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A current awareness resource for students & faculty members in Business & Economics


Read-on-a-bus books to get the basics of core topics & theories

Published by Mark Bodnar
simple line drawing of a person reading a book on a bus
Many (many!) years ago, I survived a class on Milton's Paradise Lost by signing out an annotated version of the epic poem — a version that featured wonderful commentary by the famous Isaac Asimov on the subtext and context of Milton's dense work.

Why am I talking about English literature in a blog about business & economics resources? Because it's a great example of how we all sometimes need a little help with complex topics. In many cases it's far simpler to bootstrap your learning by reading a book about a theory before you tackle the theory itself. (Even, to be frank, as a substitute for tackling some particularly difficult theories!)

Fortunately, there are shortcuts! Sometimes you can avoid falling asleep on piles of convoluted texts and instead get a good sense of a topic in the time it takes to ride a bus to school.

<Read on to learn about read-on-a-bus gems designed to save you time when you need to learn the basics of a complex new topic.>

New! Sage Skills: Business - interactive & flexible learning of key workplace skills

Published by Mark Bodnar

I'm very pleased to announce that SFU students (and instructors!) now have access to an online resource designed to support a wide range of foundational, high-demand workplace skills: Sage Skills: Business.

Screen capture of the logo of Sage Skills: Business

Your employers — both current and future — expect that you are also developing foundational skills needed in all workplaces during your time at SFU: skills such as problem solving, communication, leadership, and teamwork, as well as more modern requirements such as data analysis & visualization...

<Read on to learn more about Sage Skills: Business!>

Always changing, always improving: Resources to support your teaching development

Published by Mark Bodnar

simple line drawing of a person pointing at a screen
"Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, but because they can be even better.” (Dylan Wiliam)

I firmly believe the quotation above; there is always room for improvement in teaching. Even if we approach perfection (one can dream!), our context is always changing, and we have to change with it. With that in mind, I recently created a new guide for the instructors in Business & Economics: Teaching resources for business & economics.

<Read on to learn about a guide that will save you time in your quest for self improvement!>

International bus/econ data... my go-to sources!

Published by Mark Bodnar

simple line drawing of a graph
Our list of data sources here at the SFU Library is constantly growing. Paradoxically, the sheer number of sources can actually make it harder to find the exact source you need!

I thought I'd highlight some of my favourite Business & Economics data sources in a single (long!) post. I'm doing this with a specific class in mind (BUS 430 - Cross-Cultural Management) as I know those students are currently seeking international data to test some hypotheses, but I suspect these sources will be of much wider...

<Read on to learn about our many bus/econ data resources!>

Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace: Ebooks, cases & articles to support your journey

Published by Mark Bodnar

simple line drawing of people standing on various sized boxes to reach the same height, meant to connote equity
I've been reading Bias interrupted: creating inclusion for real and for good this week. This recent ebook from HBR provides a "cutting-edge, relentless, objective approach to inclusion" that goes beyond simply defining and discussing workplace diversity and equity by proposing effective steps organisations of all sorts can take to create lasting change.

As a person who is easily distracted, around about chapter 7 (title: "Can we make progress on DEI without getting all rigid and bureaucratic?") I started thinking about what other resources we might have that offer practical advice on the important topic of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) in the workplace. As always, our collection did not disappoint!

<Read on to learn about our amazing resources on this important topic!>

Financial Times via SFU: More than just the news

Published by Mark Bodnar

Is your daily news routine filled with random facts & headlines? Why not start your day with a source that offers deeper context and analysis, especially on the topics most relevant to business & economics? Check out the Financial Times!

As you may already know, university-wide access to the Financial Times was made possible in late 2020 through an initiative by the Beedie School of Business. Our direct subscription to the FT gives us full access to their visual & data journalism, videos, podcasts, and...

Financial Times logo

(Read on to learn about the analysis available from the FT... news beyond the surface facts!)

Practical & useful: Ebooks and more to support entrepreneurs

Published by Mark Bodnar

Simple line drawing of a Swiss Army knife.
One of the many things I love about working with Business & Economics is how the skills and strategies being taught are so practical & useful. In many cases, students are working on projects and policies that are directly and immediately relevant to issues and needs in the world beyond our campuses.

Nowhere is that more true than...

<Read on to learn about new ebooks and case studies to support innovators!>