| Researching Companies | |
These magazines and papers carry current comment on Australian companies. They often report on industry developments and make useful for current materials for dealing with macro economic and micro economic issues. Some activity ideas are on the left. This small list is to help students get going, however more detailed and extensive resources on companies may be found on the company search pages.
Yahoo Business News Yahoo provides heaps of coverage of Australian companies.
Google Business News Google Australia offers an excellent current collection of news stories.
The Age :Business section regularly reports on companies.
The SMH :Business Section daily commentary.
The AFR : See Investment for current details on Australian companies.
BRWSome free articles at BRW but in the main news is only accessible to subscribers.
These news sources report specifically on industry developments. They are a good place to find material when teaching markets and for folio's dealing with markets. Eg identify two demand and supply factors which have affected the industry price. The Business Wire allows students to set criteria for news searches. It is an excellent resources for groups investigating industries and market. The site requires registration however no charges apply for industry searches.
Students generally some instruction on how to use company web sites and recognise relevant material. A walk through a company web site explaining what is in each of the sections, a class quiz, or company profile activity is usually enough for students to learn how to select and use relevant and appropriate material. Point out to students that while company annual reports in particular the chairperson's or CEO's report have stacks of useful information in them, the material in company press releases is often just as good and a lot easier to understand.
Many company websites contain much descriptive and pictorial material on how the goods and services they produce are made. Prepare a poster(MS Publisher or Word) or a powerpoint presentation illustrating the production process for your company. You may download relevant pictures from their web site. In your presentation label the various factors of production that are used by your company and the stages of production your product passes through.
Draw up a list of suppliers for your company and consider the following:
How would it affect your company if two of its suppliers put up their price?
What would your company do if it could not afford to use machines? If there was a shortage of labour how would it affect your company?
Draw a chart showing all the ways your company contributes to our economy?
Divided the class into pairs. Give each pair an outline map of the world with the countries marked. Their task is to pick one Multi National organization from the Forbes list go to the company home page and mark in on the map all the countries where the MNC operates.
The class could then discuss why some countries attract MNC"s and others don't?
Students could using the Internet and the Penn world tables locate Growth rates for each of the countries their investigations covered. Using this information they could construct a graph divided into four sections. On the vertical axis Number of MNC';s and on the horizontal axis growth rates. This could be used to answer the question,
Do MNC coporations promote economic Growth in host countries ?
Students should discuss the limitations of this approach and what implications if any their findings might have for the Australian Economyand the economic costs and benefits of MNC's ?.
A class could be divided into groups and allocated a number of either Australian or MNC home pages to visit. It is best to conduct this activity after the reporting season has just finished. By scanning quarterly earning reports and company press releases, students can construct an index of either global or AUstralian Business sentiment.
Students can be asked to justify the method they used to construction the index. Compare their in index to other established indexes. Predict future values of their own index and finally explain variations between their indexes and actual events.
For either an Australian or Global company. vsiist an numnber of organisations which monitor these organisations. Eg Muti National Monitor, Corporate watcn, or anu others from this section of this page. Construct list of the claimed atrocoitis committed by variuous MNC 's or Australian companies. Eg Try exxon or Esso ? For recents comments on these companies?
Students should pick a market they are interested in. Then using both news links and the directories build up a profile current developments in that market.
Identify with evidence; price trends and changes in the pattern of demand and supply.
explain how one demand and one supply factor might influenced this trend.
Find the Home Page of an Australian company which competes in this global market
Outline the strategies the company has adopted to cope with this trend ?
Identify two demand and supply conditions that have recently caused price changes in a market of your choice. Illustrate the effect of changes in these conditions with a demand and supply diagram.
Do current price trends indicate changes in consumer preferences? Why?
How will current price trends affect the resources allocated to your chosen industry?
Predict likely movements in the market price, using evidence in your answer.
An example
Pick one current trend. For example the appreciation of the dollar.
Read the most recent CEO's or Chairmans address of a company of your choice.
Has the trend affected your company?
How has the company responded? Be specific.
What impact will your companies response have on the level of economic activity?
Explain the effect of its response on the achievement of one economic objective?
