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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1980)
y* u£ r ’ •ujuiuiumuu; 11 111^1 ix» LU u * • 11WI > u 11 a - i \ «=ISM RIOMAFIDS Restaurant & Bar “A True Dining Experience In A Relaxed Atmosphere” • HORS d'OEUVRES FRIED SQUID STUFFED MUSHROOMS VEGETABLES TEMPURA •SEAFOODS (OUR SPECIALTY) • PRIME RIB • LAMB • EXCELLENT WINE SELECTION LUNCH MON. — FRI. 11:30 AM — 2:30 PM DINNER SERVED FROM 5:00 PM MON. — SAT. 696-4118 RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED 801 OLD COLLEGE RD. (WELLBORN HWY.) 6 BLOCKS S. OF KYLE FIELD — COLLEGE STATION 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 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 includ 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 m wl mm wmet mmwm* fti&BP mxr tmmm rmsem WMisrrm msf mLEftm tan ymt isn 'm m tat mt mt mi sr» mt m.t *»5 ja.» m m m m m m i n ur m ok mt ma m -m -m rat r.m •* si» tm »» m» t,» *» mm ma a J5 a « m m ACT- memmmmc.