CCBC 2011 Annual Teaching Learning Fair

January 12, 2011Cynthia Roberts, Director of Library Services Jay Whitelock, Associate Professor, Business Studies

Stacking the Deck in Your Students Favor

Essential Communication and Research Skillsfor Business

“The organization of the future is held together with information – working in such an organization will require literacy to obtain the necessary internal and external information to do our jobs “

Drucker, Peter F. "The Information Executives Truly Need." Harvard Business Review 73.1 (1995): 54-62. Business Source

Premier. EBSCO. Web. 18 Jan. 2011.

“Effective integration of information literacy skills into the business curriculum requires the development of collaborative partnerships between teaching faculty and librarians”

Wu, Yuhfen Diana and Susan Lee Kendall. “Teaching Faculty Perspectives on Business Information Literacy.” Reference Services Review 34.1 (2006):86-96. Proquest Central. Web. 28 Dec 2010.

Determine the extent of information needed Access the needed information effectively and

efficiently Evaluate information and its sources critically Incorporate selected information into one’s

knowledge base Use information effectively to accomplish a specific

purpose Understand the economic, legal, and social issues

surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally

Association of College and Research Libraries (2000)

An information literate individual is able to:

MNGT 101: Introduction to Business and Industry

A 3 credit course, which has no pre-requisites or any required minimum competency level for reading, writing or mathematics

The Course

A semester-long group project Students are assigned into groups and

provided a Public Company to researchAn outline is provided to each group The outline is coordinated with the textbook and lectures

Oral Presentation: 20 minutesWritten Report : addressing specific information about the company and minutes of their group meetings

The Assignment

Ability to identify credible information resources for business research

Practice the necessary skills to research effectively and efficiently particular business concepts for a specific public company

Improved written communication skills Improved verbal communication skills Ability to work well in a group

Learning Outcomes

Writing a documented research paperCitation format

Making an oral presentationCoordinating what each group member will presentPeer assessment of group

presentations Working in a group

Calling meetingsDividing/Assigning tasks

Communication Skills

Within the first few weeks of the semester a Library Instruction session is scheduled

During this session students sit with their groups

Research skills are integrated into the project

The Library Instruction Session

Research Skills in ContextDiscipline specific assignmentA real-life exerciseBusiness – research a public companyIntroduce students to trade

publications

Advantages

Company Annual Report

Company Website

Library Databases Business Source PremierLexisNexis Academic

Identify the Resources

How to find it on the company website Investors or Investor Information/Services

What is important in the annual report? Letter to the Shareholders Financial Highlights Form 10-K

Company Annual Report

Our Company Our Mission Our History Read with a critical eye

Company Website

Company Profile SWOT Analysis Industry Profiles Trade Publications Magazines, Journals and Newspapers

Business Source Premier

Database Features

Save material on your flash drive and then send to group members

E-mail articles to group members, including yourself

Content Company Snapshot

LexisNexis Academic

Conclusions – Stack the deck in your students’ favor Do not assume your students know how to

research Students who are required to use

information resources other than random websites of their choice develop an appreciation for research databases and develop the skills to search these resources effectively

Collaboration between teaching faculty and librarians can produce effective assignments that involve research components

Require the groups to use search profiles in Business Source Premier and save their search strategies and articles

How can we improve on this?

Thank you for joining us today!