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

Low Renewable Energy Costs Encourage Companies to Go Green

April 22, 2016

In recent years companies have been under increasing public pressure to ditch fossil fuels and switch to renewable energy sources like wind or solar power. Although this idea may be easy to accept from an ethical standpoint, the high costs associated with such a drastic change have sometimes prevented companies from taking action. This excuse isn’t as reliable as it used to be, however. In the past year renewable energy prices have fallen worldwide. As a result, more companies than Continue reading →

Ethics, Texas, Sustainability, Wal-Mart, Energy, Solar Power, Wind Power, Renewable Energy, Green, General Motors

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Relies on Movie Lovers

April 21, 2016

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For many modern Americans, going to the movie theater just doesn’t hold the same appeal as in years past. After all, consumers can easily access thousands of films from the comfort of their couches. Those especially fortunate individuals enjoy their media on 70-inch, surround-sound enabled televisions, further undermining the attraction of the theater experience. With these factors in mind, last week the CEO of AMC Theaters said that the company was considering lifting its ban on texting during screenings. Internet Continue reading →

Marketing, Texas, Entertainment, Product Distribution, Movies, New Media, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, AMC Theaters

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, 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, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Etsy Eyes Expansion with Mass Produced Items

March 14, 2016

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In 2005 the website Etsy launched as an online marketplace where artisans across the country could sell their wares. The Brooklyn-based company quickly established itself as a destination for handcrafted items that shoppers wouldn’t find in any stores. As the years progressed Etsy’s army of craft sellers grew into the thousands, with women accounting for a whopping 85 percent of them. The company marked a major milestone in 2012 when it became a certified benefit corporation. By 2015 Etsy’s stock Continue reading →

Marketing, Operations Management, Ethics, Manufacturing, Product Development, Etsy, E-commerce

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, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Fast Food’s Intensifying Battle for Breakfast

March 11, 2016

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After enjoying decades of almost constant growth, the last few years have seen many fast food chains become stuck in a sales rut. Not only have consumer tastes changed dramatically, but people also have an array of affordable dining options to choose from. This increased competition has left the industry scrambling for ideas. Taco Bell took action in 2014 by introducing a breakfast menu, a move that some at the time viewed as unappetizing and desperate. The gamble worked, however, Continue reading →

Operations Management, Food, Product Development, McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Product Distribution, Breakfast

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion

China Prepares for Massive Layoffs

March 2, 2016

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For decades China’s industrial economy grew at a breakneck pace thanks to heavy investment from the state. This expansive age may be at an end, however. Over the last few years, demand for Chinese goods has dropped and its stock market has become increasingly unpredictable. Analysts say that China built up far too much manufacturing infrastructure that has now become an excessive drain on resources. As a result, last week the Chinese government announced the drastic measures it would take Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Ethics, Human Resources, Manufacturing, Labor Relations, China, Regulation, Layoffs

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, 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

Regulators Reveal Presence of Wood Pulp in Parmesan

February 24, 2016

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For many modern eaters, food doesn’t necessarily have to be healthy as long as it’s authentic. After all, people don’t eat at popular burger joints like Shake Shack because their food is more nutritious than McDonald’s. Today’s fast casual chains draw in customers by focusing on how their ingredients are genuine and sustainable rather than simply healthy. As Chipotle’s recent troubles show, though, maintaining high quality standards in the vast food industry is a lot more difficult than advertised. Not Continue reading →

Marketing, Operations Management, Ethics, Food, Product Development, Regulation, Packaging, FDA

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Working Side by Side with Adaptive Robots

February 19, 2016

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For years manufacturers around the world have taken advantage of the efficiency and speed of robotic labor. But these mechanical monstrosities aren’t polite or funny like the droids in a Star Wars movie. Instead, industrial robots are big, clunky pieces of equipment that have no regard for humans. As a result, most factories have separate rooms for robots that people are prohibited from entering. Many countries have even passed laws requiring the separation of automated and human labor. After all, Continue reading →

Operations Management, Human Resources, Manufacturing, Product Development, Automation, Robots

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Airline Profits Soar While Passenger Perks Remain Grounded

February 10, 2016

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For the airline industry, the last few decades have been more like a rollercoaster ride than a smooth flight through calm skies. Enduring consistent losses as well as the occasional bankruptcy, companies began making deep cuts to basic services in order to keep costs down. Meanwhile, airfares continued to skyrocket even as in-air amenities started disappearing. Now it finally seems like all that belt-tightening is paying off: last year the four biggest domestic carriers together earned about $22 billion in Continue reading →

Ethics, Pricing, Supply chains, Transportation, Air Travel, Oil, Southwest, United

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Innovation’s Reward and the Hoverboard

February 1, 2016

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For many inventors, creating a machine that’s functional as well as popular can feel like striking gold, even if the actual material reward for their work isn’t exactly golden. That’s the situation Shane Chen found himself in since inventing the “hoverboard,” a two-wheeled, Segway-like vehicle that doesn’t quite float but has nevertheless been flying off the shelves. Unfortunately for Chen, many consumers are buying hoverboards from companies that have not paid him for his patented design. Instead, consumers are taking Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Manufacturing, Product Development, Pricing, Innovation, China, Hoverboard

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Geotagging Fish to Prevent Fraud

June 21, 2015

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For many environmentally conscious diners, where their food comes from is almost as important as the food itself. Followers of the “farm-to-table” movement try to avoid items made on industrial-scale factory farms in favor of locally produced, organic goods. Over the years this concept has expanded from the stands at local farmers’ markets and into mainstream foodie culture. But while this concept works for farm-cultivated products like vegetables, beef and poultry, following fish from “ocean-to-table” is trickier to pull off. Continue reading →

Ethics, Food, Innovation, Fishing, Product Distribution, Shellcatch

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, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media