Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Company ProfileWant free access to the sum of all human knowledge? Wikimedia Foundation can give it to you. The not-for-profit organization has produced a plethora of free-content wiki projects, including one of the most visited sites on the Internet, online collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia (the foundation's first project). The term wiki (a Hawaiian word for "fast") describes a collection of Web pages designed to enable anyone with Internet access to contribute or modify content.  Wikimedia has a paid staff of about 30, while hundreds of thousands of volunteers contribute content. The Wikimedia Foundation is funded primarily through donations and grants, and was founded by Internet e

Financials

Company NamePRIVATE_NON_PROFITSINGLE_LOCATION

Market Value0.0as of

Sales (mil) 52.804Employees 168

ntrepreneur Jimmy Wales in 2003. 

Year Founded

2003

Annual Revenue (mil)

$52.804

Income StatementRevenue $52.804Gross Profit $0Operating Income $0Net Income $8.286

Income StatementDiluted EPS $0

Credit Rating

LowThese businesses have a low projected risk of delinquency and a moderate to low risk of failure

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, INC. Sales PreparationEncyclopædia Britannica thinks it knows everything, and it probably does. The company has responded to the digital age by putting all of its information online (Britannica.com), as well as on CD-ROM and DVD, and via mobile applications. In 2012 it ceased publishing the print version of its flagship 32-volume Encyclopædia Britannica (first published in 1768). Encyclopædia Britannica also publishes dictionaries online through its Merriam-Webster subsidiary, while its Britannica Digital Learning publishes education products. Swiss financier Jacob Safra (a nephew of the late banking king Edmond Safra) owns the company.

Financials

Company NamePRIVATEHEADQUARTERS

Market Value0.0as of

Sales (mil) 36.4Employees 439

Year Founded

1768

Income StatementRevenue $36.4

World Book Inc. Company ProfileWorld Book literally offers the world at your fingertips.  The company publishes encyclopedias (including its flagship World Book Encyclopedia) and other educational reference materials, focusing primarily on the school and library markets. All total, World Book publishes nearly 90 reference titles. In addition to its print, CD, and DVD products, the company also offers World Book Online Reference Center, its subscription-based Internet reference service. The company was founded in 1917, and is a subsidiary of diversified manufacturer Scott Fetzer Company, itself a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

Financials

Company NameSUBSIDIARYHEADQUARTERS

Market Value0.0as of

Sales (mil) 28.8Employees 200Income StatementRevenue $28.8Gross Profit $0Operating Income $0Net Income $0Diluted EPS $0

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. is a global educational publisher with products that

promote knowledge and learning. We provide timely relevant, and trustworthy

information and instructional products, which are widely used in schools,

universities, homes, libraries, and workplaces globally.

In a world where questionable information is rampant, we provide products that

inspire confidence, with content people can trust. It has constantly been our effort

to establish a legacy of trust and dependency since 1768 , and we will continue to

do so, by collaborating with experts, scholars, educators, instructional designers,

and user—experience specialists. Moreover, to ensure that the quality of our books

is never compromised we subject the work of the experts to rigorous multi-layered

editorial review.

We strongly involve ourselves with schools, parents and educators, designing

products for the 21st-century classroom and today’s home learning environments.

We’re a pioneer in digital education, and our products are marked by engaging and

trustworthy content.

Many people know and remember us as the publisher of those big multi-volume

encyclopaedias that have been a source of joy and learning since 1768. Today those

encyclopedias are chiefly found in a multitude of digital forms that are updated

daily.

But we do a lot more today. We’ve changed and expanded.

In sync with the digital revolution, Britannica is now online—in the form of e-books

and on mobile devices as well. From the 2nd-grader who wants to learn maths to

teachers explaining the laws of gravity, to the lifelong learner trying to understand

the latest political crisis, Britannica is for everyone!

●Searc

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Wikipedia Strengths

Strengths

"Wikiality"

Citizen authored content – anyone can create or edit articles.

Strong in areas of popular culture, current affairs and science

(see I Want My Wikipedia! article published in Library Journal)

"Self-correcting"

Wikipedia is constantly improving, as Wikipedians can correct errors in seconds! 

With time, articles seem to get better and better.

Convenient

Free

Many other online encyclopedias are not.

For more strengths see:

Why Wikipedia is So Great

(According to Wikipedia)

Comments (0)

Wikipedia Weaknesses

"Wikiality"

Are scholars or experts in the field writing and editing these entries? Take your chances. 

Some wikipedia contributors have even faked their credentials!

Entries have errors

Entries may be disorganized, have duplications, and be inconsistent.

Take a look at the long list of Wikipedia articles needing factual verification.

Wikipedia itself makes no guarantee of validity!

Not definitive

Founder Jimmy Wales notes, “It’s good enough knowledge, depending on what your purpose is.”

A work in progress

Wikipedia does not declare any of its articles to be "complete" or "finished."

For more weaknesses see:

Why Wikipedia is Not So Great 

(According to Wikipedia)

Comments (0)

Of course, Britannica now has a really big competitor. Wikipedia, which was launched in 2001, now has more than 20 million articles in 283 languages. “It’s written by over 31 million registered users and countless anonymous contributors worldwide and visited monthly by around 14.5 percent of all Internet users.” I know this because I read it in Wikipedia, but because Wikipedia articles are often anonymous, this is one of the few times I’ve cited it.

SWOT analysis for Encyclopaedia Britannica can provide a competitive advantage.

Strengths

-high growth rate-experienced business units-barriers of market entry-domestic market-high profitability and revenue

Weaknesses

-high loan rates are possible-small business units---competitive market-investments in research and development-future competition

Opportunities

-new products and services-growing demand-growth rates and profitability-income level is at a constant increase-new acquisitions

Threats

-financial capacity-increasing rates of interest-unexpected problems-global economy-tax changes-rising cost of raw materials-increase in labor costs