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BUS 100, Introduction to Business: Organizational Structure

This guide is your road map to completing your BUS 100 project. We can't possibly list every resource you might need or anticipate every stumbling block, but we've included the ones that address most companies and situations. If in doubt, ask for help.

Section Overview

In this section, you will discuss your company's organizational structure and provide an organization chart.

A Few Thoughts on Organization Charts

The best source for your company's organization chart is your company's web site. After all, who knows better how the company is structured than the company itself?

However, most companies do not share that information with the public. You can try searching the web for one, but finding a ready-made organization chart can be time-consuming and frustrating, because you end up having to verify all of the information yourself. So why not just try creating one? In fact, you probably already have all of the information you need:

  1. Consult the section of your textbook that describes the different organizational structures. Make sure you understand the difference(s) between functional, product or matrix structures.
  2. Look at the list of key people and their titles that is available through the company profiles (see below) available from Business Source Complete and Reuters. You may also find this information on the company's web site or in their annual reports.
  3. Titles of the key people will usually be linked to departments and/or geographical areas; these headings will help you map out the organization's structure and build your organization chart.

The Official Board is a web site that offers organization charts and biographies of executives for companies with more than $100 million in annual revenues. It offers some information for free, but most of the data is hidden behind a paywall.

Much of the data that appears on their web site is discovered through automated means, although they do claim to verify each executive move through direct human-to-human contact with the executive.

It's important to note, however, that some BUS 100 instructors do not consider The Official Board an authoritative resource, and will not be happy to see it in your references list. Always be sure to ask your instructor first before using data from The Official Board.

And remember, if you use information from this site, be sure to verify it using the recommended sources.

Company Profiles

A company profile is the first document you should seek after you locate the company's web site and annual reports. Company profiles can be useful in every section of your analysis and offer basic factual information (e.g., stock ticker symbol, fiscal year end, company history, key people) and third-party perspective on the company's strengths, weaknesses, and competitiveness. Different sources provide different types of company profiles, so look for one in each of the sources below (but be aware that not all companies will be included in each of these sources). 

Company profiles from Business Source Complete offer a great deal of information about your company, beyond the basic facts. A full report will include the following sections (but keep in mind that not every report will be comprehensive):

MarketLine Report Medtrack Report
  • Company Overview
  • Key Facts
  • Business Description
  • History
  • Key Employees
  • Key Employee Biographies
  • Major Products and Services
  • Revenue Analysis
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Top Competitors
  • Company View
  • Locations and Subsidiaries
  • Product Glance
  • Products by Therapy Area
  • Product Pipeline/Summary
  • Management Profile
  • Recent News
    • Company Announcements
    • Deals and Alliances
    • Financials
    • Intellectual Property
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Product Updates
    • Regulatory

Tip: Check the date on the report - most reports are no more than a year old, but you'll want to update information in any report older than 3 months.

To find a profile:

  1. Click on the link to Company Profiles in the Browse box:
    Select the Company Profiles link under the Browse options
  2. Type your company name in the search box, click "Browse," and select the link to the PDF report for your company.
    Browsing for a company profile in Business Source Complete

APA Citation Format

References

MarketLine. (2012, May 18).BMO Financial Group. http://www.marketline.com/

Medtrack. (n.d.). Pfizer Canada Inc. http://www.medtrack.com/

In-Text Citation

(MarketLine, 2012)

Note: Provide the URL of the publisher's home page (in this case Marketline). Do not provide the direct URL to the report, or the name of the database (Business Source Complete).

Company profiles from Gale Business Insights can offer a great deal of information about your company beyond the basic facts.

The categories of information vary according to the company, but typically, you'll find the following types of information:

  • Company Overview (brief description)
  • Company History
  • Chronology
  • Leadership (key executives)
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Company Hierarchy
  • Financial Performance (balance sheet; cash flow; income;  ratios)
  • Reuters Investment Profile (link)
  • Competitors
  • Industry classifications (with link to industry profile)
  • Comparison tool (compare your company to its competitors)

You'll also find links to related articles in newspapers, magazines, trade journals and academic journals on topics such as:

  • Market share / rankings
  • Market research reports
  • Legal issues
  • Management
  • Operations & technology
  • People
  • Products & services
  • Sales & marketing
  • Statistics
  • Strategy & planning

Tip: Check the dates provided for the information; although most reflect the current year, some are older. In all cases, you'll want to make sure you haven't missed any important recent information about your company.

To find a profile:

  1. Type a company name in the search box and look under "Company Profiles"

If the company name does not show up in the dropdown list, click search and if a profile exists for the company it will appear in the search results. Pay attention to the type of company, ticker symbol, and location to ensure you are looking at the correct company profile.

APA Citation Format

References

Royal Bank of Canada. (n.d.). Gale Business Insights. https://link.gale.com/apps/profile/Company/JJDFFW834899002/GBIB?u=abbo55004&sid=bookmark-GBIB

Note: The link is found in the right top corner under 'Get Link'. 

In-Text Citation

(Royal Bank of Canada, n.d.)

Reuters Investment Profile

While not available for every company, the Reuters Investment Profile offers a comprehensive profile of the company's financial performance and analysts' outlook for the company, from a well-respected source for rinancial and investment information. One of the benefits of this profile is that it provides explanations of the different measures. For example: "This section also includes the amount of Cash Per Share the company had at the time of its most recent quarterly or annual report. Most of the time, this number will be far below the stock price. In a healthy industrial company, a Cash Per Share figure that is close the stock price might suggest that investors are underestimating the worth of the company's ongoing business, thereby creating an interesting investment opportunity for you."

Look for a link to the profile in the Financial Performance section, below the Ratios. You'll also find a link to other reports related to financial peformance.

Passport GMID has two types of company profiles: a local company report and a global company profile (for large, multinational companies). A full report will include the following sections (but keep in mind that not every report will be comprehensive):

Local Company Profile Global Company Profile
  • Strategic Direction
  • Key Facts
  • Company Background
  • Production
  • Competitive Positioning
  • Scope
  • Strategic Evaluation - key company facts, financial assessment, SWOT analysis, key strategic objectives and challenges
  • Competitive Positioning
  • Market Assessment
  • Category and Geographic Opportunities
  • Brand Strategy
  • Operations
  • Recommendations

Tip: Check the date on the profile - most reports are no more than a year old, but you'll want to update information in any report older than 3 months.

To find a profile:

  1. Click on "Companies" in the menu bar, then type the company name in the search box:
    Click on "Companies," then search for your company's name
  2. You'll see the company dashboard; click on the link to the profile you want to see (if there are multiple profiles, you'll want to look at all of them).
  3. To save a copy of the profile, click on the download icon in the top left corner of the screen, then choose the format (PDF).

APA Citation Format

References

Euromonitor International. (2023, September). Estée Lauder Cos Inc in Beauty and Personal Care (World) [Global Company Profile]. Passport. http://www.euromonitor.com

In-Text Citation

(Euromonitor International, 2023)

Note: Provide the URL of the publisher's home page (in this case Euromonitor). Do not provide the direct URL to the report.

Yahoo! Finance provides current information about a company's performance, as well as news, key developments, and key people; you'll find the following categories of information about your company:

  • Summary (current stock price; earnings and revenue estimates; earnings history; EPS trends; growth estimates; news)
  • Statistics (valuations/ratios; financial highlights; profitability; management effectiveness; income statement; balance sheet; cash flow; stock price history; share statistics; dividends and splits) - be sure to read the footnotes
  • Historical Data
  • Profile (industry and sector; key executives, including compensation; descriptioin; corporate governance quality score)
  • Financials (income statement; balance sheet; cash flow) - 4 year history
  • Analysis (analysts' ratings on earnings and revenue estimates)
  • Holders (top institutional, mutual fund, and individual shareholders, as well as insider roster and transactions)
  • News (news; press releases) - some ads, but they're labelled (and unrelated)

To find a company profile:

yahoo finance web site search box

To view footnotes for company statistics:

APA Citation Format

References

Telus Corporation (T.TO). (2023, September 20). Yahoo! Finance. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/quote/T.TO/insider-roster?p=T.TO

Walker, A. (2023, September 20). Better buy for TFSA passive income: Telus stock or TD Bank? The Motley Fool. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/better-buy-tfsa-passive-income-191500085.html

In-Text Citation

(Telus Corporation, 2023)

(Walker, 2023)

Note: When referencing the company's main web page on Yahoo! Finance, use the current date, since the information is reported as of that date.

Morningstar is an investment research company that offers both free and paid content on more than 6,000 investment funds available in Canada. The following information is available for companies listed on the site:

  • Quote (stock price plus summary information: news & events, company profile, key stats, analyst recommendation, competitors, ownership, financials, and filings)
  • Analyst Report (for purchase - don't bother)
  • Chart (interactive, shows stock performance over time)
  • Shareholders(equity and debt, owner activity, fund owners style)
  • Financials (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow over 5 years)
  • Insiders (executive compensation, key executives, board of directors)
  • Performance (return, price history, dividend & splits)
  • Key stats (financials and key ratios over 10 years)
  • Valuation
  • Filings (financial and other documents filed with the government)

To find a profile:

Enter the stock symbol in the "Fund/Stock" search box at the top of the screen, then select a profile from the list (note that there may be more than one entry for your company, if it's traded on more than one exchange):

Stock Analysis offers much of the same type of company information as other company profiles, but it also offers some unique features, including forecast data from individual analysts and employee data.

To find analysts' recommendations:

  1. Click on the "Forecast" tab
  2. Select "Analysts Ratings"

To find data on employees:

  1. Click on the "Profile" tab
  2. Select "Employees"

APA Citation Format

References

TELUS Corporation (TU). (2023, September 20). Stock Analysis. https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/tu/

TELUS announces three-tranche note offering. (2023 September 5). Stock Titan. https://www.stocktitan.net/news/TU/telus-announces-three-tranche-note-wygis6oass6u.html

In-Text Citation

(TELUS Corporation, 2023)

(TELUS announces, 2023)

Note: When referencing the company's main web page on Stock Analysis, use the current date, since the information is reported as of that date.

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