BUS 302: Griffin Model: Researching the External Environment
BUS 302 Business Environments Library Course Guide
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Restaurant Case Study |
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Two ways to research: 1. Click each Griffin dimension to see suggestions for locating research material for this case. 2. Follow the
The examples are also relevant for other industries and organizations. |
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Griffin, Ricky W. (7th ed.) (2002). Chapter 3: The environment of organization and managers. In Management. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, p. 24.
Eco-Environment--How the physical environment and changes to natural resources affect business.
This topic is now widely reported
in news, blogs, and special reports.
Some suggested sources for news through the library are:
Factiva
Latest two weeks--all in one: (Wall St. Journal, NYT, Washington Post,
Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Baron, Forbes, Fortune)
LexisNexis News
Excellent for local news archives
ProQuest
Newspapers Especially good for industry news
The Futurist (World Future Society)
General Environment
Economic dimension-The overall health of the global economic system in which the organization operates. Selected recommendations only, historical, current and some forecast data.
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Bureau of Labor Statistics--San Diego Economy
Stat-USA (CSUSM only, license restriction-librarian will
need to log you in)--Latest economic data for U.S. and
Global esp for International
FRED:
Federal Reserve Economic Database
Key economic indicators arranged in a way to quickly scan
for U.S. interest rates, CPI (Consumer Price Index); PPI
(Producer Price Index) GDP, and banking indicators
World Economic Outlook / International Monetary Fund
HC 10 .W7979 REFERENCE for latest year, earlier in book
stacks and electronic
OECD Economic Outlook / OECD
HC 10 .O18 REFERENCE for latest year, earlier in book stacks
and electronic
US
Census Monthly
Retail Trade and Food Services (NAICS 7221) Full service
restaurants.
News articles about
local restaurants:
San Diego Business Journal in ABI Inform (Proquest)
Lexis/Nexis / News / U.S. News / California
The Futurist (csusm only) Use the recommended article from your professor as a starting point for your particular company.
Search
Factiva –
ABI Inform Trade and Industry or
forecast and technolog$ and restaurant
Limit
to industry (Full service restaurants)
among the hits: Nations Restaurant News year end summaries
MediaMark Reporter
MRI+ has detailed consumer lifestyle
spending survey data, national.
Lifestyle Market Analyst HF5415.33 U6 L54
Business Quick Ref Shelf
For San Diego and major metro areas--demographic and lifestyle
ABI Inform Global is excellent for news articles
on industry topics
Is the political or legal environment friendly toward the industry? Locate the political action committee or lobby for state or national issues that may affect the industry. Where do local politicians and legislators stand on existing or proposed laws governing the industry.
Chamber of Commerce websites for positions on
legislation
Professional Associations support their members and are vocal advocates for
their industry. Search web: [industry name] association
National Restaurant Association
search trade publications articles on political positions and
legislation in an industry.
Search: In
ABI Inform
Trade and Industry you search for keywords: Restaurant industry and
legislation.
Articles on sodium, paid-leave,
menu-labeling appear from the trade publication Nation's Restaurant News
Search:
Google Unclesam Google selective search of all
government sites in United States. Searches federal,
state, county, city.
Export.gov Industry Search Industry information and opportunities for exporting.
Import/Export at Business.gov Details for getting started, importing products, and trade agreements.
Look
for import / export information. Research target
country demographics.
http://library.csusm.edu/subject_guides/business/international.asp
Task Environment
Business directories list private and public company information. Business descriptions often list competitors. Use the SIC or NAIC to get a list of companies in the same industry.
Search by Company Name
ReferenceUSA Company details, NAIC, competitors, radius, business expensesLexis/Nexis Academic then go to: Business / Company Dossier.
For additional suggestions: Business Research Subject GuidesSeach by Industry for Company List
LexisNexis Academic / Business Company Dossier
To find competitors to Don's Doggie Diner search using SIC 5812; location: San Marcos, CA, and key term in business description: diner or coffee shop
Search for Industry Statistics
http://www.census.gov Business / NAICS.
Economic Census to find the number of companies of competitors by zipcode, city, county etc. From the Census home page, choose Business / Economic Census.small to large companies LexisNexis Academic / Business
large companies Hoover's Company records in Lexis/Nexis Academic.
Business
rankings: For large companies: To know where a
company ranks among it's competitors you need to look at
business rankings or analyze financial statements.
Business Rankings Annual
Customers
Demographics--Define your population
American Factfinder Choose your target population area (zipcode, city, county etc.)
Who is likely to eat at a restaurant?
Research lifestyle
choices:
Library catalog subjects: Market segmentation, age groups
Lifestyle Market Analyst HF5415.33.U6 L54 REFERENCE
(for demographic characteristics tied to lifestyle choices by metropolitan area.)
read Trade publications:
ABI Inform Global / topic guide / restaurant / lists other
suggested topics "Restaurants and Consumer behavior"
Use
SanDAG (San
Diego Association of Governments) to find the optimal
location for the restaurants. (San Marcos and Rancho Santa Fe).
Once
in SanDAG navigate on the right hand column to Other Resources / Demographic and other data
to
locate county census info. and transportation info.
Research local demographics http://library.csusm.edu/subject_guides/business/
Look through trade publications such as Nation's Restaurant News and advertisements, and web sites. Look at Trade Show websites and their sponsors. Read business news stories and statistics about cost of operations for restaurant owners.
Don need's
cleaning supplies for his restaurant and a search of
Nation's Restaurant News website finds advertisements
for cleaning supplies.
Nation's Restaurant News
Some links off their site: supplier news, food trends
Thomas Register a super-catalog of manufacturers and services with links to company web sites and catalogs.
Professional industry associations as a service to their members and prospective customers associations may provide directories. Find your professional association through web searches, news releases, trade show listings. One example for suppliers is IDS Packaging: The information resource for the packaging industry.
Consider business
enterprises that have mutual customers or needs.
Don's
Doggie Diner proximity to high schools or athletic events.
The Diner may have a sharing arrangement for advertising or
coupons, with another company. Consider any useful business networking ideas.
Search secondary
literature by using keywords that hint at strategic
alliances: partner, alliance, joint, etc.
Press releases (business wire, PR newswire) searchable in the business databases
are often about these arrangements.
Regulations fall
into different jurisdictions, they are either municipal,
county, regional (water districts) state, or national.
Consider which jurisdiction cares about the issue.
For example, local business signs will fall into city or county
jurisdiction. Business license and fees will fall into
state or local. Taxes will fall under state, or
federal.
To find the various regulations, licenses and permits Don
will need he visits
CalGold website.
To learn about pending bills that could
affect his business in the near future:
State of California Web Site / Government / Legislature
/ Locating and Tracking Bills
Occupational Employment Statistics / US
Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Contains metro area wages and employment trends, lags by 18 months.
Be aware of labor union activities, in news databases, via union directories.
stockholders, see investor relation pages of public corporation shareholder meeting votes.
Created by: Ann
Fiegen