Chapter 3: Globalization - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] You’ll Be Eating Crickets Soon. You Have No Choice

October 27, 2016

Although the world’s population is always increasing, the physical size of the globe stubbornly remains the same. As a result, humans might soon face a shortage of some key resources, including food with high protein content. But here’s where the humble cricket hops in: while many Americans may consider them pests, crickets can be a nutritious and environmentally sustainable food source. This video takes a look at the ways one cricket farm operates and how its owners hope to market Continue reading →

Marketing, Operations Management, Global, Food, Sustainability, Agriculture, Crickets

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, Videos

Chinese Factories Produce Knockoffs at Record Speed

October 25, 2016

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Israeli entrepreneur Yekutiel Sherman had a great idea for a product: a selfie stick that folded seamlessly into the back of a smartphone’s case. He spent a year carefully designing his idea, producing prototypes and securing small investments from family and friends. By December 2015 Sherman launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to finish funding the item, now called Stikbox. But while the project immediately attracted investors, his popular crowdfunding campaign also caught the attention of Chinese bootleg manufacturers. Within Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Ethics, Manufacturing, Product Development, China, Supply chains, Product Distribution, Knockoff products

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 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Canadian Country Store Attracts New Employees with Free Land

October 21, 2016

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The remote region of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Canada, is not known for its bustling population. Just 130,000 people live on the 4,000 square-mile island, with 1,000 others leaving each year for the past two decades. As the population steadily drops, many Cape Breton natives have worried about the future of the island’s tight knit communities. Among these concerned citizens was Jim and Ferne Austin, local entrepreneurs who operated the Farmer’s Daughter Country Market in sleepy Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia, Continue reading →

Motivation, Global, Human Resources, Retail, Canada, Hiring, Company Culture

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 13: Marketing

[VIDEO] The Volcker Rule Explained

September 14, 2016

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The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act ranks among the most important laws passed in recent history. It’s also extremely complicated, amounting to some 14,000 pages of various regulations and restrictions. The video below takes a look at one of the key provisions of this landmark bill: The Volcker Rule, or the stipulation that banks cannot act like hedge funds and gamble with their own cash reserves. Although reviled by many on Wall Street, supporters say the rule Continue reading →

Ethics, Finance, Regulation, Dodd-Frank, Wall Street, Volcker Rule

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Videos

Wells Fargo Fires More Than 5,000 Employees for Fraud

September 12, 2016

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Last week regulators at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) dropped a bombshell that surely shocked anyone with a bank account at Wells Fargo. According to the CFPB, employees at the bank created more than 1.5 million phony accounts over the years in order to fraudulently reach sales targets and earn fees. This “widespread” practice resulted in the recent firing of approximately 5,300 Wells Fargo employees. Regulators also hit the bank with a fine of $185 million along with $5 Continue reading →

Ethics, Banking, Regulation, Fraud, Wells Fargo, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Shipping Company Bankruptcy Strands $14 Billion in Cargo at Sea

September 8, 2016

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Almost 95 percent of all manufactured goods arrive at their destinations in shipping containers. These freight boxes often begin their journeys aboard enormous cargo ships that transport items around the globe. Normally this process is simple enough: a ship pays a docking fee upon arrival along with additional charges for unloading and container storage. In the case of South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Company, however, this common process has been halted. After filing for bankruptcy protection last week, ports across the Continue reading →

Global, Supply chains, Transportation, Product Distribution, Shipping, South Korea

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

Domino’s Launches Delivery Drones in New Zealand

August 31, 2016

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A few years ago Amazon announced a plan to start their own drone-based delivery service, allowing customers to receive goods just hours after ordering. At the time the idea seemed almost too futuristic to be true. After all, the image of dozens of robots circulating the sky and dropping off packages sounds like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. According to the company, however, the plan for Amazon Prime Air remains on track and may even become a reality Continue reading →

Global, Product Development, Product Distribution, Domino’s, Drones, New Zealand

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] NAFTA Explained

August 29, 2016

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As the Trans-Pacific Partnership inches closer to ratification in the U.S. and abroad, the debate surrounding free trade agreements like it has grown more intense. This video takes a look at one of the first of these tariff-eliminating multinational deals, NAFTA, and the ways that it has remained controversial.

Questions:

Do free trade deals like NAFTA or TPP provide enough of an economic benefit to justify their potentially negative effects on the U.S. job market?
How do tariffs encourage Continue reading →

Economics, Global, Ethics, Manufacturing, NAFTA, TPP, Free Trade

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Videos

French Lawmakers Consider Banning “Too Cool” Cigarette Brands

August 26, 2016

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France is home to more than 13 million smokers, which includes one-third of teenagers and a quarter of adults. For years the nation’s health ministry has attempted to reduce this enormous number by spearheading initiatives that target the consumer appeal of cigarettes. For instance, the French government has long followed European Union laws requiring tobacco companies to cover 65 percent of their packaging with health warnings. In May, however, lawmakers took this concept a step further by passing “neutral packaging” Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, Product Development, Branding, Packaging, France, Smoking

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, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Shrinking Olympic Audiences Have NBC Worrying

August 24, 2016

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In spite of a few setbacks like a green diving pool and the actions of a blue-haired nincompoop, the 2016 Rio Olympics packed in plenty of action and emotion over its two-week run. For all the unparalleled athleticism on display, however, the TV ratings reward for the games’ American broadcaster NBC was relatively lackluster. The network brought in an average audience of 25.4 million during its primetime coverage, an 18 percent drop from the London 2012 games. While NBC received Continue reading →

Sports, Television, Olympics, NBC, Broadcasting, Video Streaming

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