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Offering a comprehensive
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Singleness of purpose
drives top execs
By ROXANNE SMITH
High schoolers operate small businesses
Business education for youth
The major characteristic com
mon to corporate chief executives
is singleness purpose according to
a study undertaken by an execu
tive recruiting firm.
The study, compiled by Busi
ness Careers Inc., a firm based in
New York and Chicago, said that
almost every successful executive
had determined early in his career
that his ultimate goal was to be a
corporate chief executive.
Curious about why some people
were selected while others equally
qualified were not. Business
Careers Inc, studied 250 candi
dates being considered for six cor-
Finance Association
announces resume
book
The Finance Association has
announced that it will begin work
on a resume book to be distributed
in the Fall of 1980.
The resume book will be sent to
over 125 businesses and gives stu
dents a broad exposure to a variety
of careers, said Howard Akin,
president of the association.
In addition to being included in
the resume book, each student will
receive individual copies for his
personal use. Akin said. These
personal copies are valuable asset
when interviewing because of
their professional appearance.
The cost of publishing the re
sume book is partially deferred by
contributions from various
businesses, so the cost to indi
vidual students is nominal, Akin
said.
Resume forms will be available
in mid-April for those students in
terested in being included in the
book. If any changes or additions
need to be made, they can be done
at the beginning of the Fall semes
ter, Akin said.
porate presidential positions. Five
major factors proved characteristic
of all of the successful candidates,
the study indicated.
Singleness of purpose, steady
achievement, willingness to de
vote time and energy to achieving
their goals and emotional committ
ment to careers which they find
satisfying are factors which are ex
pected to be common to success in
almost all top executive positions.
The study also found an unex
pected element. Contrary to popu
lar belief about executives, a strong
majority of the successful candi
dates have happy, stable home
lives.
According to the study, the top
officials are also likely to have the
following characteristics in
common:
— development of interpersonal
skills in a way which makes people
comfortable dealing with them
and responsive to them;
— ability to speak and write
effectively;
— curiosity and interest in new
approaches to old problems, in
terest in new techniques, new
merchandise and new services;
— ability to project self-
confidence and to make decisions
quickly even when they may be
uncertain themselves about the
rightness of their decisions;
— sensitivity to social nd politic
al relationships within their orga
nization;
— ability to set priorities yet still
remain flexible;
— determination to improve
one's own skills through self
development;
— ability to manage failures
through self-control.
"These executives expect suc
cess and take it for granted," said
Herbert T. Mines, chairman of the
board of the firm that undertook
the survey.
By SHARON RENFROW
At a time when business is being
criticized by many segments of the
population, the nation's youth is
being given the opportunity to bet
ter understand the free enterprise
system through a program caUed
Junior Achievement.
A non-profit organization
founded in 1919, JA is the nation's
oldest economic education prog
ram for young people. It teaches
students business concepts and
practices by helping them operate
their own small businesses.
"There is no other program
where students can get a head start
in business besides JA," said Fred
R. Miller, division administrative
director of JA of Southeast Texas.
Miller, active in JA for the past
six years, has helped establish the
program in 60 Houston-area high
schools. He has also recently
started programs in' La Grange,
Bay City, San Antonio and Austin.
Although there is currently no
JA program in the Bryan-College
Station area. Miller said that
attempts to start one next year are
being made.
The program is directed toward
tenth, eleventh and twelfth grade
high school students, he said.
Under the guidance of adult
advisors sponsored by local
businesses, students involved in
JA sell stock, elect officers, choose
a product, buy raw materials and
then produce, promote and sell
their product or service.
At die end of the school year, the
student entrepreneurs liquidate
Building
report
By PHILLIP DUPREE
The new Academic and Agency
Building to house the College of
Business Administration and
other units of the University
should be completed by June 1981,
said Harry Zenner, project coordi
nator.
The building will become the
single largest on campus encom
passing 256,000 square feet and
costing nearly $16 million includ
ing construction costs, landscap
ing and equipment, Zenner said.
The expansion is necessary in
order to keep pace with the grow
ing enrollment at Texas A&M. The
College of Business Administra
tion, for example, has grown from
less that 2,000 students in 1974 to
over 4,500 in 1980.
Other University units to
occupy the new building include
the Departments of English and
Statistics, the Texas Real Estate Re
search Center, the Executive De
velopment Programs, the Univer
sity Research Foundation, Speech
Communications and the Texas
Transportation Institute, Zenner
said.
About 1,000 offices have been
allocated to faculty and staff. And
over 40 classrooms, located mostly
on the first floor, will accommo
date nearly 2,400 at a time. This
should alter student traffic on cam
pus considerably.
The building will also have spe
cial facilities such as specialized
labs and equipment, and several
computer terminals, Zenner said.
their company's assets, publish an
annual report and return di
vidends to their stockholders.
Students involved in the JA
program tend to be very motivated
and have high academic stand
ings, Miller said.
"They really want to learn about
the American economic system,"
he said.
Though JA makes use of school
facilities, it is not a school-
sponsored program and therefore
relies on private funding for sup
port, Miller said.
Many major corporations in
Houston, such as Sears Roebuck,
Exxon, Gulf and Shell contribute to
the program. Miller said. Addi
tionally, over 70 businesses spon
sor J A activities in Houston by pro
viding advisors to the programs
held at the high schools.
The JA program recently has ex
tended into four new segments.
Miller said.
— Project Business is a nine to 18
week economic education prog
ram that supplements existing so
cial studies or economics classes in
the eighth and ninth grades. In
this activity, a business executive
works with a regular teacher for
one class period each week.
— Applied Management offers a
variety of practical and theoretical
business and economic education
activities for college students.
— Job Education is a work-study
program for inner-city teen-agers.
— Economic Awareness is a busi
ness and economic education
program for individuals who are
not involved with JA. This prog
ram develops and distributes edu
cational literature to those who
have inquired about JA activities
and have expressed an interest in
learning about the U.S. economic
system.
"The purpose of the JA program
is to help students develop a better
attitude about business and the
economic system in general," Mil
ler said.
Though not all JA participants
eventually go into corporate life.
Miller maintains that a basic
understanding of business and the
economy is helpful in any future
profession.
Construction nears completion on the Academic & Agency Building
(top photo). Bottom photo reveals the artist's conception of the nearly
$16 million project once completed.
The Business Page 6
Former Harvard
Dean
to address
MBA banquet
A former dean of the Harvard
Business School who is also a for
mer Aggie is coming back to Texas
A&M to address the MBA Associa
tion of the College of Business
Administration.
Dr. Lawrence E. Fouraker, '47,
will be the featured speaker at the
Second Annual Invitational Case
Competition Awards Banquet
April 12.
Fouraker, who also received his
MS degree from A&M in 1948, will
address graduate business stu
dents and faculty members on the
use of the case method. The ban
quet begins at 7 pm in the Ramada
Inn Ballroom. (See related story
page 1.)
Fouraker received his Ph.D.
Dr. Lawrence E. Fouraker
from the University of Colorado in
1951 and holds an honorary mas
ter's degree from Harvard Univer
sity.
In addition to his various
teaching and administrative
duties, Fouraker is on the Board of
Directors of nine organizations in
cluding Citicorp and Citibank,
N.A., and The Gillette Company.
Study predicts
corporate failure
By TED TREAT
Business researchers Drs. Gary
Giroux and Peter Rose of Texas
A&M University are developing a
computer model that could predict
corporate failure as much as seven
years before the failure occurs.
Previous studies have only been
successful in making these predic
tions one to three years in adv
ance.
The ability to predict corporate
failure, however, has the implica
tion of eventually guaranteeing
the company's bankruptcy.
Although Giroux acknowledged
that the study could be a "kiss of
death," he said that the company
survey would be mostly beneficial
because it would help determine
the type of "corrective action" that
is needed to save the enterprise.
Giroux and Rose have achieved
a 80 to 97 percent success rate in
predicting corporate failures but so
far their study has been entirely
post mortum.
Rose, a professor of finance, ex
plained that part of their success is
because of their access to COM-
PUSTAT Industrial Files to pre
pare their data bank. COMPUS-
TAT computer tapes contain the
basic financial records of a select
group of major U.S. corporations.
The 18 variables used in the
study included evaluations of pro
fits, liquidity, inventory, the mix of
sources of funds for the company
and the rates of return on invested
capital.
Woman exec
to hold
presentation
Marie Tarvin Garland, president
of Sun City Delivery in El Paso will
visit the College of Business Admi
nistration April 15 & 16 as part of
the College's BUSINESS WEEK
activities.
Garland started her business, a
multi-faceted delivery service, in
1969. Since that time, it has not
experienced a growth less than 30
percent each year.
Garland will conduct a presenta
tion entitled "Starting a Small
Business: Career Development for
Entrepreneurs" at 9 am April 16 in
Room 137 of the MSC.
All interested persons are en
couraged to attend.
Prof backs oil companies
By KYLE KNOX
Recent research in the area of oil company profits has
brought out facts that are contrary to current popular
belief, according to Dr. Gerry Keim, associate professor in
the Department of Management at Texas A&M Univer
sity.
Keim's research articles have appeared in regional
newspapers and his brief on oil company profits was read
into the Congressional Record — Senate. A public policy
expert, Keim has charged the media with slanted cover
age of the oil industry
"Contrary to popular belief, oil company profits are not
excessive," he said. "In many ways, the oil companies
don't do any better than the average Fortune 500 com
panies, and a lot worse than some."
Keim found that an individual investing in the broad
casting industry in 1978 would have an average of 33.3
percent return on investment, as compared with a return
of 11.77 percent in petroleum refining.
"If oil company profits are excessive, then broadcasting
profits must be obscene," he said.
Using the two common ways of measuring profitabil
ity, return on sales and return on stockholders equity,
Continued page 4.
Companies to
Participate in
April 16 and 17
"Career Fair"
Recruiting interests by college majors
J. B. Goodwin Realtors, Austin
Business majors, Real Estate majors,
and anyone interested in Real Estate as
Cafeterias, Inc.
All business majors and agriculture
majors.
H. E. Butt Grocery Co.
Marketing majors, Management ma
jors, general business majors.
Dow Chemical U.S.A.
All disciplines interested in Marketing
Getty Oil Company
Accounting majors, Finance majors,
and Business majors with a minimum
of 12 hours in Accounting.
Main Hurdman & Cranstoun
BBA's, MBA’s and MPA's in
Accounting and Tax.
IBM Corp.
Most Business, Engineering, Science,
and Liberal Arts majors.
Marathon Oil Company
Accounting majors and Finance ma
jors with a minimum of 15 hours in
Accounting, for the Houston Division.
Cullen Center Bank
Finance and Accounting majors.
Continental Pipeline Co.
Finance, Management and Economics
majors.
Ford Motor Credit Company
All Business majors.
Touche Ross
Accounting majors
Arthur Young
Accounting majors
International Harvester
Marketing and Management majors,
BBAs.
City of Houston, Civil Service
Div.
All Business majors, Accounting ma
jors, Computer Operators, En
gineering
majors and Chemistry majors.
Exxon Company U.S.A.
Accounting majors and Finance ma
jors with 20 or more hours in
Accounting.
* Burroughs Corp.
Business majors, Computer Science
majors and Math majors.
Bank of the Southwest
Finance and Accounting majors.
Van Waters & Rogers, a division
of Univar
Accounting majors. Management ma
jors, Marketing majors and
Economics majors.
Lone Star Gas Co.
Business majors
Tenneco Oil Exploration & Pro
duction
Accounting majors
United Energy Resources, Inc.
Accounting majors, Finance majors,
Computer Science majors and
Engineering — Civil, Mechanical,
Electrical and Tecnology — majors.
Safeway Stores, Inc.
All business majors, any college de
gree, students interested in a retail
career with Safeway.
Penn Mutual Life Insurance —
Leroy D. Gordon & Assoc.
Business majors, Psychology majors
and Sociology majors.
Gulf Oil Corp.
Accounting majors, Finance majors,
Management majors and General
Business majors with 9 or more hours
of Accounting.
Houston Lighting and Power Co.
Marketing majors, Management ma
jors with strong technical back
grounds, Finance majors, Accounting
majors, Computer Science majors with
business and engineering back
grounds.
Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.
Accounting majors.
Arthur Andersen
Accounting majors, Finance and Mar
keting majors with Accounting courses
and Computer-oriented majors.
Brown & Root
Business majors
Price Waterhouse & Co.
BBAs and MBAs in Accounting.
Seidman & Seidman
BBAs with major in Accounting
Ernst & Whinney
Accounting majors
Coopers & Lybrand
Accounting Majors
Payless Cashways — Furrow's
Bldg. Supplies
Marketing majors, Management ma
jors, general business majors, indust
rial business, Finance majors.
Procter & Gamble
Marketing majors
Companies
to interview
co-op students
The Cooperative Education
Office of Texas A&M University
will hold special co-op interview
days on April 17 and 18.
A number of co-op employers
will be on campus during that time
to conduct interviews with pros
pective co-op students for both
summer and fall 1980 work terms,
said C. Wayne Terrell, co-op coor
dinator for business adminstra-
tion.
Business students who wish to
interview during this time must
first complete the proper paper
work and undergo screening by
Terrell.
Interview sign-ups begin Tues
day, April 8, Terrell said, stressing
that the students must first obtain
a Co-op Interview Authorization Card
from him prior to registering for
interviews at the Placement
Center.
Among the firms scheduled to
participate are: Comptroller of the
Currency (U.S. Department of
Treasury), Dresser Industries,
Marathon Oil Company,
Brookhaven Country Club (Dal
las), Dillards, Sakowitz, and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Interested students should con
tact Terrell for further information
(845-4711).
Insurance exec
to address
banquet
Oscar L. Newton, Jr., vice presi
dent of the American General Life
Insurance Company, will address
the Undergraduate Awards Ban
quet April 16 as part of the College
of Business Administration's
BUSINESS WEEK activities.
The banquet begins at 7 pm at
the Brazos Center. Guests include
the company representatives
attending the "Career Fair," facul
ty and staff of the College of Busi
ness, and several hundred under
graduate business students. (See
related story page 1.)
Newton has had 30 years of in
surance experience with nearly 19
at American General. In his pre
sent capacity as vice president, he
works with the president on spe-
Mr. Oscar L. Newton, Jr.
rial projects and serves as a fre
quent spokesman for American
General, for the life insurance in
dustry and for private enterprise.
Newton has addressed state and
national conventions, trade asso
ciations, civic groups and cham
bers of commerce in more than 30
states and in seven foreign coun
tries.
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The Business
Page 3