Thursday linkdump

I'm not sure if this if going to be a regular feature in this blog, but I thought I'd share some interesting posts gathered from my readings of business-related blogs.

• Attracting the twentysomething worker
• Money and Ethics: How you stack up (quiz)
• The Ignorance of Crowds
• Obsession with the competition is a luxury of the over-funded
• Lessons from Seth Godin's talk about "The Dip" in Phoenix today
• Ambidexterity as a Dynamic Capability: Resolving the Innovator's Dilemma
• Repugnance as a Constraint on Markets
• Who should you hire?

New websites
Australian Flexible Learning Framework

New blogs
Deborah Schultz

Welcome to the Frank Lowy Library's blog

Yes, the blog has been around for some time, but the Library has decided that today is the blog's launch date. There is a link to the blog's feed on our newly remodelled home page (feedback on this is always welcome, please send us an email or leave a comment here).

Here's what you can expect from this blog if you subscribe to it:

• Library announcements, such that we'll be closed on Monday June 11 for the Queen's Birthday holiday in NSW
• Business research tips
  
• Every week, I'll post about a book recently added to the Library's collection as well as an interesting link from the web
• Other library news, such as updated research guides
  

Library closed on Saturday May 5

Because of UNSW IT Outage Servicing, the Library will be closed on Saturday May 5. Please also note that between 10 pm on Friday May 4 and 10 pm on Saturday May 5, the Library's catalogue and website and databases will not be available. The Information Commons will remain open during this time period, but the wireless network and networked printers will not be available [all electronic services, other than this blog, will be unavailable]. We apologize for the short notice and inconvenience.

no access to AFR and BRW after March 31 2007
The library regrets that abstracts will replace full text coverage of the Australian Financial Review and access to the full text of Business Review Weekly will no longer be available from factiva after March 31 2007. The publisher, Fairfax Business Media, has informed us that these two publications will be withdrawn from the factiva database from which they are currently accessed. Currently there is no other suitable online alternative. Fairfax has also introduced terms and conditions for their new online access channel that are unworkable for academic institutions. In collaboration with colleagues at other institutions and with Fairfax, we hope to find a satisfactory outcome soon. Abstracts will replace full text coverage of the Australian Financial Review on factiva. The Library has current print and microfilm holdings of the AFR, while BRW is available in print only.

Watch this space for developments as they come to hand.

how to write a business plan

An emba student wanted to know where to find business plan templates or samples. The Virtual International Business & Economic Sources (vibes) website was a starting point. It was also an opportunity to test out their "Ask a Librarian" function which is excellent. I got an immediate response and a great list of very useful sources, including the Australian government website which has information on starting a business. The United States Business Administration also offer their guidelines. The Better Business Bureau's site includes the SBA site and the bplans site. Another suggestion is Proquest5000 database, typing in the search terms 'Guidelines AND Business plans' (being careful to specify these as 'Subject' ). Of course the Frank Lowy Library holds an excellent selection of books on business plans, including The Ernst & Young business plan guide/ Siegel, Eric S. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 0471578258. Call No. 658.4012/389

Experiments in custom search engines

It's possible to create custom search engines which only search web sites which you specify. The important thing in web search is removing the false hits, which will otherwise distract you from the pearls of good information out there. I have just developing a custom search engine in Google Co-Op that searches business library web sites and the business-related blogs. The intention is to make a collection of reputable and reliable web sources, that will offer fewer false hits than a general search engine. Please note, it's very much a work in progress. If you know of a site that should be included, please send a comment to let me know. Alternatively, if you think a site should be excluded, I'm interested in hearing that as well.

presentations for MBA (Executive) EY residentials

During the month of February, staff from the Frank Lowy Library have been spending some time with EY students at their Ingleside residential to show how the library's resources can save their time and help in the research process.

As promised, here is a pdf version of the PowerPoint slides from one of the presentations.

For those who would like more information, this presentation has some extra details about using library databases.

How to login to the Frank Lowy Library's research site

1. From any page in the AGSM's website, select Login in the top right corner.

2. Enter your User ID and password in the Staff / Faculty / Students / Alumni Login section.
3. On the right hand side of the next screen, there is a section called My Menu. Choose Frank Lowy Library.
4. The front page of the Frank Lowy Library's research site looks like this for students, faculty and staff -

A few things about Factiva

Factiva provides access to unmatched global content that’s not available on the free Web, to research and monitor companies, industries, or any news.

Use this database for the most up-to-date information on company activities, issues and financials. It is also useful for the latest management topics being debated in the media.

Tips: Use the Source menu to select a particular publication or group of publications. Restrict the terms to appear in the Headline and Lead Paragraph.