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

The Manufacturing Possibilities of 3D Printing

March 15, 2015

As a metal products manufacturer for more than 125 years, Alcoa is constantly searching for new ways to improve its efficiency. After all, the New York-based industrial company makes enormous products that can sometimes take years to finish. For instance, Alcoa’s most in-demand items are gas turbines, or the gigantic engines that power planes for Boeing and Airbus. Able to withstand temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the turbines must be developed and tested for more than a year before Continue reading →

Manufacturing, Product Development, Innovation, Alcoa, 3D Printing

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

Changing the Way Offices Use the Phone

March 12, 2015

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These days, any office must have a unified communications system in place in order to compete. Years ago this could have been accomplished by installing a series of linked landline phones with conference call capabilities. Now, however, services like Google Voice allow users to ditch their landlines and receive calls directly on their smartphones. Companies currently spend as much as $75 billion per year on Internet voice systems. This figure is expected to increase as disruptive startups take unified communications Continue reading →

Management, Human Resources, Silicon Valley, Product Development, Innovation, Mobile

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Vetting Potential Hires with Personality Tests

March 10, 2015

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For many companies recruiting new employees, a traditional one-on-one interview only tells part of a potential hire’s story. Some small businesses simply don’t have time to hold deep conversations with interviewees: one family-owned car wash in Kentucky said that it receives more than 1,000 applications each year.

In order to streamline its hiring process, Finish Line Car Wash turned to a personality assessment company called PeopleClues. The service’s 30-minute online test gives applicants a series of statements and then asks Continue reading →

Human Resources, Labor Relations, Innovation, Data Mining, Hiring

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

The New Walmart Wage Plan

March 3, 2015

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For years, Walmart has been criticized for not adequately sharing its success with its employees. After all, the retailer is not only the largest private employer in the U.S. but also the largest retail chain in the world. With so much capital at its disposal, critics have long argued that Walmart has enough resources to spend on its staff. And now at long last it appears the retailer agrees. Last month Walmart announced a plan that will raise the wages Continue reading →

Ethics, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Compensation, Retail, Walmart, Minimum Wage

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

The FCC’s Big Net Neutrality Decision

March 1, 2015

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Over the last few years, net neutrality has appeared as a subject of debate everywhere from Internet forums to the highest levels of government. As of February 26, 2015 however, the Federal Communications Commission may have ended the discussion once and for all. On that day, the FCC voted to classify Internet providers as public utilities, thus preventing them from extending better service to websites who pay more money. The decision was a victory for the Internet’s many net neutrality Continue reading →

Ethics, Innovation, Regulation, Product Distribution, FCC, Net Neutrality

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

How GameStop Could Keep Going

February 23, 2015

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Like many other brick-and-mortar retailers, GameStop’s long-term financial health depends on how much damage the Internet can ultimately do to its bottom line. For years, though, the video game retailer seemed almost immune to the effects of web retail. Prices remained competitive thanks to the company’s dependence on reselling used games and consoles while its knowledgeable sales staff ensured that regular customers stayed happy.

Still, many experts are predicting that GameStop will go the way of Blockbuster sooner or later. Continue reading →

Product Development, Entertainment, Retail, Innovation, Product Distribution, GameStop, Video Games

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

The Spotlight Fades on Rockstar Energy

February 19, 2015

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Even though Rockstar wasn’t the first energy drink to hit the market, it didn’t take long for the brand to make a big impact in a crowded field. Consumers quickly responded to Rockstar’s affordable price and large serving size, which set the brand apart from more exclusive products like Red Bull. During its first six years, revenue at Rockstar soared as high as $405 million while it grew at an average annual rate of 103 percent.

By 2007, however, the Continue reading →

Management, Entrepreneurship, Food, Product Development, Rockstar

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Engineering an Educational Franchise

February 18, 2015

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For many entrepreneurs, great ideas can come along when least expected. In the case of Dori Roberts, her job as a high school engineering teacher laid the foundation for her million-dollar concept. Over the course of her 11 years in teaching, Roberts noticed that many of her students discovered a love for engineering late in their school careers. She then made it her mission to introduce engineering to kids at a younger age, starting out with an after school bridge-building Continue reading →

Franchising, Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Education, Childcare, STEM

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship

Success and Failure in India’s Tricky Marketplace

February 13, 2015

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With a consumer pool of more than one billion people, India has become the next big expansion destination for companies around the world. While some businesses are still working the bugs out of their strategies for the subcontinent, other operations have hit the ground running and quickly grabbed up market share. Domino’s, for instance, now sells more pizza in India than anywhere else besides the U.S. thanks to its savvy combination of local and Western tastes. On the other hand, Continue reading →

Global, Entrepreneurship, India, Product Development, Retail, Domino’s

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

AngelList Democratizes Venture Capital

February 9, 2015

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At most Silicon Valley startups, the entrepreneur takes the role of the hero in stories about a company’s founding. Arguably, though, the venture capitalist that funds the business from the beginning also plays a huge role in its success. After all, an entrepreneur can have a million dollar idea but still lack the $1 million investment she’d need to start the company. This dependence on seed capital can become a source of great frustration for entrepreneurs. While someone can spend Continue reading →

Silicon Valley, Innovation, Crowdfunding, Venture Capital, Startups, Financing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 18: Financial Management