Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

2017 Has Been a Rough Year for Retail So Far

April 20, 2017

After losing a lot of ground during the Great Recession, today’s economic environment seems perfect for retailers looking to return to their glory days. Gas prices are low, wages are rising, and GDP has grown for the past eight years in a row. Still, even these seemingly ideal conditions can’t help this ailing industry. Nine retail chains have filed for bankruptcy in 2017, including HH Gregg and Payless. Meanwhile Macy’s, Sears, J.C. Penney and RadioShack each announced that they would Continue reading →

Retail, Amazon, Product Distribution, RadioShack, Macy's, E-commerce, Sears, Point of Sale, Autonomous Vehicles

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, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

United Airlines Causes Outrage over Passenger Removal

April 11, 2017

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On Monday morning, people across the world woke up to find a disturbing video circulating in their social media feeds. The clip showed two men forcibly grabbing a passenger out of his seat on a United Airlines flight and then dragging his body down the aisle. Blood ran down the victim’s face and fellow passengers screamed in horror. Soon the video went viral as millions of social media users directed their outrage towards United for allowing this brutal incident to Continue reading →

Air Travel, Crisis management, Ethics, United Airlines, Word of Mouth, Customer Service, Transportation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Instagram Gets Down to Business

April 7, 2017

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By the end of the year, the photo sharing app Instagram expects to earn $3 billion from ad sales. That’s a huge jump from the $60 million the social network made in 2015. In that time, Instagram has collected more than 600 million users, a number bested only by its parent company Facebook. About 8 million of these accounts belong to companies who use the platform primarily for promotion.

Soon, though, some brands will be able to develop closer relationships Continue reading →

Social Media, Instagram, Mobile, Marketing, Branding, Operations Management, Innovation

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

Major Advertisers Flee from YouTube

April 5, 2017

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Since YouTube’s founding, the video sharing site has prided itself on being a platform that anyone can use to express themselves. This concept catapulted the site to instant success and led to a $1.65 billion buyout from Google in 2006. Along with becoming one of the search engine giant’s most lucrative advertising outlets, YouTube is also the most valuable video platform on the Internet by far.

Despite this lofty status, though, major advertisers like AT&T, Lyft and Johnson & Continue reading →

Innovation, Marketing, Advertising, Ethics, Tech, Google, YouTube

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

[VIDEO] The Business of GIFs: Then and Now

April 3, 2017

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The looping animated icons known as GIFs have provided websites with a unique visual element since the dawn of the Internet. Of course, today’s GIFs do far more than just attract eyes to otherwise dull sites. People use them constantly in social media and text message conversations to express emotions that are difficult to convey with words. And as this video shows, companies like Giphy think that these moving images will soon turn into major money makers for content creators Continue reading →

Marketing, Product Distribution, Mobile, GIFs, Giphy, Branding, Promotions, Innovation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

Musicians Can Earn Big Money on Live Streaming Apps

March 31, 2017

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Even before the days of iTunes and Spotify, musicians depended heavily on the money they earned from touring to supplement their album sales. And while streaming services have recently provided a big boost of revenue for the industry, the vast majority of musicians still don’t make enough money from their recordings to earn a living. As a result, performing live is often the best option for musicians who want to see a monetary reward for their efforts.

Of course, touring Continue reading →

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Fast Food Chains Slowly Adopt Automation

March 29, 2017

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From factory floors to Wall Street financial firms, robotic labor is becoming an increasingly important part of production for many companies. And according to the head of Yum Brands, fast food could be the next industry to adopt automation on a wide scale. This week CEO Greg Creed said that robots could start replacing humans at Yum-owned chains like Pizza Hut and Taco Bell by the mid-2020s.

Other fast food companies have already begun to experiment with automation. Wendy’s, for Continue reading →

Innovation, Fast food, Automation, Operations Management, Production, Food, Robotics, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

The Startup That Lets People Crowdfund a Cow

March 17, 2017

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For many modern consumers, the origin of their food is just as important as its nutrition stats. That’s why high-end grocery stores like Whole Foods often specify which farms their meat and vegetables come from, sometimes even including detailed stories about their staff and methods. Still, even this attention to detail isn’t enough for some discerning eaters. In order to ensure they know exactly where their food comes from, these consumers can pool their resources together to purchase a cow Continue reading →

Sustainability, Product Distribution, Crowd Cow, Food, Crowdfunding, Kickstarter

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Cargo Ship Company Innovates by Returning to Wind Power

March 16, 2017

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For centuries, ships used wind-catching sails to travel all over the world. Then the steam engine arrived during the industrial age and changed maritime transportation forever. Of course, the massive engines in today’s vessels rely on petroleum for power, presenting a number of potential problems. Along with environmental issues, big tankers also cost a fortune to fuel. For instance, the Danish shipping firm Maersk Group spends $2.1 billion per year on fuel costs.

To reduce this enormous expense, the company Continue reading →

Product Distribution, Shipping, Maersk, Operations Management, Supply chains, Transportation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] How to Get 60,000 Containers Around the World in Record Time

March 2, 2017

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Supply chain management is an incredibly complex process involving dozens of companies stretched across thousands of miles. This video takes a look at the shipping firm Flexport and how they simplify “freight forwarding” for businesses transporting goods from China to the U.S.

Questions:

How does Flexport improve the process of freight forwarding?
Why is international supply chain management so complicated?

Shipping, Freight Forwarding, China, Supply chains, Transportation, Product Distribution

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos