Business Reference

                                                                        LSC 539          

            Fall, 2000 

 

Dr. Donna I,- Gliton                                                                               Course Time: Weds. 9:30 – 12:15

9 Rodman Hall                                                                                      Office Hours W 4-00 - 5:30

(401) 874-4630                                                                                                  Th 9:30-11:00

           

            Course Description

 

     LSC 539 is designed to introduce students to business information and to business reference services and will concentrate on the following areas:

-          unique aspects of the business world, business information and business librarianship

-          basic research on companies and  industries, and business topics

-          government publications, statistics, and legal information related to business

-          investment information

-     specialized information on marketing, accounting and other subjects

 

     The information will be covered through class lectures, exercises, and a term project in which students will analyze a company and suggest basic resources for an information center within that company. After finishing the course, students will be able to find detailed, specific, and extensive information on companies, industries, and other business topics.

 

Relevance of LSC 539 to Other Courses and to the Field

 

-It is a necessary course for all future reference librarians, as well as for information entrepreneurs who will specialize in business.

 

-It is an important and useful course, for students who will be reference librarians in

general public or academic collections. A large percentage of reference questions in general departments are business questions.

 

-The course will complement information conveyed in other LSC courses, such as Law Librarianship, Government Publications, and Library Materials in Social Sciences. It will describe unique aspects of business information and services and describe business reference sources in greater depth than other sources.

 

 

Required Text

            Lavin, Michael. Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It. 2nd. Ed. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1992 Ref HF 5356.L36 1992.

 

Optional Texts

            Pagell, Ruth A. and Michael Halperin. International Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1994

 

            Gorman, Tom. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to MBA Basics. NY: Simon and Schuster, 1998 (To be on reserve)

 

            Other Readings to be Assigned

 

 

Assignments - Choose a public company and at least one industry to focus on for the course.

 

- Mini-Projects (to ultimately be part of the Term Project) – 45% of course grade

- Exercises on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) and other business classification systems to find names of potential suppliers, customers, and competitors.

- A brief company profile - a description of your company's history, organization, lines of business, plants, sales, offices, subsidiaries, etc.

-A list of relevant trade or professional organizations and government agencies.

-A comparison of how your company is treated in the annual report, the 10K report, Moody’s Standard and Poor's, and at least one computerized source.

- A news summary about your company.

- Research on legal problems in your company or industry.

-Information on your company's finances and a comparison of your company’s

and your industry’s ratios.

- A description of the stock market performance of your company over the last two years, including comments from advisory services.

- Computer Projects – As you learn about various computer systems, you will be asked to look for information on your company that you can integrate into your final project. Write brief summaries of what you find, as you find it.

 

 

 

 

 

Term Project – 50% of Course Grade – This will be a company report which will include the following:

 

1.Company information

-          Firm profile – history, organization, lines of business, plants, sales, offices, subsidiaries, ets.

-          Financial information – including general financial information, company and industry ratios, and stock market performance.

-          News, developments, problems, and challenges in your company or industry

-          Marketing information – lists of potential suppliers, customers, and competitors

 

2. Information that you would recommend for your firm, including

-     basic reference works

-          periodicals, newspapers, newsletters

-          on-line services and sources

-          loose-leaf services

-          government information, services, and agencies

-          relevant professional and trade associations

-          sources consulted for this project

 

 

 

 

Class participation - 5% of Course Grade

 

 

 

 

COURSE OUTLINE

 

Business Reference

LSC 539

 

PART 1- GENRAL SOURCES AND INFORMATION

 

 

 

September 6, 2000 – An Introduction to Business Basics

 

Topics:

            The World Business

            How the US Economy Works

            Business Librarianship – Public, Academic, and Special

            Information Entrepreneurship and Intrapreneurship and the Business Community Sources and Forms of Business Information.

 

Read for September 13:

 

THE ECONOMY AND THE BUSINESS WORLD: HOW IT ALL WORKS

            “ABC’s of Today’s Economy.” US News and World Report. April 26, 1982,pp. 33-60.

            “ The ABC’s of How Our Economy Work.” US News and World Report. May 1, 1979.

            Lavin. Pp. 326-335.

            Gorman pp. 67-86

 

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS SOURCES

            Lavin – pp. 3-61, 64-81

            Pagell and Halperin – pp.3-16

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 13, 2000 – Business Basics

 

Topics:

            Getting SIC to Be NAIC: An Introduction to Industry Classification Systems

            First Steps in Finding Company Information

            Basic Finding Tools

 

Follow-up Exercises For September 20

1.       Choose a public company and at least one related industry and get your company’s annual and 10k report.

2.       Do the SIC exercises.

 

Read for September 20:

 

BUSINESS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS

Lavin –62-64

            Pagell and Halperin – pp. 341-344; 361-363

 

FIRST STEPS IN COMPANY RESEARCH

            Lavin – pp. 113-157

            Pagell and Halperin – pp. 50-103; 154-172

            Basch, Reva. “Strictly Business.” In Researching Online For Dummies.

pp. 205-240 ( Hopefully, this chapter will be on reserve. The whole book should also on reserve for LSC 504

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 20, 2000 – Business Directories, Periodicals, Indexes and Abstracts

 

Topic: Business Directories

 

Follow-up Exercise For September 27:

1.       Do a brief profile of your firm based on information you find in your annual report, Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s and other sources. Use the International Directory of Company Histories (on the business reference table) to find a history to your company.

2.       Find names of organizations and government agencies relevant to your industry and compile a brief directory.

3.       Write a comparison of the nonfinancial information that you find about your company in the annual report, any 10-K report that you can find, Moody’s and at least one computerized source.

 

 

Read For September 27:

 

            Lavin pp.82-110

 

September 27, 2000 – Periodicals, Indexes and Abstracts

 

Topics:

                        Business Periodicals, Indexes, Abstracts

                        Locating Business Sites in the Internet: An Introduction

 

Follow-up Exercises For October 18:

1.       Look for recent news and information on your company in the indexes, abstracts, and computerized databases.

2.       Look for legal problems in you company or industry.

 

 

Read for October 4:

 

            Pagell and Halperin pp-126-153

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

                   

 

October 4, 2000 – Business Reference Online: A Look at Lexis-Nexis and Some other sources

 

Topic: Lexis-Nexis

            Fialog, Dow Jones, and Other Systems

 

Follow-up Exercises For October 18:

1.       Explore Lexis-Nexis as much as you can.

2.       Look for recent news and information on your company in this source.

3.       Look for legal problems in your business or industry.

4.       Write a page or two on why your company is in the news

5.       How does the information that you found in Lexis-Nexis compare with that found elsewhere?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            PART II – GOVERNMENT, LEGAL AND RELATED SOURCES

 

October 18, 2000 – Government Information

 

Topic: Government Information and Services – Federal, State, International

 

Read For October 25

            Lavin –pp. 273-325; 325-371

            Pagell and Halperin – pp. 313-340; 345-357

 

October 25, 2000 – Statistics

 

Topic: Statistics

 

Read for November 1:

 

            Gorman – pp. 309-320

            Lavin – pp. 425-465

 

October 23, 1999 – Legal Research in Business ( A Visit to the Library )

 

Topics:

            How US Law is Organized

            Legislative Research

            Research on Administrative Regulations

            Case Law Research

 

Follow-up Exercise:

1.       Find legislation, regulations, and law cases related to legal problems in your company  or industry for November 15.

 

Read For November 8:

            Lavin –pp. 465-472

            Pagell and Halperin – pp. 19-49; 357-361

            Gorman – pp. 149-161

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            PART III – FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, AND MARKETING INFORMATION

 

 

 

November 8, 2000 – Accounting Information

 

Topic: Accounting Basics

 

Follow-up Exercise: Finish law project for November 15

 

Read For November 15:

 

            Lavin – pp. 158-199

            Pagell and Halperin – pp. 104-125; 173-200

            Gorman – pp. 107-148

 

November 15, 2000 – Financial Information on Companies

 

Topic: Financial Information on Companies

 

Follow-up Exercises For November 22:

1.       Compare financial information on your company found in the annual report, the 10-K report, Moody’s and at least one computerized source.

2.       Write a brief report about financial information in your company.

-          Describe general financial trends

-          Compare your company’s ratio’s and your industry’s

 

Read For November 22:

 

Lavin – pp. 200-226, 246-271

Gorman – pp. 163-176

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 22, 2000 – The Stock Market

 

Topic: Stocks

 

Follow-up Exercise:

  1. Describe the stock market performance of your company over the last two years. Also describe what investment advisory services say about your company’s stocks.
  2. Read For November 29:

 

Lavin –pp.227-248

 

November 29, 2000

 

Topic: Other Investments

 

Assignment: Term Project

-          Pull together all information about your company

-          Compile a list of best sources for an information center in your company.

 

December 6, 2000 – Marketing Information

 

Topics:

            Basis concepts in Marketing

            Regulation of Marketing

            Marketing Reference Sources

 

Read For General Knowledge:

            Lavin – pp.375-424

            Pagell – pp. 203-312

            Gorman – pp. 189-262

 

 

TERM PROJECT DUE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!