Team Librarian Consultation

Web Resources:

Unlike library databases, these Web resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the UW Connectivity Kit or the UW Libraries Proxy Server for authentication. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources. For a subject index to web resources, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.
• Apple Computer, Inc:   Public company homepages are often (but not always) an excellent source for information about the company, with links to annual reports, company news, product details, information about corporate goals and culture, company financial information, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and company history. Look for the Investor Relations and About Us areas on the company homepage for company information.

  Apple makes it hard to find company or investor information, available most readily by finding their homepage site map and going to Investor Relations for their Annual Reports back to 1998 and links to historical and SEC financials.

• Company Research (Business Week):   Business Week offers information on 4,000 companies in its Careers section (so some of the information is aimed at job-seekers), with a Corporate Snapshot, a Vault.Com Scoop, a Wetfeet.Com profile, as well as Business Week articles about the companies (some of which are available only for subscribers but are also available in the Foster Business Library database ABI/Inform Global).

  See the links to information for Apple Computer.

• Making the Macintosh: Technology and Culture in Silicon Valley:   This site is a window into "Stanford University Library's archive of documents and materials relating to the computer's origin, development, and promotion. Along with roughly two hundred archival texts and images, the site includes thirteen recent interviews…with some of the principal players in the creation of the Macintosh."

• Quicken.Com:   This site is a good source for information about companies and about their position among their competitors; use the Compare Companies feature on the left menu for this information.

  See the company profile for Apple Computer as well as the company's position among its competitors in terms of market capitalization in the Personal Computers industry.

• Yahoo! Finance:   This site is excellent for company and investment information as well as an excellent source for financial ratio comparisons with industry, sector and S&P 500.

  See the company profile for Apple Computer as well as its Key Statistics as well as the Computer Hardware Industry Profile.

• Industries At A Glance:   This U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics site is a good source for information and data about U.S. industries.

  See the Occupational Outlook Handbook general information on the Electronic Equipment Manufacturing industry, which includes computer hardware.

• Where Does Apple Go From Here?:   This Harvard Business School Working Knowledge site comes from their Best of Q&A section, from an interview with Harvard Business School professor David Yoffie, about Apple Computer and its corporate strategy.

• Porter's Five Forces:   This site is from QuickMBA, with a good summary of Porter's five forces. "QuickMBA is an online knowledge resource for business administration. Our goal is to help you to quickly find the business knowledge you need, when you need it, wherever you may be. Topics are presented as frameworks and summaries in the various subjects of business administration, as taught in the world's top MBA programs. QuickMBA is operated by the Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. No registration is required." See also their SWOT Analysis page. For similar pages, see Business Resource Software, Inc.'s pages on the Michael Porter Five Forces Model and SWOT Analysis. Finally, see Porter's homepage.

The Foster Reference Collection is located behind the Reference Desk in Foster.
• International marketing data and statistics.
  Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania; companion volume to European marketing data and statistics.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA42 .I56. 2003.
  Also available online.

  See Per Capita Retail Sales of Consumer Electronics, for PCs, on page 448.

• Statistical abstract of the United States.
  Information about many industries as well as demographic information; check index for references to tables. The sources for each table are often a valuable source of additional information.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA202 .U56 2002.
  Also available online.

  See index page 954 for Computer and for Computers and Electronic Product Manufacturing.

• European marketing data and statistics.
  Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for European countries.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA1107 .E87 2002.
  Also available online.

  See Per Capita Retail Sales of Consumer Electronics, for PCs, on page 322.

• World development indicators.
  This World Bank volume contains a large number of tables listing each country and key data about its people, environment, economy, markets, employment, poverty, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC59.15 .W656 2002.
  Also available, in part, online at http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi/home.html.

  See Personal Computers in the Information Age section on pages 316 to 319.

• Gale encyclopedia of U.S. economic history.
  This two-volume encyclopedia covers economic history from Paleolithic times to 1999, with over 1,000 articles on the major terms, overviews, issues, biographies, events and companies of America's economic history. There is a single extensive index in the back of the second volume. The arrangement of this encyclopedia is alphabetically by topic, not chronological.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC102 .G35 1999.

  See Steve Jobs in volume one, on pages 511 to 512.

• Standard & Poor's industry surveys.
  This three-volume set provides 30-page profiles on 52 industries with a focus on the current economic environment, trends, regulation and outlook for each industry. Major companies in each industry are profiled, with references to sources of additional industry information.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC106.6 .S74 (Quarterly)

  See the industry survey, dated June 2003, for Computers--Hardware in volume one; Apple is one of the companies featured in the Comparative Company Analysis at the end of the survey.

• Industry studies.
  This excellent reference work provides essays, mostly by professors of economics, about 14 significant industries:  automobiles, beer, broilers, pharmaceuticals, steel, airline service, retail commercial banking, casino gambling, electric power, health insurance, motion pictures, nursing homes, microcomputer platforms, and telecommunications.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC106.8 .I53 2002.

  See the industry survey for Microcomputer Platforms on pages 318 to 350.

• The encyclopedia of management.
  This one-volume covers 348 management topics, arranged alphabetically from Activity-Based Costing to Zero-Sum Game.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD30.15 .E49 2000.

  See SWOT analysis and the five forces on pages 882 to 884.

• Business: the ultimate resource.
  This 2,200-page single volume is "designed to offer a wide range of insights, information, and practical guidance on every aspect of management" via 2.5 million words of text from 200 contributors, with 700 illustrations and 150 maps, in seven major sections including best practice, a management library, business thinkers and management giants, a business dictionary, a world business almanac, and a guide to business sources.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD38.15 .B878 2002.

  See the profile of Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs on pages 1100 to 1101. See Michael Porter on pages 900 to 901 and pages 1038 to 1039; both sections cover his five forces; see also Performing a SWOT analysis on pages 468 to 469.

• The ultimate book of business brands.
  This slim paperback covers 50 companies from a brand perspective, with three to six page essays on each company.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD69 .B7 .C722 2003.

  See Apple on pages 9 to 13.

• Encyclopedia of global industries.
  Twelve-page descriptions of 125 global industries, with background and development information, current conditions, industry leaders and further reading.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD2324 .E53 2003.

  See Computer Hardware and Services, on pages 141 to 153, for the history, evolution and current condition of this industry.

• International directory of company histories.
  Studying the history of leading companies in an industry is a good way to learn more about the history of an industry. This set of more than thirty volumes covers over 4,700 company histories worldwide, with each history running just two to four pages; check the company index in the latest volume to locate a specific company history or update as well as any other references to that company in other company histories. There is also an index by industry.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD2721 .I57

  See the history of Apple Computer in volume three (in Roman numerals III), on pages 115 to 116, with updates in volume six, pages 218 to 220, and in volume 36, pages 48 to 51.

• Plunkett's infotech industry almanac.
  This almanac offers information about major industry trends, industry statistics, industry information, major companies in the industry, with indexes by state, country, region, etc. The major part of the almanac provides one-page profiles of companies in the industry, with directory information, growth plans and special features, contacts, brief financials, brief salary and benefits data, and women officer-director and advancement information.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD9696 .C63 .U5287 2001-2002.

  See Apple Computer on page 146, with references to the company and industry on pages 10 to 11, 26 to 29, and page 30.

• Market share reporter.
  Annual compilation of U.S., Canadian and Mexican market share data for companies, products and services, arranged by SIC code, and with indexes by product, company and topic.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5410 .M35 2004.

  See tables 915, 916 and 919 on page 224 and 225 for Apple Computer, and table 931 on page 227.

• World market share reporter.
  An annual compilation of market share information for worldwide companies culled from thousands of periodical articles; use the company, product or brand indexes in the back of the volume to identify the company that you are researching.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5410 .W67 2001/2002.

  See Apple Computer in tables 782, 788 and 790 on pages 214 to 216.

• The lifestyle market analyst.
  Market analysis information including demographic, geographic and lifestyle information to identify who customers are, where they live, how they spend their time and money and how to reach them.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.33 .U6 .L54 2003.

  See Use a Personal Computer demographics on pages 936 to 939; Use an Apple/Macintosh, on pages 940 to 943; and Use an IBM Compatible, on pages 944 to 947.

• The Advertising Age encyclopedia of advertising.
  In three volumes, this heavily-illustrated encyclopedia includes profiles of more than 120 ad agencies worldwide, essays on 80 leading agencies, detailed articles on 40 U.S. agencies, biographies of 47 major advertising figures, as well as 160 significant corporate advertisers, brands, and campaigns, 20 essays on market research methods, and 52 essays on advertising tools and operations.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5803 .A28 2003.

  See Apple Computer in volume one, pages 85 and 86.

• Red book/Standard directory of advertisers.
  This annual two-volume publication is the most comprehensive source for information on the advertising practices of 24,000 U.S. and Canadian companies spending a minimum of $200,000 on national and regional advertising. Companies may be accessed by 54 business categories or by state, province or city. Entries for companies advertising include SIC codes, business descriptions, statistics, personnel, approximate advertising expenditures, and media. Entries for ad agencies often include the companies and brand names handled and the executive assigned to each account. Volume two includes indexes by product by state or province, by brand name, by SIC code and by personnel. There is also a geographic index volume.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5805 .S7 2004 (volume 1: businesses)
  

  See Apple Computer on page 350.

• Encyclopedia of major marketing campaigns.
  This massive 2,000-page reference profiles 500 of the most notable advertising and marketing campaigns of the twentieth century, from Adolph Coor's Zima to Zenith Electronics' The Quality Goes in Before The Name Goes On. Arrangement is by company name and, if the company name is that of a person, by their first name. For each campaign, there is a four-page chapter with an overview, historical content, target market, competition, market strategy and outcome, as well as a few suggestions for further reading.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5837 .E53 2000.

  See Apple Computer on pages 91 to 102.

• Mergent OTC industrial manual.
  This one-volume work covers over 3,000 companies traded over the counter on national stock exchanges, with extensive information about companies, including history, chronology, acquisitions, mergers, spinoffs, properties, joint ventures, subsidiaries, officers and directors, consolidated income and balance sheets for three and two years, respectively, long term debit, options, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4501 .M66 2002.

  See Apple Computer on pages 948 to 949.

• Mergent industry review.
  Statistical data on 3,000 companies in 137 industries, with rankings, key financial information, operating data and ratios, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4961 .M68.

  See Apple Computer in the Computers--Major industry, on pages 116 and 117, in the August 2003 to January 2004 issue.

The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of over 70,000 books on all business topics, including many books useful for country research. To identify relevant books, go to the UW Libraries Catalog on the Foster Business Library homepage (under Business Databases). Try searching by keyword. Use the Limit/Sort feature to create a list of books in the Foster Business Library and in order from newest book to oldest. To do so, use the pulldown menu under WHERE item is located to specify Foster Business Library and click on the box near the bottom Sort results by year. Then click on Limit/sort items retrieved using above data. Clicking on the titles in the resulting list will bring up the full catalog record, indicating which Foster area has the book (general stacks, reference, reserve, etc.), the call number and the circulation status.

Circulation status is indicated in the box in the middle of each online catalog record, on the right. Check Shelf indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. Due and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated.

The Foster general stacks collection is located south of the main part of the Foster Business Library, through the two pass-throughs into the basement of Balmer. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

A keyword search for Apple Computer, limited to the Foster Business Library, produced twelve records, including:

• The second coming of Steve Jobs   (2000)
• Infinite loop: how the world's most insanely great computer company went insane   (1999)
• Apple confidential: the real story of Apple Computer, Inc   (1999)
• Forbes greatest technology stories: inspiring tales of the entrepreneurs and inventors who revolutionized modern business   (1998)
• Apple: the inside story of intrigue, egomania, and business blunders   (1997)

There are also books on Apple Computer elsewhere in the UW Libraries, such as :

• On the firing line: my 500 days at Apple   (1998)

The subject term for the computer industry is Computer industry -- United States; a subject search for this term retrieved over 70 records in the Foster Business Library.

An author search for Porter, Michael E., 1947- , limited to the Foster Business Library, produced a list of thirteen records. See, in particular, his:

• Competitive strategy: techniques for analyzing industries and competitors   See index page 390 for eight references to the computer industry.

Foster Business Library Corporate Annual Reports:

The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of several thousand annual reports for hundreds of U.S. and foreign companies. These reports are filed in lateral filing cabinets near the Foster Reference desk under the sign Corporate Annual Reports. Annual reports for companies in an industry can be a valuable source of information about the industry itself. For a list of all the companies in the Corporate Annual Reports collection, click here. For an index to corporate annual reports in the collection by industry sector, click here. For an index to companies in the collection with headquarters outside the U.S., click here.

The collection includes annual reports for Apple Computer (since 1988) as well as competitors in the Computer Hardware, Software and Services sector.

Foster Business Library Articles:

In addition to the 800 journals in the Foster Business Library Periodicals Collection, the Foster Business Library offers access to 11,000 full text periodical articles through its full text article databases such as: ABI/Inform Global, Factiva, and Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. These article databases may be found on the Foster Business Library homepage, listed alphabetically under Business Databases or in the Articles: Full Text folder.

Of these three main sources, all but Factiva are available from any computer on the campus network (as well as from home) via the UW Connectivity Kit or via the Libraries' proxy server. The easiest of these databases to use is ABI/Inform Global. For more information about accessing Foster Business Library databases from off campus, click here. For more information about business databases, click here.

• ABI/Inform Global:

  This database offers full text articles for over 800 journals. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box. ABI/Inform Global includes journals but not national or Washington state newspapers (though the Wall Street Journal is included). It also does not include valuable trade and industry and other periodicals. Your searches will span the widest possible array of publications by expanding your search to all databases in ABI/Inform. To expand your search to include all collections in this database, click on Select multiple databases, to the right of the search box. Click on all of the databases.

  Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article. For tips on searching this database, click here.

  A search in all databases, for CO(Apple Computer Inc) produced a list of more than 18,000 articles (including 180 articles in scholarly journals). Narrowing this search, as an example, to CO(Apple Computer Inc) and SUB(Computer Industry) produced a list of over 5,400 articles. A search for CO(Apple Computer Inc) and Strengths produced over 160 articles; for CO(Apple Computer Inc) and Weaknesses, 40 articles; for CO(Apple Computer Inc) and Opportunities, 200 articles; for CO(Apple Computer Inc) and Threats, over 90 articles; for CO(Apple Computer Inc) and SWOT, no articles.

  A search for the subject SUB(Computer Industry), in all databases, produced a list of more than 62,000 articles (including over 1,200 articles in scholarly journals). By searching for this term in the Topic Guide, it's possible to view over 450 narrowing terms, such as:

  • SUB(Computer Industry) and SUB(Business Forecasts), over 900 articles;
  • SUB(Computer Industry) and SUB(Competitive Advantage, over 200 articles;
  • SUB(Computer Industry) and SUB(Demand), over 220 articles;
  • SUB(Computer Industry) and SUB(Forecasts), over 1,300 articles;
  • SUB(Computer Industry) and SUB(Market Penetration), over 70 articles; and
  • SUB(Computer Industry) and SUB(Sales Forecasting), over 80 articles.

  It's also possible to search for SUB(Computer Industry) and Strengths (over 600 articles), SUB(Computer Industry) and Weaknesses (over 180 articles), SUB(Computer Industry) and Opportunities (over 1,300 articles), and SUB(Computer Industry) and Threats (370 articles)—-but SUB(Computer Industry) and SWOT (no articles).

The Foster Business Library Reference Desk is staffed nearly all of the hours that the library is open. The staff at the desk will be happy to help you find business research tools and resources, exploit business databases to the fullest or advise on research strategies. For e-mail questions, direct your query to balib@u.washington.edu. For assistance by telephone, dial (206) 543-8012 during library hours.

For research guides on a wide variety of industries, products, companies, issues and topics, see the Team Librarian Consultation archives.

• Team Consultation Course/Program Index      (Management/Business Policy Consultations)
• Team Consultation Industry Index      (Computer Hardware, Software and Services)
• Team Consultation Quarter Index
• Team Consultation Title Index
• Team Consultation and Research Guide Index

Need help with writing or revising the written part of your assignment? The Business Writing Center, in Lewis Hall 304, provides consultations on business class writing assignments (as well as cover letters, and resumes) with an advanced business student trained in critiquing drafts and coaching writers. Need help citing sources? Try our guide to Citing Sources.

Finally, if you prepare a research paper, consider submitting it for a $1000 prize. The University Libraries will award prizes for outstanding examples of undergraduate library research in any discipline and media--print, video, electronic--completed for a University of Washington course in the 2003-2004 academic year. Up to three prizes will go to lower-division students (freshman/sophomore), and three to upper-division students (junior/senior). Details are available online at http://www.lib.washington.edu/researchaward/.

Prof. Phelps' MGT 430 Webpage