Home - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Airlines Make Business Class Even Classier

March 24, 2015

Although business-class seats only take up a few rows on an airplane, the money they bring in accounts for 30 percent of global airline revenues. As a result, many upscale air carriers have upgraded their premium cabins with increasingly posh amenities. Emirates’ double decker Airbus, for instance, has a bar onboard where first-class passengers can meet and mingle. And on Singapore Airlines premium customers have a menu of more than 60 gourmet dinners available to choose from.

But while the Continue reading →

Qantas, Air Travel, Transportation, Innovation, Product Development, Benefits

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price

Getting Drones Airborne for U.S. Companies

March 18, 2015

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Much of the American public has been familiar with unmanned aircraft for years due to the military’s continued and controversial use of drone strikes in the Middle East. However, just recently consumers have been introduced to drones that differ greatly from the grey behemoths that haunt the skies of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sales of these small models have surged as everyone from filmmakers to farmers find a use for the flying machines. In fact, over the last two years the Continue reading →

Product Development, Ethics, Global, Innovation, Drones, Regulation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, 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 →

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

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

Inside the Guts of Macy’s Herald Square

March 15, 2015

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At Macy’s flagship store, it takes a lot of action behind the scenes to keep this iconic retailer running smoothly.

https://nyti.ms/1wUBqAl

Questions:

What utilities are critical to Macy’s success in the retail market?

Why is the women’s shoe department at Macy’s such a massive size?

From The New York Times

Macy's, New York, Retail, Operations Management

Videos

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 →

3D Printing, Alcoa, Innovation, Product Development, 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

Changing the Way Offices Use the Phone

March 12, 2015

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These days, any office must have a unified communications system in place in order to compete. Years ago this could have been accomplished by installing a series of linked landline phones with conference call capabilities. Now, however, services like Google Voice allow users to ditch their landlines and receive calls directly on their smartphones. Companies currently spend as much as $75 billion per year on Internet voice systems. This figure is expected to increase as disruptive startups take unified communications Continue reading →

Mobile, Innovation, Product Development, Silicon Valley, Human Resources, Management

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Vetting Potential Hires with Personality Tests

March 10, 2015

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For many companies recruiting new employees, a traditional one-on-one interview only tells part of a potential hire’s story. Some small businesses simply don’t have time to hold deep conversations with interviewees: one family-owned car wash in Kentucky said that it receives more than 1,000 applications each year.

In order to streamline its hiring process, Finish Line Car Wash turned to a personality assessment company called PeopleClues. The service’s 30-minute online test gives applicants a series of statements and then asks Continue reading →

Human Resources, Labor Relations, Innovation, Hiring, Data Mining

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

American CEOs Earn Millions from Retirement

March 6, 2015

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In 2013 CEO compensation at the nation’s largest companies grew to 204 times higher than the salary of the average worker, a 20 percent increase since 2009. But the enormous wages paid to American executives is far from the only financial perk they receive. Along with inflated salaries, CEOs also enjoy lucrative retirement plans that can see them net tens of millions at the end of their careers.

For instance, Gregg Steinhafel recently stepped down as CEO of Target Continue reading →

Benefits, Compensation, Human Resources, Retirement, CEO, Target, Ethics, Management

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

The New Walmart Wage Plan

March 3, 2015

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For years, Walmart has been criticized for not adequately sharing its success with its employees. After all, the retailer is not only the largest private employer in the U.S. but also the largest retail chain in the world. With so much capital at its disposal, critics have long argued that Walmart has enough resources to spend on its staff. And now at long last it appears the retailer agrees. Last month Walmart announced a plan that will raise the wages Continue reading →

Human Resources, Ethics, Minimum Wage, Walmart, Labor Relations, Compensation, Retail

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management

How to Make an Oscar Statue

March 1, 2015

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This video shows how one factory handcrafts each Oscar statue before Hollywood’s biggest night.

Questions:

Does R.S. Owens Company use a continuous or intermittent manufacturing process?

What type quality control process does R.S. Owens use in producing Oscars?

From CNN Money

Manufacturing, Academy Awards, Movies, Entertainment, Product Development

Videos

Airlines Make Business Class Even Classier

The Motor City’s Burgeoning Bike Business

Inside the Guts of Macy’s Herald Square

The Manufacturing Possibilities of 3D Printing

Changing the Way Offices Use the Phone

Vetting Potential Hires with Personality Tests

How to Make an Oscar Statue

CHAPTER INDEX

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