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Business Decision Analysis

Examples of bad decisions in the business world abound, but it's not always easy to find an interesting, novel example that your professor hasn't already read about countless times.

Take some time to think about keywords and terms writers might use when reporting or analyzing a poor organizational decision. What types of events might result from bad decisions? Think beyond just a Google search for [bad business decision]!

Check out these suggested resources below to get started identifying a decision and digging deeper for more background research.

If you need guidance, ask your librarian!

Best Bets

ABI/Inform
Contains articles on business, advertising, marketing, economics and finance.
Business Source Premier
Contains articles about business, marketing, management, accounting, finance and economic, as well as company and industry reports, and country and market research profiles.
NewsBank
A comprehensive news collection useful for exploring issues and events at the local, regional, national and international level. Source types include print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, magazines, broadcast transcripts and videos.
NewsStream (ProQuest)
Search the most recent global news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring newspapers, newswires, blogs, and news sites in active full- text format
New York Times
Full access to NYTimes.com and NYTimes mobile apps, including breaking news articles, blogs, videos and interactive features.To register, go to www.nytimes.com/passes & log in with your Cal Maritime email (@csum.edu). Renew once per year by logging in at www.nytimes.com/passes

NY Times Dealbook
News coverage including: Mergers & Acquisitions; Investment Banking; Private Equity; Hedge Funds; I.P.O./Offerings; Venture Capital; Legal/Regulatory

Journal Finder

Pro Tip: Use the Journals by Title tool in OneSearch to find which databases feature a specific magazine or newspaper, like Harvard Business Review or New York Times, and then search for articles within those publications.

Suggested Publications:

Newspapers	Magazines
New York Times	The Economist
Washington Post	Harvard Business Review
Wall Street Journal	Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Los Angeles Times	Forbes
Chicago Tribune	Fortune

Keywords to Search for Articles About Bad Decisions

Case Studies
Bankruptcy
Acquisitions & Mergers
Litigation
Shutdown
Liquidation
Insolvency
Fraud
Losses
Creditors
Investigations
Bailouts
Scandals
Repair
Risk Management
Turnaround
Business Failures
Failure Analysis
Recalls
Firing
Downsizing
Layoffs
New CEO
Employee turnover
Eroded customer trust
Stock price drop
Overruns
Graft
Bribery
Corruption
Catastrophe
Overvalued
Boycott
Plummet
Reorganization

Track Citations Using Zotero

Zotero
Great free tool for organizing sources and creating bibliographies. Zotero's home page includes links to download Zotero, documentation to help you explore its features, forums with useful questions and answers, and more!