MGMT 445 Organization Design & Change: Start Here
Places to Start Research (is it public, private/subsidiary, or nonprofit?)
- Company/Organization Website: history, mission/vision/value statements (if available),10-K (for public companies) and annual reports (if available), other policy type documents (e.g., CSR/sustainability reports), media/news/press releases.
- Public companies: library databases contain company profiles (e.g., history, news, financials, competitors, analyst reports, etc.)
- Private Companies: information on public companies is much more readily available than info on private companies or subsidiaries.
- Nonprofits: check out the PSU Nonprofit Sector research guide and the Library of Congress Nonprofit Sector resource guide.
Finding 10-Ks and 20-Fs
Different ways to search for company filings
- Company's website (usually under Investors or Investor Relations); or google [company name] 10k
- EDGAR search options: Filings search tool of the SEC.
** 20-F: annual SEC filings by certain foreign corporations traded on US exchanges.
Annual Report & 10-K
While the term "annual report" is often used to describe either a Form 10-K or an Annual Report to Shareholders (or ARS), there is a difference.
A public company's 10-K (or 20-F for certain foreign companies) is an excellent source of information on its business, strategies, risks, financials, and more. It presents the company's point of view on its current condition and future direction. Other SEC filings reveal important information as well. ** Private companies or subsidiaries are not required to release detailed financials, and therefore don't need to file 10-K (annual report), 10-Q (quarterly report), etc.
- How to read a 10-KSections of the 10-K, differences between 10-K and Annual Report to Shareholders.
- Company WebsitesRecent and some historical annual reports are usually available on a company's website, usually in a section called Investors or Investor Relations. Or, google company name investor (e.g., Best Buy investor) to get to the Investor section.
- SEC EDGAR: company filingsCompany filings (including 10-Ks) from 1994 to present. ** Useful guide on researching public companies through EDGAR
Corporate Family Tree
Recommended
- Mergent Online
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Provides detailed information on US and international public companies. - Nexis Uni
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Includes full text sources for regional, national, and international newspapers as well as business, legal, and medical publications, and also, government documents.
Others
- Business Insights: Global
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Provides company and industry profiles, including SWOT reports, market share reports, investment reports, articles, financials, and case studies. - Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA)
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Provides profiles of U.S. companies, health care providers, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.
Company Profiles
Recommended
- Business Insights: Global
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Provides company and industry profiles, including SWOT reports, market share reports, investment reports, articles, financials, and case studies. - Mergent Online
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Provides detailed information on US and international public companies. - Business Source Premier
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Provides full text and citations to articles in various business publications; also includes company profiles, industry profiles, and country information.
Others
- PrivCo
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Business and financial information on US-based private companies. Searchable by companies, investors, funding, and M&A deals.
PSU faculty/staff/students please create a personal account using your PDX email - Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA)
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Provides profiles of U.S. companies, health care providers, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. - Investext (via Mergent Online)
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Provides reports written by analysts at investment banks, brokerage houses, and consulting firms. Reports cover financials and analysis on companies and select industries. - Passport (by Euromonitor)
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Provides profiles on select (mostly large) companies. - Statista
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Provides statistics from over 18,000 free and proprietary sources on a wide range of topics such as business, media, and demographics.
Executive Organizational Charts
Companies (even public ones) are not required to disclose their organizational charts. Top-level executive names may be available on company websites and in their proxy statements (for public companies), and company profile databases (e.g., Mergent Online, Reference Solutions).
- The Official BoardOffers charts for "the world's 20,000 largest corporations." Free membership limited to viewing 15 charts.
Others Suggestions:
- Search article databases or google [company name] and "organization chart" (or "organizational chart", or "organizational structure"). You can even limit your results by file type. For example, ibm organizational chart filetype:ppt or ibm organizational chart filetype:pdf.
- Request it from the company; explain why you need the information and how you'd use it (e.g., educational purposes, term paper, etc.).