Product Development - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Looking Back on Ten Years of the iPhone

June 30, 2017

One decade ago this month, Apple launched the iPhone and changed the business world forever. The rise of smartphones caused entire industries to collapse as new ones quickly appeared to take their place. Of course, the iPhone fundamentally changed Apple more than any other organization. Before the smartphone’s launch, the tech company earned 40 percent of its sales from iPods and had a market capitalization of $72.9 billion, less than a third of Microsoft’s valuation at the time. Today, iPhone Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Startups, Mobile, iPhone, Silicon Valley, Apple

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Grammarly Receives Millions from Investors for Spell Check App

June 21, 2017

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As anyone who’s stayed up all night painstakingly crafting an essay can tell you, writing is often a difficult and frustrating enterprise. But until something better comes along, humans are stuck with the written word and all of its exasperating aspects. Businesses especially must make sure that they communicate clearly with customers as well as employees. After all, office workers spend a significant amount of time trying to make sense of bad writing, which reduces efficiency and ultimately costs Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Venture Capital, Startups, Writing, Skills, Grammarly

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Zara Soars While Other Retailers Struggle

June 15, 2017

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2017 has not been a good year so far for many retailers. Chains like J.C. Penney and Sears plan to close hundreds of locations while J. Crew has posted 11 consecutive quarters of declining same-store sales. But as these formerly powerful brands struggle, the Spanish fashion giant Zara is thriving like never before. This week its parent company Inditex announced that first quarter sales jumped 18 percent to $733.3 million. Plus, total sales for Zara topped out at $6.3 billion, Continue reading →

Product Development, Retail, Zara, Operations Management, Spain, Global, Supply chains, Product Distribution, E-commerce

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Meal-Kit Companies Face an Uncertain Future

June 8, 2017

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For those who don’t want to take a trip to the grocery store or dine out, meal-kit startups like Blue Apron and HelloFresh bring dinner right to your doorstep. These companies place all the ingredients you need into a box along with detailed instructions about how to prepare your meal. And thanks to incessant advertising through new media platforms like podcasts, meal-kit startups have seen interest from consumers increase year after year. In fact, Blue Apron has been so successful Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Marketing, E-commerce, Food, Blue Apron, Subscription Services, Product Development

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Chapter 19: Securities Markets

Fidget Spinners May Be Fun, But They Aren’t Helpful

June 6, 2017

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In the proud tradition of pet rocks and Beanie Babies, fidget spinners have recently become the hottest fad product on the market. These tiny toys feature three prongs that whirl around a ball-bearing equipped center, creating something that looks like a little ceiling fan that spins in your hand. Some even sport multi-colored lights so you can dazzle all your jealous friends. They’re available to purchase almost everywhere and have become ubiquitous in schools across the country, much to the Continue reading →

Fads, Marketing, Ethics, Product Development, Education, Fidget Spinners

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Amazon Carefully Develops Its Drone Delivery Program

May 19, 2017

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In 2013 Amazon announced a bold new venture: a drone delivery service that could bring products to customers within 30 minutes. Three years later, the e-commerce giant completed its first Amazon Prime Air delivery during a trial run in Great Britain. Of course, the company still has a long way to go before its drones are ready to take flight in great numbers. Along with figuring out many technical details, Amazon must also deal with regulations that limit where drones Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Regulation, Transportation, Global, Amazon, Product Distribution, Drones

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Lyft Partners with Google’s Waymo on Self-Driving Cars

May 16, 2017

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Self-driving vehicle technology has improved so much in recent years that the concept is no longer a futuristic fantasy. As automated driving becomes more refined, companies have begun to move out of the research phase and on to developing commercial strategies. Waymo, for instance, became a company in December 2016 after eight years of autonomous vehicle research by its parent Google. During that time, Waymo says that its vehicles logged more than 3 million miles driving in the real world. Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Transportation, Google, Automation, Uber, Lyft, Self-Driving Cars

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Lab-Made Meat Could Be the Future of Food

May 11, 2017

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According to estimates from the U.N., by 2050 the global food industry will need to produce 455 million tons of meat annually in order to keep up with demand. Today’s meat makers already produce 259 tons per year, leaving behind an enormous environmental impact in the process. More than 70 percent of the world’s water consumption comes from meat and dairy production along with 38 percent of land use and 19 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists fear that Continue reading →

Packaging, Food, Sustainability, Synthetic Meat, Product Development, Innovation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Restaurants Add Locations But Lose Customers

May 9, 2017

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While retailers have seen sales drop in the years since the Great Recession, restaurants have largely enjoyed a boom time. American eateries benefitted from a shift in consumer spending habits away from products and towards “experiences” like meals and travel. And as demand increased, so did the supply of restaurants. Chipotle, for instance, has added 57 stores so far this year on top of the 240 locations it opened in 2016.

The burrito chain’s aggressive expansion is even more astounding Continue reading →

Subway, Product Development, Economics, McDonald’s, Food, Chipotle, Product Distribution, Supply and Demand, Restaurants

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Chapter 17: Accounting

Snapchat Partners with TV Companies for Original Content

May 5, 2017

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With 158 million users and a $25 billion valuation, the photo and video sharing app Snapchat has grown into one of the most powerful social networks around. Still, just because the app is popular doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to become a moneymaker. Twitter, for instance, has more than 300 million users and has struggled to be profitable for years. So in order to become a true tech giant, Snapchat is teaming up with old media firms to create original content Continue reading →

Entertainment, Marketing, Television, Social Media, Product Distribution, NBC, Snapchat, Product Development

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media