Business & Entrepreneurship Resource$

Library Orientations for Saunders Business Students

Four library orientation presentations for business students are now available at http://library.rit.edu/saunders-library-orientations.html. Each of these is geared to a specific population (First Year Students, Transfers, MBA's and EMBA's) with some crossover information which can help everyone. Each of these presentations requires PowerPoint to view and can be downloaded or viewed right away.

SEC Announces Successor to EDGAR Database

"Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox today unveiled the successor to the agency�s 1980s-era EDGAR database, which will give investors far faster and easier access to key financial information about public companies and mutual funds." The full press release is available at http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-179.htm

Beverages & The Olympics

CNBC highlights three beverage giants and China. Video for three stories on Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola and Starbucks is available from this page. Tony Ponturo, Global Media & Sports Marketing VP for Anheuser-Busch and Joe Tripodi, Coca Cola's Chief Marketing Officer are interviewed in separate segments. Both give insight into Olympic advertising and promoting products in China. In the last piece Carl Quintanilla of CNBC visits a Starbucks in China and shows the similarities and differences. CNBC posts free video daily here.

India Rising

The PBS show NOW just broadcast an episode on the rise of the middle class in India. The show provides an in-depth look at both the impact on the world's economy and the changes in India from various points of view. Click here to view the episode and review extra materials including a report from McKinsey & Company on "The Rise of India's Consumer Market." A transcript for this show will be added within 1-3 business days from the broadcast date. Interviews in the episode include Robyn Meredith, author of The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us. Her book is available from our Connect NY partners. Gurcharan Das, former CEO of Procter & Gamble India, and current columnist and intellectual is also interviewed. His book India Unbound is available from the RIT Library in print and electronic format. His blog can be accessed here.

Imagine RIT: Innovation + Creativity Festival

Welcome to the RIT Library and Imagine RIT! The Festival takes place from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. today and is designed to demonstrate what can be accomplished when, as RIT President Bill Destler likes to say, �the right and left brain collide.� In the Library visit the Idea Factory on the 1st floor to see "Libraries of the Future" and the "Edible Books Fair." Head up to the 2nd floor to "Celebrate Great Innovators in Graphic Design" and to see a "Coptic Book Binding Demo" at 10:30am and 1:30pm. To see the full Festival Program click here.

What's a Recession?

The Wall Street Journal has a nice FAQ for folks who know nothing about recessions.
For more articles on recessions check out this search in ABI.
And of course take a peek at the books on recessions
available from the RIT and the Connect NY Libraries.

Country Etiquette Information

Many assignments in international business require you to find basic country or cultural etiquette. The library has a number of resources for this. Start in the database CountryWatch. Look up your country and then go to the link "Cultural Etiquette" under the section "Social Overview." Also take a look at the book Kiss, bow, or shake hands : the bestselling guide to doing business in more than 60 countries which is available at the Circulation Desk. We also have a series of Culture Shock books for individual countries. These books are written to help business travelers and tourists get up to speed on the countries they are visiting. Click here to see the list. All of these books can be checked out. A few free web sources also offer etiquette information such as Kwintessential, International Business Etiquette, Country Insights, and Executive Planet.

Rochester's Subprime Mortgages and The Trauma of Foreclosure

The New York Times has an interactive map showing the various percentages of mortgages throughout the state that are based on subprime loans. In most neighborhoods in the city of Rochester more than 50% of the mortgages are subprime and in some neighborhoods it is as high as 83%. Next August most of these mortgages will readjust again (most likely upward) putting pressure on each individual homeowner's ability to make payments on time in order to prevent foreclosure.

The Times has also put together a powerful photo essay illustrating the trauma of foreclosure.

Click on these ABI/ProQuest subject headings to read more about subprime lending, mortgages, foreclosures.

Edward Gramlich's book Subprime Mortgages: America's Latest Boom and Bust contains a "comprehensive assessment of the subprime mortgage market."

Best Global Brands

The annual BusinessWeek/Interbrand ranking of "The Best Global Brands" is featured in the August 6, 2007 issue. The top five brands are Coca-Cola, Microsoft, IBM, GE and Nokia. See the whole list in the print copy of this issue which is available in the current magazines section on the 2nd floor of the library. An electronic copy will be available in ABI & Proquest shortly here.

The Mystery of the Black Swan

Nassim Taleb, author of The Black Swan, was interviewed over the weekend by NPR about the stock market's large drop last week. He spoke about the mysteries of the market and chastised investors who were "worrying about your investments on Sunday." Click here to listen. An in-depth interview with Taleb and an excerpt from the book are available here. NPR makes transcripts of programs available for free to deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Instructions on how to obtain NPR transcripts are here. Transcripts are also available in Factiva. A copy of The Black Swan is available in the RIT Library.

Patron Library Accounts Now Use RIT Username and Password

Current RIT students, faculty and staff no longer need a separate PIN for their library accounts. Just use your RIT username and password to log into your account. Your library account can be viewed here https://albert.rit.edu/patroninfo~S3/

The library account can be used to view and renew checked out items, see fines, place a hold on a book another patron has checked out, set up preferred searches, create email alerts and request books from our ConnectNY partners.

"C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success"

�As head of a global company, everything attracts me as a reader, books about different cultures, countries, problems. I read for pleasure and to find other perspectives on how to think or solve a problem." So says the chairwoman and chief executive of Ogilvy & Mather in an article in the New York Times about the private libraries CEOs have built over the years. The collections of Visa's Dee Hock, venture capitalist Michael Moritz, Nike's Phil Knight and Apple's Steven Jobs are described. "Serious leaders who are serious readers build personal libraries dedicated to how to think, not how to compete."

Selected CEO Favorite Books:

Swimming Across by Andy Grove

Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence

Rub�iy�t by Omar Khayy�m

The City of God by E. L. Doctorow

Various works by William Blake

Nike Suspends Vick Shoe

According to Ad Age Nike is suspending the release of a new training show shoe endorsed by football player Michael Vick. Vick was recently accused of being involved with dog fighting and may soon be indicted. Read more about Vick here. AirTran Airways has already decided not renew Vick's endorsement deal which has been in place since 2004. Nike's first statement on Vick's legal situation is here.

Top read more about how companies can deal with unexpected negative events try these books:

Marketing Mistakes and Successes

Crisis Marketing: When Bad Things Happen to Good Companies

Harvard business essentials : crisis management : master the skills to prevent disasters

Fed Anticipates Slower Growth of US Economy

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve yesterday told the House Financial Services Committee that the economy was expected to grow slower than anticipated in his previous statement to Congress. He cited "an ongoing adjustment in the housing sector" as the main reason for the forecast adjustment. In addition to a slowing in home sales, "rising delinquencies and foreclosures are creating personal, economic, and social distress for many homeowners and communities--problems that likely will get worse before they get better." To read his full testimony here.

To read coverage of his testimony from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Financial Times click here

To learn more about the Federal Reserve take a look at these books available from the RIT Library. The Fed also has a variety of information about it's mission, purpose, structure and functions here.

China, Product Liability and the Law

NPR's Morning Edition broadcast an interesting story on how the Chinese companies responsible for tainting pet food are not the targets for lawsuits by consumers who lost pets. Click here to hear the story and why lawyers are going after distributors and retailers instead of the Chinese manufacturers. A transcript of the story will be available soon in Factiva. To retrieve it go to Factiva and search for sn=morning edition. I will post the title to search for when it is made available. NPR also makes transcripts of programs available for free to deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Instructions on how to obtain NPR transcripts are here.

The documentary series Wide Angle also has an interesting program on the transformation of China's legal system as the economy changes. Click here to watch the documentary and here to read the transcript.

To test your understanding of China's legal system try this quiz .