The Organizational Functions

Section 7

 

In this Section:

Chapter 32: Trade Journals

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:

Chapter 33: Business Law

I doubt this comment will be news to anybody, but in the past decade or so, Americans in all walks of life have become increasingly affected by the law. Contributing factors include the extensive development and growth of federal and state legislation as well as rules and regulations that have far-reaching impact on everyday life. According to the editors of West's Encyclopedia of American Law, there has been a dramatic increase in administrative proceedings and litigation to interpret and enforce such measures. Over the years the public has made repeated demands for an effective and timely system of justice. As a result, Americans need a readily available research source to consult to gain greater knowledge and understanding of the principles, institutions, and people that through the law provide stability and structure to daily life. West's Encyclopedia of American Law (WEAL) presents in one reference set a panorama of the American legal system, which while comprehensive in scope is specific in its explanations of legal topics. This unique multi-volume work brings together diverse features and accurate text written in plain English that transcends the traditional format of legal encyclopedias and other secondary sources (translated that means it's more fun to read). WEAL provides current information on 5,000 legal topics in 12 volumes.

Chapter 34: Marketing

S&MM is a well-formatted publication with good articles about marketing and management, good editing and useful "how-to" inserts, and all business students should be familiar with its contents. Plus, its annual Survey of Buying Power is an outstanding statistical review of the marketplace. Buy the magazine and learn how to use the Survey of Buying Power (www.sbponline.com). Getting to know the S&MM monthly editions is an easy task in any case because one has only to look at the table of contents to get a feel for some of the excellent reference material offered in the monthly edition (see Table of Contents").

Chapter 35: Advertising

There can be little question that perhaps one of the most popular periodicals in the advertising industry is Advertising Age (see Recommended Supplement"); however, its primary purpose in life is to service the members of its industry with news, after all, it is called a "newspaper." As such, it is not the first source for advertising research. So we will look at the academic side first and scan the industry tabloid magazines second.
The Journal of Advertising Research reports research findings in advertising and marketing, including commentary about and from research conferences (the Advertising Research Foundation has its "Conferences/Workshops" schedule on the inside back cover). The March-April 1997 issue was particularly valuable because it focused on the relationship between advertising and the World Wide Web, which is always a good topic of discussion in any advertising class. The editor offered this comment as part of his editorial: "The Web is changing how consumers participate in the marketing communications process. As interactive media evolve further, other media and the creative advertising placed there will have to change to adapt to the Web-spun consumer." The "Table of Contents" and "Sample Page" below give good testament to this look into the future.

Chapter 36: Management

The editors of Management Review tout themselves as "America's number one publication on successful business management." They do this each month by offering interviews, practical case studies, and in-depth articles about surviving and prospering in the business world. This 65-page magazine is colorful, informative, and compact. It is reader-friendly with contemporary issues, a few cartoons, cases, summary boxes (called "Briefcase"), conference information, and some classifieds. One particularly useful attribute is the "Case Study" which focuses on a specific company, cites the challenge, and offers the solution.
The AMA provides educational forums worldwide, where members and their colleagues learn practical business skills and explore the best policies of world-class organizations through interaction with each other and expert faculty practitioners. The AMA's publishing programs provide tools individuals can use to extend learning beyond the classroom in a process of lifelong professional growth and development through education. If you are interested in the profession, consider joining the AMA, and enjoy the conferences.

Chapter 37: Human Resources

This is a very good little magazine (88 pages). There are lots of feature articles, about 8 or so averaging around five to seven pages each. Here are some examples by title (see the table of contents for a more comprehensive view):

  • "Making Telecommunications Work"
  • "Make the Most of Teleconferencing"
  • "Traveling Through Transitions"
  • "Global Work Teams"
  • "Up Is Not the Only Way"
  • "ROI: Search for Best Practices"

Chapter 38: Organizations

In lectures on the topic of organizational behavior, I do my best to point out that we are all experts in organizational behavior since we are both mindless and mindful parts of organizations. The principal aim of Organization, "The Interdisciplinary Journal of Organization, Theory and Society," according to the editors, is to foster dialogue and innovation in studies of organization. The journal addresses a broad spectrum of issues and a wide range of perspectives as the foundation for "neo-disciplinary" organization studies relevant to the 1990s and beyond. In doing so, they say, it promotes an ethos that is theory-driven; international in scope and vision; open, reflective, imaginative, and critical; and interdisciplinary, facilitating exchange among scholars from a wide range of current disciplinary bases and perspectives. Organization is a relatively new journal, but it has interesting and well-written topics, and good research material can be found here.

Chapter 39: Finance

Established in 1970, the FMA is a global leader in developing and disseminating knowledge about financial decision making. The mission of the FMA is to broaden opportunities for professional interaction between and among academicians, practitioners, and students; to promote the development and understanding of basic and applied research and of sound financial practices, and to enhance the quality of education in finance. FMA has an excellent Web site and serves as one of the most comprehensive links to financial information available on the Internet.
According to its editor, Financial Management (FM) serves both academicians and practitioners who are concerned with the financial management of nonfinancial businesses, financial institutions, and public and private not-for-profit organizations. FM's editorial policy is designed to promote interest and knowledge of issues in management and decision making at the company level. The principal criteria are originality, rigor, currency, practical relevance, and clarity. It is an excellent research source. The Web site also has a listing of career centers that FM works with at various universities. An example of an article from FM is "Resolution of Financial Distress: Debt Restructuring via Chapter 11, Prepackaged Bankruptcies and Workouts," by Sris Chatterjee, Upinder Dhillon, and Gabriel Ramirez. ("Financially distressed firms select a debt restructuring method based on the degree of their leverage, the severity of their liquidity crisis, the extent of creditor coordination, and magnitude of their financial distress".)

Optional Company References:




The Organizational Functions