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Business Administration

Montgomery Library's Guide to Business Resources

Welcome to the course guide for BA 606: Team Management!

 

First, let's explore the items on the navigation menu to the left.

 

TRAAP-test for evaluating the quality of sources

Timeliness  -  Is the information up to date?

Reliability  -  Does the author provide a list of sources to verify the information?

Authority  -  Is the author an expert in the field? What are the author's credentials?

Audience  -  Is the resource scholarly, or is it written to enlighten or entertain the public?

Point of View  -  Does the author try to present a biased or an unbiased point of view?

The sources available through the Montgomery Library are much more reliable and authoritative than most of the materials that pop up during a web search, but you still should ask these questions above for any source you find.

Evaluating sources is a skill to work on during your whole life as the information environment evolves. After graduation, you can find quality print and online sources at your local library. For example, if you live in Chicago, you can explore the Chicago Public Library system. The search strategies we learn today will apply to basically any library website.


 

Resources for Modules 1-2: Academic Sources for Finding Definitions of Terms and Concepts

 

Here are some key terms from this course: team processes, team communication / communication in teams, team conflict, team leadership, groupthink, conflict types, conflict styles, team performance, and team satisfaction.

 

 

Databases for Defining Commonly Used and General Terms

 

Here are two databases in CU Library that can be used for finding definitions of commonly used, general terms. Let's try groupthink and also leadership in the following databases:

  • Gale eBooks - Formerly called Gale Virtual Reference Library, this is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
  • Encyclopedia Britannica - Academic Edition - articles, primary sources, journals, and other academic research tools

 

 

Databases for Defining Complex and Specialized Terms

 

For more complex and specialized concepts, such as team processes, it may be better to search for how that word is defined in an academic article from a database. When searching in a database, it is usually better to use quotation marks for multi-word concepts when you type them into the search box, as in the following examples:

"team processes"

"team communication"

"communication in teams"

"team conflict"

"team leadership"

"conflict types"

"conflict styles"

"team performance"

"team satisfaction"

 

If you want somewhat more general articles about similar topics, you can also try using the word AND in capital letters to require that results mention both terms:

Team AND conflict

Team AND communication

Team AND leadership

 

 

When you download or view an article or chapter, first read the introduction to figure out the purpose of the article. Then use CTRL + f (or command + f on a Mac) and type the concept in the search box to find the concept in the article (f stands for find). Let's try this technique with some of those key terms by searching in the following databases and searching within the articles:

 

  • ABI/INFORM Global - in-depth coverage for thousands of publications on the latest business and financial information

  • Business Source Premier - collection of popular business magazines, scholarly journals, and trade publications covering business, real estate, trade, and technology

    • Note: This source includes Harvard Business Review, so you can try searches like this to search for terms within this publication:

"Harvard Business Review" AND team AND communication

New: Click here to directly browse articles in Harvard Business Review 

  • Academic Search Complete - journal and newspaper coverage for most academic areas of study

  • CU Search - Campbellsville University's database containing our books, e-books and 83 databases spanning all major disciplines. 

    • Let's use CU Search to find an e-book about one of these course concepts above, and then search within the e-book for the concept.

  • For additional databases recommended for business majors, go back to the top of this guide page, and click the link on the left navigation menu for "Articles and Databases."

 

Note: While looking at sources, you might also notice other key terms related to this field, such as organizational communication. 

 

 

 

Resources for Modules 3-4:

Method 1 for searching Harvard Business Review magazine:

  • Our goal is to find the article by Frei and Morris (2023).
     
  • Go to the library homepage and find the search bar for CU Search. Type the following, and make sure you are using quotation marks:
    • "Harvard Business Review"
       
  • Press enter, and look at the options that appear on the left side of the screen.
     
  • Under the "Looking for a..." section, click the box for e-Journal, e-magazine.
     
  • Click "Access Journal" under the listing for the Harvard Business Review.
     
  • On the right side of the page, click the year and the issue you want to view.
     
  • Other option: searching
     
    • Click "Search within this publication" (it is a little blue link on the left).
       
    • In the search box, add the word AND in all capital letters, and type the author or topic you want to search. The search phrase should look like this:

      • JN "Harvard Business Review" AND trust
         
    • Find the source you want, which you can view as HTML or a PDF.
       
    • Here are some other searches to try:
       
      • JN "Harvard Business Review" AND Frei
         
      • JN "Harvard Business Review" AND trust AND team

         

Method 2 for searching Harvard Business Review magazine:

  • Go to the CU database called Business Source Premier.
     
  • Type your topic, followed by the word AND in all capital letters, followed by "Harvard Business Review" in quotation marks. Here is an example of exactly what to type:
    • trust AND "Harvard Business Review"
       
  • Add more topics to get more specific results:
    • trust AND team AND "Harvard Business Review"
    • trust AND team AND conflict "Harvard Business Review"
    • team AND conflict "Harvard Business Review"
       
  • You can add an author too:
    • Frei AND trust AND "Harvard Business Review"

 

 

Finding the French and Raven study from 1959

  • One efficient tool for looking up older studies like this is Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/.
     
  • Google scholar is very comprehensive, so it includes a lot of unverified materials that are not peer reviewed. It might even include essays that undergrad students wrote--don't cite those in a paper you are writing!
     
    • To find the study, go to Google Scholar and search for French and Raven 1959.
       
    • You will find that a university uploaded the article for download, and the link is provided. 
       
    • Google Scholar has useful features called "Cited by" that shows the impact of a particular study.
       
    • Google Scholar has an automatic citation tool too. Make sure to edit any automatic citations as the often have errors.
       
  • If an article seems interesting, you can check if it is available in CU Search or Academic Search Complete at the Montgomery Library website.
     
  • The French and Raven (1959) article can also be found in a book of classic business articles here at the library. Let me show you how to find it, just so you know how. It is possible to request CU Library books through the mail or to look at a local library where you live.

 

Suggested E-Books at Montgomery Library and Online for Free

Textbooks with relevant chapters:

Organizational Behavior, on OpenStax: https://openstax.org/details/books/organizational-behavior

Principles of Management, on OpenStax: https://openstax.org/details/books/principles-management

Organizational Behavior: An Evidence-Based Approach Fourteenth Edition (2021. Textbook. Includes topics such as group and team dynamics, interventions, motivation/rewards, decision making, etc.): https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=2527726&site=ehost-live&custid=s4338230

A Manager's Guide to Human Behavior (A bit old: 2010. Textbook with activities and chapters on team dynamics, team interventions, team decision making, team communication.): https://campbellsvilleuniversitylibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/755715685

Organizational Behavior: Integrating Individuals, Groups, and Organizations (Routledge, a bit old):  https://campbellsvilleuniversitylibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/671761326

Resource for the concept definition assignment:

Encyclopedia of Management (2012): https://campbellsvilleuniversitylibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/780139390

Find concrete examples of business team conflicts (short stories) that could promote class discussion or be used for assignments:

Stories to tell your students : transforming toward organizational growth (2011): https://campbellsvilleuniversitylibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/774695962

Other possible books for finding relevant chapters:

Business Ethics, on OpenStax: https://openstax.org/details/books/business-ethics

(Chapters about different cultures and employee obligations to one another could be useful.)

Managing Group Process (Old: 2003, but good): https://campbellsvilleuniversitylibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/57436370

How great decisions get made : 10 easy steps for reaching agreement on even the toughest issues. (Old: 2004, but good)

https://campbellsvilleuniversitylibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/53482703

The politics of working life ((Oxford University Press, 2005, see Chapter 8 Is Decision-making a Rational Process?): https://campbellsvilleuniversitylibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/68623634

Academic Case Study (could promote discussion or be analyzed as an example):

Organization Management – Dynamic Creative Team Coordination

https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/84417

 

 

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