Ethics - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Hours-Long Outage Adds to Issues for Facebook

October 5, 2021

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

[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

Big Tech Case Results in Split Decision

September 15, 2021

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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

FTC Inquires about Broken McFlurry Machines

September 3, 2021

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It’s a scenario that plenty of fast food fans have faced before: they pull up to the drive-thru speaker at McDonald’s and ask for their favorite frozen treat, only to hear the reply, “Sorry, but the machine is broken right now.” Responsible for about 60 percent of the chain’s desserts, the McFlurry machine is a vital asset for Golden Arches franchises across the country, even though their unreliability has become something of a running joke. Along with serving as the Continue reading →

Operations Management, Ethics, Franchising, Entrepreneurship, McDonald’s, Regulation, Product Distribution, Food & Drink, Forms of Business

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] Why Affordable Houses Are Hard to Find These Days

August 27, 2021

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Across the country housing prices are skyrocketing to record highs, effectively pricing millions of people out of buying their first homes. This video looks at how this lack of supply in the face of soaring demand can be attributed partly to American zoning laws, which can have the cumulative effect of raising housing costs for everybody.

Questions:

How have American zoning laws contributed to the current lack of affordable starter homes?
Do you think zoning laws against multi-family housing Continue reading →

Ethics, Real Estate, Product Development, Demographics, Product Distribution, Supply & Demand, Housing

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Videos

Cotton Tote Bags Come with a Big Environmental Cost

August 26, 2021

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For years now, many consumers have made an effort to cut down on their use of plastic bags by relying on cotton totes instead. Along with being better for the environment than non-biodegradable, single-use plastic, cotton bags can also serve as walking billboards for any organization that places their logo upon them. As a result, these totes can be spotted in stores the world over, emblazoned with branding from supermarkets, magazines, charities, and radio stations.

But while cotton bags Continue reading →

Marketing, Ethics, Manufacturing, Product Development, Sustainability, Product Distribution

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

Large Companies Overtook Smaller Rivals during Pandemic

August 17, 2021

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The economic disruptions of the past year and a half caused small businesses to lose an average of 11 percent of their revenues. This was not the case for the globe’s big corporations, though. According to a McKinsey study of 5,500 “big, highly productive” U.S. and European companies, all surveyed firms reported that they experienced no declines in sales during the pandemic.

Although large companies had already been overtaking their smaller rivals before 2020, economists say that the pandemic widened Continue reading →

Global, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Regulation, Product Distribution, Supply & Demand, Antitrust, Corporations

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 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] How Scarlett Johansson’s Disney Lawsuit Could Change Actor Pay

August 13, 2021

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Last week, we looked at how Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney alleging that Black Widow’s premiere on the company’s streaming platform deprived the movie star of income. The video below dives into further detail about how this upcoming legal battle could set the stage for big changes in Hollywood as on-screen talent looks to grab a piece of the increasingly important streaming market.

Questions:

How could Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney potentially transform actor compensation in Continue reading →

Ethics, Labor Relations, Compensation, Entertainment, Streaming, Product Distribution, Movies

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Disney Faces Movie Star Lawsuits for Streaming Premieres

August 3, 2021

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For decades, Hollywood’s top movie stars have brokered contracts that grant them a percentage of a film’s box office earnings in addition to their multi-million dollar salaries. Then the pandemic hit last year and completely upended the industry’s long-established practice of premiering movies in theaters. Instead, studios like Disney and Warner Bros. released new titles through the streaming platforms Disney+ and HBO Max as $30 single-viewing rentals.

Once theaters began to reopen in 2021, studios combined both of these Continue reading →

Ethics, Compensation, Entertainment, Streaming, Disney, Product Distribution, Movies, Marvel, Movie theaters

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Spread of Delta Variant Complicates Companies’ Office-Return Plans

July 28, 2021

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Yesterday, the CDC announced that vaccinated Americans should once again wear masks in indoor public places. This reversal of course from guidelines established just two months ago comes as the Delta variant spreads across the country. As a result, companies that intended to bring their employees back into the office in the coming months are now reconsidering their reopening plans.

For instance, Apple hoped to bring staff back into its corporate offices by September but have now pushed that Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Ethics, Human Resources, Office Culture, Coronavirus, Pandemic

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management