PROJECT GOAL (per the syllabus): Develop a HR plan for a hypothetical organization in the industry of the group’s choosing.

Suggested Research Strategy #1: Use the library’s databases to find real company examples to gain inspiration for your hypothetical organization. The research suggestions listed below are based on the airline industry, specifically Delta Air Lines, Inc., a major player.

1. Begin at the D&B Hoovers database. (To reach the database, click on the “Databases” button on the library’s home page, http://library.umd.umich.edu/, then scroll down to “D” in the A to Z list.)
2. Type Delta Air Lines in the search box to retrieve the company record.
3. To find the company’s strategy, click on the “Company Description” link and scroll down to the “Strategy” section.
4. To find their executive titles and areas of responsibility, click on the “Contact Decision Matrix” link.

Repeat steps 1-4 above with 1 to 2 more companies in the airlines industry. How do you find more company names? Stay in this database and click on the “Competitors” link.

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Suggested Research Strategy #2: Use the library’s databases to locate articles on an executive or middle-management level employee who has just been hired, promoted, given a talk at a conference, etc. This might give you insights to that employee’s job responsibilities and reporting relationship.

1. Check the company website under “News” or “About Us” for these types of articles or use the following library databases to pull stories from newspapers, newswires, and trade journals.

• Factiva
• NexisUni
• ProQuest Research Library
• Infotrac Newsstand
• Business Abstracts with Full Text
• ABI/INFORM

A sample citation retrieved from the ABI/INFORM database is shown below.

UPDATE: Delta Air Lines' new CEO navigates through challenges, Yamanouchi, Kelly. TCA Regional News; Chicago [Chicago]05 Jan 2017.]

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Suggested Research Strategy #3: If you are researching a public company, look at their annual “Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement” (a form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission) for information on executive compensation, profit sharing, pension plans, stock options, and other monetary rewards. If the company’s website does not have a link to financial filings, use the www.sec.gov website.

1. Type the company name as a search term. 

2. Type  “DEF14A” as the form type you are looking for (the Proxy Statement).

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Suggested Research Strategy #4: As your syllabus states, use the O*Net Online website, https://www.onetonline.org, to research core competencies for each position.