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Total Quality Management in a College of Business: Design and Curriculum Issues

Charles F. Falk, Northeastern Illinois University
Peggy D. Brewer, Eastern Kentucky University
Virgil L. Brewer, Eastern Kentucky University

The application of Total Quality Management (TQM) concepts to a college of business environment is a topic that has surfaced on many university campuses. Although TQM has become the often cited panacea for curing the ails of production and service industries, until recently little thought has been given to the application of quality management techniques […]

Computer Usage Patterns in the Construction Industry: An Empirical Investigation

Marwan A. Wafa, University of Southern Indiana
J. Michael McDonald, Georgia Southern College
Mahmoud M. Yasin, East Tennessee State University

This study examines computer usage patterns in the U.S. construction industry. One hundred and seven subjects, consisting of managers at different managerial levels and professional support staff, participated in this study. This study shows that the subjects exhibit significant differences with regard to their extent of use, nature of use, and degree of satisfaction with […]

Alliances and Networks: Cooperative Strategies for Small Businesses

Inga S. Baird, Ball State University
Marjorie A. Lyles, Indiana University
J. B. Orris, Butler University

Research on large firms shows that cooperative strategies have the potential to improve performance by helping firms gain access to necessary resources, enter new markets, and spread the risk over several partners. Interviews with thirty-four small business managers show small firms also can profit from using a cooperative network. Highly-allied small businesses entered alliances to gain resources and based their alliances on a […]

Accounting for Nonpension Postretirement Benefits: Analysis of Lobbying Activities

Jerry G. Kreuze, Western Michigan University
Sheldon A. Langsam, Western Michigan University
Gale E. Newell, Western Michigan University

The objective of this paper is to analyze the lobbying activities of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) constituents to the Exposure Draft of Statement 106, “Employer’s Accounting For Post retirement Benefits Other Than Pensions.” Specifically, the association between the provisions which changed between the Exposure Draft and Statement 106 and the comments received in […]

Gender Roles in Transition: Career and Family Expectations of Accounting Students

Rebekah J. Maupin, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Quantitative data from a study of gender differentiation among accounting students are analyzed to discover if male and female accounting students have different attitudes, orientations, and expectations for career and family. Although some changes toward a more gender-equal population are found, the study results also indicate several potential conflicts which accounting students will have to […]

Housing Finance Agency Allocations

Gerald E. Smolen, The University of Toledo
Michael T. Bond, Cleveland State University
James R. Webb, Cleveland State University

At the height of the recession in the early 1980’s, a multitude of state and locally sponsored housing finance agency programs were legislatively introduced in response to populist pressure. Many of these controversial programs utilized lower cost municipal bonds to subsidize private sector housing programs and had remarkable diversity in their stated objectives. This study […]

Stock Returns, Inflation, and the Business Cycle

Gary S. Moore, The University of Toledo
Sue L. Visscher, The University of Toledo

This study examines the effect of inflation on stock returns in the context of the policy reaction function theory. This theory contends that the nature and extent of the government’s policy reaction to inflation will depend upon the current level of economic activity. A contractionary policy, which will depress stock returns, is more likely […]

Product Differentiation and Positioning: Confused Concepts

Shaheen Borna, Ball State University
Joseph Chapman, Ball State University

This article examines two common marketing terms: product positioning and product differentiation. Many authors use these terms interchangeably, yet most marketing texts treat product positioning and product differentiation as two seperate concepts. This article attempts to identify the underlying concepts of both product differentiation and product positioning. Product differentiation is shown to be a special […]

The Stock Market Reaction to Plant Closings

Raymond A. K. Cox, Central Michigan University
John B. Mitchell, Oakland University
Robert T. Kleigman, Central Michigan University

This paper is an event time study of the valuation effects of a sample of eighty-two permanent closings. The traditional approach to project termination decisions suggests that common stock prices should increase around the date on which firms publicly announce the termination of a projects. However, the empirical results of this study indicate that, on […]

Characteristics of Career Achievement: Perceptions of African-American Corporate Executives

Carl Remus Bridges, Ohio University
Valerie S. Perotti, Ohio University

African American corporate business executives employed in black owned and operated businesses were studied with the purpose of developing profiles and identifying their perceptions of the importance of professional characteristics and career activities to their career achievements.The typical African American corporate executive in this study held the position of chief executive officer or vice president, […]