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

Big Companies Start to Leave the Suburbs

August 3, 2017

Over the course of four decades, more than 80,000 people have learned how to become McDonald’s managers on the the leafy grounds of Hamburger University. The company long considered this 86-acre Oak Brook, Illinois, institution to be the perfect place to train employees while also attracting top-level executives. Then last year McDonald’s surprised staff by announcing the company would move its headquarters out of the suburbs and into the West Loop of Chicago.

Located near an “L” train stop and Continue reading →

McDonald’s, Hiring, Management, Illinois, Motivation, Headquarters, Caterpillar, Innovation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Netflix Piles on Debt to Create Original Content

August 1, 2017

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Since launching 20 years ago, Netflix has transformed from a DVD-by-mail service into the undisputed king of streaming video. The company now has more than 104 million subscribers across the world, a 25 percent increase since last year and quadruple the number of customers from 2012. On any given evening in North America, Netflix streaming accounts for more than a third of all download Internet traffic. The company’s lineup of original shows and movies are also a hit with critics Continue reading →

Financing, Debt, Product Development, Entertainment, Innovation, Netflix, Streaming, Television

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Summer Jobs Become Increasingly Difficult to Fill

July 28, 2017

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With the fall semester right around the corner, there’s only a few more weeks of freedom left for those lucky students who didn’t have to spend their break in class. Of course, those who managed to avoid summer school may have been working at one of the many seasonal jobs that pop up at this time of year. According to employers, however, these jobs have become increasingly difficult to fill recently. For instance, in the spring business owners located along Continue reading →

Education, Hiring, Skills, Summer jobs, Internships, Motivation, New Jersey

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions

Startups Look to Disrupt the Wedding Industry

July 26, 2017

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As the sudden closing of Alfred Angelo Bridal shows, dealing with weddings can be unpredictable and continuously frustrating even on the business side. But the financial rewards are vast for those who manage to navigate this volatile sector successfully. The wedding industry earned $58 billion in revenue in 2016 and is expected to bring in $63 billion by 2021. The average wedding now costs $26,500 as couples spend generously over the year or so that they spend planning the big Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Startups, E-commerce, Weddings

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

Wedding Dress Company’s Closing Causes Brides to Panic

July 24, 2017

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From now until the end of October, wedding season will be in full swing in the U.S. All over the country thousands of engaged couples are either ready to tie the knot or caught deep in the throes of the planning process. Of course, anyone who has taken part in a wedding knows just how agonizing they can be to organize. Whether it’s last minute cancellations from guests or caterers who can’t find the venue, weddings have a unique way Continue reading →

Weddings, Ethics, Alfred Angelo Bridal, Liquidation, Legal, Product Distribution, Bankruptcy, Management

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] Blue Ocean Strategy Explained

July 21, 2017

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When starting a new business, many entrepreneurs opt to enter an established industry so they can know what to expect. At the same time, however, these markets are packed with fierce competitors who must vie with one another for their piece of the pie. The most fortunate entrepreneurs avoid cutthroat industries and create new markets based on previously unknown consumer demands. The video below looks at how this “blue ocean strategy” can ensure long-term dominance for innovative companies.

Questions:

Can Continue reading →

Entertainment, Marketing, Blue Ocean Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Cirque du Soleil

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

Musicians Pile Pressure on YouTube for Streaming Revenue

July 20, 2017

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As sales from CDs and digital downloads continue to decline, streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have become vital to the $7.7 billion music industry. Still, there’s one major streaming service that both executives and musicians alike have long despised. While it’s mostly known for video, YouTube accounts for 25 percent of all music streamed across the globe. This makes it by far the most popular streaming site among fans, a fact that industry insiders find increasingly troubling.

Services Continue reading →

Product Development, Copyright, Entertainment, Ethics, Pricing, Streaming, Music, Spotify, YouTube

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Learning about Business by Selling Slime

July 18, 2017

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Along with being a summertime staple, the neighborhood lemonade stand also represents the classic image of young entrepreneurship. In today’s interconnected world, though, ambitious kids have even more options at their disposal if they want to run a business. And while selling lemonade is certainly a refreshing way to earn a dollar, some have turned their attention to a far less appetizing but still lucrative option: slime.

This sticky substance has been fascinating young social media users for years. Unlike Continue reading →

YouTube, Fads, Entrepreneurship, Social Media, Product Development, Education

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

Smartphones Sweep the Nation of Myanmar

July 14, 2017

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This week we’ve taken a look at the effect mobile technology has had on Chinese businesses, both for better and worse. Of course, China is far from the only Asian nation to undergo drastic changes thanks to the rise of smartphones. From India to Indonesia, mobile technology has altered the ways that both consumers and businesspeople go about their lives. Still, perhaps no other place on the continent has been as fundamentally changed by smartphones as the country of Continue reading →

Asia, Myanmar, Product Development, Economics, Pricing, Global, Innovation, Smartphones, Mobile

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Innovative Retailers in China Plot the Future of the Industry

July 13, 2017

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As we’ve covered a couple of times already, this has been a difficult year for many American retailers. While brick-and-mortar stores struggle to compete with e-commerce outlets, online retailers as well must grapple with the ever-increasing might of Amazon. These seismic shifts in power have led many to wonder what the future of the industry might look like. Amazon has recently been experimenting with cashierless stores, but observers say the company still has a lot of work to do Continue reading →

Innovation, Operations Management, China, Amazon, Product Distribution, Mobile, E-commerce, Retail

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, 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