Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Lumber Liquidators Comes up Short

April 2, 2015

To many amateur investors, a company that brings in more than $1 billion in annual sales would seem like a pretty safe bet. But these numbers didn’t impress Wall Street hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson when he noticed them in a report about Lumber Liquidators. From his professional perspective, this small flooring retailer should not have been enjoying such large profit margins. Suspecting that the company was cutting corners in some way, he advised his clients to sell the company Continue reading →

Regulation, Product Distribution, Lumber Liquidators, Ethics, Manufacturing, Product Development, Finance

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

The Motor City’s Burgeoning Bike Business

March 17, 2015

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With Detroit officially out of bankruptcy, business leaders and entrepreneurs are looking to the city’s mighty manufacturing past as an example for its future. After all, Detroit is full of old factories that can be fixed up and rented out cheaply. But it’s not just carmakers who are flocking back to the Motor City: over the last several years at least seven bicycle manufacturers have set up shop in the area as well.

Some of these bike builders rent small Continue reading →

Innovation, Cycling, Detroit, Entrepreneurship, Manufacturing, Product Development

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price

The Manufacturing Possibilities of 3D Printing

March 15, 2015

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As a metal products manufacturer for more than 125 years, Alcoa is constantly searching for new ways to improve its efficiency. After all, the New York-based industrial company makes enormous products that can sometimes take years to finish. For instance, Alcoa’s most in-demand items are gas turbines, or the gigantic engines that power planes for Boeing and Airbus. Able to withstand temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the turbines must be developed and tested for more than a year before Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Alcoa, 3D Printing, Manufacturing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Success and Failure in India’s Tricky Marketplace

February 13, 2015

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With a consumer pool of more than one billion people, India has become the next big expansion destination for companies around the world. While some businesses are still working the bugs out of their strategies for the subcontinent, other operations have hit the ground running and quickly grabbed up market share. Domino’s, for instance, now sells more pizza in India than anywhere else besides the U.S. thanks to its savvy combination of local and Western tastes. On the other hand, Continue reading →

India, Global, Product Development, Entrepreneurship, Retail, Domino’s

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 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

China Cracks Down on Knockoffs

February 7, 2015

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As the world’s manufacturing superpower, China is home to thousands of factories producing millions of items each day. Keeping track of all that industrial output is far from easy, though. With little oversight to monitor them, some Chinese factories make knock-off or simply poor quality products, and then sell them to retailers as if they were up to standard.

While pirated items are mainly a headache for the company that gets ripped off, products made cheaply or without regard for Continue reading →

Ethics, Regulation, Manufacturing, Product Distribution, Knockoff products, Product Development, Global, China

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

The Golden Arches Begin to Rust

January 7, 2015

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For decades it seemed like nothing could stop McDonald’s march towards total fast food domination. By the time 2011 rolled around, the company was boasting eight consecutive years of same-store sales growth while also holding the title of top performing stock on the Dow for five years running. But just when everything seemed to be going right for the chain, the golden arches started to lose their shimmer. Changing consumer tastes and a rocky transition between CEOs are leading towards Continue reading →

Marketing, Product Development, Food, Branding, Promotions, Pricing, McDonald’s, Demographics

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

Ivory Soap Could Finally Sink

October 31, 2014

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The multi-billion dollar home goods company Procter & Gamble produces hundreds of items, but the iconic business owes much of its success to just one brand. More than 135 years ago, James Norris Gamble led a team that created a vegetable oil-based soap with a distinctly white hue. The color presented the company with the perfect brand name, Ivory, while the item’s ability to float provided a unique selling point. What’s more, Gamble advertised the bar of soap as being Continue reading →

Health, Procter & Gamble, Ivory Soap, Product Development, Branding, Product Lines

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price

The Red Menace of the Apple World

October 28, 2014

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For more than 50 years, the Red Delicious has dominated the American apple market. But while no one can dispute the fruit’s famous color, many consumers have begun to take exception to the “Delicious” portion of its name. Even though the U.S. still produces 54 million bushels of Red Delicious annually, production of the fruit has dropped 40 percent since 2000 as demand for other varieties has increased.

The Red Delicious began its ascent way back in the 1870s when Continue reading →

Branding, Distribution, China, Apples, Food, Product Development

Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price

The Personalized Future of Medical Care

October 23, 2014

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Society depends so greatly on medical procedures like blood transfusions and vaccines that it can be difficult to remember that these practices have only been around for about a century. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1940s that hospitals became sophisticated enough to offer a patient better care than they could receive in their home. Since then, human life expectancy has leapt to nearly 80 years while advanced procedures like organ transplants are now common.

With so much ground broken Continue reading →

Innovation, Health, Customization, DNA Mapping

Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

The Gradual Return of American Manufacturing

September 23, 2014

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In the 1950s, more than 150 television manufacturers called the U.S. home. Today, not even component parts for TVs are produced on American soil. Still, that hasn’t stopped Wal-Mart from slapping “Assembled in the USA” stickers onto many flat screen TVs stocked in its stores. That’s because the company buys the televisions from South Carolina’s Element Electronics Corporation, which imports all their items from China.

That doesn’t mean Element is simply a middleman operation though. TVs that arrive at the Continue reading →

Global, Manufacturing, Distribution, Wal-Mart, Element Electronics

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution