Product Distribution - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Instagram Trails TikTok in Short-Video Market

September 20, 2022

Over the years, Instagram has attracted hundreds of millions of daily users by providing a platform for people to share pictures and videos of their family and friends. Starting in 2020, though, the social network launched Instagram Reels, a short-video feature made to rival TikTok. Although Instagram’s parent company Meta has staked much of its future on Reels, internal company documents show that the feature is not very popular with users both large and small.

For example, Instagram users Continue reading →

Marketing, Social Media, Product Development, Advertising, Instagram, Product Distribution, TikTok

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

[VIDEO] How Google Remapped the World

September 9, 2022

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Every month, more than one billion people use Google Maps to find their way around the world. The video below looks at the history of this revolutionary app since its launch 17 years ago as well as the ethical issues that come with gathering location data from millions of unknowing users.

Questions:

How do businesses use Google Maps as a promotional tool?
Do you think Google’s system of “differential privacy” provides enough protection for users’ location data? Why or why not?

Marketing, Global, Ethics, Silicon Valley, Google, Product Development, Promotions, Innovation, Product Distribution

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media, Videos

[VIDEO] How Supply-Chain Bottlenecks Shifted to East and Gulf Coast Ports

August 26, 2022

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Global supply chains have been all out of sorts since the start of the pandemic, but for the most part traffic and delays have been isolated to ports on the Pacific. As the video below explains, though, bottlenecks have now moved to East and Gulf Coast ports that are unprepared for this influx of ships and container boxes.

Questions:

What are some reasons why shipping traffic and delays have moved from Pacific ports to East and Gulf Coast ports? Continue reading →

Operations Management, Supply chains, Transportation, Product Distribution, Shipping, Supply & Demand, Pandemic

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

Airbnb Looks to Limit Unauthorized Parties

August 17, 2022

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Most people who rent rooms or houses from Airbnb use their short term rentals as home-base for a vacation or business trip, nothing too exciting or out of the ordinary. Occasionally, though, the company must deal with customers who host unauthorized gatherings, potentially leading to noise complaints and safety issues. In fact, numerous incidents of violence have occurred at Airbnb parties that got out of control, leading the company to institute a new set of policies to prevent these illicit Continue reading →

Marketing, Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Travel, Product Distribution, Airbnb

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

Warner Bros. Scraps Release of Batgirl

August 3, 2022

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Last year, the movie studio Warner Bros. announced that it was working on a slate of films created specifically for the streaming service HBO Max. Among these titles was Batgirl, whose budget ballooned to more than $90 million after completing most of the film. But rather than release this star-studded adaptation of a DC Comics character, Warner said yesterday that the movie would never stream online nor would it ever appear in theaters.

Along with ditching Batgirl, Continue reading →

Marketing, Ethics, Promotions, Entertainment, Accounting, Streaming, Advertising, Product Distribution, Movies, Hollywood, HBO Max

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Chapter 18: Financial Management

Big Tech Firms Aim to Take Over Sports Broadcasting

July 27, 2022

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Each year, media companies spend tens of billions of dollars for the rights to broadcast sporting events from professional leagues like the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. In fact, by 2024 Disney, Comcast, Paramount, and Fox are expected to spend a combined total of $24.2 billion on broadcast rights for sports, almost double what they paid ten years ago. That is, unless tech conglomerates like Apple and Google splash even more cash in an effort to expand into this Continue reading →

Marketing, Google, Sports, Branding, Promotions, Entertainment, Television, NFL, Product Distribution, Apple

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

[VIDEO] Why Tech Stocks Are Dropping

June 24, 2022

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Last week, we looked at how declining stock prices are signaling to analysts that an economic recession could be on the horizon. This video looks at how the recent downturn has been especially grim for tech companies, whose shares are down significantly due to rising interest rates and global instability.

Questions:

What are some factors that have caused tech stocks to fall sharply in recent months?
How have hiring decisions by companies like Facebook contributed to the tech stock downturn

Securities Markets, Supply chains, Hiring, Product Distribution, Federal Reserve, Supply & Demand, Stock Market, Tech sector

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions, Videos

Dropping Stocks Bring Fears of Recession

June 17, 2022

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Yesterday, the S&P 500 dropped more than 3 percent, continuing a long decline for stocks despite investors’ hopes for a rally. This places the index down 24 percent from its previous highs in January, further pushing stocks into bear market territory. Stock markets turn from bulls to bears once they drop more than 20 percent from recent peaks, potentially indicating that the economy is headed towards a recession. In fact, if losses continue at this rate, the S&P could experience Continue reading →

Securities Markets, Ethics, Supply chains, Product Distribution, Federal Reserve, Recession, Supply & Demand, Stock Market, S&P 500

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 19: Securities Markets, Chapter 20: Money and Financial Institutions

[VIDEO] How Inflation Impacts U.S. Households

June 10, 2022

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Over the last year, Americans have seen prices skyrocket for everything from food to fuel, leading to higher bills and strained budgets. This video looks at how inflation has played out across the economy, from increased costs for consumer staples like meat and eggs to rising rents that are a result of low housing supplies.

Questions:

What long term economic factors have led to increased meat prices in recent months?
How has a lack of housing construction since the 2008 Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Manufacturing, Russia, Supply chains, Energy, Product Distribution, Petroleum, Ukraine, Food & Drink, Supply & Demand, Housing

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, Videos

[VIDEO] Florida Orange Growers Struggle with Dwindling Harvests

May 26, 2022

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Although the sunny state of Florida is famous for its acres of orange groves, the last few years have been stormy for citrus growers as they fight against a tree disease that damages their crops. This extensive video looks at how “citrus greening” brought on by an invasive insect has put many Florida growers out of business while others struggle to adapt to this new agricultural reality.

Questions:

How has citrus greening impacted the Florida orange industry?
What are Continue reading →

Operations Management, Global, Manufacturing, Product Distribution, Agriculture, Food & Drink

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 15: Distribution, Videos