1. Begin with a macro (big picture) environmental scan. Drill down to a micro (specific industry/company) scan. Look at the financial statements of a company from at least the past 5 years. To find this information, use:
Mergent Intellect This link opens in a new window
Mergent Intellect is a collection of worldwide business information.
Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
This database contains searchable data for more than 10,000 companies on the NYSE, AMEX and Nasdaq exchanges. All financials are provided as reported and include information on balance sheets, income statements, expenditures, assets, liabilities, cash flow, performance trends, and more.
2. Find competitors. Compare and contrast. Use the NAICS or SIC code to find competitors. Use: IBISWorld
3. Use:
to identify the size of the market for your company and how it compares to the rest of the industry. Market share information can also be found in business articles that appear in magazines or newspapers. You may have to use:
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Includes the full text for more than 2,300 journals. Full-text results are provided back to 1886, and searchable cited references back to 1998. This database covers many business disciplines, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full-text, non-journal content includes market research reports, industry reports, country reports, company profiles and SWOT analyses.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni™ features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis with an intuitive interface that offers discovery across all content types.
Wall Street Journal Historical Newspaper This link opens in a new window
This database provides access to a full-image archive of the Wall Street Journal. Every issue from 1889-2011 is included and features the complete paper cover-to-cover with full page and article images in PDF form.
to find this information.
4. Look at:
Value Line This link opens in a new window
This database provides access to documents and financial information for a variety of companies.
for objective, third-party,updatedanalyses of current statuses, as well as 3-5 years projections of the company you're interested in.
5. SWOT Analysis (Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats). You may find this information using:
Business Source Premier This link opens in a new window
Includes the full text for more than 2,300 journals. Full-text results are provided back to 1886, and searchable cited references back to 1998. This database covers many business disciplines, including marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance and economics. Additional full-text, non-journal content includes market research reports, industry reports, country reports, company profiles and SWOT analyses.
Gale Business Insights: Global This link opens in a new window
Provides students and researchers with the broad yet detailed coverage of international business.
You may be able to draw conclusions about the company/industry by following the steps above.
6. The steps above are a recursive process that you will repeat many times. You may find an article and/or an update about your company an hour before your assignment is due.
