Search & Find
MNE 409: Management Operations Technology
- Management Databases
- Information Technology Databases
- Mining And Engineering Databases
- Library Research Resources
From the syllabus: "This course covers management information technology, advanced management and financial tools, operations research, database design, incentive systems and workforce motivation ... Mining technology has evolved to include not only large, complex machines, but also complex, involved information systems that require knowledge of management techniques and computer skills."
The first rule of business research: DON'T PANIC!
Business and management resources are extremely well-indexed -- so well, in fact, that it's fairly easy to find information about most business topics.
The second rule of business research: The best things in life are free; other things will cost you.
Some business information will not be available to you for a variety of reasons. Many companies' processes are classified as trade secrets and are thus not available to the public. Private companies are under no obligation to report anything at all to the public. Some information is so esoteric or specialized that it's not reported anywhere but in highly specialized trade journals to which the University of Arizona do not have access. And some information is collected by companies that then require a large fee for access -- fees that the University of Arizona Libraries can't afford. Almost everything you'll need for this class is readily available from the UA Libraries' databases.
Management Databases
Business & Company Resource Center
Company and industry profiles, company brand information, business rankings, investment reports, and articles from business periodicals. Mostly full-text. BCRC is a great database for locating information about mining companies and their internal processes.
For best results: try a company search, using the name of a company. For example, let's say you were interested in Phelps Dodge's operations. On the BCRC home page, click on "Company," then enter "Phelps Dodge." From the resulting list of companies, choose the company name with the ticker tape symbol in parentheses. This will take you to BCRC's main entry for Phelps Dodge Corporation. The tan-colored box on the left has links to news articles about Phelps Dodge, sorted by subject ("Operations and Technology," "Strategy and Planning," et c.), and the row of tabs on the top of the page has links to corporate histories, industry snapshots, rankings, and other useful items.
Includes citations and abstracts of articles in over 1000 academic journals, magazines, and newspapers, of which over half are full-text. Broad subject coverage of business, management, accounting, information sciences, and related disciplines. Also includes information on over 60,000 companies.
For best results: use the "Browse topics" option to find the appropriate subject headings for research. For example, if you needed articles about operations management, you might browse for "operations management." Now only would you find "operations management" and "operations management AND production management" listed as possible topics, you would have the opportunity to refine your search by clicking on "NARROW by related topic." Suggested topics include "performance evaluation," "operations research," "quality control," and "production management."
Management case studies of particular companies can be located by doing a combined company name and document type search. For example, if you were looking for case studies about Phelps Dodge's operations, you would enter "Phelps Dodge" next to "Company/Org" in the pull-down menu and "case study" next to "Document Type" in the pull-down menu.
Materials Business File focuses on industry news, international trade data, government regulations and management issues related to the metals and materials industries. Updated monthly. MBE is a particularly good database for locating information about industry technological processes.
For best results: use the Thesaurus linked at the bottom of the page under "Search Tools" to find appropriate subject headings.
The addition of a psychology database to a list of management databases may seem odd; however, PsycInfo is a great place for finding studies on the psychology of management and related topics, like motivation, goal-setting theory, and reinforcement theory. PsycInfo contains citations and abstracts to articles in journals, dissertations, and book chapters in all areas of psychology. Many articles are available full text.
For best results: use the Thesaurus linked at the top of the page in the green tool bar to find appropriate headings. For example, "goal setting theory" will take you to the following subject headings: goal orientation, goal setting, incentives, and and motivation.
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