 Librarian talk about Getting Started! As you begin, your group will be choosing an industry and two major companies within that industry. You will want to choose public companies that appear on the major stock exchanges. Those companies will be well covered in books, databases and also on the Internet. Subjects covered in these sources are: company histories and profiles, business planning, economists, marketing strategies, key competitors, economic indicators, financial information, regional businesses, types of products, SIC and NAICS codes, industry, jobs and careers. Suggested industries: Airline, Oil, Pharmaceutical, Auto, Computer/Information Technology, Steel, Retail, Entertainment, Agriculture, Banking/finance, Health care, Trucking, Railroads, Communications, Defense, Internet. A list of publicly traded companies by industry, can be found in the Security and Exchange Commission's database, EDGAR. Go to the link for Companies & Other Filers and enter the SIC (Standard Industrial Classifcation) code (or click on the SIC link to see a list of SIC codes). For more in depth research, use the library's business databases. EDGAR contains most of the required reports and filings, including financial and annual reports. This useful guide provides more information about the database. |
Assignment: Briefly explain the importance of each item.
- An explanation of the industry and the companies within it as they exist currently.
- A brief history of the industry and the companies you are investigating.
- The type of product(s) that is provided by this industry/company and the type of custormers they to whom they sell.
- What influence the industry/companies have on the US economy and conversely, the influence of the economy on the industry/companies.
- How the industry/companies and their decisions have a bearing on the lives of the average American.
- The form of competition found in this industry (pure competition, monopolistic, oligopoly, monopoly).
- The published mission or vision statement of each corporation.
- The most recent fiscal year's sales, expenses, and net profit for each company and how those figures compare with the industry as a whole.
- The price per share of common stock for each corporation at the end of the fiscal year, and for the quarters of the current fiscal year.
- Pick at least three financial ratios and compare each company to the industry standards. Are the companies better or worse than the industry standard?
- A brief discussion of the amount of government regulation for this industry.
- The types of jobs or careers most frequently found in this industry and the amount of education/training needed for those jobs/careers.
Additionally: Pick at least two or more of the following items from the list below to include in your presentation. Choose items most appopriate to your industry or companies. These items need to be discussed in more detail than those above.
- Any serious ethical problems/questions faced by the industry. How each company has dealt with those problems/questions.
- Whether or not the industry/companies are involved in international trade and global business. If so, in what way? and with which companies?
- Any major mergers or diversifications that have/had a serious bearing on the industry.
- A comparison of the levels of management within the two companies and the styles of management of the two companies.
- The use of a Total Quality Program within the companies.
- An overview of the production/operations process within the companies.
- The development and implementation of the human resource process.
- The presence and importance of unions in the industry.
- The presence and importance of small business in the industry and any use of franchising.
- The importance and use of technology within the industry and how each company uses technology.
- Marketing strategies used by each company and the industry including the research and development of new products; how each arrives at pricing decisions and how products are distributed.
- The importance and type of advertising and promotions used by the companies/industry.
- The governmental agencies (other than IRS) that have a bearing on this industry and how each comapny deals with this regulation.
- Any other major issues that applies to your industry (TO USE THIS CATEGORY AS ONE OF YOUR TWO, YOU MUST CLEAR IT WITH YOUR INSTRUCTOR).
Librarian
Talk about Books!
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| Librarian Talk about Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles! Electronic databases are purchased by the libraries for your research use. Use them to find articles in newspapers and journals, letters, reference books, illustrations, photographs and more. Home access to article databases is available with your updated library card barcode. If you need assistance finding an article contact the Reference Librarians and they will see that you get the article. They will need full bibliographic information - and your name and address. Send your phone number as well, so they can contact you if necessary. Remember, use your library card barcode to login to these online journal databases from home |
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Librarian Talk about the Internet! The Internet can be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the sites we have suggested below. Remember, you do want to find reputable sites. Look at: |
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Talk help! Support for a successful paper is more than finding the right resources. Putting it all together takes time and effort. Sometimes it takes additional help from the librarians or tutors. Please consider the following resources if you need additional help. Remember, the expert on the assignment is your professor; use the WebCT email to contact her. |
Citing Sources Using the Library MLA Style Guide | Lone Star College - Kingwood Library guide. Examples of both paper and electronic citations.
Avoiding Plagiarism | Excellent information and guide on how to avoid plagiarism from the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University.
University of Texas Copyright Crash Course | This helpful guide on copyright is suggested by Lone Star College-Kingwood Teaching and Learning Center.
Learning Center | Check our hours for in-house tutoring from the Teaching & Learning Center.
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Page created by Becky Bradley,
July, 2002. Updated May, 2008, BB.
