Business Commons^™

Benefits And Costs Of A Variable Oil Import Fee, Clifton T. Jones, J. Patrick Raines

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

The sharp decline in real world oil prices since 1986 has had a significant impact on the U.S. economy, moderating the rate of inflation and reducing energy costs of consumers and businesses while creating widespread unemployment, bankruptcies and bank failures across the oil-producing states of the Southwest. Combined with record federal budget and trade deficits, these severe regional dislocations have rekindled the debate over an increase in the (currently very small) U.S. oil import tariff. The most frequently suggested forms such an increase would take is either that of a fixed fee of $5 or $10 per barrel (such as …

Selecting A Strategy For Determining Information Requirements, Mohammed H. Omar

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

There is and continues to be an awareness in society that accurate and timely information is a vital resource of any organization, and that an effective management information system is a means of providing the needed information. In an answer to the question: why do organizations process information? Daft [6] presents two answers. Organizations process information to reduce uncertainty and equivocality. As information increases, uncertainty decreases. In situations where organizations are faced with a high degree of uncertainty, a large number of questions has to be asked and more information needs to be acquired to learn the answers. The assumption …

Measuring The Incremental Learning Achieved With Computer Enhanced Instruction, Larry N. Bitner, Gail B. Wright

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

There has been increasing pressure by the AACSB on accounting educators to include the use of computers as an instructional tool in the 1980s with the advent of separate accreditation for accounting programs. In response, researchers have sought to study student attitudes and report on software available for classroom uses. From the educational perspective, however, the most important type of research would be that which would evaluate the impact of the computer on the level of learning achieved by the student or would indicate sensitivity to the computer enhanced instruction (CEI). The focus of this paper is to suggest a …

The Impact Of Office Automation On Quality Worklife, Mohammed H. Omar, Charlotte A. Fugett

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

The proliferation of office automation in the workplace environment has been accompanied by a wave of growing concern over the potential negative side effects on the quality of worklife of user employees. Issues'which have surfaced include: visual, postural and other health hazards; increased work stress; and adverse impact on the overall quality of life. The purpose of this paper is to describe some of these problems and report on both the findings and recommendations of various studies that have been conducted on these issues. This paper is also intended to emphasize the vital role that authorities involved in the management …

A Prototyping Methodology For Developing An Online Distributed Banking System, Mohammed H. Omar

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

A prototyping development method is presented here which was used to develop an online distributed banking system. The author's experiences indicate that a prototyping process can assist in the efficient development of complex application systems by breaking the problem into several parts. A prototyping model based on combining the main concepts of the traditional prototyping model, the state-transition model and the overlapping phases model is presented and discussed. A four prototyping method implemented over five years is presented in the context of this model.

Economic Status Of The Property And Casualty Insurance Industry With Special Reference To Virginia, Clarence R. Jung Jr.

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

Conditions in the property and casualty insurance industry in the past several years have caused great concern to both the insureds and the insurers. Premium rates for some lines, particularly certain liability coverages, have increased significantly (some observers would say catastrophically). For some businesses and governmental units insurance coverages have either been cancelled or are not available.

The situation in the industry has often been referred to as a crisis. And reactions to this crisis have included calls for investigations of the industry and an increased degree of government regulation. Private citizens and business firms have blamed insurance companies; insurance …

The Social Economics Of Frank H. Knight, J. Patrick Raines

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

Frank Hyneman Knight is well known for rehabilitating neoclassical economics with his 1924 critique of Pigouvian welfare economics. In Knight's thirty years at the University of Chicago, he thoroughly developed the notion that economic freedom and market competition are essential to maximize society's welfare. However, Knight's belief in the superiority of the market mechanism does not preclude serious concern about issues of social justice and reform.

This study seeks to establish Frank H. Knight's contributions to social economics. Elements of Knight's work will be compared to commonly recognized characteristics of a social economist. Knight's prominence in the discipline of economics …

Modeling Institutional Production Of Higher Education, Robert C. Dolan, Robert M. Schmidt

Robins School of Business White Paper Series, 1980-2022

This study examines the input-output relationship for private undergraduate education. The objective s to identify the relative contributions of human and physical resources in the production of quality undergraduate education. The research methods are noteworthy in three general respects. First, the theoretical orientation emphasized interdependence among inputs and outputs in higher education. The significance of simultaneity is demonstrated in an empirical model estimated via a three-stage least-squares technique. Second, the study introduces an original and promising data set for research in higher educational production. Of special note is an index of output reflecting the quantity and quality of institutional production. …