Chapter 7: Management & Leadership - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Procter & Gamble Takes on the “Tide Pod Challenge”

January 23, 2018

A few weeks ago, Tide’s official Twitter account posted a quick video of New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski talking about one of the brand’s best-selling products. While this would normally be standard procedure for a company spokesperson, the clip didn’t feature any footage of Gronk encouraging people to buy laundry detergent. Instead, he actively discourages the public from taking part in the “Tide pod challenge,” a dangerous viral dare that centers on ingesting containers of concentrated detergent. “No no Continue reading →

Management, Ethics, Social Media, Product Development, Promotions, Procter & Gamble, Crisis management, Tide

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

How Chuck E. Cheese’s Maintains Tight Control of Its Image

January 19, 2018

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Along with his animated colleagues Mickey and Jerry, Chuck E. Cheese is one of the most famous mice in American entertainment. Since 1977 he has served as the mascot for his namesake pizza chain where generations of employees have put on costumes and played the iconic rodent for children’s birthday parties. Of course, the outfit’s design has changed significantly since the company launched as “Pizza Time Theatre” more than forty years ago. But while the suit may be different, the Continue reading →

Marketing, Branding, Entertainment, Illinois, Chuck E. Cheese’s, Trademarks, Intellectual Property

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Facebook Makes Sweeping Changes to News Feed

January 16, 2018

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For Facebook’s more than 2 billion users, the News Feed serves as a gateway to what’s going on in their world. People can spend hours scrolling through the photos and videos that pop into their feeds from friends and media companies they follow. In fact, for years Facebook ensured that content posted by brands received prominent placement in the News Feeds of its users. At one point the company even developed a partnership program that allowed media firms to take Continue reading →

Marketing, Ethics, Social Media, Facebook, Product Distribution, Promotion, News Feed

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Retailers Plan for a Transformative 2018

January 2, 2018

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For many traditional retailers, 2017 was not a good year. Along with the more than 20 chains that filed for bankruptcy, established brands like Sears and J.C. Penney also announced that they’d be closing hundreds of locations. Unfortunately, the outlook doesn’t look much better for 2018. As Amazon continues to disrupt the industry by dominating e-commerce, experts predict that more bankruptcies and store closings could be on the way. “I think the early part of next year will be Continue reading →

Marketing, Clothing, Promotions, Retail, Walmart, Amazon, E-commerce

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Computer Glitch Causes a $10 Million Problem for American Airlines

December 21, 2017

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Much like this year’s Thanksgiving season, the last week of December will see record numbers of travelers hitting the road or heading to the airport for the holidays. Along with more than 97 millions drivers, AAA estimates that some 6.4 million people will fly to their destinations. Due to a computer glitch, however, thousands of passengers who booked flights with American Airlines nearly missed out on being a part of this massive crowd of travelers.

The company’s problems came Continue reading →

Unions, Labor Relations, Compensation, Transportation, Travel, Vacation, American Airlines

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Chipotle Encounters Setbacks on Its Road to Recovery

October 26, 2017

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In 2015 the popular burrito chain Chipotle faced a crisis so large that some wondered if the company would ever recover. Towards the end of the year, stories about norovirus outbreaks originating from Chipotle restaurants became national news. People were shocked to learn how this supposedly safe and sustainable place to eat had poisoned hundreds of people with tainted produce. Soon Chipotle’s stock price dropped and its sales plummeted, leading many in the company to worry that its reputation Continue reading →

Management, Ethics, Food, Product Development, Branding, Chipotle, Natural Disasters

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Uncategorized

Lack of Growth Convinces Lego to “Reset”

October 3, 2017

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The last decade has been a good one for the Danish company Lego. After surviving a brush with bankruptcy in 2004, the famous toymaker regrouped and pursued an aggressive sales strategy focused on creating popular product lines. The plan worked as brands like Lego Architecture and the Mindstorms series attracted thousands of fans both young and old. By 2010 profits had quadrupled from the same time two years before. The company has since released two hit movies while continuing to Continue reading →

Management, Product Development, Innovation, Lego, Toys

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price

Big Companies Start to Leave the Suburbs

August 3, 2017

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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 →

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

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 →

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

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 →

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