Chapter 3: Globalization - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

World Bank: Natural Disasters Cost More than $500 Billion Annually

March 3, 2017

From tsunamis to earthquakes to hurricanes, each year natural disasters strike all across the world and leave devastation in their wake. In the immediate aftermath of these catastrophes, ensuring people’s safety is the number one priority. As a community starts to recover from a disaster, however, their thoughts turn towards rebuilding and returning to normalcy. Still, this isn’t such an easy task to accomplish. Natural disasters can destroy infrastructure and buildings that take millions of dollars and months of time Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, Insurance, Natural Disasters, Risk Management, World Bank

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter C: Managing Risk

[VIDEO] How to Get 60,000 Containers Around the World in Record Time

March 2, 2017

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Supply chain management is an incredibly complex process involving dozens of companies stretched across thousands of miles. This video takes a look at the shipping firm Flexport and how they simplify “freight forwarding” for businesses transporting goods from China to the U.S.

Questions:

How does Flexport improve the process of freight forwarding?
Why is international supply chain management so complicated?

China, Supply chains, Transportation, Product Distribution, Shipping, Freight Forwarding

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

Finland Experiments with Basic Income for the Unemployed

January 26, 2017

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To people familiar with sunny Silicon Valley, Finland may seem like a questionable tech hub. But thanks to the telecommunications giant Nokia, for years the snowy Scandinavian nation served as one of the central destinations in Europe for tech workers. Once Nokia began to collapse, however, the fortunes of many Finnish engineers declined as well.

These formerly prominent staffers then signed up for unemployment benefits in the hopes that the tech industry would turn around. When jobs largely failed to Continue reading →

Motivation, Global, Ethics, Labor Relations, Unemployment, Finland, Nokia, Basic Income

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Eight Richest People Own As Much Wealth as Half the World

January 24, 2017

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In the years since the economic crisis of 2008, wealth inequality has been an increasingly alarming problem both for scholars and regular people. Last year, the development charity Oxfam estimated that 62 billionaires owned just as much wealth as the poorest 50 percent of the globe. This month, however, the agency had worse news: a group of just eight men are worth a combined $426 billion, equivalent to the wealth held by 3.6 billion people.

Along with foreign billionaires like Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, India, China, Facebook, Amazon, Inequality, Tech, Wealth, Brexit, Oxfam

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] This Incredible Machine Pulls Clean Drinking Water Out of Thin Air

January 20, 2017

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Ensuring clean water for everyone on the planet is one of the major environmental challenges facing future generations. In this video, a Chilean engineer demonstrates his invention that draws vapor from the air and turns it into drinkable water. If he succeeds in making the machine smaller and cheaper, it could provide an immense benefit to communities that lack access to clean water.

Questions:

Why does Hector Pino need to continue refining his product?
Once fully developed, should Pino form Continue reading →

Global, Product Development, Sustainability, Product Distribution, Water, Chile

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

[VIDEO] How China Is Changing Hollywood

December 6, 2016

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Thanks to a rapidly growing middle class, China has transformed into the largest moviegoing market in the world. And while Hollywood is the source for many of the nation’s hit flicks, American filmmakers still face a number of hurdles before they can do business in China. This video looks at the ways Hollywood tries to appeal to Chinese culture in order to break into this tough but rewarding market.

Questions:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of China’s revenue Continue reading →

Marketing, Global, Product Development, Entertainment, China, Product Distribution, Movies

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Videos

Thanksgiving Travel Expected to Increase This Year

November 21, 2016

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The end of November is always a trying time for travelers. Each year millions of Americans crisscross the country to reach their loved ones for Thanksgiving, leading to congested roads and crowded airports. And for those who hoped this year might be easier, think again. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), nearly 49 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home between Wednesday and Sunday. That amounts to an increase of 1 million people compared to last Continue reading →

Economics, Cars, Transportation, Travel, Vacation, Thanksgiving, Airplanes

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

Online Retail Sales Soar After Singles Day in China

November 17, 2016

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While the holiday shopping season in the U.S. doesn’t officially kick off until next week, Chinese retailers are already counting their profits from the phenomenon known as Singles Day. Founded in the 1990s by a group of college students celebrating their bachelorhood, the November 11 holiday has since morphed into a nationwide shopping spree. This year the online retailer Alibaba brought in nearly $18 billion in sales, far more than what the entire American retail industry earns during Black Friday Continue reading →

Marketing, Global, Promotions, Retail, China, Black Friday, Singles Day, Alibaba

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Patagonia: Attempting to Operate Ethically While Pursuing Mass Appeal

November 3, 2016

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Since its founding in 1973, the outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has strived to make quality goods in an ethical manner. This combination of strong values and superior products has allowed the company to grow into an $800 million brand. But over the years Patagonia has run into a number of roadblocks in their quest to “build the best product” and “cause no unnecessary harm.” For example, in 2010 an animal rights group revealed that the company had been buying goose Continue reading →

Ethics, Clothing, Product Development, Branding, Supply chains, Sustainability, Patagonia, South America, Taiwan, Apparel

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Improving Conditions at Bangladesh’s Garment Factories

November 1, 2016

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In April 2013, more than one thousand Bangladeshi garment workers died when the Rana Plaza building collapsed. Considered to be the deadliest garment factory accident in history, the tragic event led to worldwide condemnation of many Western clothing companies. After all, brands like H&M, Walmart and Zara had long pushed producers in Bangladesh’s growing garment industry to make clothes faster and cheaper. While this allowed retailers to set low prices at their stores, the focus on efficiency forced Bangladesh’s factories Continue reading →

Ethics, Manufacturing, Labor Relations, Clothing, Zara, Walmart, H&M, Bangladesh, Human Rights, Garment Industry

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law