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Module 2: COMPANY BASICS

Using Directories to Find Basic Company Information

Managing the Information

Assessment


Managing the Information

How can I create a list of companies?

As you are learning, there's a lot of information. Your task is to find the information that's most relevant to you and use it to your advantage. But too much information becomes unwieldy. If you get too many results, you may want to conduct the search again, adding another criterion. If you find yourself with more information than you can handle, go back to your original questions in Module 1 and see if you have been as specific as you can possibly be.


Melissa, from InfoUSA, demonstrates the scope of ReferenceUSA's directory.
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What if I can't find the company I'm looking for?

Despite the mountains of information at your fingertips, there may be situations in which you still can't find what you're looking for. Sometimes a straightforward approach does not work, and you will have to start looking from other angles. Perhaps the company you're looking for is very new and has not received -- or sought -- publicity. Or there may be other, logistical reasons for your not finding relevant results. In any case, it's time to ask a few more questions.

What is the company's full name?

Sometimes it can be tricky to ascertain the exact spelling or form of a company's name. The use of acronyms and features such as and, &, Co., Ltd., Inc., and so on can also confuse the situation. The name of a business that is familiar to you may not be its official name. For example, Macy's is listed under Federated Department Stores, its parent company (which also owns Bloomingdales and other department stores).

What are the company's corporate and trade affiliations?

Information about one company may be reported by an associated company, such as a parent/sister or subsidiary company. You may have to determine relationships between brand names, trademarks and patents, for example, to discover a company's official name. Tip: Chamber of Commerce websites are also helpful.

Companies -- particularly smaller ones -- may also make use of their industries' trade associations, and so should you. Trade associations can be goldmines of information about their member companies.

Using Gale's Encyclopedia of Associations will help you to locate associations. This publication provides detailed descriptions of more than 160,000 international and U.S. national, regional, state, and local membership organizations in all fields.

Example of an entry from Encyclopedia of Associations:

American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA)
405 Lexington Ave., 18th Fl.
New York, NY 10174-1801 USA
Phone: (212) 682-2500
Fax: (212) 682-8391
URL: http://www.aaaa.org

Contact(s): O. Burtch Drake, Pres. and CEO
Founded:1917
Organization Notes:
Founded: 1917. Members: 600. Staff: 90. Budget: $8,000,000. Regional Groups: 4. Local Groups: 27.
Languages: English.
Description: Fosters development of the advertising industry; assists member agencies to operate more efficiently and profitably. Sponsors member information and international services. Maintains 47 committees. Conducts government relations.
Libraries: Type: not open to the public.
Subjects: advertising, marketing.
Library Type: not open to the public
Awards: O'Toole Award.
Frequency: annual.
Type: trophy.
Recipient: for creative excellence in advertising.
Publications: AAAA Publications Catalog, periodic. Lists publications. * Agency Magazine, quarterly.
Price: free to members; $20.00/year for nonmembers; $40.00 foreign. ISSN: 1054-7371. Circulation: 35,000.
Advertising: accepted. * Back Channel Newsletter of Interactivity, quarterly. * Roster and Directory, annual.
Conventions/Meetings: annual conference and trade show (exhibits) * Media Conference and Trade Show (exhibits) * Print Production Conference.

Is the company still in business?

In these days of daily corporate mergers, takeovers, and buyouts, a company that you are looking for may have ceased to do business under its former name, or indeed may have ceased to do business at all. Before you give up hope, try to locate resources that track name changes, mergers, and other changes in companies' structures, and those that track bankruptcy and liquidation. Mergent Online is one of the resources that provides this information.

Are the company's directors and officers listed in the resource I'm using?

Information such as a company's product or the names of the company's executives may be all you have to go on when conducting your research. You may be able to find a resource that uses this type of information as an access point. For example, volume 2 of Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors, and Executives contains biographies of directors and executives."

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