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Southwest Airlines Suddenly Cancels more than 2,000 Flights

October 13, 2021

Last month, we looked at how air travel has become so complicated during the pandemic that people are turning to travel agents to make sense of the mess. But not even the most experienced agents could have prepared Southwest passengers for the problems that many encountered this past weekend. On Saturday the carrier cancelled more than 1,000 flights and then another 800 on Sunday, followed by 360 more cancellations and close to 1,000 delayed flights on Monday. Southwest apologized for Continue reading →

Global, Supply chains, Transportation, Travel, Product Distribution, Labor Shortage, Supply & Demand, Airlines

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 15: Distribution

[VIDEO] Why China’s Evergrande Has Global Markets on Edge

October 8, 2021

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For weeks, stock markets across the globe have become increasingly volatile as investors await the fate of Evergrande, an enormous Chinese real estate company with more than $300 billion in debt. Analysts predict that the property developer will not be able to pay back what it owes, which would likely have damaging ripple effects across the global economy. The video below looks at Evergrande’s current debt debacle and the possible ways that this situation could be resolved.

Questions:

Why are Continue reading →

Economics, Global, Ethics, Real Estate, China, Corporate bailouts, Stock markets, Debt crisis, Credit crunch

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Videos

Restaurants Look to Improve Their Outdoor Dining Options this Winter

October 7, 2021

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When summer came to a close last year, restaurants across the country scrambled to keep diners eating outdoors even as the weather turned cold. This led to improvised setups with shelters and gas heaters that sometimes brought about more problems than they solved. For example, every night Ellen Yin’s restaurant in Philadelphia would burn through more than 10 propane tanks for their heat lamps, with staff often changing the tanks throughout the evening. “A couple of times I went to Continue reading →

Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Promotions, Product Distribution, Restaurants, Food & Drink, Coronavirus, Pandemic, Infrastructure investment

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, 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

Hours-Long Outage Adds to Issues for Facebook

October 5, 2021

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More than 3.5 billion people around the world communicate through Facebook and its collection of apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Oculus. But for about six hours yesterday, no one was using these platforms as Facebook disappeared from the Internet. Company representatives said that this outage occurred when “backbone routers that coordinate network traffic” failed and brought services completely to a halt. The total shutdown meant that Facebook could not remotely reset its network, requiring it to send out a Continue reading →

Marketing, Operations Management, Global, Ethics, Social Media, Regulation, Facebook, Product Distribution, Antitrust

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, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Continuing Supply Chain Problems Lead to Price Increases

October 1, 2021

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For months, supply chains across the globe have become highly disrupted due to a multitude of factors related to the pandemic. From closed factories and clogged ports to a shortage of shipping containers, supply chain snags are harming small businesses and could possibly affect the flow of goods during the Christmas season. And in the immediate term, shipping issues are contributing to rising inflation which then leads to price increases, something that has been felt by consumers across Continue reading →

Economics, Operations Management, Global, Manufacturing, Supply chains, Product Distribution, Supply & Demand, Coronavirus, Pandemic

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution

In-Office Employees Continue to Zoom All Day

September 29, 2021

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

At the beginning of the year, the widespread distribution of Covid vaccines gave many companies the confidence to start plotting their triumphant returns to office life. Then the spread of the delta variant largely thwarted these plans as firms brought back just a fraction of the staffers they had intended to. And for those few employees who returned to offices, most are still doing the same thing that they’ve done since March 2020: Zoom meetings.

For example, Nick Kneer Continue reading →

Motivation, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Telecommuting, Coronavirus, Organizational Culture, Pandemic, Office environment, Zoom

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] How a New Generation of Card Enthusiasts Are Transforming a Market

September 24, 2021

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Over the course of the pandemic, sports card trading has transformed from a niche hobby to a booming market as people started turning old collections into big money. This video looks at how appraisal companies and online trading platforms have changed collecting forever while attracting the interest of Wall Street investors in the process.

Questions:

How did sports card collecting transform from a fading hobby into a lucrative and vibrant market?
Do you think the market for cards will Continue reading →

Marketing, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Sports, Entertainment, Product Distribution, Supply & Demand, Stock Market, Securities

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Videos

Restaurants Reconsider Wage Structures after Employee Shortage

September 23, 2021

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Since the widespread restaurant shutdowns of 2020, workers have steadily started to leave the food service industry, many for good. Along with the dangers of working in public during a pandemic, employees also found that some customers at reopened restaurants tended to tip less while others responded aggressively to mask rules. As a result, eateries across the country have nearly one million fewer filled positions than they did before the pandemic, amounting to an 8 percent decrease. And in a Continue reading →

Human Resources, Labor Relations, Hiring, Restaurants, Recruitment, Food & Drink, Supply & Demand, Coronavirus, Pandemic

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions

Crocs Return to Fashion and Switch to Bio-Based Ingredients

September 17, 2021

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Crocs clogs debuted in 2002 and quickly became a hit with consumers who wanted colorful and leisurely sandals to wear around the house. But soon backlash began to build against this funky foam footwear, as Time magazine in 2010 named Crocs one of the worst inventions ever. Then the pandemic descended on the world and many people stuck in their homes suddenly realized the benefits of wearing inexpensive and comfortable clogs. As a result, Crocs expects sales to increase by Continue reading →

Management, Marketing, Manufacturing, Product Development, Sustainability, Crocs, Coronavirus, Pandemic, Greenwashing

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Big Tech Case Results in Split Decision

September 15, 2021

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Over the last year, Apple has been engaged in a legal battle with Epic Games, the software developer behind the blockbuster video game Fortnite. The company sued Apple after the tech giant removed the mobile version of Fornite from its App Store, alleging that Epic encouraged customers to purchase the game on different platforms. Apple claimed that this prevented it from collecting the commission it earns on every sale through the App Store, which Epic then accused of being anti-competitive Continue reading →

Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Silicon Valley, Regulation, Legal, Apple, Monopolies, Antitrust

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Southwest Airlines Suddenly Cancels more than 2,000 Flights

In-Office Employees Continue to Zoom All Day

[VIDEO] How a New Generation of Card Enthusiasts Are Transforming a Market

Restaurants Reconsider Wage Structures after Employee Shortage

Crocs Return to Fashion and Switch to Bio-Based Ingredients

Big Tech Case Results in Split Decision

CHAPTER INDEX

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