Amazon - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

[VIDEO] Google and Amazon Are Now in the Oil Business

January 9, 2020

In recent years, many Silicon Valley tech firms have pledged to make sustainability a top priority. But as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft develop environmentally friendly operations, oil companies are also using their technology to extract more petrochemicals from the earth. The video below takes an in-depth look at the history of oil extraction and how modern tech companies are risking their reputations by getting involved with the fossil fuel industry.

Questions:

How does machine learning help tech companies become Continue reading →

Silicon Valley, Oil, Google, Reputation, Microsoft, Fossil Fuels, Natural Resources, Machine Learning, Amazon, Automation, Sustainability, Ethics

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, Videos

European Protesters Target Amazon on Black Friday

December 3, 2019

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Analysts at Adobe estimate that consumers spent more than $29 billion online last week between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday. Although brick-and-mortar sales rose slightly as well, e-commerce sales surged to record highs as consumers increasingly turned to online retailers for their holiday shopping needs. In fact, experts predict that companies like Amazon earned as much as $9.4 billion on Cyber Monday alone.

But while Amazon enjoyed another successful start to the festive season in the U.S., the e-commerce giant Continue reading →

Global, Promotions, Ethics, Regulation, Amazon, Product Distribution, Black Friday, E-commerce, Strikes, Cyber Monday

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Deepening Discounts Cut into Retailers’ Profits

October 22, 2019

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The last couple of years have not been kind to brick-and-mortar retailers: since 2017 more than 50 companies have gone bankrupt and 21,000 locations have closed across the country. Instead of heading out to stores, many modern consumers now depend on Amazon for their shopping needs. Along with providing convenience, the e-commerce giant also offers everyday low prices as well as major sales events like Prime Day. In response, many traditional retailers have started offering deep discounts in an effort Continue reading →

Markdowns, Promotions, Retail, Pricing, Amazon, Marketing, Product Distribution, E-commerce

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

Streaming Superstar Ninja Moves to Microsoft’s Mixer

August 20, 2019

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In 2018 users on the video streaming platform Twitch watched more than 505 billion minutes of live streams, up from 355 billion minutes the previous year. At some point many of those viewers likely tuned into Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, a streamer of the video game Fortnite who once boasted more than 14 million followers on Twitch. Along with earning ad revenue and subscription money from streaming, Ninja also made millions from lucrative endorsement deals with companies like Uber Eats and Continue reading →

Product Development, Entertainment, Streaming, Entrepreneurship, Amazon, Product Distribution, Video Games, Microsoft, Twitch

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

FedEx Stops Delivering for Amazon

August 8, 2019

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A couple of weeks ago, we posted a video about the rise of rush shipping and its effect on the environment. Along with impacting the health of the planet, the recent push to deliver products as fast as possible has also altered the balance of power in the shipping industry. Over the past few years, Amazon has developed its own delivery network of trucks and planes in order to decrease its dependency on outside shipping firms. As a result, Continue reading →

E-commerce, Shipping, FedEx, Operations Management, Retail, Transportation, Amazon

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

[VIDEO] The Environmental Cost of Rush Shipping

July 26, 2019

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For major online retailers like Amazon and Walmart, few matters are more important than quickly shipping products out to customers. But while free two-day shipping has largely become the norm in e-commerce, all those packages moving across the country can have a major impact on the environment. This video looks at the ecological effects of rush shipping and how retailers could seek to limit its use in the future.

Questions:

In what ways does rush shipping harm the environment? Continue reading →

Ethics, Product Distribution, E-commerce, Shipping, Retail, Transportation, Amazon, Operations Management, Sustainability

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, 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

Photographers Take Advantage of Prime Day Pricing Error

July 19, 2019

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According to a press release from Amazon, this year’s Prime Day was the “largest shopping event in Amazon history.” Although the company didn’t release sales figures for the two-day bonanza, it claims to have sold more than 175 million items across 18 countries. Along with selling more Amazon devices than ever before, the e-commerce giant said this year’s Prime Day earned more than the past Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

During the course of all this widespread discounting, Continue reading →

Retail, Pricing, Amazon, Black Friday, E-commerce, Prime Day, Shopping Events

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

Amazon Plans to Retrain More than 100,000 Workers

July 11, 2019

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As the world’s most innovative retailer, Amazon is constantly on the look for new and improved ways to serve their customers. Adopting state-of-the-art technology often helps the company accomplish this task, but finding and identifying new types of tech is only half the battle. Amazon also needs skilled employees who can handle this ever-evolving business environment. Finding the right candidates isn’t easy, though: Amazon currently has 20,000 job openings in the U.S.

To fill these vacant positions, the e-commerce Continue reading →

Retail, Innovation, Hiring, Entrepreneurship, Amazon, Training, E-commerce, Human Resources

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] Why Amazon Is Gobbling Up Failed Malls

May 9, 2019

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Although some brick and mortar retailers are managing to thrive in the age of e-commerce, many others haven’t been able to compete against rivals like Amazon. This includes a good portion of America’s once mighty malls that now either struggle to keep tenants or have shuttered completely. In an ironic twist, however, abandoned malls are currently being purchased by Amazon and other companies to serve as product distribution centers. This video details why the location and size of Continue reading →

Amazon, Product Distribution, E-commerce, Malls, Operations Management, Facility Location, Transportation

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

Independent Bookstores Thrive in the Age of Amazon

May 3, 2019

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Starting in the late 1990s, Atlanta business owner Frank Reiss struggled to keep his small bookstore in operation. Along with the growing dominance of Amazon, he also lost much of his lucrative rare book business to the online auction house eBay. Reiss considered closing his beloved A Capella Books in the early 2000s until his father suggested that hosting events with authors could turn things around for the better. The plan worked: A Cappella sold more than 500 books Continue reading →

Amazon, Marketing, Product Distribution, Entrepreneurship, E-commerce, Bookstores, Promotions, Retail

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media