Page 4/The Battalion/Wednesday, February 6,1985
■
SCONA lectures, discussion
to explore emerging Chino
P<
to
By LESLIE MALONE
Reporter
“The Emerging China” is the
topic for the 30th Annual Student
Conference on National Affairs Feb.
13-16.
SCONA coinmitee chairman Cid
Galindo, said the committee chose
China because it had not yet come to
the forefront of the news.
SCONA discussion will reflect
current happenings in China.
“We want to prepare the delegates
for the time when China emerges,
becomes a major issue and is at the
forefront of the news,” Galindo said.
Conference events include five
lectures and a panel discussion. All
events are free to the public.
Dr. Kenneth Lieberthal of the
University of Michigan will open the
conference with the keynote address
Feb. 13. Lieberthal is the chairman
for the Center for Chinese Studies at
Michigan. He will present an histori-
" Cnii
cal overview of China including its
ancient history and its post-revolu
tionary history.
Harvard University’s Dr. Ross
Terrill and Ling Qing, U.N. Ambas
sador from the People’s Republic of
China, will speak Feb. 14 on ‘Do
mestic Chinese Issues’ and ‘Interna
tional Chinese Issues,’ respectively.
Terrill has written several books and
is considered to be one of the coun
try’s leading experts on China, Gal
indo said.
“Trade Issues” will be the topic of
discussion for Calvin Sholtess, vice
president of International Opera
tions for Hughes Tool Corp Feo. 15.
Dr. Suzanne Barnett of Puget
Sound University will moderate the
P anel discussion Friday afternoon.
anelists include Dr. T. K. Lin of
Drake University, Ping Chen of the
University of Texas and Dr. Thomas
Bellows of the University of Texas at
San Antonio.
Each of the panelists were chosen
to represent a different view on the
sovreignity issue, Galindo said.
The closing address will be given_
Feb. 16 by Dr. Harry H
Brookings Institute.
Approximately 200 delegate,
expected including 20 to 251 1
Texas A&M and possibly Hi
China.
Delegates are divided into ts|
table groups before the openin;
the conference. These groups:;
after each speech to discusstneit,
of the speech.
Each round table grout)ishet
by two co-chairmen. Tnese cbf
men are chosen from across tit;
tion and will include Dr. Patif
Stranahan and Dr. Ethel Tsuts;
Texas A&M, as well as represea:,
from the Japanese, Australians
British embassies in Washington ;
“These chairmen are not cl«f :
to lead the delegates but to stints
discussion among the delegi
Galindo said.
By
The $97,000 budget for SCO';
is raised entirely through private
nations. Galindo said that the;*
age cost for speakers is about jli
GM searches for site to house new plant
Exceptional Children's Week
Photo by DEAN SAITO
John Koldus, vice president for student
services, spent Tuesday afternoon conduct
ing business from a wheelchair as a part of
Exceptional Children’s Week. Koldus vol
unteered to find out what it was like to be
confined to a wheelchair.
Even I
Dr. R C.
his time
and its st
Potts,
agricultu
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changes
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Associated Press
AUST IN — The General Motors
subsidiary that will recommend a site
for the company’s new Saturn auto
plant has asked the Texas Economic
Development Commission for assis
tance in evaluating potential sites in
Texas, officials said Tuesday.
Harden Wiedemann, executive
director of the commission, said
GM’s Argonaut Real Estate “has
asked us to help them shoulder some
of the burden for the Texas commu
nities interested in the plant.”
He said the commission staff will
try to match GM site selection crite
ria to interested cities in the state.
The Saturn project is GM’s latest
effort at building a compact car to
compete with the imports.
Wiedemann said tne company has
received hundreds of calls concern
ing Saturn.
GM will coordinate all inquiries
from Texas cities to the
oprnent commission, he said.
Wiedemann said the autogiar
looking “for a very pleasant cout
nity with all the recreational miis
tural amenities—a place when
quantum leaps in productivity
tney are undertaking with Sar;
will be possible.”
General Motors is expect® |
choose a site for the Saturn plan;
late spring or early summer. I
was sma
dents set
ciplined
were tryi
“It die
gie spi
tftt
airit
After
work, P(
He was
19 years
associate
culture.
Speedy Photo ^
1 Year Anniversary
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§ 845-2611 |
The
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Number One
in
Aggieiand
THE BUSINESS
Vol. 7, No. 9 - February 6,1985
‘The Business” is paid advertising published by ft*
Business Student Council, College of Business Admlru-
tration Texas A&M University, College Station, lexa
77843. Ph. # 409/846-1320; Michele Smith Editor, f
Bradley, President Lynn Zimmermann, Advisor, William
H. Mobley, Dean.
Public Policy Group Gaining Prestigue
Outlook for Business
By CATHIE VANDERBILT
Reporter
In 1979 the management department
formed the Business and Public Policy
Group at Texas A&M. The group be
gan its work by analyzing profit levels of
major U.S. energy companies.
The group gained immediate na
tional attention because they found that
media companies were far more profita
ble than the energy companies.
Gerry Keim, member of the group,
said, “The research was done at a time
when profits were alleged to be obscene
in the oil industry. We compared the re
turn on equity (the ratio of profits to
stockholders’ equity) of the top 10
broadcast companies to the top 10 oil
Their research has examined the .im
pacts of deregulation, the efficiency of
products liabilities rules and industry
responses to occupational diseases.
The group is also studying toxic waste
legislation, discrimination and anti-trust
issues. Several members have worked
on corporate strategy used in the public
policy decision process.
Graduates positive for 1985
By LORI BROOKS
Reporter
companies.
He said that while GBS had a return
on equity of 21 percent, Exxon had a re-
" 3.7 perci
turn of only 13.7 percent.
The Public Affairs Council has called
the Public Policy Group at Texas A&M
“the most significant research program
related to day-to-day public affairs prac
tices.” The Council also mentions “the
unique feature of the group in seeking
active corporate participation in its
work.”
Ten professors, besides Keim, are
members of the group including: Barry
Baysinger, Charles Cox, Mike Pustay, A1
H. Ringleb, Alain Sheer, Asghar Zard-
koohi, Carl Zeithaml, Len Bierman,
Henry Butler and Francie Edwards.
The group also teaches public policy
courses at the graduate and undergrad
uate levels. Keim said that it is impor
tant for students to understand the in
teraction of public policy, business and
politics and their effects on each other.
“Our treatment of topics in class is
rigorously objective, hut our interaction
with business enables us to focus on the
most pertinent issues,” Keim said.
Each member of the group specializes
in a particular area of public policy,
ranging from environmental issues to
corporate political strategy.
Len Bierman said, “ I’m currently
doing research in labor relations. We’re
studying the use of mediation to resolve
‘unjust dismissal’.” He said that heus also
doing research on the National Labor
Relation Board’s policy changes during
the Reagan Administration.
Two members are currently working
in Washington D.C. Charles Cox is com
missioner at the Securities and Ex
change Commission and Alain Sheer is
on-leave while working for the Federal
Trade Commission.
Academic Computing Center
Readies for the Future
VIVIAN SMITH
The Academic Computing Cen
ter, located in 133 Blocker Build
ing, opened in 1981 with 96 termi
nals connected to the university’s
main frame computer.
The center was the newest of five
at Texas A&M and was the remote
job site for users on the north side
of campus, said Dr. John Dinkel,
Associate Dean of the College of
Business Administration.
Today, the center contains the
original 96 terminals plus 76 addi
tional terminals connected to two
computers (Prime 750 and Prime
2250) which provide capabilities be
yond the main frame connection.
Also, approximately 150 microcom-
E uters are housed throughout the
usiness college, Dinkel said.
Although the ACC is primarily
for business students, it can be used
by anyone who knows how to use
the equipment, Dinkel said. Many
Engineering and English students
use the center for their classwork.
Classes such as BAN A 217 — a
required class for all business ma
jors — serve as a “thorough indoc
trination to all of the resources in
the ACC," Dinkel said.
The center also serves as a lab for
some business courses and as an
area of research, ACC Director
Larry Bowles said.
“The trend is to get individuals
away from the machine and inter
acting via telecommunications,”
Bowles said. “The goal of the ACC
is to bring computing power to the
individual instead of the individual
going to the computer.”
Pursuing this goal, the ACC ran
wire last fall to 14 classrooms on the
first floor of Blocker bringing com
puting power to the classroom,
Bowles said.
The center also has a projector
that can project a computer CRT
image onto a screen set up in the
classroom, Bowles said.
Also, a study group recently
completed a three year plan for the
center’s future.
The group’s main recommenda
tion was the replacement of the
Prime 750 computer with an IBM
4361, Dinkel said.
This will link the microcomput
ers to the main frame computer
giving it the ability to complete jobs
it could not do previously, Dinkel
said.
“This is the most dynamic center
on campus because we’re totally on
the user end,” Bowles said.
“We’re not trying to compete
with the Computer Service Center
on campus which does a lot of pro
gramming. We simply hook up to
larger equipment to upload pro
grams to get jobs done,” Bowles
said.
The new computer will also pro
vide students with exposure to the
“IBM environment” that is so prev
alent in the business world today,
Dinkel said.
The center is open from 8 a.m.
until 12 p.rrt, six days a week. No
food or drink is allowed inside the
ACC, Bowles added.
The overall career opportunity
outlook for business graduates in
1985 is positive, said Dr. Bill Mob
ley, Dean of Business Administra
tion.
“Students with a solid academic
record, campus leadership experi
ence, good communication skills
and a good academic breadth in ad
dition to business curriculum will
.find a particularly positive job mar
ket,” he said.
Mobley said there is continued
growth in a number of sectors of
the economy, in financial services,
banking and accounting sectors; in
the information industry, manage
ment of information and informa
tion systems (computers).
The forecast is positive for the
retailing and service sectors, and
there is a continued increase in hir
ing in the personnel and human-re
source sectors, he said.
“There is major growth of new
jobs in the smaller firms and in new
ventures in the country,” Mobley
said. “Students with entrepeneurial
interests may find interesting op
portunities in the rest of the decade
and beyond.”
Mobley said the American So
ciety for Personnel Administrators,
the College Placement Council and
Conference Board are all project
ing an increase in hiring of new
business graduates.
Dr. Samuel Gillispie, Assistant
Dean of Business Administration,
said the job market for business
graduates is still strong.
“The market is based on a strong
state economy, which we have,” he
said.
Gillispie said jobs can be found in
the areas of accounting, manage
ment of information in business
analysis, banking and corporate fi
nance.
“While a master’s degree will bet
ter technically prepare a student, a
student with an undergraduate de
gree and a strong academic record
and university leadership will be
well prepared,” he said. “A good
grade point ratio and good univer
sity leadership are sought after in
the job market.”
“Experience is also very impor
tant,” Mobley said.
Most students come back to earn
a master’s degree after they have
gotten some business experience,
he said.
As far as the local job market
goes, it is based on the premise of
the law of supply and demand, says
Walt Baker, local director of the
Texas Employment Commission.
“The fact is, in securing a degree
in business, college graduates are
their own worst enemies in our
area,” Baker said. “The supply of
graduates in the Bryan-College Sta
tion area far outweighs the demand
because of our tremendous univer
sity.”
Many of the graduates would like
to stay in this area to pursue upper-
level degrees or to support spouses
seeking degrees, he said. This pro
duces an oversupply of graduates
in the Bryan-College Station job
market and makes competition tre
mendous.
“The opportunities for jobs not
saturated with college graduates
are good and getting better,” Baker
said.
The major jobs in our commu
nity are through government em
ployment, he said.
We have the university system,
two municipalities and we are a
county seat. This produces many
government positions and clerical
positions as well as numerous sup
port jobs in the retail and service
sectors, he said.
There are also job opportunities
in the industrial sector, in banking,
in computer-oriented fields, and in
high tech fields.
“A student with a degree from
Texas A&M will be carrying with
them an excellent credential,”
Baker said. “A degree from Texas
A&M is very marketable once you
get into an area that is not saturated
with college graduates.”
“A master’s degree is an excellent
and valuable credential in the busi
ness world,” Baker said. “It gives
people a step up over those without
one.
“A master’s degree is considered
standard operating procedure in
some communities. To get ahead in
certain fields it is said the pursuit of
a master’s degree as a good thing,
but there is no guarantee it will land
you ajob.”
William C. Murphy of the Hous
ton Chamber of Commerce said
that the economy and therefore the
job opportunity outlook for Hous
ton is on the rise.
Houston is the nation’s center
not only for the production of ma
chinery and supplies used in petro
leum and natural gas exploration
and development, but also for the
tec hnological expertise involved; 1
such exploration. Energy activi™
the cornerstone of Houston'secott
omy, and therefore it is sensitive *
shifts in price and demand foreti
ergy and especially fossil fuels, It
said. When demand is up, thee®
omy is up and right now Houston;
on an upswing, Murphy said.
Non f arm employment is nt
business and personal service er
ployment is up, medical and proffi
sional service employment is up.if
tail and wholesale trade is if
employment in finance, insurant!
and real estate sectors are up an:
mining is up. Construction isdo»t
as well as the manufacturingseaq
and government employment, tf|
ported the Houston Data Sketd
put out by the Research Divisional
the Houston Chamber of Colt;
merce.
There will be moderate grout
for most sectors of the Hot®:
economy in 1985, but a contimiioj
decline in construction, Murpl
said.
The job opportunity outlook j
good in Texas and on the Ei
Coast, said Cortney Culp, Staffiti
Manager of the National Chan#
of Commerce, Washington, D C
High tech firms are doing me
of the hiring now, she said. Hif!
tech sectors such as health researd
scientific research, biochemist!'
computer science and data p®
essing. There is a glut on the mat
ket for master’s degrees and la*
yers right now, she said.
“The engineering field is ver
good to get into because there s
more competition there now thai
in the years past,” Culp said,
“There is always a demand
marketing and management skills
she said. “But usually people «l
are already working in the firman
promoted or transferred into ll*
spots, unless a specialty skill i
needed then they may go out of#
firm to hire.”
A recent census said that expen'
ence now carries as much weighliil
a master’s degree, Culp said, l|
really depends on what the field is!
For example, irt financial man!
agement you are ahead of thegaitt
if you have experience. Inaprofes
sional field a master's degree i!|
needed, she said.
Thursday: Women in Business
Symposium
Friday: MBA/MS
Case Competition
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