Author Archives: bzscherpel

Spotify wrapped is rolling around the corner and if you are like thousands of listeners, you’ve been waiting for this all year. When thinking about Spotify and why it is so competitive in the music streaming industry, the biggest idea that came to my mind was its focus on user experience. If you don’t know what Spotify wrapped is, it is a one-a-year in-depth wrap-up of each user’s listening history and has become very popular over the past few years. Each year there are new features added to each user Spotify wrapped portfolio. Each user gets information on their total Continue reading Spotify Wrapped→

One of the biggest supergiants in the entertainment industry, Disney, is struggling with decreased demand for their amusement parks. It’s not only Disney’s amusement parks which are down in ticket sales, across the world people are going to amusement parks less. Disney has the highest amusement park ticket sales around the world, with Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Anaheim leading with around 17 million ticket sales per year. Disney’s amusement parks got a 2% increase in revenue but a 3% decrease in operating profit. This isn’t great for the company as they were planning to spend $60 billion over the next Continue reading Less People are Going to Disney’s Theme Parks→

When Ben & Jerry’s and Haagen Dazs were first created, there was an indivisible line drawn between Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s being that Haagen Dazs would only make smooth ice creams and Ben & Jerry’s only chunky. But this only lasted when sales were good. At one point, ice cream sales started to plummet and Haagen Dazs crossed that invisible line into chunky town which caused Ben & Jerry’s to dabble in the smooth ice cream market. This led to more options for consumers and Hagen Dazs even went so far as to reduce their chunky ice cream Continue reading The Fight over Smooth and Chunky Ice Cream→

The funeral industry generates roughly 16 billion dollars of revenue in the U.S. Over the past decade, dying has become more expensive, with the average funeral costing around $9,000. More people are choosing to cremate or have a small service with less expensive caskets and burials. An entirely rational person would try to maximize value while minimizing expenses, but a rational decision-making process, especially regarding grieving the loss of a loved one, becomes quite difficult especially due to the environment of funerals. It becomes easy for funeral homes to take advantage of the emotional vulnerability families are in when planning Continue reading The Irrationality Behind Funerals→

The infamous British TV game show starring two contestants who would interact with one another to either split or steal a cash prize. It’s a prime example of the classic game of Prisoner’s Dilemma. Prisoner’s Dilemma is a game where two contestants can either work together to share an outcome or betray one another in hopes of getting the entire prize. The catch is that if they both betray one another, then they both get the worst possible outcome. The game’s contestants go through multiple rounds, each with an increasing cash prize. In each round they have a few minutes Continue reading Golden Balls→

When you look down at the Las Vegas strip, your attention gets caught by the dozens of casinos. It is notorious for its crazy lavish experiences and gambling. Millions of people every year go there to spend lots of money, have a good time, and make some overall bad decisions. When most people leave Las Vegas and look at their bank statements, they are shocked as to how much money they’ve really spent gambling. How is it that Casinos have gotten so good at making you spend your money? When you first step into a casino, you are bombarded with Continue reading The Art of a Casino→

Germany has a different system for workers than the US, this is just a quick insight into what rights a normal worker would be entitled to receive. Germans tend to follow the same M-F work week, but on Sundays and public holidays, only necessary workplaces (gas stations, hospitals, police, etc.…) are open. Most grocery stores and all other work are closed. The average working time an employee has can’t exceed 8 hours per day with most employees working 35-40 hours a week. Employees are given a minimum of 20 working days’ vacation per year, but on average receive 25-30. There Continue reading A Quick Snippet of German Labor Laws→

On campus, the Cellar is a popular dinner spot known for its pizzas, ice cream, and late hours of operation. A current issue the Cellar is facing is the build-up of waste. Most people order their food “to-go”, getting their food in disposable cardboard pizza boxes and ice cream cups which causes a lot of trash. One way that the Cellar helps promote ordering “for-here” instead of its counterpart, is by offering a 10% discount when you mention you would like your food in-house. Not many people do this, however, and people who eat in-house tend to order “to-go” despite Continue reading Ways to Help Increase Sustainability on Campus→

Most people know about the underrepresentation of women within STEM fields, but most aren’t aware of inequality within the field of economics. Economics is dominated by men with little representation of women as well as racial and ethnic minority groups.  Roughly 25% of all economics faculty are women, with that percentage decreasing to just 15% for full professors. Only about 34% of undergrad economics majors are women. Those percentages have stayed roughly the same since the 90s. One reason for such a lack of representation within the major is that females tend to get discouraged and receive harsher criticism than Continue reading Women in Economics→

Many people spend huge amounts of time and money trying to come up with that “perfect” gift, but is it worth it? Gifts are a way of connecting individuals to one another. Sentimental gifts given between close parties are highly beneficial as well. These gifts have oftentimes the most thought and care put into them. They may not have the most monetary value but they mean the most to the gifter and receiver. Another way gift-giving is highly beneficial is when a gift is given to a recipient who isn’t in a current position to afford said gift. For example, Continue reading Why Gift?→