Office operations are on the verge of a major technological transition. The current approach of continually adding newer and faster stand-alone office support devices has not solved long term administrative productivity problems. The transition will focus attention on a total integration of office technologies. This dissertation focused upon the key office technologies currently available in the marketplace and then concentrated on Texas-based public corporations1 use and desire for these tools. The major thrust of this research was to examine the relationship of a company's annual sales, industry type and geographic operation type with its present level of technological sophistication, strategies toward office systems and the optimum office configuration.

Materials management is an integrative approach to control the flow of production materials. It has been successfully practiced by numerous manufacturing firms to decrease materials cost and improve the employment of scarce resources. The need for better utilization of resources is also prevalent in service sector industries. This dissertation focused on the public utilities industry and its practices in the materials management area. Major emphasis of this research was to (1) define the state-of-the-art of materials management within the gas and electric utilities in Texas, (2) determine its impact on the corporate structure, and (3) identify opportunities for materials management in the future of the Texas utilities industry.

The study examines the potential of conjoint analysis to provide and apply quantitative data to situations previously limited to non-quantitative analysis within the selection process. Chapter I presents a brief introduction to the sales force selection process. A discussion of the importance of effective selection to the organization as well as an explanation of the objectives, methodology, research questions, and limitations complete the chapter. Chapter II provides a detailed description of the contemporary sales force selection process. The chapter explains the objective and subjective activities and techniques utilized by management in selection decisions. Chapter III describes the steps involved in conjoint analysis and the specific conjoint measurement technique employed in the study. The questionnaire employed and the source of data are described in Chapter IV. An analysis of the results of the research completes the chapter. Chapter V presents the summary, conclusions, and recommendations of the study.

This research applies stochastic decision tree analytical techniques to a decision of the type a small community may face when choosing a solid waste disposal system from among several alternatives. Specifically targeted are those situations in which a community finds itself (1) lying at or near the boundary of a central planning area, (2) in a position to exercise one of several disposal options, and (3) has access to the data base on solid waste which has been systematically developed by a central planning agency. The options available may or may not be optimal in terms of total cost, either to the community or to adjacent communities which participate in centrally coordinated or jointly organized activities. The study suggests that stochastic simulation models, drawing upon a data base developed by central planning agencies in cases where local data are inadequate or not available, can be useful in evaluating disposal alternatives at the community level. Further, the decision tree can be usefully employed to communicate results of the analysis. Some important areas of further research on the small community disposal system selection problem are noted.

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine and analyze the banker's acceptance and the bankers' acceptance market. A banker's acceptance is a money market instrument used to finance the export, import, movement, and storage of goods; it begins as a trade draft, and it is termed accepted when a commercial bank guarantees payment. The banker's acceptance represents an historical evolution of the medieval bill of exchange. The banker's acceptance as we know it today first appeared in England in the 1820s. The birth of the banker's acceptance in the United States occurred with passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. A survey was made of the twenty largest U.S. commercial banks in order to determine certain perceived characteristics of the banker's acceptance and the bankers' acceptance market. As a result of the survey, a new money market instrument is suggested. The new money market instrument is to be called a Banker's Acceptance Participation Certificate.

Much has been written during the past decade to explain the relationship between financial and operating leverage and stock-price volatility. However, the relationship between combined leverage and stock-price volatility has yet to be fully explored. Mandelker and Rhee's (MR) recent study uses both operating and financial leverage in a regression (equivalent to the traditional total leverage—DTL) and shows that both types of leverage are positively associated with common stock betas. Huffman recently demonstrated that there are interactions between operating leverage and financial leverage. Therefore, MR's model could be oversimplified. This study examines the relationship between firms' combined leverage and their stock-price volatility. The study also examines industry and industry growth to see if the relationship is influenced by these factors. The question is whether DOCL is a better risk measure than DTL and whether there is an interaction between operating and financial leverage. The inferences that can be drawn from the study's results are as follows: (a) Stock risk is a function of combined leverage; (b) Industry significantly influences the relationship between stock risk and DOCL; (c) High growth increases the relationship between stock risk and DOCL; (d) Combined leverage (DOCL) is a better risk measure than total leverage (DTL). …

This study is concerned with discovering relationships between community power structures and economic growth. The economic growth in selected Northeast Texas counties and their major cities is compared with the power structures in each of these communities during the 1944 through 1968 period.

This study is designed to examine comparative advertising as a viable advertising strategy in today's competitive business environment. Frequency and use of comparisons by the selected key industries and advertising agencies are investigated. Analysis is conducted to determine similarities and differences between firms who elect or avoid comparative advertising. Based on an analysis of the findings, certain conclusions are presented. The industry leader is not likely to use comparative advertising in most industries. Firms that are fourth or smaller in market share are most likely to use comparisons. However, the smallest firms, in terms of dollar sales volume, are least likely to use comparative advertising.

The purpose of this research was to determine if differences exist between the young/old (55-74) and the old/old (75+) regarding external search behavior and the importance of information sources.

Competitive advantage (CA) is an intuitively evident concept which has been widely used in theoretical research in strategy. But CA's diffuse image and its dynamic nature make it a difficult concept to apply. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive (or macro) CA construct capable of being applied in an empirical manner across a broad spectrum of business situations. This objective required both an adequate grounding of the CA concept within its nomological- net of theories and a new operationalization approach.

This study is intended, first, to describe and analyze the channels of distribution for food products in the State of Kuwait, second, to pinpoint the problems that exist in the food-distribution system, and, third, to make specific recommendations for the alleviation of the problems. Consistent with the objectives of the study and based on the description and analysis of the food-distribution system in the country, it is concluded in the study that Kuwait depends on imports for virtually all of its food; the government plays a major role in the food-distribution system; and the majority of food wholesaling and retailing establishments are small, inefficient, and lack modern marketing and physical distribution techniques. Product shortages and rising food prices plague the food-distribution system in the country. Also, the findings indicate that consumers in Kuwait are generally ignorant and uninformed in the areas of food nutrition and food shopping, and the lack of standardization and grading of food products makes the shopping task of the consumer more difficult.

The channels of distribution of the Indian Cotton Textile Industry present an interesting problem of economic development in a mixed economy where private and public corporations cooperate to achieve national objectives. This study was designed to describe and analyze the channels of distribution of cotton textiles in India, to specify the shortcomings that exist in the present distribution system, and to make recommendations to improve the efficiency of cotton textile distribution in India. There are always problems involved in collecting primary and even secondary data from a developing country like India. Therefore, mainly a comprehensive library research was conducted pertaining to the Indian Cotton Textile Industry and its distribution system. The secondary sources were published government reports, documents, monographs, books, articles, and trade associations reports.

The purpose of this research is to recommend a set of comprehensive management plans to guide the establishment and operation of work measurement programs in commercial banks.

This research examined the development of consumer product manufacturer's liability between 1890 and 1981. h large percentage of the manufacturers were involved in monopolies, suppression of free trade, price conspiracies, and fraudulent advertisments. Negligence in design and manufacture frequently resulted in defective products. Responsible writers exposed: dangerous foods; chemicals; insecticides; unethical manufacturing methods; and numerous injuries or deaths from defective consumer products. Three periods of organized consumerism, 1890-1917, 19271941; and 1962-1981, created congressional pressure for consumer-oriented legislation. Five presidents used the power of their offices to pressure congress to protect the public. The states adopted the federal Workmen's Compensation Law of 1908 to provide assistance for individuals who suffered job-related injuries or death. Additional consumer-oriented laws enabled injured workers to sue for damages through the courts. Organized women's clubs worked through industrial representatives and congress to correct flagrant manufacturing abuses and establish standards.

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining the role of personality in information acquisition and utilization during the decision-making process, by replicating the Schkade-Scarborough box design and the Kernan-Mojena chip design, using an expanded battery of psychological tests. This investigation seeks to accomplish the following objectives: (1) review and summarize the present literature which relates personality and binary decision behavior; (2) review and summarize the present literature which relates personality with information transmission and utilization; (3) administer the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (NMPI), the Gordon Personal Inventory (GPI), the Gordon Personal Profile (GPP), EAS j, and LA1S0 to a group of subjects who will also participate in both the box and the chip experimental designs; (4) replicate both the box and the chip experimental designs with a different set of subjects to test for consistency of findings; (5) perform canonical analysis on the box design, endeavoring to extend and refine the analysis of the data; and (6) compare the findings from the box and chip experimental designs, and identify areas for further research. The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to replicate and test the research findings of Schkade-Scarborough and Kernan-Mojena, which …

The objective of this research is to determine the degree to which the recent antipollution laws will affect the location of industrial plants.

This study is designed as an exploratory empirical attempt to audit the effectiveness with which retail buyers select fashion wearing apparel that meets needs and wants of their constituent target markets. This study presents the retail buyer of fashion wearing apparel as the "gatekeeper" who controls the flow of apparel products through various "checkpoints" as these products move from producer to consumer, thus controlling product availability. This study has a three-fold purpose. The first is to determine if significant differences exist between retail buyers' selections (ratings) and constituent market selections (ratings) when given like; alternatives on manufacturing levels. The second is to determine whether differences exist between the extents to which department store retail buyers and specialty store retail buyers meet the needs and wants of their constituent markets. The third purpose is to determine if significant differences exist between sales performances of like and unlike retail buyer/consumer choices.

This dissertation examines the role of the fundamental economic variables (price levels, interest rates, and income levels) in the determination of foreign exchange rates during the period 1973-1978. Purchasing power parity, the International Fisher Effect, and the relationship of exchange rates with income levels through the marginal propensity to import were integrated, as suggested by the literature, and a fairly reasonable specification of a model for exchange rate determination was measured. The results of speculation tests indicate destabilizing results for some currencies and stabilizing results for the others; the coefficient of expectation tests, however, lend support to the destabilizing hypothesis. The conclusion of the research, therefore, is that the exchange rates of the major industrial countries which are of prime importance to the international financier and investor, and to the student of international finance and trade, are primarily determined, not by the fundamental economic variables, but by speculative forces which are believed to be of a destabilizing nature.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Texas unit commercial banking system in comparison with branch banking systems, limited area branching systems, and unit banking systems.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a three-day session using an integrated didactic and experiential approach for training in interpersonal skills for sheltered workshop supervisors.

This study is designed to evaluate the impact of citizen participation in the Goals for Dallas program on the establishment and accomplishment of the goals. Also evaluated are the impact of community leaders on the program, the extent and degree of citizen participation, factors which encouraged and discouraged participation, the impact of local media, and the impact on citizen participants of participating. Twenty-five specific findings are presented, based on the compilation and analysis of inputs received from the citizens and community leaders. Among the most important of these are as follows. 1) The extent of participation on the part of those citizens who did participate in the program was significant. 2) Related to the total adult population of the city, the extent of total citizen participation was small. 3) The program as designed and implemented did have a substantial impact in assisting to overcome citizen apathy in the city. 4) The key items which tended to encourage citizen participation were publicity, civic duty, neighborhood meetings, and personal rewards. 5) The general factors which discouraged citizen participation were general suspicion of the program, general apathy, lack of publicity, and a general suspicion of government. 6) Citizen participation had a significant impact …

This dissertation is an analysis of the way businessmen relate to money. Specifically, it analyzes the factors contributing to the business sector's demand for funds during the period 1964-1966 in order to determine the role this demand played in the financial panic of 1966.

The study of the full cost method of accounting for finding costs in the petroleum industry is significant because it offers a unique opportunity to examine and emerging accounting practice and will indicate some of the reasons for a shift in the reporting practices of a portion of the industry.

This study concerns the general question, "What has been the impact of collective bargaining representation elections on nonprofit hospitals in Texas?" The means of answering this question involved a study of wages and attitudes of nonprofessional employees in both hospitals where such elections occurred and hospitals where no such elections had occurred in the State of Texas. An overview of the development of hospitals and the union movement in hospitals are presented as background information for this study. Further, a brief discourse on attitude development and attitude measurement is provided as theoretical foundational material. A researcher-constructed questionnaire was devised, tested, and administered to employees of the subject hospitals. There were 176 useable returns from employees where no union representation election occurred and 176 useable returns from employees where union representation elections occurred.