Regulation - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

Oversaturation Leads to Casino Closings

September 30, 2014

In 1988, just two states allowed casino gambling. Today, New Jersey and Nevada are joined by more than 35 other states that have legalized casinos. Over the years, local governments across the nation promoted gambling as a way to generate additional tax revenue. Plenty of municipalities bought into the idea, leading to a rush of casino construction throughout the 1990s and 2000s.

Like so many other industries, business was good until the recession hit in 2008. Since then, not only Continue reading →

Ethics, Branding, Entertainment, Regulation, Oversaturation, Gambling

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

EU Nations Add Underground Economies to GDP

August 5, 2014

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Even though the U.S. has a gross domestic product (GDP) valued at nearly $17 trillion, that huge figure still doesn’t come close to providing a complete picture of the American economy. Each year billions upon billions of transactions go undocumented, untaxed, and ultimately unrecorded by official GDP statisticians. Whether it’s earning a few bucks by mowing a neighbor’s lawn or by selling drugs, these concealed deals all form what’s known as the underground economy.

Many economists have said that it’s Continue reading →

Financial Data, Underground Economy, Regulation, Ethics, Europe, Finance, GDP

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility

Tax Dodging Corporations Cost the U.S. Billions

August 1, 2014

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For decades big companies have done their best to avoid hefty corporate tax rates levied by Uncle Sam. The U.S. government collects 35 percent of a domestically based corporation’s income, a figure based on the entirety of the company’s worldwide revenue. This mighty bite from the bottom line leads many firms to reincorporate their companies in places like the Cayman Islands or Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is just 12.5 percent. While this process of “inversion” is entirely legal, Continue reading →

Taxes, Ireland, Cayman Islands, Global, Ethics, Regulation

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 17: Accounting, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Controversy

July 31, 2014

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Led Zeppelin’s 1971 epic “Stairway to Heaven” is widely regarded by music critics as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. It’s also been one of the most profitable. Clocking in at nearly eight minutes long, the band refused to release the song as a single, which forced fans to shell out more cash to buy the album it appeared on. When coupled with the song’s substantial royalties from radio play, “Stairway to Heaven” has earned at least Continue reading →

Entertainment, Regulation, Music, Ethics, Product Development, Copyright

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

FDA Keeps “Super Salmon” Banned

July 28, 2014

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As people become more skeptical of the ways science intrudes on the content of their food, controversial products like genetically modified crops face increasing opposition. That’s bad news for AquaBounty Technologies, a company that has been producing genetically modified salmon for more than 20 years. Called the AquAdvantage, the fish reach market size in two years rather than three. In order to engineer the salmon, scientists combine the gene of a large Chinook salmon with a gene from a fast-growing Continue reading →

Product Development, Regulation, GMOs, Fishing, Ethics, AquaBounty, Food

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 15: Distribution, Chapter 16: Place and Promotion, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

E-Cigarettes: Tobacco’s Futuristic Frontier

July 6, 2014

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Cigarettes kill more than 5.4 million people each year, a 30 percent increase over the past two decades. Although cigarette use has generally fallen in the U.S., increased use in Asia and Eastern Europe has ensured that the tobacco industry is bigger than ever. Innovation has also hit the cigarette business in the form of e-cigarettes, electronic devices that heat up liquid nicotine to a vapor that is then inhaled.

Like everything related to tobacco, e-cigarettes have been controversial since Continue reading →

Innovation, Regulation, E-Cigarettes, Ethics

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

[VIDEO] How Net Neutrality Works

July 1, 2014

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Net neutrality continues to be a hot topic for debate in Washington. Here’s a video explaining this complicated subject.

https://nyti.ms/1nRVU8i

Questions:

Should the Federal Communications Commission (FDC) continue a policy of net neutrality?

Does FCC Chairman Wheeler have a conflict of interest in this decision?

From The New York Times

Ethics, Innovation, Regulation, Security, Net Neutrality

Videos

French Law Forces Bosses to Respect Free Time

May 29, 2014

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For many working Americans, leaving the office in the early evening doesn’t necessarily mean your workday is done. Answering emails and phone calls can stretch one’s workday far past the standard five o’clock threshold. That is, unless you happen to be a consultant working in France. Under a new agreement between labor unions and corporate representatives, more than 250,000 French employees at consulting, computing and polling firms are required to “disconnect” from work once they clock out.

Under the Continue reading →

Regulation, Global, France, Ethics, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Benefits

Chapter 3: Globalization, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Rideshare Companies Combat Regulations

May 23, 2014

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Advancements in technology have allowed entrepreneurs to experiment with radical new ideas that wouldn’t have been possible even a few years ago. However, often these innovations end up disrupting established businesses that have operated the same way for years. The latest example of this phenomenon can be seen with the new wave of “ridesharing” companies like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar. Although these startups have made a splash with young, tech-enabled consumers, taxi companies and local governments don’t share the same Continue reading →

Cars, Regulation, Ethics, Transportation, Rideshare, Uber, Lyft, Product Development

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law, Bonus Chapter B: Technology and New Media

Tracking Colorado’s Legal Weed with RFID Tags

May 19, 2014

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Most state laws designate marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic that is illegal to possess, sell or consume, barring medical reasons in some states. But last year voters in Colorado and Washington elected to legalize the drug following years of lax medical cannabis legislation. While Washington lawmakers are spending a year drafting regulations for retail sale, Colorado’s legal dispensaries opened to customers aged 21 and over on January 1, 2014. Nevertheless, the Rocky Mountain State’s marijuana growers have a Continue reading →

Colorado, Ethics, Regulation, Security, Marijuana

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