Industry Week

Description of publication

This is an excellent resource for young managers interested in the industry perspective. The format is well designed; it leads the reader to punchy articles dealing with industrial themes (growth, technology, logistics management, teaming engineers, etc.). The departments are broken down into short, but informative specialties such as "The Bookshelf," which reviews new books, three in one particular issue, and even offers the telephone numbers of the publishers for more information. Also included are "Global Watch," "Economic Trends," and "InfoCenter." One particularly interesting section is the Industry Week LitDigest and the IW ResourceFile, which shows pictures of the literature covered, gives a brief description of each of their contents, provides their telephone and fax numbers, and offers free copies. Tough to go wrong there! Here's an example of one:

"Expanding Or Moving Your Business?" If so, take advantage of the NAM's (National Association of Manufacturers) free plant-site selection service. Through the NAM's exclusive arrangement with Plant Site Locators, Inc., you can save time and money on your plant-site search.

Also, Industry Week teams with CNBC to present "Industry Week's Management Today," a weekly half-hour cable TV program exploring the management issues facing today's executives. It airs Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 a.m. (ET). Call (800) SMART TV for the cable channel in your area. This type of programming lends itself to class assignments that are original, professionally presented, contemporary, and delivered in a medium the students are comfortable with.

IW also offers two other services. Online: IndustryWeek Interactive is an on-line forum hosted by the CompuServe Information Service. The forum provides access to feature articles, as well as electronic communication and networking opportunities with other online users, featured personalities, executives, and the editors of IW. For information on joining IndustryWeek Interactive and to receive a free membership kit, call (800) 326-4146 and ask for the IW representative. If you already are a CompuServe subscriber, simply type GO INDWEEK. IW also produces conferences on topics important to executives and managers. For example, IW sponsored (with others) a global leadership forum in October 1996 that included, among other notable speakers, General Colin Powell (USA Ret.). For more information on conferences, call (800) 326-4146 or see the InfoCenter located near the back of the magazine. Training videos and lists of executives are also available.

Finally, IW conducts an annual search for America's best plants that highlights manufacturing excellence. In some cases, as Associate Editor George Taninecz writes, "it uncovers industrial dramas as well as potent performance-epics of pragmatic market ascension, triumph over corporate tragedy, and poignant tales of competitiveness combined with community spirit."

This is a very active publication, covering an important aspect of our economy, with informed research and a penchant for communication. The publication is selectively distributed throughout industry to qualified executives with management responsibilities and through subscriptions, but it is not available on newsstands.

From the academic perspective, the journal Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society (ISSN 0019-8676) is published quarterly by Blackwell Publishers, (800) 835-6770. The journal offers themes (e.g., Symposium on Compensation) for some issues, which would include four or five articles, such as "Earnings Mobility and Long-Run Inequality: An Analysis Using Matched CPS Data," by Maury Gittleman and Mary Joyce.

There probably are few students today who do not realize that the service industry sector of the economy is bigger than the manufacturing side. While the International Journal of Service Industry Management (ISSN 0956-4233), published by MCB University Press, (800) 633-4931, is not a "trade magazine" per se, it fits in closely with industry topics. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few other service industry journals...most articles of such ilk would fall within the retail categories. Contact can be made on the World Wide Web at www.mcb.co.uk . An example of an article from the June 1997 issue is "Market Orientation in UK Multiple Retail Companies: Nature and Pattern," by Hong Liu and Gary Davis.

Also, Industrial and Corporate Change (ISBN 0960-6491) has industry as its primary focus. Contact the Institute of Management, Innovation and Organization, Haas School of Business of the University of California at (501) 642-1075. The articles are very comprehensive and excellent for research support. An example of an article from its June 1997 issue is "Technological Regimes, Industrial Demography and the Evolution of Industrial Structures," by D. B. Audretsch.

Something to Think About

In reviewing "Economic Trends" in IW, could you compare Global Aggregates (Real GDP/GNP in percentages) between the G-7 countries for 1997 and Latin America?

Industry Searches

Special attention should be paid to searching for industry information because such data often serve as the foundation for any thorough macro- or microeconomic analysis. Aside from the government, trade associations are well-known sources of industry information. (According to Gale's Encyclopedia of Associations, see Chapter 19 of this text, there are over 8,000 trade associations specifically relating to business and industry.) However, according to Jan Davis Tudor ("Industry Insider," Database, December 1997), the data collected and generated by associations are often published in the form of reports that are difficult to find or restricted to association members. She points out that complete reports have rarely been included in on-line databases and only small sections of the reports are quoted in magazines, newsletters, Web sites, or press releases. And once contact is made it can be difficult (and/or expensive) to persuade personnel to send the data in a timely manner, assuming the information is available in the first place.

This problem is being overcome by a new database, called Industry Insider, created by The Investext Group (TIG) and available from TIG's Research Bank-Global Edition, a Windows-based CD-ROM-dedicated workstation, and I/PLUS Direct, an on-line service. TIG, (800) 662-7878, solicited and included the data that are most useful to its clients, such as growth trends, production rates, forecasts, import and export data, sales figures, and other statistics. According to Tudor, the database was likely to contain data from 200 trade associations worldwide by the spring of 1998. TIG is also including data from international organizations, with emphasis on the United Kindgom, Asia Pacific, and Europe. The earliest reports date from 1994 and all reports will continue to be archived.

Tudor states that some of the most valuable industry-related information she finds on the Internet is on trade association home pages. But she also offers the caveat that not all trade associations post their research data on the Internet, and those that do often publish only a segment of a complete report. In fact, the Industry Insider product manager studied the content of trade association Web site data versus the data contained on Industry Insider. She found that only four percent of association information available on Industry Insider was also available on the Internet. Tudor did her own minisurvey of 15 reports she received from Industry Insider to determine if the information was also available on the Internet. She found that only one short report was published on an association Web site.

Tudor's verdict: "All in all, I am impressed with Industry Insider. Although my searches were occasionally met with 'hit and miss' results, I was often amazed to find incredibly specific data. One example of a good 'find' on Industry Insider was a market share analysis of the tomato sauce industry from The Food Institute's 'Food Markets in Review: Tomato Products.' This one-page report provided detailed financial information of specific product lines from large food conglomerates, details that are extremely hard to find from traditional sources. This report, faxed to me within five minutes of finding it, cost a very fair price of $20." (You can contact Ms. Tudor at JT Research, e-mail: jantudor@halcyon.com )

www.industryweek.com
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Industry Week

ISSN 0039-0895
For more information, call
Penton Publishing, Inc.
Phone: (800) 326-4146
Fax: (216) 696-6023