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Oil Company Profits
Continued from page 3.
Keim revealed that oil companies consistently come out
on the light side as compared to the largest newspapers
and networks.
"The fact that the figures are so clear ought to suggest
that there is something more to it than that," he said.
Keim said he doesn't feel the real issue is oil company
profits but is one of dealing with adverse government
policy and public opinion.
Many of the larger oil companies (Exxon, Mobil, Tex
aco) frequently run advertisements to explain their earn
ings and expenses in many national magazines and larger
newspapers. But Keim maintains it is too hard to deal
with public opinion so broadly based.
"At best, the oil company advertisements are ineffec
tive, but at worst they may actually build public opinion
against the oil companies," he said.
Keim said oil companies should organize their "natural
constituency" to sway government policy. The consti
tuency he spoke of is stockholders and their spouses and
the employees of the companies. Organizing these peo
ple would increase the oil companies' clout by delivering
votes. Because of the lack of vote delivering power, the oil
companies lack political power.
"The oil companies are the scapegoat for the 1980 elec
tion not because they have low standing in public opinion
polls but because they have no political power to speak of.
They cannot deliver voters.
"It is of virtually no cost to a politician to use them (oil
companies) as a scapegoat and accordingly little benefit
for a politician to stand up for the oil companies. Even
lobbying is not as important any more if you don't have
votes," he said.
Keim used the example of labor unions. In the past 15
years, the publicity directed toward labor unions has
been unfavorable but their political power is still strong.
They organize voters, thus they have considerable politic
al clout.
Keim's research findings were echoed in the comments
of industry official.
"The problem doesn't lie with business but it lies with
government," Gerald B. Haeckel, Executive Vice Presi
dent of Transco Companies, Inc., said in a recent inter
view. Transco is a petroleum producer and transmission
company.
"The structure of the petroleum industry is far too
complex for the general public to understand or even care
about. What people care about is what they see on the gas
pumps," Haeckel said.
"The large oil companies do as effective a job as any" as
far as their information advertisements are concerned,
Haeckel maintains. "The problem lies not with who
speaks up for the oil industry but the problem is who
listens. The oil companies preach to the converted.
"I see no evidence that the government is in a better
position to direct an energy effort than the industry itself.
If the windfall profits tax revenues were taken and
directed to correcting the basic problem we have with
U.S. energy, that would be one thing," Haeckel said. But,
the windfall profits tax "will be reflected in the higher
price of the product."
Both men feel that adverse government policy will be a
large factor to be dealt with in the future, and believe that
something must be done by the oil companies and the
citizens to relieve the U.S.'s energy position.
The Business Page 4
J>4 ew JTool lor -
Business and Education
By RUSTY PECK
As today's business world be
comes increasingly complex,
many firms are turning to compu
ter technology to assist in their
operations and to cut costs.
With the growing needs of the
business structure, rising man
power costs, and the increasing
job requirements of today's busi
ness managers, computers are be
coming an important part of every
day business activity.
"Successful managers of the '80s
will have at least one requirement
for climbing the corporate ladder
that their '70s counterparts have
only recently begun to face: under
standing and mastering electronic
technology," said Ms. Randy
Goldfield, a principal of Booz •
Allen & Hamilton, an international
management consulting firm.
"The time is not far off when a
manager's computer terminal will
be just as important as his or her
telephone," Goldfield said in a
January 1980 article for the MBA
Executive.
Goldfield's article pointed out a
myriad of potential uses for the
computer in business. Among the
possibilities are increased use of
word processing units, "speech-
mail" systems, electronic mail sys
tems and teleconferences.
"Approximately 50 percent of a
manager's typical business travel
could be eliminated through tele
conferencing — using audio and
video computer hookups to hold
meetings across long distances,"
Goldfield said citing a Booz •
Allen estimate.
The growing use and develop
ment of computers has also
sparked another need of business
today — trained personnel able to
put the new technology into oper
ation.
"As the availability of computer
use is recognized, so grows the
need for responsible, trained per
sonnel to install and operate
them," said Dr. Ken Heideman,
assistant professor in the Depart
ment of Business Analysis and Re
search at Texas A&M.
"This mushrooming demand for
computer programmers or data
processors has resulted in a
heavier emphasis being placed on
preparing business students for
the computer field," Heideman ex
plained.
Although the College of Busi
ness Administration currently
offers no undergraduate degree
program in data processing, other
departments of the College and
Honor society
to hold banquet
Beta Gamma Sigma, the national
business honor society, has
announced a banquet to be held 6
pm Tuesday, April 15, at the Briar-
crest Country Club.
The banquet is in honor of 108
student inductees and Pete
Wehner, Executive Vice President
ot Blocker Energy Resources, who
is an honorary inductee to the
society.
The banquet is limited to mem
bers and guests of society.
University rely on the Department
of Business Analysis and Research
to train students in the use of the
computer and business statistical
methods in management.
"The requirements for computer
courses in the other business de
gree plans has been increasing
steadily," said Dr. Warren Rose,
head of the Department of Busi
ness Analysis and Research. "All
four degree plans (Accounting, Fi
nance, Management and Market
ing) require our basic Data Proces
sing Concepts course, and three of
the four require a FORTRAN or a
COBOL course."
Rose also indicated that use of
the University's AMDAHL 360
computer by undergraduate stu
dents has increased.
In mid-February, the Depart
ment of Business Analysis and Re
search purchased an Alpha Micro
Computer System.
The microcomputer is currently
available for faculty and graduate
student use, and can support three
users interactively. The computer
and its floppy disc storage were
purchased for $11,500 with discre
tionary funds provided by Atlantic
Richfield, Texaco, and Shell, Rose
said.
The computer can later be ex
panded to accommodate up to 10
Pat Melugin, vice president of
The Dallas Pen Company, looks
over the readout of the company's
computer system. Dallas Pen uses
the computer to keep track of in
ventory, accounts and payroll.
users concurrently, he said. This
expansion would cost an addition
al $10,000 to $15,000.
"The purchase of the microcom
puter system is to give graduate
students exposure to the capabili
ties and limitations of microcom
puter hardware and to allow them
to develop interactive capabilities
that the current AMDAHL system
doesn't have," Heideman said.
Among the capabilities of the
Alpha system are many financial
and technical applications indud-
ing accounting, inventory,
payroll, forecasting, and produc
tion coordination. Its overall func
tion as a learning tool makes it a
potential subject for undergradu
ate instruction, Heideman said.
The Department of Business
Analysis and Research's develop
ment of its computer system, the
recent purchase of a microcompu
ter by the Department of Account
ing, the growing requirements for
computer coursework by other de
partments at the University, and
the increasing use of computer
systems in private enterprise indi
cate the important position com
puters hold in both business edu
cation and the business environ
ment.
"The manager of the '80s who
rises to the corporate suite will be
one who wins recognition as a
leader, a motivator, a person
attuned to the marketplace — and
as the one in best command of the
newest management and technical
innovations," Goldfield said.
Dr. Winston Shearon, (stand
ing) of the Department of
Accounting, explains the uses of
the department's microcomputer
to graduate students, Leona
Agnello and Ted McElroy.
This close-up of the video dis
play screen of the Accounting De
partment's computer shows some
of the information the system con
tains. A new addition to the sys
tem allows users to pose hypothe
tical questions to the computer
and receive the answer within
seconds.
Gct-ins frrofessicrnn.1 t*.nd jyrc*.c1:ica.l exprerience
Student benefits from co-op
D8GL ‘8 lUdV 'ft
By ANDRIANNE GIOVANNINI
Junior finance major Susan
Gulig was just like many other stu
dents at Texas A&M — until this
past summer. Before, she really
didn't know what she wanted to
do after graduation.
Now after spending a summer
as a student accountant in the in
ternal auditing department of
Texas Utilities Company in Dallas,
Susan is a bit more sure of herself.
"Until I worked at Texas Utili
ties, I didn't know what I was
going to do," she said. "The
choices available to a finance major
are pretty broad, and without
work experience you don't really
know what is available."
Gulig was the first student to
participate in the College of Busi
ness Administration's newly de
veloped Co-operative Education
Program.
The program, pioneered with
Gulig, now has seven A&M busi
ness students on job assignments
for the spring semester. That num
ber should double for the summer.
"Co-op jobs aren't work-study
programs for the summer, nor are
they 'do us a favor' arrangements
with industry," said C. Wayne
Terrell, coordinator for coopera
tive education in business admi
nistration.
"This is a good recruiting tool for
the companies," Terrell said.
"They get to evaluate a student's
on-the-job performance before
making a long-term employment
committment."
While the co-op program is used
extensively in many engineering
schools, Terrell said that not many
other business schools in the
Southwest offer the program.
"There's a competitive edge that
a co-op student has when inter
viewing," Terrell said.
To enter the co-op program in
Business Administration a student
must have a grade point ratio of 2.5
or better and 45 credit hours. To
qualify for a cooperative education
certificate on graduation, a student
must acquire a minimum of 12
months on-the-job experience on
an alternating semester basis dur
ing the college career.
In addition to work experience
and a monthly salary which may
range from $600 to $1,000, the co
op student earns two semester cre
dit hours for each work term, Ter-
Susan Gulig (center of photo) addresses the Undergra
duate Business Student Council during a recent meet
ings. Gulig is an active council member and was a reci
pient of a Sophomore Recognition Award in the 1979
College of Business Administration academic achieve
ment awards ceremony.
rell said.
Beyond developing a better
perspective on her field, Gulig said
she also gained some valuable
practical experience while co
oping.
"I learned a great deal about re
lating to other people, developing
good work habits, and dressing
and acting like a professional," she
said.
"Also, just living alone in a large
business center like Dallas was an
education in itself."
Gulig plans to return to work for
Texas Utilities this next summer
and is seriously considering work
ing for the company after gradua
tion.
"After working for them one
summer, I found that I really enjoy
internal auditing," she said. "It's a
lot more fun than just ledger
accounting because the duties are
more broad."
Forum
Continued from page 1.
Erb developed the Forum in conjunction with a new
graduate-level course he teaches, Transportation Systems
Economics, and sees it as a great learning experience for his
students.
"We've been talking about this type of forum for the
past three or four years," Erb said, describing the emph
asis the Department of Business Analysis and Research
places on transportation and physical distribution.
The department recently completed its Sixth Annual
Conference on Physical Distribution Management. The
conference brings distribution/transportation executives
to A&M to discuss developments in the field.
Among the panelists involved in the Forum are: A.
Daniel 0'Neal,iimmediate past chairmanof the Interstate
Commerce Commission; Donald Boyes, president of the
National Industrial Traffic League and director of trans
portation of Reynolds Metals Company; and William H.
Dempsey, president and chief operating officer of the
Association of American Railroads.
Among the invited participants to the Forum are:
Stoney M. Stubbs, Sr., vice-chairman of Frozen Foods
Express; W.W. Callan, Sr., chairman of Central Freight
Lines Inc.; and N.M. Lorentzsen, president and chief
executive officer of Burlington Northern Railroad.
Ample time has been scheduled into the Forum agenda
for open discussion among participants, Erb said. A large
turn-out is expected including many of the top executives
in the transportation field and the Texas Transportation
Institute's Advisory Committee.
MBA Competition
Continued from page 1.
far, everyone is pretty excited about it."
Selection of the team to represent Texas A&M was
based on its "balance" or breadth of background of its
members, its familiarity with and skill in handling case
analyses, the communications skills of its members, and
its ability to respond effectively to stress situations.
Micky Foster of Finance, Phyllis Vincent Ward of Mar
keting, and Niles Woods of Accounting have beery
selected to represent Texas A&M.
Case presentations are scheduled to begin at 1 pm
Saturday in Rooms 501 and 701 of the Rudder Tower and
are open to the public. Weaver said.
An Awards Banquet will be held beginning at 7 pm
Saturday at the Ramada Inn Ballroom and will feature Dr.
Lawrence E. Fouraker, former dean of the Harvard Busi
ness School, as guest speaker. Tickets for the banquet are
$10 per person and are on sale in Room 214 of the Old
Engineering Building and on the first floor of Francis Hall.
Anderson Clayton, Gulf Oil Foundation, and Conoco
are the industry sponsors of the event. Weaver said.
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“Saluting A&M’s BUSINESS WEEK”
The Business Page 5