Business Operations

Business Operations contains articles related to business accounting and operating procedures. Ready to go inside the world of finance and operations?

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Whether you are an employee or a small business owner, it can be helpful to calculate the number of working days in a year. Most people are familiar with the total number of days in a year: 365. But how many of those days are working days?

By Zach Taras

Malls in America can be massive enough to contain hotels, ice rinks and even aquariums, in addition to the usual shops and restaurants. Here are 10 of the biggest shopping malls in the U.S.

By Jesslyn Shields

The Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement started in Japan but is used around the world. So, how do companies put it into practice? And how does it differ from Six Sigma and Lean?

By Dave Roos

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Nowadays, it seems that U.S. consumers are being asked to shell out more in tips and service charges than ever before. But is there a difference between the two?

By Dave Roos

You can open a can with a can opener, but a can with a pull tab is even easier to open. So, why don't more cans come with pull tabs?

By Dave Roos

If that roll of toilet paper isn't lasting as long as it used to, it's not your imagination — companies are shrinking the sizes of their products while charging the same or even more. Here's why.

By Dave Roos

Amazon began disrupting logistics when it first formed in 1994 — and it's not stopping now. How does it and other e-commerce retailers get stuff to you so fast?

By Patrick J. Kiger

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A finance expert explains the anti-takeover tool that Twitter hopes will stop Elon Musk's bid to buy the company.

By Tuugi Chuluun

No doubt you've seen this in a TV comedy: Someone dining at a fancy restaurant forgets their wallet and is sent to the kitchen to work off the debt. (Naturally, high jinks ensue.) But would this happen in the real world?

By Dave Roos

When you buy most fruits and vegetables in a supermarket, you might see that they're individually tagged with a sticker and a bar code. There's a lot of information in that four-digit code!

By Patrick J. Kiger

Want to put your money where your values are this holiday season? Certified B Corporations are companies that voluntarily commit to verifiable standards of social and environmental accountability.

By Patty Rasmussen

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If you've priced out a vacation rental home on one of the popular booking sites, you might be wondering why they seem as expensive as hotels. What's behind the price increase and is it really out of line?

By Alia Hoyt

Cities across the globe are banning or limiting cruise ship traffic, while critics are challenging the resulting loss of revenue. Why do cities want them gone and is there a way to make everyone happy?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

The U.S. food supply chain has been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic, but so far, it's still functioning. How long will that last?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Independent bookstores aren't dead! The buy local, shop local, eat local movement has kicked in and people are demanding the return of small, independent businesses in a world where the giants are trying to rule.

By Dave Roos

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Which drives you crazier when on hold with a company? An endless loop of smooth jazz tunes or hearing "your call is very important" every 10 seconds? Scientists have actually studied what makes waiting on hold worse.

By Dave Roos

Is your cluttered desk a sign of creative genius or just chaos? Experts weigh in on whether either is really a true reflection of how your brain operates.

By Alia Hoyt

As more toll roads move away from cash, where does that leave drivers who don't have electronic passes? Or even exact change?

By Jesslyn Shields

In an effort to discourage food waste, some all-you-can-eat buffets are charging diners whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs.

By Chris Opfer

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A startup app called OneGo aims to find a niche as a provider of all-you-can-fly pricing for domestic air travel, for those who can afford the monthly membership.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Creating a website can be a pricey proposition for a small business. There are grants out there that can fund website development, but the competition is fierce — and the grants often come with strings attached.

By Gerlinda Grimes

Many companies that used to have dedicated business servers are now switching to cloud-based storage solutions. But cloud computing isn't for everyone, so take a few minutes to read this article before you shut down that server.

By Gerlinda Grimes

Whether you own a neighborhood coffee shop or a used car dealership that pulls in a few million, you need make sure that you're smart about your taxes (even if you hire a professional). Ready for a quick crash course?

By Julia Layton

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It seemed like a good idea when AOL merged with Time Warner. But it wasn't. Here are 10 super bad business decisions and why they seemed really great back in the day.

By Dave Roos

Sometimes, it can be more affordable to let another business handle some tasks rather than giving them to internal employees. Which jobs get outsourced most frequently?

By Chris Warren