business history

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• 5/3/2020
  

  Robots Don't Catch the Coronavirus

  by Alan Singer

  Companies have used federal funding in previous crises for selfish, rather than public, ends. In the COVID-19 crisis some are using bailout funds to make jobs permanently disappear. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  4/18/2020
  

  As Amazon Rises, So Does the Opposition

  Ms. Mitchell is 47, a historian by training. But her real role is the strategist of the demise of Amazon as we know it.

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• 3/27/2020
  

  "Rogue" Manufacturing in China: Past and Present

  by Eugenia Lean

  As China’s economic power grows, global intellectual property might end up looking more and more like the Chinese tradition of shanzhai in the future.

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• SOURCE: Harvard Business Review
  3/16/2020
  

  What Democracy’s History Tells Us About Its Future

  In an email exchange hosted by the Harvard Business Review, Professor of Business Rebecca Henderson and Professor of History Jill Lepore discussed capitalism’s role in an increasingly populist world.

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  2/6/20
  

  The Risky Dream of the Fast Food Franchise

  by Marcia Chatelain

  Americans have long pinned economic hopes on fast-food chains. And where there are hopes, there are scams.

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• SOURCE: Tom Dispatch
  11/10/19
  

  The Greatest Scam in History

  by Naomi Oreskes

  Scientists working on the issue have often told me that, once upon a time, they assumed, if they did their jobs, politicians would act upon the information. That, of course, hasn’t happened. Why?

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• 11/3/19
  

  Citibank: Exploiting the Past, Condemning the Future

  by Alan Singer

  To celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2011, Citibank published a book celebrating its history. Despite the book's heft, glossy photographs, and celebratory tone, Citibank and its forbearers definitely did not strive to make the world a better place.

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• 10/22/19
  

  The Internet At 50: How the Dot-Com Bubble Burst

  by Harlan Lebo

  As a cautionary tale and a business school lesson about irrational investor expectations, no modern example proved better than the dot-com bubble.

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• 9/8/19
  

  Beyond the Vote, The Suffragists Helped Launch Modern Business Franchising

  by Jane R. Plitt

  We should also acknowledge the role of the suffrage movement in supporting the launch of modern franchising begun by Martha Matilda Harper in 1891.

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• 5/26/19
  

  Leadership and Mimicry: What Plutarch knew about Elizabeth Holmes

  by Jeffrey Beneker

  In business and in politics, philosophers and reporters tell us that no one can hide deficiencies in character forever.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  5/4/19
  

  Men Invented ‘Likability.’ Guess Who Benefits.

  by Claire Bond Potter

  It was pushed by Madison Avenue and preached by self-help gurus. Then it entered politics.

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/27/19
  

  Selling Condoms or Pet Food? An Unexpected Bible of Million-Dollar Opportunities

  Since 1873, the City of New York has put out a daily paper that is essential reading for those who want to do business with the city.

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• SOURCE: PBS
  Accessed 4/25/19
  

  Video of the Week: New Documentary ‘Boss’ Explores Black Business in America

  The PBS film features stories from a number of African-American entrepreneurs, including several Chicagoans who played key roles in various industries, from journalist Ida B. Wells to publisher John H. Johnson.

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• SOURCE: Truth Out
  3/21/19
  

  Cigarettes Are Central to the History of Corporate Power

  In Cigarettes, Inc.: An Intimate History of Corporate Imperialism, author Nan Enstad reveals how the definitive moments in the expansion of corporate power took place through one of the deadliest commodities.

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• SOURCE: NPR
  3/20/19
  

  Boeing Brings 100 Years Of History To Its Fight To Restore Its Reputation

  Analysts expect Boeing to weather this storm. The company has certainly survived other rough patches in its century-long history.

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• 3/10/19
  

  Lessons from Studying Corporate History and the Case of IBM

  by James W. Cortada

  And what it can teach us about the longevity of corporations. 

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  2/24/19
  

  Seven Black Inventors Whose Patents Helped Shape American Life

  Garrett Morgan created an improved gas mask. Marie Van Brittan Brown patented a home security system. Lonnie Johnson dreamed up the Super Soaker.

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• Meet Annie Turnbo Malone, the hair care entrepreneur Trump shouted out in his Black History Month proclamation

  She became a millionaire after giving Madam C.J. Walker her big break as a sales agent.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  2/12/19
  

  New York Needs Amazon

  by Kenneth T. Jackson

  History is clear: A city that rejects economic opportunity will lose its status as the center of the business world.

• 
• 3-31-14
  

  Business Leaders Will Have More Influence on Politics When They Shelve the "Populists are Nazis" Meme

  by Benjamin Waterhouse

  Business leaders have been comparing their opponents to Nazis -- and Communists, and socialists -- for a long time. It's never worked well for them.