Monday, February 1, 1988/The Battalion/Page 7
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Photo by David C. Elmer
vs: Dishing it out
Jimmy Raycraf't and Barbara Donahoe, members of The Dishes, sing Friday night at Morgenstern’s.
areer
(Continued from page 1)
llichel Halbouty, Class of ’30, told
columnist Paul Harasim, r “It is incon-
Reivable that the College of Business
Bf Texas A&M would give an award
l A to a corporate raider who, in my
/Kpinion, has contributed to much of
» »||he havoc and despair in the petro-
Reum industry. As an alumnus of the
Rlniversity I oppose and resent this
'P^Wecision and I’m completely dis-
llgusted with the College of Business.”
But Donald Zale, Class of ’55, co-
!**■ Bponsor of the award that honors
'® ni M954 graduate Harold L. Kupfer,
Raid Friday the corporate raider was
'"I a natural choice for the award be-
3 slraL pause he is controversial.
' li “Not everyone agrees with him or
l enls:l ikes him,” Zale said. “But you don’t
. ™,.ave to like someone or agree with
trnif i t 0 appreciate his ability or to
learn from him. A great university
^ should attract different kinds of
w 11 * aeople to create a better learning en-
dronment.
“Mr. Pickens has obviously
achieved a great deal of success and
has a wealth of experience to draw
on in speaking to the students to
day.”
Pickens obviously has achieved a
large measure of fame and fortune.
His takeover attempts have pushed
his name into the recognition realm.
And his financial success cannot
be denied. Since Pickens began his
career as “corporate raider” in 1983,
he has made eight “deals” that
added $500 million to his personal
coffer and made $15 billion for
stockholders, he said Friday.
These corporate takeovers receive
much criticism, but Pickens has fier
cely defended his buyout schemes.
He portrays himself as the champion
of the stockholders, a protector from
the evils of poor management.
He has been active in educating
the public about the role of share
holders in a corporation. In 1986 he
started the United Shareholders As
sociation, which now has 15,000
members, he said. The organization
disseminates informaton about “exe
cutive excesses” and lobbies against
“anti-shareholder legislation.”
Pickens has also defended the eco
nomic value of corporate takeovers.
He cited a Harvard study that said
corporate takeovers and restructur
ing put $400 billion in profits into
the economy over the last 10 years.
Some question the economic
worth of corporate takeovers, calling
mergers and “restructuring” a mis
use of capital. Pickens admitted in
his memoir, “Boone,” published in
1987 by HMfghton Miftlirt Co., that
“restructuring turns equity into
debt.” But he staunchly claimed that
takeovers are a catalyst to competi
tion.
“I think it’s a disciplinary force
that causes America to become com
petitive again,” he said. “I think
we’ve drifted way too far in a direc
tion that’s unhealthy to this country
because there is no pressure put on
the management of this nation’s cor
porations.”
So Pickens has taken on the task
of forcing executives to be account
able to their stockholders. And in
the course of this noble labor, he has
pocketed quite a bit of money.
Andrew Sigler, a member of the
policy committee of the Business
Roundtable composed of the CEOs
of America’s 200 largest corpora
tions, told the New York Times last
March that Pickens “sucked the equi
ty” from companies.
“While the whole gang pockets
their gains,” Sigler said, “companies
are left saddled with debt or broken
up, communities are torn apart and
jobs are destroyed.”
But Pickens said the profits from
takeovers are injected back into the
economy by the stockholders who
gained from the deal. And, he said,
the ultimate accountability still lies
with the managers of the companies.
So the debate rages on. Pickens’
advocates defend him and praise
him; his detractors continue to un
dercut his accomplishments. But
negative or positive, T. Boone Pick
ens gets attention.
ward
:et
(Continued from page 1)
Hard work is a superior alterna
tive to “running to Washington for
^protection,” he said.
“That’s not the place to go,” he
[said. “The place to go is to stay at
work and do a good job, and that will
be protection enough.”
Management’s failure to run its
^companies well is the root of sluggish
ibusiness, he said. The expansion of
[“inefficient corporate bureaucracy”
ismothers entrepreneurship, he
.said.
Many of Pickens’ comments at the
, press conference and much of his
subsequent speech lambasted cor
porate executives lor their inatten
tion to shareholders, the ultimate
victims of poor management.
“If a company loses $500 million
this year, who took the loss?” he said.
“The stockholders took the loss. The
stockholders own the company.”
Executives feel no urgency to per
form because they don’t own the
company, he said.
“Accountability to the owners is
the key to restoring competitiveness
in this country,” he said. “We have
lost the accountability to the owners.
Managements have very little stock
in the company.”
The executives and boards of di
rectors of the 200 Business Roundta
ble corporations own 0.3 percent of
the stock in their companies, he said.
And 45 of the Fortune 500 chief ex
ecutives own no stock in their cor
porations.
“I thought you had to own a share
of stock to get the annual report,” he
said.
Pickens said 95 percent of his net
worth was in Mesa Petroleum, a
company he founded, and 95 per
cent of Mesa’s employees own stock
in the company.
“I’ve got it on the line every day,”
he said. “Let me tell you, you take a
lot different attitude about it when
your money is up in every deal and
you can see what’s happening to
your money.”
mam
SUBMIT TO
•T»
(f
P"
'
rareer
W
categories: Collage, Drawings, Paintings, Pastel,
Miscellaneous (no photographs)
entries:
judging:
will be accepted in the MSC Gallery from
11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., February 22-24.
Entry fee is $3.00 per piece, limit 4 pieces.
February 25, 1988.
■ MSC VISUAL ARTS
STUDENT HAIRCARE SAVINGS!
COUPON SAVINGS
OFF STUDENT CUT
Reg. $8 MasterCuts
family hairrutters
OFF STUDENT CUT
Reg. $8
MasterCuts
family haircutters
$E OFF ANY PERM
MasterCuts
family haircuttErs
5
MasterCuts
family ha ire utters
POST OAK MALL 693-9998
Picktai* auid profit is what moti
vates people in business.
“Young people are ready to go
make money,” he said. “Don’t ever
apologize for that, as long as you do
it honestly.
“If you keep fit, work hard, ana
lyze well and play by the rules, I
promise you you’ll make money in
business and you’ll absolutely have a
ball doing it.”
He stressed the importance of
“playing by the rules.”
“When you go out and cheat, pre
tty soon you’re not going to have
anybody to play with you,” he said.
“There’s never any fun in going out
and winning by cheating.”
o
MSC
PoHtlccil
Forum
Saigon
The Tet Offensive
Viet Minh
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh
Gulf of Tonkin
Diem
Vietnamization
Vietnam
Dr. Terry Anderson
A Lecture and Slide
Presentation
February 3
7:30 p.m.
Rudder Theater
'Tfr