Global - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Ford Goes Global with New Subcompact Car

January 23, 2014

As emerging markets like India and Brazil continue to grow, more and more of their citizens will enter the middle class. This relatively untapped consumer group presents plenty of lucrative opportunities for companies across the globe. However, finding the right products to sell to this expanding class is not so simple, even for companies operating in their home countries. For instance, Tata Motors launched its ultra-cheap Nano model as an introductory vehicle for Indian consumers. But with a price tag Continue reading →

Manufacturing, Product Development, Cars, Transportation, Marketing, Ford, Global, Tata

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Who Does the U.S. Owe Money To?

November 1, 2013

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In the fall of 2013 the U.S. came perilously close to defaulting on its debt. Already reeling from a two-week government shutdown, lawmakers were able to come together at the eleventh hour to raise the debt ceiling through February 7, 2014. If it had failed to do so, then for the first time in history the U.S. would have been unable to pay the interest on Treasury bonds. This would have sent global markets into disarray while almost certainly setting Continue reading →

China, U.S. Debt, Debt ceiling, Government shutdown, Economics, Global

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions

Manufacturers Make Do with Old Equipment

October 6, 2013

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As American manufacturing continues to improve, news reports about industry inevitably focus on the technological advances that drive many modern facilities. But not all of the nation’s factories are teeming with robots and high-powered computer systems. Due to razor thin operating budgets, a number of plants across the country use the same machinery they’ve relied on for decades. For instance, an Alcoa plant in Cleveland still presses aluminum alloys with a 50,000-ton forging machine that arrived on American soil from Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Manufacturing, Alcoa, Factory Equipment

Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management

How Foreign Investment Helps Emerging Nations

September 14, 2013

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For emerging economies, investment from foreign powers has long been a contentious topic. In fact, as recently as last year protestors lined the streets of India’s major cities against a series of reforms designed to open the country’s retail sector to foreign direct investment (FDI). The laws would allow companies like Wal-Mart and Tesco to buy up to 51% stakes in local businesses. The proposed reforms inflamed the fears of many Indians who felt that the economy would become Continue reading →

Walmart, Global, Brazil, India, Finance, Foreign Direct Investment, Developing Nations

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 18: Financial Management, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions

Chinese Tourists Spend Big Abroad

July 17, 2013

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China’s surging economy has provided its citizens with a constellation of benefits that would have been scarcely imaginable even a decade ago. But of all China’s consumer-enabled freedoms, the opportunity for worldwide travel perhaps represents the nation’s biggest leap into modernity. After all, Chinese tour groups were forbidden from traveling to the U.S. until 2007. The following year, 493,000 Chinese tourists flooded America. That number has since grown to more than a million visitors annually. But that’s nothing compared to Continue reading →

Tourism, Global, Ethics, Retail, China

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility

Pepsi Expands Its Russian Empire

July 15, 2013

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Throughout Pepsico’s history, one thing has remained constant: the company’s flagship soft drink has always played second fiddle to chief competitor Coca-Cola. Known by name by billions throughout the world, Coke is not only the gold standard of soft drinks, but of branding in general. Although Pepsi and its umbrella of products certainly command a fair market share, Coca-Cola’s continued worldwide dominance is all but assured at this point.

Except in Russia, that is. Pepsi was one of the first Continue reading →

Product Lines, Global, Pepsi, Food, Russia, Snacks, Product Development

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

How to Make the Most of Employees’ Personalities

July 12, 2013

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First days on the job tend to be stressful. Not only must fresh hires learn the names of a litany of new colleagues, they may also be required to endure often boring orientation sessions. In corporate environments especially, these standardized introductory rituals teach new hires to tone down their own personalities in order to conform to the company’s way of doing things. While this is likely an efficient way to acclimate employees to the job, new studies show that Continue reading →

Global, Zappos, Training, Human Resources, India, Employee Empowerment, Customer Service

Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions

Luring Entrepreneurs with Special Visas

July 10, 2013

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In the business world, companies aren’t the only ones who are concerned with attracting top tier talent. Governments, too, have a vested interest in either retaining their most skilled individuals or attracting the best from elsewhere. After all, an innovative and educated workforce can only sustain itself by remaining desirable to other capable candidates. For countries like India, this means keeping doctors and engineers local so they can help a homeland in need rather than travel abroad for greater fortunes. Continue reading →

Global, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Venture Capital, Immigration, Canada

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

How Accurate Is GDP?

July 6, 2013

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In today’s modern economy, statistics are supreme. GDP, unemployment and interest rates all play dominant roles in the allocation of the government’s budget. No spending bill can hope to pass into law without a battery of statistics and figures charting how such legislation will benefit the country. But just how accurately do those numbers reflect the world we live in?