Assignment title: Information


The Internet is a valuable source of databases where users can search for services and products in areas or countries that are far from their own locations. Your company is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and manufactures office furniture of various types. You have recently acquired several new customers in Australia, and a study you commissioned indicates that with a presence there you could greatly increase your sales. Moreover, your study indicates that you could do even better if you actually manufactured many of your products locally (in Australia). First, you need to set up an office in Melbourne to establish a presence, and then you need to begin importing from the United States. You then can plan to start producing locally.You will soon be traveling to the area to make plans to actually set up an office, and you want to meet with organizations that can help you with your operation. You will need to engage people or organizations that offer many services necessary for you to open your office, including lawyers, accountants, import-export experts, telecommunications equipment and support, and even trainers who can help you to prepare your future employees to work for youList the companies you would contact to interview on your trip to determine if they can help you with these and any other functions you think vital to establishing your office.Start by searching for U.S. Department of Commerce advice on doing business in Australia.Then try the following online databases to locate companies that you would like to meet with during your coming trip: Australian Business Register (abr.business.gov.au/), Australia Trade Now (australiatradenow.com/), and the Nationwide Business Directory of Australia (www.nationwide.com.au). If necessary, you should also try search engines such as Yahoo! (http://www.yahoo.com and Google (www.google.com).Rate the databases you used for accuracy, completeness of information, ease of use, and general helpfulness. What does this exercise tell you about the design of databases?