The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same

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Walmart’s board elected a new chairman at its annual stockholders’ meeting last week. As only the third chairman in the retail giant’s history, the post was passed on to a member of the founding Walton family. Questions: 1. What type of background does Mr. Penner have that will be beneficial in this post? 2. Why… Read more »

When Will They Ever Learn?

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Bank of America (BoA) is in the news again. This time, Bank of America must pay a $30 million fine after a financial regulator found numerous violations related to the accounts of 73,000 military service members. Questions: 1. What actions did the bank take against military service members that were illegal? 2. What steps did… Read more »

A Legalized Scam?

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Most people do not shop around for title insurance when they buy a home. Instead, they usually just go to the title insurance company that the real estate agent recommends.This article highlights the problem with this model. Questions: 1. Using the fraud triangle, discuss what factors are at work in the title insurance industry. 2…. Read more »

The Hidden Costs of Beautiful Nails

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Manicures were once for special occasions only. Now they have become a staple for women across the economic spectrum. With more than 17,000 nail salons in the United States, there are about 2,000 nail salons in New York City alone. This New York Times research article looks at the dirty little secret of exploitation of… Read more »

Schedules: The Next Labor Fight

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While the minimum wage issue has come to the top of political agendas over the past few years, it appears that the new frontier in labor reform will be schedules and pushing back against the corporate trend to time shifts when labor is needed. Questions: 1. What are some of the requirements that proponents hope… Read more »

We Pay Top Dollar for Musicians!

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Overbuilding has led to ghost towns in China with towering rows of luxury apartments sitting completely empty, especially in smaller cities in China’s hinterlands. However, the real estate companies who now must sell these empty towns believe that filling their remote buildings with foreign faces, even for a day, suggests that the area is “international.”… Read more »

ATM Dogs: The Future or Just Plain Weird?

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Soomi Park, a futuristic artist and designer currently exhibiting at Biennale Internationale Design in France, has been intrigued with the issue of privacy, security, and mass-collection of personal data by governments and corporations. In response to the changes, her exhibit, The Republic of Privacy, focuses on an imagined utopia where citizens are guaranteed total privacy…. Read more »

Adjuncts with Ph.D.s are now Rising in the Ranks with the Working Poor

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Are academics actually resorting to government aid? According to the article by Jeremy Weissman, 25% of part-time college faculty are on government aid. Questions: 1. According to NBC News, how many part-time faculty are on public assistance? 2. What programs do these include? 3. According to the article, what are the three things that need… Read more »

How would you like a Big Raise?

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Dan Price, the founder of Gravity Systems—a credit card processing company based in Washington—shocked his employees by raising the minimum wage to $70,000 over the next three years. Questions: 1. What percentage raise will that be based on the average wage now? 2. Where did Dan get the idea? 3. Do you think that his… Read more »

Need a Repair? Need Drum Lessons?

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Need a plumber? If Amazon.com succeeds, it will soon be a very large marketplace of home services and will connect customers with electricians, plumbers and painters in a move to have its services tied to every product sold on its website. Questions: 1. How will this change Amazon’s chart of accounts? 2. Provide three accounts… Read more »