Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Soaring Chocolate Prices Impact Businesses around the Globe

November 8, 2024

A few weeks ago, we looked at how rising cocoa prices led to price increases for chocolate just before the Halloween season. The video below examines this global issue in great detail, from the struggles of cocoa farmers in Ghana to the effects of rising costs both on independent operators and major candy producers like Mars Wrigley.

Questions:

What are some of the issues affecting the livelihoods of Ghanaian cocoa farmers?
How are independent businesses like Li-Lac Chocolates responding Continue reading →

Ice Cream Trucks Struggle to Keep Sales Sweet

September 6, 2024

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Although summertime is drawing to a close and jack-o-lanterns are already starting to appear, meteorologists say that most of the country can still expect plenty of hot days to come. And when the temperature is high, there’s nothing quite like ice cream to stay cool. That’s why for nearly a century, ice cream trucks have roamed neighborhoods across the country serving customers of all ages looking to beat the heat.

In 1926 Good Humour became the first brand to Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Supply & Demand, Seasonal businesses, Marketing, Operations Management, Franchising, Product Development, Entrepreneurship

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, 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, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

Theme Parks and Retailers Get an Early Start on Halloween

September 4, 2024

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

September may have just begun, but Halloween has already arrived. The late-October holiday known for costumes and lots of candy has become an increasingly lucrative occasion for businesses like theme parks and retailers. “[Halloween] has become this time of the year that’s grown in explosive ways,” said Edithann Ramey, chief marketing officer at Six Flags. “It’s become a billion-dollar industry in the last five years.” With 45 percent of consumers saying they’ll start Halloween shopping before October this year, businesses Continue reading →

Promotions, Marketing, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Product Distribution, Halloween, Holidays, Supply & Demand, Seasonal businesses

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

What Caused Last Week’s Massive Stock Market Shift?

August 14, 2024

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

The stock market is known for its rapid rises and unpredictable falls, but last week’s brief meltdown was extreme even by those standards. When the markets opened last Monday, numbers were falling and traders were selling off their stocks in panic. Japan’s stock exchange fell more than 12 percent, the biggest plunge in 37 years. The S&P 500 — which tracks the stock performance of 500 of the largest U.S. companies — lost $1.3 trillion in value, or 3 percent, Continue reading →

Volatility, Global, Ethics, Economics, Stock Market, Securities Markets

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets

Paramount Merger with Skydance Creates New Hollywood Powerhouse

July 10, 2024

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Over the last few years, the rise of streaming video has created many problems for the old-school movie studios that once dominated Hollywood. Paramount, for instance, enjoyed more than a century of success as it produced huge film franchises like Top Gun and Mission: Impossible while owning major television networks like CBS, Nickelodeon, and MTV. But Paramount struggled as customers shifted away from movie theaters and traditional cable packages and toward streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. The company tried Continue reading →

Product Development, Management, Entertainment, Marketing, Streaming, Entrepreneurship, Product Distribution, Hollywood, Mergers, Paramount

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

[VIDEO] How Endless Shrimp Almost Sank Red Lobster

May 10, 2024

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

In the late 1990s, the seafood chain Red Lobster was one of the fastest growing restaurants in the nation as it earned billions of dollars in annual revenue from more than 700 locations. As the years went by, though, poorly planned promotions and wider economic factors took their toll on the company. This video looks at how the pandemic and an endless shrimp promotion brought Red Lobster to the brink of bankruptcy.

Questions:

How did Red Lobster’s endless shrimp promotion Continue reading →

Supply & Demand, Inflation, Pandemic, Marketing, Product Development, Social Media, Promotions, Pricing, Product Distribution, Food & Drink

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, 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

Unimpressive Instacart Debut Decreases Confidence in IPOs

September 22, 2023

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For years, going public on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq was the culmination of a longtime dream for many companies. After all, initial public offerings (IPOs) gave stakeholders a good chance to get rich quick while also bringing in new capital to expand their businesses even further. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for the last 18 months as rising inflation and growing economic uncertainty has created a poor environment for IPOs. In recent weeks, though, several Continue reading →

Global, Interest Rates, Ethics, IPO, Inflation, Stock Exchange, Instacart, Regulation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

How Some New Yorkers Earn Six Figures by Walking Dogs

January 25, 2023

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

When Bethany Lane moved to New York City after graduating from college, she immediately looked for ways to make money in her expensive new home. “I had to pay my rent and student loans, so I went on Craigslist,” she said. “I saw that somebody would pay me to walk dogs. As an animal lover who is obsessed with dogs, it was perfect.” The job worked out so well that by 2014 Lane founded Whistle & Wag, a boutique pet Continue reading →

Pricing, Pets, Supply & Demand, Marketing, Pandemic, Entrepreneurship, Sole Proprietorship

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price

Ticketmaster Buckles under the Pressure of Taylor Swift Tour

November 18, 2022

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Last month Taylor Swift released her 10th album Midnights, which shocked the recording industry by selling the equivalent of 1,578,000 copies. Songs from the album also occupied every slot of Billboard’s Top 10 singles chart, the first time in history that an artist has achieved this feat. Needless to say, anticipation for Swift’s upcoming tour grew to massive proportions on the eve of a pre-sale event planned for earlier this week. Ticketmaster established a Verified Fan program to keep Continue reading →

Marketing, Promotions, Ethics, Entertainment, Regulation, Music, Product Distribution, Monopolies, Supply & Demand

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Adidas Cuts Ties with Kanye West

October 26, 2022

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

A few weeks ago, we looked at the sprawling global sneaker industry and how companies like Adidas earn billions annually thanks in large part to their unique brand partnerships. The German sneaker giant’s most profitable celebrity connection over the years has been with Kanye West (now known as Ye), with whom Adidas has collaborated on the Yeezy line of shoes and clothing for nearly a decade. This partnership has been hugely profitable: one data research firm estimates that Yeezy is Continue reading →