For Dr. Wardope’s BADM Course 1103

Business Plan Report

Greetings everyone.  Remember, if you ever have any questions, you can Ask Us through chat, e-mail, telephone, or in person; whatever way is most convenient for you.  If you want to direct a question to me specifically, feel free to drop me a line at jcimock@uco.edu.  I’ll be happy to help with whatever you need.

Library Catalog

Use the UCO Library Catalog to search for books, government documents, videos, and other materials we keep in the library that are related to your topic.  Use keywords to search the catalog.  Here are a few example searches:

business AND planning

starting AND business

entrepreneurship

Also, you can use the subject headings to refine your search and locate materials that are more focused on your topic.  The subject headings are hyperlinked in blue and are located towards the bottom of an individual item record.   Here is an example:

Remember to write down the holdings information when you  go to retrieve the item!

Databases

There are several different databases you may want to consult for this assignment. Different databases allow access to different kinds of information, much of which is not freely accessible over the Internet. Below is a list of databases you can search along with a brief overview of the kinds of information each database can search. To access each database, click here to go to the library’s list of databases and use the “Databases by Subject” box in the top-left of the screen to select “Business.” This will provide a list of all the business databases you can search.

Business Source Complete

You can use Business Source Complete (BSC) to obtain a variety of information. BSC contains loads of different news and scholarly articles on different industries and companies, information on business planning, entrepreneurship, and marketing. Like most databases, use keywords to search for your topic. Example search:

business planning AND marketing

You can also find SWOT analyses of different companies by typing:

Your Company AND SWOT

To obtain industry profiles, type the name of the industry into the search box,
and use the “Publication Type” box below to limit the search to industry profiles.

Also, don’t forget to use the list of words under “Narrow Results by Subject” on the left-hand side to make your search more specific.  These can be extremely helpful in finding the information you need.  Here is what the “Narrow Results by Subject” looks like.  NOTE: It only appears after performing a search.

You can use Business Source Complete (BSC) to obtain a variety of information.  BSC contains loads of different news and scholarly articles on different industries and companies, information on business planning, entrepreneurship, and marketing.  Like most databases, use keywords to search for your topic.

Example search:

business planning AND marketing

You can also find SWOT analyses of different companies by typing:

Your Company AND SWOT

To obtain industry profiles, type the name of the industry into the search box,
and use the “Publication Type” box below to limit the search to industry profiles.

Also, don’t forget to use the list of words under “Narrow Results by Subject” on the left-hand side to make your search more specific.  These can be extremely helpful in finding the information you need.  Here is what the “Narrow Results by Subject” looks like.  NOTE: It only appears after performing a search.

Standard & Poor’s

Standard & Poor’s (SP) is great for industry analysis, company profiles, and financials.  Once you log in, you can search for specific companies or use the “Quick Links” box to find information on a specific industry.  Definitely consult this database for your assignment once you’ve identified type of business you’ll be starting for your assignment.

Mergent Online

Mergent is a powerful database, most useful for company financials.
Mergent also allows you to create custom reports where you can select
different data sets to include.  You can even compare multiple companies.  Try it out and create a comparison report with different companies within the industry you have selected.

ReferenceUSA

ReferenceUSA is kind of like an electronic version of the Yellow Pages on crack.  Use this database to find geographical business data.  For example, you could use ReferenceUSA to search for all the different pizza joints with a 73034 zip code in their address.  Make sure to use the custom search.

Lexis Nexis

Use LexisNexis for several different kinds of information.  First, you can use LexisNexis to perform business news searches.

LexisNexis is also good for company financials, company profiles, and SEC
filings.  To access all of these, make sure to click on the “Business”
link on the left-hand side of the LexisNexis homepage.

Web Sites

There are a variety of different web sites you also should consult to obtain valuable information for this assignment.  These are just a few important ones.  You may need to search the Internet for more information.

• American Factfinder – Extremely useful site for researching demographic information and Economic census data.
• Oklahoma Department of Commerce- Find information about
  licenses and permits required to start a business in the state of
  Oklahoma, workforce salary and demographical information, tons of
  statistical information, and much more.  All of you should
  consult this web site for your assignment.
• Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce – Here you can find market analysis and economic forecasts concerning OKC metro area.
• OklahomaCity Economic Development Information System (OKCEDIS) – “Generate economic, business, planning,geographic, and demographic information in real time via the web. Our website application allows users to view, create, and print maps; perform site selection searches; and customize and analyze demographic and business data.”
• Oklahoma Business Incentives and Tax Information Guide 2009 Great PDF document providing information about state taxes and tax incentives.

Okay, that’s all I have.  The rest is up to you.
Please feel free to Ask Us if you have any questions at all.  We are more
than happy to help.  Good luck with the assignment.