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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1980)
fuu«^ uuiuuuixlulj J acoiv H Jc il 1 “it vl '-’ -ao\aisvi'^ jo pjojj o\jj \i\ \ »ai4Vh.ivj^^^7 '•HI •sSiatiooxxi \tD\irvoD ►•s vvvi Svio\T: V -piL^v^i »*3»ScJU.lSlU^ JU AjeUKA. V JU^SdJ. -cioi p\xe ^uto\xioSi2\i^vu jo s\3A.a\ oxpptvii -vjrv svxo'c^T'scxi ^r>\ox^ Axi^sjlsvxsS FRANK E. NOVAK & ASSOCIATES An Insurance & Investment Company Offering a comprehensive Life Insurance Plan specifically designed for college students Specializing in Life e Health • Pensions Business Financial Planning 713-846-4751 4103 Texas Avenue Suite 201 — Bryan Place 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 called 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 the 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