The SMCO site would serve as a portal bookmark and I might return to it if I needed to research a topic and needed to know at once a list of all the major business trade magazines, or if I needed to find multiple ways of checking company data on sources like ZDNet and Bloomberg Financial Market reports. I can see how the SMCO would be a helpful place to start compiling material for a case study. The SMCO also comes in handy because it would be too cumbersome to bookmark all the links offered there.
Several issues about the website seem disappointing, though. The SMCO's graduate school links is practically useless. Instead of offering a list of programs and departments, the SMCO simply gives useless links such as to the Kaplan GMAT Test Prep. Undergraduate or transfer students would find it much more helpful if the SMCO listed universities offering relevant degree programs, linking to those universities and directly to their department heads. Similarly, the list of "Case Links" is not really case study links as I had hoped. Rather, the list links to other websites that might then lead the user to a case study. The SMCO does not include any free sample case studies, which would make the site much more valuable for its intended audience.
Although the SMCO does not need to include links to generic search engines, the site does offer a list of sites I never would have heard of otherwise. Other students would also find the links useful because they are not companies...
Therefore, there are several links I would follow up on in the future. A long list of trade publications and international markets is helpful. Some of the research links may also be helpful in the future as I learn more about the types of discourse used in
financial analysis,
strategic management, and business in general.
In spite of its faults, the SMCO seems to be a worthwhile resource for business students. The Academy of Management has linked to the SMCO and there are some testimonials about the site's usefulness. I would link to this site because I might find that as I compile case studies or prepare advanced financial reports that I will need to use the information and resources contained here. However, students should be aware that many of the links and/or the templates on the SMCO site could be out of date because the website has not been updated since April of 2006.
At the bottom line, the SMCO website is not pretty and not perfect, but it is functional. Students of business and finance might appreciate having a set of resources in their field at their fingertips instead of relying on generic search engines. Although the site author could improve the site's image and its list of graduate school links the SMCO generally seems to be one of the better portal-type sites in the strategic management field.
References
Academy of Management Online. Retrieved Mar 20, 2007 at http://www.aomonline.org/
David, F. (2006). Strategic Management Club Online. Retrieved Mar 20, 2007 at http://www.strategyclub.com
