share the same problem as you. That’s because tech companies design their products to be as attention-grabbing as possible. Along with detailing the ways that smartphones and apps can monopolize your focus, this video also demonstrates a few techniques to limit your phone use.

Questions:

Is it ethical for tech companies Continue reading →

Mobile, Ethics, Product Development, Innovation, Smartphones

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

Ski Resorts Start Producing Their Own Energy

February 22, 2018

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From keeping lodges toasty to powering chair lifts that must frequently scale mountains, ski resorts go through enormous amounts of energy during the winter months. Along with taking a toll on the environment, this heavy dependence on power can also be quite expensive. That’s why many ski resorts throughout the country are setting up their own utility systems to produce energy efficiently and sustainably.

Colorado’s Aspen Skiing Company, for instance, generates 24 million kilowatt hours of energy per year to Continue reading →

Operations Management, California, Ethics, Skiing, Sports, Entertainment, Colorado, Sustainability, Energy

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Chicken Shortage Causes Hundreds of British KFCs to Close

February 20, 2018

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The world is home to billions upon billions of chickens, which would seem like more than enough birds to stock an average KFC restaurant. This weekend, however, hundreds of the chain’s locations in the U.K. closed after failing to receive their usual shipments of chicken. “We’ve brought a new delivery partner on board, but they’ve had a couple of teething problems – getting fresh chicken out to 900 restaurants across the country is pretty complex,” said the company in a Continue reading →

Fast food, Supply chains, Product Distribution, Crisis management, United Kingdom, Global, Logistics, Food, KFC

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution

Workplace Idleness Costs Companies $100 Billion Annually

February 16, 2018

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Although Americans are known for spending a lot of time at their jobs, they’re not always working during those long hours behind a desk. In fact, a recent Harvard study found that 78 percent of surveyed employees experienced some type of idleness at work. This isn’t referring to laziness or procrastination: “We are talking about time at work when employees are supposed to be working, and available to work, but they are unable to,” said Andrew Brodsky, co-author of the Continue reading →

Idleness, Stress, Office Culture, Management, Motivation, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

How Music Copyrights Work in Figure Skating

February 15, 2018

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For nearly a week, millions of people around the world have been tuning into the Winter Olympics broadcasting from Pyeongchang, South Korea. Like seemingly every edition of the games, figure skating has been one of the most watched events as stars like Adam Rippon and Mirai Nagasu take to the ice with incredible grace and skill. With everyone’s eyes on the athletes, though, your ears may have missed something new about the music that soundtracks these routines. For the first Continue reading →

Licensing, Sports, Copyright, Entertainment, Television, Product Distribution, Olympics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

L.L. Bean Ends Generous Return Policy

February 13, 2018

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In 1912 Leon Leonwood Bean sold his first 100 pairs of boots to local hunters, promising that the footwear would “give perfect satisfaction in every way.” Soon enough, though, 90 customers brought their boots back after the bottoms became separated from the tops. While Bean nearly went bankrupt providing refunds, he knew that he had to stick to his word in order to regain his customers’ trust. As a result, people continued to support his business, which eventually grew from Continue reading →

Clothing, Marketing, Retail, Ethics, Pricing, Entrepreneurship, L.L. Bean, Maine, Product Returns

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] American Shopping Malls Struggle to Survive

February 9, 2018

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Last week, we looked at how property owners are trying to combat the decline of shopping malls by appealing to non-retail tenants like gyms and fitness centers. This video provides more background on this downward spiral, showing footage of American malls thriving in their heyday as well as the decaying, abandoned structures that some have become. But the video isn’t entirely doom and gloom: it also gives a lot of screentime to an Atlanta-area shopping center called Plaza Fiesta that Continue reading →

Malls, Atlanta, Retail, Innovation, Demographics, Product Distribution

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Videos

Licensing Companies Make a Mint from Deceased Celebrities

February 8, 2018

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Earlier this week we looked at how audiences responded both positively and negatively to this year’s lineup of Super Bowl ads. While a number of funny spots seemed to go over well with the public, a Dodge Ram ad prominently featuring a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. decidedly did not. After the commercial aired, thousands took to social media to condemn the company for stealing the words of such an admired humanitarian. Of course, these critics soon Continue reading →

Marilyn Monroe, Licensing, Marketing, Copyright, Ethics, Branding, Entertainment, Advertising, Intellectual Property, Elvis Presley

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Super Bowl LII Ads Aim for the Funny Bone

February 6, 2018

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Unlike last year’s historic comeback, Tom Brady wasn’t able to turn around the fortunes of his New England Patriots to win Super Bowl LII. The Philadelphia Eagles ultimately left as champions after a thrilling game that saw plenty of action on the field. The tone during the commercial breaks was far less tense, however, as marketers largely relied on humor for 2018’s crop of Super Bowl ads. Among the top spots on USA Today’s annual Ad Meter poll are Continue reading →

Social Media, Television, Advertising, NFL, Super Bowl, Sports, Marketing, Promotions, Ethics, Entertainment

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

The Year Begins Badly for Bitcoin

February 2, 2018

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When we last looked at Bitcoin in December, the cryptocurrency’s price had skyrocketed to about $16,500 after starting the year at just $985. At its peak a couple of weeks later, a single Bitcoin became worth a whopping $19,511. The ever-increasing success of the cryptocurrency and others like it convinced some investors that the future of money was taking shape before their eyes. Many remained wary of Bitcoin’s boom, however, fearing that the bottom could fall out at any time. Continue reading →

Economics, Global, Ethics, Product Development, Innovation, Currency, Regulation, Bitcoin

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media