Exams, past papers and revision tips

Posted on April 19, 2012 by eharriso

Exam Papers OnlineIt is just days to go before the university’s exam period starts on 30 April 2012.  A common question being asked in our libraries at the moment is how to access past exam papers.   Our collection of Exam Papers Online (UNI login required) can be accessed on and off-campus.

Many of Glamorgan Business School’s main papers are accessible for the previous three years (2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11), and are listed in the Faculty of Business and Society section.   Papers are arranged by module code (AF1S512 The Management of Financial Information - ST3S03 Business Strategy).  If the exam paper you require is not listed, please send an email to lrsupport@glam.ac.uk to let us know which module code you are looking for.

The following extract about how to best use past exam papers is taken from the Education Drop-in Centre guide to revising for exams:

  • Get as many past papers as you can, as early as you can – it is more useful if you do this during the early stages of your revision.  Don’t worry if you can’t understand most of the subject areas at this stage.
  • Work out what the standards are.  For example, use the old exam papers to give you an idea about how much you’ve got to cover in an answer in half-an-hour, or how much to cover in a complete exam of three hours, and so on.  If you’re on a new course, ask for specimen papers as a guide to the format and structure of the exams you should expect.
  • Try to work out the marking scheme.  As you become able to answer old exam questions, make lists of points which you think may have scored marks.  Also, try to work out the most likely causes of losing marks on the questions – in order to avoid such things yourself later.
  • Get to know what the questions may be – even before you know any of the answers.  The more you’ve tuned in to the nature of likely questions, the more receptive you are to the answers as you come across them in lectures, reading and studying.
  • Do some “question-spotting”.  Note the trends.  Note things that come up frequently.  Also look for things that haven’t come up recently and which might be “due” for another airing.  Remember, though, that question-spotting is a gamble – don’t invest too much in it!
  • Break the old exams questions down.  Break them into lots of short, sharp questions because the aim is to be able to answer every part of the question.
  • Find out what questions you’re best at.  This might help you decide what to concentrate on and how to organize your revision to maximize your strengths.

Waite, D. and Newman, L. (2009) Revising for exams. Available at: https://blackboard.glam.ac.uk/ (Accessed: 19 April 2012)

Reproduced with kind permission from the Education Drop-in Centre, Learning and Corporate Support Services, University of Glamorgan.

Posted in Education Drop-in Centre, Exam Papers | Leave a comment

Finding company and financial information

Posted on March 29, 2012 by eharriso
 business chart showing success
“business chart showing success” © 2008 http://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/. Available under an Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic licence.

It is easy for business students to assume that they can find everything they need on databases such as Business Source Premier  and Emerald.  However, occasionally they need to throw their nets a bit wider in order to capture certain types of data.  I was reminded of this today when I helped a Postgraduate student find background information about a particular company for an assignment.  The following information is an extract from “Business Information: an LRC handbook for Glamorgan Business School’s PASS Programme 2011/2012“.

Key resources for company & financial information:

Datamonitor Company Profiles Authority includes PEST and SWOT analyses and lists of competitors for over 10,000 of the world’s leading companies.

Fame allows you to find extensive data on all large companies in the United Kingdom & Ireland.  Please note that information on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is not included.  You will be able to find information such as key financial ratios, mergers and acquisitions information, identify competitors in any market, and compile email lists for key personnel in any sector.

Key Note provides a database of 7 million companies in the United Kingdom, using trusted data from Companies House.  They also publish “Business Ratio Reports” that enable you to compare, contrast and analyse the financial performance of the leading companies in each market place.

Employability:

Are you preparing for a job interview?  If so, these sources should be a key part of your research.  You can use these services to uncover latest company and industry news, analyse competitors and products, and find out more about key board members and personnel.

All of these databases can be accessed using the following route: Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > Company Information

Posted in Bureau van Dijk, Company Information, Datamonitor, Fame, Key Note | Leave a comment

How to find business case studies

Posted on February 9, 2012 by eharriso

Case studies are often used in business education to illustrate management problems.  A case study is defined by May (1984, p.3) as “an account of problem situations and events in a real or an imagined organisation”, and they are usually written by academic institutions or professional bodies for use as teaching material. Many are based on real companies, but some are fictitious and designed to illustrate certain situations.

There are several avenues available for locating case studies:

  1. Many academic textbooks written with the undergraduate in mind include case studies, usually at the end of each chapter. Check through your reading list to see if you can find any suitable candidates.  Sometimes textbooks have companion websites, for example, the 2nd edition of ‘Corporate entrepreneurship: building the entrepreneurial organization’ by Paul Burns (2008) makes its case studies available for download at http://www.palgrave.com/business/burns/corporateentrepreneurship/students.aspx?id=424.
  2. Many other books contain case studies. To find these, add the phrase “case studies” to your keyword search on our Library Catalogue.  To illustrate, here is a list of over 2,000 “case studies” titles available in our libraries across all subject areas.
  3. Find journal articles containing case studies in a similar way.  Look for your keyword(s) as usual, but add “case studies” to your search, on databases such as Business Source Premier and Emerald.  NB. Business Source Premier also gives you the option to limit your search by selecting ‘Case Study’ as a ‘Document Type’.
  4. Try a search on some of the free websites available.  I recommend biz/ed Learning Zone and The Times 100 – Business Case Studies as a starting point.
  5. There are also commercial sites available, but please be aware that it is likely you will have to pay to download anything you are interested in.  Some examples are Harvard Business School Cases (did you know cases were first introduced into business education by Harvard University  in the early 20th Century?), CasePlace.org (a library of teaching resources created by The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education) and ECCH for Students (ECCH stands for European Case Clearing House; they also provide guidance to help you to get the best out of learning with cases).

If you are connected with Glamorgan Business School, and can recommend any other resources for finding business case studies, please drop me a line.

Reference

May, S. (1984) Case studies in business: a skills-based approach. London: Pitman.

 

Posted in Case Studies | 1 Comment

How to do a literature search outside of academia

Posted on February 2, 2012 by eharriso

Following graduation, I have found it useful for my personal research and professional development to have continued access to ‘library and information science’ online databases.  Although I no longer have access through Loughborough University where I studied, and have limited access through Glamorgan because library science is not taught here, I can still access relevant databases through my membership of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.  CILIP provides access to, for example, SAGE Research Journals, Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA) and Proquest Library Science.

Of late I have been thinking about what would be available to a graduate of Glamorgan Business School to help them stay informed beyond their time at Glamorgan?   What do you do when you no longer have access to Business Source Premier, Emerald, Key Note, Leisure Tourism Database, Mintel, Proquest Psychology Journals, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, etc.? 

To add to this dilemma, I have recently received enquiries from prospective students needing to write research proposals as part of their applications.  How can they do an effective literature search/review when they don’t have a university account yet? 

This prompted me to start a discussion with other business librarians, and between us we have devised the following checklist as a starting point:

  1. If you are a member of a professional body, find out what database access and library services are offered to its members. 
  2. Find out what library services are available to alumni for all previous universities studied at.
  3. Does your nearest university allow the general public “walk-in” access to e-resources, or use of their library for reference purposes?
  4. Do you live or work in London?  If so, find out what the British Library Business & IP Centre in St Pancras can offer on-site.   Also, the City Business Library in Aldermanbury is open to all. 
  5. Do you live in Wales?  If so, you can register for free access to the National Library of Wales‘ external e-resources (National Library of Scotland and National Library of Ireland offer a similar service).
  6. Try an institutional repository search to uncover a wealth of academic, educational and research ‘open access’ web resources.  For example, the Institutional Repository Search project  and CORE  allow you to search across UK academic repositories, or try the Bielefeld Academic Search Engine  for a global search.
  7. Try searching Google Scholar (although it could prove expensive if required to pay for access to articles), the Directory of Open Access Journals and the British Library’s Management & Business Studies Portal.  

My thanks to colleagues at the British Library, Cardiff University, City Business Library, University of Brighton, University of Exeter, University of Hertfordshire, University of Liverpool and University of the West of England for their help in compiling this checklist.

Posted in Alumni, British Library, Continuing Professional Development, Libraries, Research Proposals, Wales | 1 Comment

99 DRM-free electronic books for LSTE

Posted on December 5, 2011 by eharriso

Leisure Tourism DatabaseLeisure Tourism Database (a useful database for those studying or teaching Event Management, Sport Management, Sports Development, Tourism Management, Tourism Marketing, etc.) currently provides access to 99 electronic books published by CABI.  On this particular platform (and this is unusual), the books are not subject to any Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions.  This means that there are no limits on downloading, printing, sharing, etc.

CABI regularly adds new books as they are published, so this collection will grow year on year.  The following new books have been added to the collection since August 2011:

Image reproduced with kind permission of CABI.

Posted in Electronic Books, Event Management, Leisure Tourism Database, Sport Management & Sports Development | Leave a comment

Subject Guides: helping you to find quality information

Posted on November 29, 2011 by eharriso

Subject guides: created with you in mind

Created by Information Services (Learning Resources), the new online Subject Guides are designed to help University of Glamorgan students in using an academic library and finding quality information for their university work.   Each guide includes contact details for their Information Librarian, blog updates and/or Twitter feeds, referencing and study skills guidance, and advice on finding books, eBooks, journal articles, newspapers, relevant web resources, etc. 

The following subject guides are available for Glamorgan Business School:

Further information appears in the Winter 2011 edition of ‘Connect’, pp.4-5: http://lcss.glam.ac.uk/documents/download/909/

Posted in Electronic Books, Event Management, Human Resources Management, Information Librarian, Logistics, Marketing, MBA, Newspapers, Procurement, Sport Management & Sports Development, Subject Guides, Supply Chain Management, Transport | 2 Comments

2 new reasons to use Mintel Oxygen Academic

Posted on November 15, 2011 by eharriso

For many years, Glamorgan Business School staff and students have used Mintel Oxygen Academic to access consumer and market intelligence.  It has helped them to gather data on:

  • market size, shares and forecasts
  • brand profiles
  • product innovation
  • consumer trends and their business implications
  • international developments

(Source: Mintel Oxygen Academic – Your guide for successful studies)

A recent development is that two of Mintel’s print subscriptions have been added to their online platform:

  1. Travel and Tourism Analyst - recent reports added include Australia and New Zealand Outbound, Spa Tourism – International, Boutique Hotels in the US and Eco-Accommodation in Europe.
  2. UK Retail Briefing - this is a monthly briefing providing news and analysis that includes company results, store openings, cross-border moves, M & A activities, executive changes and property developments. Additionally, each month it focuses on a key issue or specific UK retail sector.
Posted in Market Research, Mintel | Leave a comment

Finding industry and market information

Posted on October 21, 2011 by eharriso
Market vegetables
“Market Vegetables” © 2009 http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexpgp/. Available under an Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 Generic licence.

This week I was approached by a couple of nervous looking business students who had been sent to find me by their lecturer.  They had embarked on a market research project and needed to find some quality information resources. 

Their research was basically focussed on how pricing levels of alcohol affect students in the local area (I suspect that they chose their topic themselves!).  They had couple of BBC news reports they found using Google, but beyond that they were completely stuck.  They admitted to being completely befuddled by FINDit but, after a quick 5 minute demonstration of the following databases, and some tips on which keywords to search for, they left the library with renewed enthusiasm. 

First steps:

Key Note offers a vast range of market reports across every major industry in the United Kingdom, plus new and updated titles published every month.

Mintel Oxygen Academic is a one-stop online platform, designed to give students and academics fast and easy access to the same market and consumer intelligence used by professionals around the world.

Adding Depth: 

Frame data using industry profiles, SWOT analyses, product reviews, periodicals, trade publications and additional market research reports available on Business Source Premier, and by using newspaper articles found on UK Newsstand.

Hopefully, that 5 minutes will save them a lot of time and help them to achieve a better grade for their assignment.  All of these databases can be accessed by students using the following route: Glamlife > Library > FINDit > Find Database > Category > Business > ALL. 

The information in this blog post is an extract from “Business Information: an LRC handbook for Glamorgan Business School’s PASS Programme 2011/2012“.

Posted in Business Source Premier, Key Note, Market Research, Mintel, Newspapers | Leave a comment

New eBooks for Glamorgan Business School – September 2011 – January 2012

Posted on September 6, 2011 by eharriso

List updated: January 20, 2012. All links go via the new Library Catalogue (launch date 23 January 2012). For further information, please see Electronic books for the uninitiated.  For a list of the 25 most recently added electronic books, please see http://prism.talis.com/glam-ac/items?query=format%3Aebook&sort=shelveddate%3Ad&limit=25.

Albaum, G.S. and Duerr, E. (2011) International marketing and export management. 7th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Amis, J. and Cornwell, T.B. (eds.) (2005) Global sport sponsorship. New York: Berg.

Armstrong, M. (2009) Armstrong’s handbook of performance management: an evidence-based guide to delivering high performance. 4th edn. London: Kogan Page.

Armstrong, M. (2006) Performance management: key strategies and practical guidelines. 3rd edn. London: Kogan Page.

Atrill, P. and McLaney, E.J. (2011) Financial accounting for decision makers. 6th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Baron, A. and Armstrong, M. (2007) Human capital management: achieving added value through people. London: Kogan Page.

Beardwell, J. and Claydon, T. (2010) Human resource management: a contemporary approach. 6th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Berger, L.A. and Berger, D.R. (eds.) (2011) The talent management handbook: creating a sustainable competitive advantage by selecting, developing, and promoting the best people. 2nd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Boakes, K. (2010) Reading and understanding the Financial Times. 2nd edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Brewster, C., Mayrhofer, W. and Morley, M. (eds.) (2004) Human resource management in Europe: evidence of convergence?. Oxford: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Bryson, J.M. (2011) Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: a guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. 4th edn. Hoboken: Wiley.

Bull, C.J. and Hoose, J. (2003) An introduction to leisure studies. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Cassidy, T., Jones, R.L. and Potrac, P. (2008) Understanding sports coaching: the social, cultural and pedagogical foundations of coaching practice. 2nd edn. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis.

Chaffey, D. (2009) E-business and e-commerce management: strategy, implementation and practice. 4th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Chell, E. (2008) Entrepreneurial personality: a social construction. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Clements, P.E. and Spinks, T. (2009) The equal opportunities handbook: how to recognise diversity, encourage fairness and promote anti-discriminatory practice. 4th edn. London: Kogan Page.

Crainer, S. and Dearlove, D. (eds.) (2004) Financial Times handbook of management. 3rd edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Curtis, G. and Cobham, D. (2005) Business information systems: analysis, design and practice. 5th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Dacko, S.G. (2008) The advanced dictionary of marketing: putting theory to use. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dawson, C. (2009) Introduction to research methods: a practical guide for anyone undertaking a research project. 4th edn. Oxford: How To Books.

De Chernatony, L., McDonald, M. and Wallace, E. (2011) Creating powerful brands. 4th edn. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Dyson, J.R. (2010) Accounting for non-accounting students. 8th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Emmett, S. and Crocker, B. (2006) The relationship-driven supply chain: creating a culture of collaboration throughout the chain. Aldershot: Gower.

Fernie, J., Fernie, S. and Moore, C. (2004) Principles of retailing. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Fill, C. (2009) Marketing communications: interactivity, communities and content. 5th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Getz, D. (2007) Event studies: theory, research and policy for planned events. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Gilbert, D. (2003) Retail marketing management. 2nd edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Girginov, V. (2008) Management of sports development. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Gostick, A.R. and Elton, C. (2010) The invisible employee: using carrots to see the hidden potential in everyone. 2nd edn. Hoboken: Wiley.

Green, M. and Houlihan, B. (2005) Elite sport development: policy learning and political priorities. London: Routledge.

Griffiths, A. and Wall, S. (2011) Economics for business and management. 3rd edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Griffiths, S.M. and Griffiths, I. (2002) Law for purchasing and supply. 3rd edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Hannum, K.M. and Martineau, J.W. (2008) Evaluating the impact of leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hoare, S. and Leigh, A. (2011) Financial Times briefing on talent management. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Hughes, M., Patterson, L.B. and Terrell, J.B. (2005) Emotional intelligence in action: training and coaching activities for leaders and managers. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Hugos, M.H. (2011) Essentials of supply chain management. 3rd edn. Hoboken: Wiley.

Jespersen, B.D. and Skjott-Larsen, T. (2005) Supply chain management: in theory and practice. Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School.

Johnson, G., Whittington, R. and Scholes, K. (2011) Exploring strategy. 9th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Kearns, P. (2010) HR strategy: creating business strategy with human capital. 2nd edn. London: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Laws, E., Richins, H., Agrusa, J. and Scott, N. (2011) Tourist destination governance: practice, theory and issues. Wallingford: CABI.

Marr, B. (2009) Managing and delivering: how government, public sector and not-for-profit organisations can measure and manage what really matters. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Moran, R.T., Harris, P.R. and Moran, S.V. (2011) Managing cultural differences: global leadership strategies for cross-cultural business success. 8th edn. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Moufakkir, O. and Burns, P. (2012) Controversies in tourism. Wallingford: CABI.

Mullin, R. and Cummins, J. (2010) Sales promotion: how to create, implement & integrate campaigns that really work. 5th edn. London: Kogan Page.

O’Toole, W. and Mikolaitis, P. (2002) Corporate event project management. New York: Wiley.

Oliver, S. (2010) Public relations strategy. 3rd edn. London: Kogan Page.

Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J. and Boydell, T. (2007) A manager’s guide to self-development. 5th edn. London: McGraw-Hill.

Penrose, E.T. (2009) The theory of the growth of the firm. 4th edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rose, M. (2011) A guide to non-cash reward. London: Kogan Page.

Rushton, A. and Walker, S. (2007) International logistics and supply chain outsourcing: from local to global. London: Kogan Page.

Schein, E.H. (2010) Organizational culture and leadership. 4th edn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Smith, P.R. and Zook, Z. (2011) Marketing communications: integrating offline and online with social media. 5th edn. London: Kogan Page.

Stacey, R.D. (2011) Strategic management and organisational dynamics: the challenge of complexity to ways of thinking about organisations. 6th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Steffan, B. (2008) Essential management accounting: how to maximise profit and boost financial performance. London: Kogan Page.

Stiffler, M.A. (2006) Performance: creating the performance-driven organization. Hoboken: Wiley.

Storey, J. (ed.) (2011) Leadership in organizations: current issues and key trends. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Storey, J., Wright, P.M. and Ulrich, D. (2009) The Routledge companion to strategic human resource management. London: Routledge.

Tench, R. and Yeomans, L. (2009) Exploring public relations. 2nd edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Thody, A. (2006) Writing and presenting research. London: Sage.

Travis, A.S. (2011) Planning for tourism, leisure and sustainability: international case studies. Wallingford: CABI.

Trompenaars, A. and Woolliams, P. (2003) Business across cultures. Oxford: Capstone.

Vaitilingam, R. (2011) The Financial Times guide to using the financial pages. 6th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Vogel, M., Papathanassis, A. and Wolber, B. (2011) The business and management of ocean cruises. Wallingford: CABI.

Wall, G. and Mathieson, A. (2006) Tourism: changes, impacts and opportunities. 2nd edn. Harlow: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Wang, Y. and Pizam, A. (2011) Destination marketing and management: theories and applications. Wallingford: CABI.

Watson, D. and Head, A. (2010) Corporate finance: principles and practice. 5th edn. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Posted in Electronic Books, Library Catalogue | 1 Comment

An update from the (not so) new Business Librarian

Posted on August 31, 2011 by eharriso

I have just completed my first 12 months in post as the Information Librarian responsible for providing library & information services to Glamorgan Business School (see Business information – past & present).  The following is a review of progress so far regarding LRC support provided to students and researchers, which I hope has helped to make more efficient use of their time and contributed to improved marks:

  • Approximately 600 students attended a library & IT induction (September & February intakes), each session tailored to the particular needs of each group
  • 118 students attended an advanced session to improve business information literacy (e.g. ‘Finding and evaluating information’, ‘Working with electronic resources’)
  • Around 400 students/researchers emailed or phoned me with their enquiries
  • 20 students/researchers made an appointment with me for additional support and advice
  • I spent an additional 11.5 hours per week dealing with cross-faculty enquiries at the Information & Service Desks at Treforest and Glyntaff LRCs

I have also taken an opportunity to review communications with staff.  The following figures relate to current academic staff in Glamorgan Business School and current administration staff in the Faculty of Business and Society.  These figures exclude all communications with Accounting & Finance lecturers (now part of the Law School) and those that are no longer working at the university:

  • I have liaised with 67% of current Glamorgan Business School academic staff
  • The most common means of communication were: 1) email (88%), 2) face-to-face (68%), 3) phone (29%) and 4) online social network (7%)
  • I have liaised with 17% of current Faculty of Business & Society administration staff

2011/2012 will be my opportunity to catch up with the 33% academic staff and 83% administration staff I haven’t met yet, and I also hope to see an increase in numbers of students at inductions, advanced sessions, individual appointments, etc.  I also aim to learn more about how Glamorgan Business School operates by attending any relevant meetings, engaging with more researchers, and meeting the Student Voice Reps.  I have a feeling that this is going to be another busy academic year…

Posted in Information Librarian | Leave a comment