Business Commons^™

Internal Business Communications: A Three Dimensional Problem, Stuart Ray Long

Master's Theses

Communications is a dynamic field -- a company cannot afford to allow its communications program to become static. As an accomplished musician must practice to maintain his skill, so must a company sharpen and refine its communications. Conditions change and the communications program must change to meet the new needs. This will require continuing application of ingenuity and imagination in devising more effective ways of assembling, summarizing and disseminating information to coordinate the functions and activities of the organization.

Programmed Administrative Management, Robert E. Hoisington

Master's Theses

What is the function of management in today's complex society? How can management organize to meet today's problems of complexity?

Developments In The Financing Of Residential Real Estate, James Thomas Mills

Master's Theses

Real estate, in the early twentieth century, was known to be one of the most stable and dependable revenue producing assets in the portfolios of investing institutions. However, in 1925, there began a slow rise in the rate of foreclosures of mortgage loans. The stock market collapse cam in 1929 and then the Depression. The causes of foreclosure and financial collapse can be linked to the real estate practices that were used during this period of time. This paper looks to examine those practices and how they affected the economy.

Financial Statements: An Explanation For Investors, Edward N. Odom

Master's Theses

This thesis is presented in order to help investors understand the importance and meanings of financial statements. This is important because it is the foundation of our capitalistic society. When people try to create wealth from capital, they really heavily upon financial statements in order to analyze the flow of the market and the future of the economy.

An Exploratory Study Of Employee Attitudes Toward And Knowledge Of Non-Wage Benefits And Services, Grayson Eugene Dodson

Master's Theses

Current importance is placed on benefits received by employees other than their paycheck. The attitudes ot the interested parties seem to be indicated in current literature as follows: management, cautious and defensive; labor unions, aggressive and demanding; government, compromising; and employees, unconcerned.

This study has a three fold purpose: first, to review the various primary non-wage benefits and services from written and published literature; second, to determine employee attitudes toward and knowledge of benefits through personal interviews; and third, to render observations that may be helpful in the future for interested parties in making decisions relative to employes benefits and …

Personal Liability Risks And Comprehensive Insurance Coverage, Allison Reese

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the hazards confronting the individual involving damage to the persons or property of others and to outline and evaluate the insurance coverages which have been developed to provide a means to eliminate the monetary consequences of most of these hazards.

Growth Stocks-Fact Or Fancy, Arthur Grey Staples Jr.

Master's Theses

Often in business articles the following remark may be seen: "If a company is to growing, it is retrogressing; for no business may stand still!" The sagacity of this observation with regard to individual enterprises cannot be stressed too frequently nor too strongly. Yet this truism becomes even more appropriate and apparent when applied to a nation's economy. Although this paper deals primarily with common stocks, seldom can any part of a nation;s economy move independently of the total trend. Therefore, a few explanatory remarks regarding the United States economy are in order.

An Improved System Of Cost Control And Budgeting By Product, For A Specialty Paper Mill, Linwood Douglas Hogge

Master's Theses

The large kraft and newsprint mills dominate the paper industry, by the sheer enormity of their size and production. The paper industry is a major growth segment of our nation's industry in all its aspects, however, and the specialty mills and their products continue to grow proportionately with the industry. Fllters, gaskets, and saturated products, once the sole property of leather, rubber and more sophisticated materials, are predominately made of high grade paper products. To further increase their use we must find more and better ways to reduce and control these costs -- It is hoped that we have contributed …

A Survey Of University Of Richmond Evening School Students : Their Motives, Progress After Study And The Extent Of Assistance By Employers In Educational Programs, Robert A. Dell

Master's Theses

The aim of this thesis is to suvey a representative group of Evening School students and business firms to gather qualitative data concerning the Evening School and present these data in a quantitative manner.

Research was conducted by questionnaire in order to collect original source data. Replies to questionnaires have been analyzed. Tabulations of data are included throughout the text. A summary follows analyses of replies.

Factors Affecting U.S. Marketers' Decisions On Latin America, James M. Frye

Master's Theses

John Gunther's opening comment in his book titled Inside Latin America was, "The first thing to say about Latin America is that no such thing exists. What does exist are twenty independent and highly individual countries which differ from one another strikingly."

There are many who support this school of thought and it is true that the republics of Latin America vary drastically in size, wealth, culture, race, and population; and are presently involved in different stages of political, economic and social revolution.

However, there are many points of common ground for these groups of countries.

The Planning, Installation, And Results Of A Performance Improvement Program For Supervisory Personnel, Harold G. Hart

Master's Theses

The scope or aim of this thesis is to plan, install and measure the results of a performance improvement program directed towards supervisory personnel.

The planning stage consists of investigating secondary works by others pertaining directly or closely to the subject of performance improvement programs. Primary data have been collected in order to have all the facts necessary to plan an effective program. These data include past performance of shifts, defining shift problems and objectives. and techniques to accomplish objectives. An attempt is made here to record all the events that took place in planning this procedure.

The installation phase …

An Approach To Internal Auditing, Mathew Winfree Jewett

Master's Theses

This work was initiated as the result of my interest in this subject, and of my sincere convictions concerning the importance of internal auditing. This is internal auditing as it should be.

When an employee is placed in such a unique position of trust that an auditor occupies he is indeed privileged. I have occupied that position, and was further privileged to have been under the super vision of a very great and dedicated chief auditor. Until the time of his retirement, one year ago, he patiently imparted as much of his knowledge of our subject as was possible for …

A Historical Approach To A Unitary Type Of United States Paper Currency, Roger Perry Schad

Master's Theses

Perhaps the most indispensible of all the economic tools which we use today is money. While money has been a crucial factor in the financial and economic growth of the American economy, what we have today is not a scientifically developed system but consists of past emergency actions, measures taken to cater to special interests and the like.

A Consolidation Analysis Of The Insured Group Benefits Programs Of A Medium Size Manufacturing Company : Multi-Carrier Vs. Single Carrier, John Walter Ainslie

Master's Theses

Since dawn's light first shone upon the cave man, he in his crude way, searched for security for himself and others who lived in his cave. While technological progress had revolutionized the method of seeking ways to make such provisions, the desire for the same has continued as the ultimate goal of the head of the family unit .

Summary - With the growing development of benefit plans in private industry spurred on by federal legislation and the government's progressive interest in social welfare, indications are for further growth in this area. There has been a definite trend as seen …

Oral Communications To And By Lower Level Supervision, Joseph Clifton Brown

Master's Theses

This book is a manual concerned with the principles and problems of oral industrial communications. The content is designed for use by the Maintenance Department, Spruance Plant, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and company, Richmond, Virginia. The focus of the writing is basically in the area of lower supervision which includes salaried engineers, scientists, foremen, and men in the two levels immediately above the fore- men.

The Alcohol Problem In The Richmond Metropolitan Area And Management's Role In Combating It, Edmund E. Meredith

Master's Theses

The purpose of the thesis 1 s to show something of the seriousness of the alcohol problem as it is effecting business and industrial organisations. At the same time I have tried to develop information which will be useful to management, especially in the Richmond area, in combating the problem.

Much of the information obtained has been on a confidential basis which has been necessary because of the nature of the problem.

I wish to thank all of those who have taken the time to furnish information. I particularly wish to thank Dr. Thomas S. Berry, Dr. Milton A. Maxwell, …

Supervisor Training A Case Study, Edward M. Miller

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study is to follow the development of a supervisor training program at the Reynolds Metals Company’s South Plant. In most respects, the initial program followed the principles of training set down in this chapter.

At the present time the program has been in progress one year and the second year has been planned. The program is not represented here as an example of a perfect supervisor training program (if indeed such a program exists). This paper is a record of what was done and an explanation of the reasoning used by management in developing the program. …

The Impact Of Inflation On Selected Wage And Salary Groups In The Richmond Area, Carl Edward Tucker

Master's Theses

One of the greatest economic problems existing in the United States today is inflation. This problem is magnified because our population is still growing, there are changes taking place in methods of production, and property and wealth are being re-distributed.

Americans continually want more things which are bigger and better and they are willing to go in debt to have them. They want more and bigger automobiles, highways, more services, better schools, and more leisure time. The effective demand sometimes has a way of getting ahead of the capacity to produce. With this demand for goods, prices continue to rise …

Background And Recent Developments In The Growth Of Commercial Branch Banking In Virginia, Walter Everette Burnette

Master's Theses

Branch banking has been a part of the American system of banking since the incorporation of the first Bank of the United States in 1791. Included in it's charter was the authority to establish branches, and at one time there were nine branches in operation. With all of the interest in branch banking this study was undertaken to evaluate the present position of commercial branch banking in the State of Virginia.

A Survey Of The Employment Procedures Of Sixty-Nine Manufacturing And Non-Manufacturing Companies In The Richmond Area, Charles Richard Sheffield

Master's Theses

This survey purports to measure the extent to which established personnel procedures are used in the employment of qualified applicants to fill job vacancies. By using such procedures Richmond companies are gradually doing away with the old hit-or-miss approach and taking on a more objective approach.

The Internal Information Program At Vepco, B. Albert Burton

Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Employee Information Program at the Virginia Electric and Power Company.

In the first portion, the author shows by means of correlated research the need for informing employees, the categories of conveying the information and the type of information to be conveyed. An outline of a possible information program is presented.

The second segment of this paper is devoted principally to a brief description and commentary of the information channels used by VEPCO. Two methods of communication frequently used in industry, but not used by VEPCO, are also discussed and commented on. …

Area Wage Differentials : A Study Of Compensation Of Nonmanagement Personnel In Virginia, Francis Brownell Avery

Master's Theses

This paper is a study of area differentials, within the State of Virginia, in the compensation of non management; employees and the effect of "Cost-of-Living" upon wage differentials. Basically, area differential in wages means the difference between wage rates for the same job in different communities. There is a definite differential in wage payments for a given job in the various regions within the State of Virginia. Some times they appear to be almost incomprehensibly out of line. However, as this paper develops, the reasons for these differences may become clear. Certainly their existence will be apparent. A given job …

An Analysis Of Instalment Credit Within Commercial Banks, Wayne Atwell Freeland

Master's Theses

Within the past two decades, the rapid expansion of consumer installment credit activity by commercial banking has been a noteworthy development. Commercial bankers have made an about face in a brief period of financial history. As recently as the early 1930's the attitude of commercial bankers toward installment credit was one of hesitance and reluctance. Since that period commercial banks have expanded to become the largest single holder of installment credit.

The primary purpose of this thesis is to review and evaluate the principles, methods and procedures used in the investigation and credit decision of consumer instalment credit as established …

Automation In Accounting Through Electronic Data Processing, John Edward Traylor

Master's Theses

Similar to the Industrial Revolution with its impact on factory management during the early nineteen hundreds is the electronical means of processing data to the office. This new era in office and accounting procedure has opened the door to many new systems in the processing of paper. For the first time in the history of man we are able to do these things:

1. Present timely reports to management of large-scale operations.

2. Eliminate present manual and machine methods with their undesirable elements of inaccuracy.

3. Eliminate the necessity of writing down an element of information more than once.

4. …

Operations Auditing, A Study Of The Newest Phase Of Internal Auditin, Russell William Miller

Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is to stipulate internal auditing as an independent appraisal activity within an organization for the review of accounting, financial, and other operations as a basis for service to management.

Plant Capacity Costs, Genevieve D. Armstrong

Master's Theses

Plant facilities represent an investment that leads to continuing cost for taxes, interest, depreciation and maintenance. These costs are, for the most part, fixed. Consequently, the higher the volume of pro­duction attained with given facilities, the lower is the cost per unit of such overhead; conversely, as production falls off there are fewer units over which to spread overhead and unit costs rise. Thus idle capacity may result in "unabsorbed" overhead. Idle capacity may result from managerial inefficiency; therefore, executives should watch the extent to which capacity is utilized. The knowledge of idle capacity may enable corrective steps to be …

Conversion Of Disbursing To Tabulating Operation, Cecil A. Brown

Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is to present to the reader the actual problems encountered, and their solutions, in converting a large check-writing operation to an "automatic" tabulating machine process. It should be noted that this paper covers a change of procedure in a Disbursing Department, other than the introduction of tabulating equipment, resulting in "automatic" machine check writing. To do this, the function of the Disbursing Department is briefly summarized and the original system of operation prior to 1 November 1955 is described. The development of a new system of paying Accounts Payables is then explained along with the …

Ratio Analysis Of Financial Statements, Donald Eugene Furr

Master's Theses

The twentieth century has been witness to a phenomenal rate of growth in accounting. To a large degree this growth can be attributed to large scale production, a characteristic of this complex industrial era. More accountants than ever before are engaged in the tasks of recording, classifying, summarizing and interpreting financial data. Financial statements are the end products of an accountant's task.

For every accountant employed in the construction of a statement, there are scores of people interested in the analysis and use of such statements, particularly the balance sheet and income statements. These persons include creditors, bankers, investors,executives and …

An Approach To The Development Of Executive Personnel, Donald Gray Burnette

Master's Theses

On September 25, 1956, the president of the Life Insurance Company of Virginia appointed a committee of company officers to make a study of what is known and of what is being done by industry to develop executive personnel. Upon completion of the study, the committee was to make a formal report to the president with its recommendations as to what action the company should take in order to develop qualified executives to meet future needs.

The procedure which was used in making this study was to analyze and appraise the philosophies and practices of the above companies as related …

Performance Budgeting : Report And Evaluation Of Its Use In Municipal Administration, William Robert Harton

Master's Theses

The Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, better known as the Hoover Commission, in its Report on Budgeting and Accounting to the Congress of the United States in February, 1949, reported that the Federal Budget was poorly organized and improperly designed to serve its major purpose which was to present an understandable as well as a workable financial plan for the expenditures of government. The report further indicated that some or the fiscal procedures and concepts of the federal government came down from the. time of Alexander Hamilton resulting in an accounting system which was outmoded …