Books
Understanding the process of writing a product biography
The social life of things: commodities in cultural perspective by Publication Date: 1984
Understanding the Dynamics of the Value Chain by
In his 1985 book, Competitive Advantage, Michael Porter introduced the concept of the value chain and described it as "a systematic way of examining all activities a firm performs and how they interact, (necessary) for analyzing the sources of competitive advantage," and introduced the idea of "linkages," which was the real breakthrough in management thinking. Thinking of a firm as a series of horizontal and vertical linkages put the spotlight on the silo mentality within which firms operated and how business schools structured curriculum. The silo mentality caused business students unable to see the firm as a holistic entity, an understanding of how all of its parts fit together to develop competitive advantage. Students graduating with a silo mentality perpetuated the silo mentality in business firms. This book draws together existing knowledge to help facilitate the shift of mind necessary to effectively manage the value chain, and introduces a new conception of the value chain, one that has been copyrighted (2006) and provides a new perspective of the value chain commensurate with the demands of the 21st-century global economy.
ISBN: 9781606494516Publication Date: 2013-01-25
Examples of Biographies of Commodities
Salaula by
When we donate our unwanted clothes to charity, we rarely think about what will happen to them: who will sort and sell them, and finally, who will revive and wear them. In this fascinating look at the multibillion dollar secondhand clothing business, Karen Tranberg Hansen takes us around the world from the West, where clothing is donated, through the salvage houses in North America and Europe, where it is sorted and compressed, to Africa, in this case, Zambia. There it enters the dynamic world of Salaula, a Bemba term that means "to rummage through a pile." Essential for the African economy, the secondhand clothing business is wildly popular, to the point of threatening the indigenous textile industry. But, Hansen shows, wearing secondhand clothes is about much more than imitating Western styles. It is about taking a garment and altering it to something entirely local, something that adheres to current cultural norms of etiquette. By unraveling how these garments becomes entangled in the economic, political, and cultural processes of contemporary Zambia, Hansen also raises provocative questions about environmentalism, charity, recycling, and thrift.
ISBN: 0226315819Publication Date: 2000-08-01
Suggestions to improve your research
- Search StrategiesUse the keyword strategies suggested on this library website.
Business histories and profiles
To find company profiles (Market Line reports including company histories, products, employee information etc), click on "Company Profiles" on the top, blue bar.
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Scroll down to Discover Topics > Business > Company Dossier. Search by Company name or ticker > Brands on the left menu > list of brands.
Brand biographies
Suggested keywords:
- brands, "brand choice," "brand name products," "brand loyalty," branding, "product management," "brand building," "social life," "brand biography" AND the name of a company or brand.
Reliable Websites
- Google Scholar Enables you to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research. Use Google Scholar to find articles from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories and universities, as well as scholarly articles available across the web. You can also access publications to which the Libraries subscribe.
- Brand RankingsBrand rankings by category and by industry.
Commodity Value Chain
- Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowScroll down to Discover Topics > Business > and in the main search area, select "Advanced search." Use the suggested keyword search terms.
Suggested keywords:
"value chain," "value chain analysis" "value chain management" "customer relations," Logistics, Operations, “Marketing and Sales,” Service, "Supply Chain," “Human Resource Management” AND the name of a company or brand.
Political analysis
- Think Tank SearchFrom Harvard's Kennedy School of Government library, this link is a custom Google search + list of hundreds of US and international think tanks affiliated with universities, governments, advocacy groups, foundations, non-governmental organizations, and businesses that generate public policy research, analysis, and activity.
Reliable web sources
- World News Digest This link opens in a new window
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