Tylor was one of the best young monsters to graduate from Monsters University and always dreamed of becoming a Scarer. Once he lands a job at Monsters, Inc. he discovers that scaring is out and laughter is in. This brief scene from the movie’s trailer is a good opportunity to discuss skill-biased technological change. While scaring was previously seen as a good-paying job with a bright future, the world has changed suddenly and those skills are no longer needed.
Pixar — Purl
The video shows how an investment in human capital and diversity can provide significant increases in productivity. Allowing employees to express their individuality brings new thoughts and ideas to the group. Without diversity, the company was trending down, when they embraced the balls of yarn it was trending up. While it was easy to keep everyone and everything the same, the company was not making money. By investing in a more diverse workforce, they were able to become profitable and a much more favorable place to work. The opportunity costs are implied but they are that diversity can have real bottom line impacts. In addition, diversifying your workforce can make you an employer of choice and allow you to hire more highly skilled employees. Lastly, it shows that diversity allowed the male employees to be more free with who they were and thus helped the company become more successful.
I think this video applies to everyone from women to men. Introverts to extroverts, it shows the benefits of staying true to who you are. Additionally, it shows the benefits to companies by encouraging diversity.
Clip suggestion & description submitted by Keven Tarantino
Pixar — One Man Band
I use this clip to introduce the concept of monopolistic competition in a market place and how demand shifts when close substitutes enter a market.
Pixar — One Man Band
This clip is a great introduction to monopolistic competition. Each performer provides a similar service, but they are not perfect substitutes for one another. When a new competitor enters a market, the demand for the original firms decreases and profits should fall as well.
Birds on a Wire — Externalities
This clips was shared by CharityJoy Acciardo. It’s a nice clip to show before class starts or in the beginning of class on common resources, network externalities and congestion externalities.