Bonus Chapter A: Business Law - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Cities Offer Huge Incentives to Amazon for New HQ

November 30, 2017

Although many retailers enjoyed a sales boost during Thanksgiving Weekend, no other company can rival Amazon’s stellar start to the holiday season. The e-commerce outlet brought in 45 percent of all online purchases on Thanksgiving along with nearly 55 percent of Black Friday’s total Internet transactions. Plus, Amazon announced that Cyber Monday was the company’s biggest sales day ever, boasting that customers had purchased “hundreds of millions of products” throughout the weekend.

Along with putting Amazon’s huge influence with customers Continue reading →

Ethics, Retail, Regulation, Amazon, Legal, Black Friday, E-commerce, Cyber Monday, Facility Location

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

U.K. Court Rules Uber Must Classify Drivers as Workers

November 17, 2017

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Since Uber’s founding in 2009, the ride-hailing service has relied on tens of thousands of drivers that it considers to be independent contractors. Although this policy has been controversial from the start, executives claim it is a vital component of the company’s historic growth rate. After all, the money that Uber saves from paying employment benefits allows it to charge lower fares. That explanation simply isn’t good enough for many critics, however, who claim the company is depriving drivers of Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, Labor Relations, Product Development, Regulation, Transportation, Startups, Uber, Legal, U.K.

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Apple Keeps Billions of Dollars Hidden in Offshore Accounts

November 10, 2017

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Even before the release of the Paradise Papers this week, Apple has faced plenty of criticism over the years for exploiting foreign loopholes to avoid paying taxes. The most prominent example of this occurred in 2013 during a Congressional inquiry of CEO Tim Cook. A Senate committee brought in the executive for questioning after they discovered Apple had hidden billions in taxable income through a series of “ghost companies” in Ireland. Cook admitted nothing, however, telling legislators, “We don’t depend Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, Regulation, Apple, Tax Avoidance, Paradise Papers

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 17: Accounting, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] What Are the Paradise Papers?

November 9, 2017

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This week a group of investigative journalists released an enormous cache of leaked documents called the Paradise Papers. Like last year’s Panama Papers incident, these records detail the offshore financial activities of some of the world’s richest people and companies. But while 2016’s leak focused mainly on the tax avoidance strategies of foreign entities, the Paradise Papers are full of names that will be familiar to Americans. The video below provides a quick overview of this complex story. Tomorrow, we’ll Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, Regulation, Legal, Offshoring, Tax Avoidance, Panama Papers, Paradise Papers

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 17: Accounting, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter D: Personal Finance, Videos

Congress Eliminates Law that Lets Consumers Sue Banks

October 31, 2017

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In the past year we’ve featured a few stories about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and how it aims to keep consumers safe from predatory business practices. From collecting consumer complaints to limiting the power of payday lenders, the CFPB was formed to put regular people on somewhat equal footing with big companies. Still, not everyone sees the relatively new government agency this way. Opponents claim the CFPB has too much power to regulate businesses, thus harming both companies Continue reading →

Ethics, Banking, Finance, Regulation, Legal, CFPB

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Lawsuits Accuse LuLaRoe of Running a Pyramid Scheme

October 27, 2017

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Since its founding in 2012, the women’s apparel seller LuLaRoe has grown into a powerful brand despite never stocking its clothes in stores. Instead, the company directly sells items to a team of independent consultants who find customers on their own. These representatives can eventually receive bonuses if they find new consultants to recruit, thus expanding the number of LuLaRoe sellers as well as customers. If you ask executives at the company, this direct selling strategy fits the mold Continue reading →

Ethics, Clothing, Legal, Product Distribution, Multi-Level Marketing, LuLaRoe

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

New Rules Seek to Limit the Power of Payday Lenders

October 10, 2017

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Each year some 12 million Americans take out a payday loan in order to get cash fast. But just because these borrowers can receive a quick injection of capital doesn’t mean they can pay it back with comparable speed. Many people who take out a payday loan end up drowning in a flood of loan fees and high interest rates. Last year alone the industry collected more than $7 billion in fees from customers. Borrowers can become so overwhelmed by Continue reading →

Ethics, Product Development, Regulation, Financing, Payday loans, CFPB

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Wells Fargo Faces More Claims of Employee Fraud

September 7, 2017

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Last year we took a close look at how Wells Fargo fostered a culture of fraud that encouraged employees to open unauthorized credit and debit card accounts for customers. Investigators at the time estimated the bank had created more than 1.5 million fraudulent accounts, leading Wells Fargo to fire thousands of employees. Further inquiries from Congress also caused the company to replace managers and roll back executive pay as part of an overhaul of its retail division. The scandal Continue reading →

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

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] What Impact Could a Remade NAFTA Have On You?

September 1, 2017

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Along with being one of the most groundbreaking trade pacts in history, the North American Free Trade Agreement is also considerably controversial. NAFTA has especially faced criticism recently, leading representatives from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to meet and discuss the future of the deal. This video looks at how NAFTA currently impacts supply chains in North America and how changes to the agreement could affect commerce.

Questions:

What do American opponents of NAFTA want to change about the deal? Continue reading →

Global, Supply chains, Product Distribution, NAFTA, Free Trade, Protectionism, North America

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Videos

Lawsuit Targets Poland Spring for False Advertising

August 24, 2017

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Last year beverage companies sold $16 billion worth of bottled water, a 10 percent increase from 2016. The drink is even more popular than soda, but it certainly isn’t a hit with everyone. Along with being a frequent target for environmentalists, critics have also accused companies of lying about the origin of the water in their bottles. In fact, that’s the basis of a class action lawsuit recently filed against Nestle’s Poland Spring brand.

According to the complaint, “Not Continue reading →

Food, Regulation, Packaging, FDA, Nestle, Bottled Water, False Advertising

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, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law