Product Development - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Is Your Dog Ready to Go Meatless?

April 26, 2018

Americans spend roughly $30 billion each year on food for their dogs. As millennials have grown to be the top dog-owning demographic, they’re changing the way our furry friends eat. The growing trend, at first created for humans and now for pets, is to increase foods’ nutritional value while also keeping food sources environmentally sustainable.

American dogs are the fifth highest consumers of meat in the world. In addition, pets are responsible for 64 million tons of greenhouse gasses each Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Sustainability, Food, Synthetic Meat, Pets

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Farmers Find a New Purpose for Alpacas

April 3, 2018

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With their fuzzy frames and quizzical expressions, alpacas might be one of the world’s goofiest looking animals. Of course, these llama-like creatures have much more to offer than just their funny faces. Alpaca fleece ranks as one of the finest textile materials available, similar to sheep’s wool only warmer and without any prickliness. In the 1990s these key qualities fueled a boom in alpaca fleece production that also encouraged many Americans to purchase their own animals for breeding. Once called Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Agriculture, Economics, Marketing, Entrepreneurship

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price

How Streaming Apps Could Backfire Against TV Networks

March 29, 2018

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The runaway success of Netflix has proved to many media companies that the future of entertainment lies with streaming content. After all, why pay around $75 a month for cable when you can instantly access thousands of titles on Netflix for a fraction of the cost? This thinking has led to the creation of dozens of streaming services, ranging from big players like Hulu and YouTube TV to more specialized operations like the apps for Food Network or the WWE. Continue reading →

Innovation, Netflix, Streaming, Television, Disney, Product Distribution, Product Development, Entertainment

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

Ebook Sales Have Been Slumping since 2015

March 16, 2018

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As we saw yesterday with the sad state of Toys ‘R’ Us, the last few years have not been kind to brick-and-mortar retailers. The rise of online commerce has encouraged an increasing number of consumers to do their shopping at home, leaving many companies worried that they could be the next to go under. But while this is a new feeling for some, others like independent bookstore owners have had to deal with such fears for a long time. Continue reading →

Innovation, Product Distribution, E-commerce, Entrepreneurship, Books, Product Development, Retail

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

How a Janitor Invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

March 2, 2018

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A good idea can come from anywhere. Whether the inspiration is drawn from years of research or a sudden flash of brilliance, the best organizations know how to spot new concepts and bring them to life no matter their source. That’s why in the 1990s the then-CEO of Frito-Lay sent a video message to his employees encouraging them to speak up if they had something to contribute. “We want every worker in this company to act like an owner,” said Continue reading →

Product Development, Frito-Lay, Management, Motivation, Entrepreneurship, Food

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 14: Product and Price

Levi’s Adds Lasers to Its Production Line

March 1, 2018

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Levi Strauss started selling blue jeans more than 100 years ago to miners and farmers who appreciated how long the pants could last under tough conditions. And while today’s consumers love the distressed look that denim achieves with a lot of wear, they don’t exactly want to toil in a mine in order to scuff up their jeans properly. Instead, over the years Levi’s has done all the fraying, fading and ripping themselves in a time-consuming process. Besides taking about Continue reading →

Efficiency, Levi’s, Manufacturing, Clothing, Product Development, Automation, Production

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

[VIDEO] Smartphones Are Designed to Be Addicting

February 23, 2018

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If you’ve ever thought that you check your smartphone too much, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, the 2.5 billion people around the globe who currently own smartphones likely share the same problem as you. That’s because tech companies design their products to be as attention-grabbing as possible. Along with detailing the ways that smartphones and apps can monopolize your focus, this video also demonstrates a few techniques to limit your phone use.

Questions:

Is it ethical for tech companies Continue reading →

Mobile, Ethics, Product Development, Innovation, Smartphones

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

The Year Begins Badly for Bitcoin

February 2, 2018

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When we last looked at Bitcoin in December, the cryptocurrency’s price had skyrocketed to about $16,500 after starting the year at just $985. At its peak a couple of weeks later, a single Bitcoin became worth a whopping $19,511. The ever-increasing success of the cryptocurrency and others like it convinced some investors that the future of money was taking shape before their eyes. Many remained wary of Bitcoin’s boom, however, fearing that the bottom could fall out at any time. Continue reading →

Bitcoin, Economics, Global, Ethics, Product Development, Innovation, Currency, Regulation

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] The Meaning of Life According to Google

January 26, 2018

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More than 90 percent of global Internet searches occur on Google, making it one of the world’s most trusted sources for gathering information. Many of the questions fielded by the site can be solved with a single obvious answer, such as “When is Thanksgiving this year?” or “What is the capital of Canada?” Recently, though, the search engine has begun to provide answers for increasingly abstract inquiries concerning religion, politics, and even the meaning of life. This video takes a Continue reading →

Product Development, Innovation, Product Distribution, Ethics, Google

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

To Reach Amateur Ballerinas, An Entrepreneur Appeals to Professionals

January 25, 2018

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As one might expect from a centuries-old art form, the world of ballet doesn’t adapt to change all that quickly. For instance, many ballerinas depend on a type of pointe shoe designed more than 100 years ago consisting of paper, glue and fabric. While this style is certainly reliable, it can also create a great amount of discomfort or even injury for dancers. After all, the “pointe” in the shoe’s name refers to the ballerina’s need to stand readily on Continue reading →

Promotions, Marketing, Entertainment, Social Media, Innovation, Ballet, Product Development

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media