Professor Elam

Not In Time Inventory

Sunday Aug 29 2010

 I use hearing aids and so am always looking for a deal on the batteries. Typically Walgreens has a buy one get one free on some battery package each weekend. Here is the photo of what i found stopping there on I believe a Tuesday or Wednesday. WAG was out of the batteries on sale. I asked the lady why they did not order more. Her reply was 'this always happens.'  We sell out of the ones on sale quickly. And she added, it is even more so with cigarettes. Like myself she wondered why the store did not stock more of what they knew would be in demand, especially when they select the sale items. 

 This sort of action only irritates customers. In the day and age of bar coding and computers there is really no excuse for such obvious outages again and again. But, have computers really helped us make better decisions?  Not unless the person programming and using the computer is aware of what he or she is doing. 

we study Just in time Inventory, a concept that Toyota has sued with success. I dub the WAG version

Not in Time Inventory. Have you encountered a similar situation in your shopping? Post your comment. 

Job Shadowing Opportunity at CPS

Wednesday August 25, 2010

Students,

 

Texas A&M University-San Antonio is partnering with CPS Energy for a one day Job Shadowing experience. This is YOUR chance to observe and learn from professionals in the working world.

 

When: September 30, 2010

              7:45 am-3:30 pm

 

Where: Navarro Building, 145 Navarro

                San Antonio, Texas 78205

 

Student Requirements:

·         Be an active student in a college or university

·         Have 30 hours toward a specific degree plan/major

·         Have a minimum 3.0 grade point average*

·         Degree major or field of study must be aligned with career opportunities available at CPS

[Examples of degree majors and fields of study: Accounting, Finance, Management, Human Resources, Supply Chain Management, Marketing, Computer Information Science, MBA -Several concentration areas].

                      

(*Students must bring an unofficial copy of their transcripts to verify minimum GPA requirement. These are  available for free at the Welcome Center.)

 

Deadline to Apply: September 9, 2010

 

Thank you,

 

Bennett Grey

Career Advisor

Student Engagement and Success

Texas A & M University-San Antonio

1450 Gillette Blvd.

San Antonio, Texas 78224

210-932-6287

[email protected]

 

KKR Loses Money with Generous Stock Options Charge

Tuesday August 10, 2010

We are studying stock option costing in Intermed II Accounting. Now we learn that the guys at KKR have apparently offered so many option on their stock that it cut earnings 92% and KKR has cancelled another stock offering, given poor market condition, well duh, which they helped create, read on. 

KKR Drops Plans for Stock Offering
By PETER LATTMAN
AUGUST 9, 2010, 5:38 P.M. ET.

KKR & Co. said it dropped plans to raise $500 million in a stock offering, a setback for the firm as it begins life as a company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

In reporting earnings for the first time as an NYSE-listed firm, KKR said late Monday that it earned $29.9 million, compared with $365.8 million during the same period of 2009. That 92% drop, in part, reflectsthe cost of the one-time issuance of equity awards relating to its stock issuance. (The shareholders should revolt and throw out management - Jesse)

KKR's core private-equity business performed well. Holdings on its balance sheet, which include Texas utility Energy Future Holdings Inc., were marked 6% higher in the three months through June. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 12% for the quarter.

Last month, KKR moved its listing to the NYSE from the Euronext exchange to provide its stock with more liquidity and a broader investor base. In May, it announced that as part of its U.S. listing it would raise $500 million to fund the firm's growth and potential acquisitions. KKR has since squelched the offering...

Red White and Tuna!

Sunday August 8, 2010

Greg Hinojosa will tackle multiple roles in Red White and Tuna.  

If you have not seen any of the TUNA trilogy, or is there a fourth, Tuna Las Vegas now?  Anyway, TUNA is the third smallest town in Texas made  famous by the Joe Sears and Jaston Williams who wrote and played all the characters at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Tx. Here is the chance to see an installment in San Antonio. Two guys play all the roles, TUNA spoofs everything Texan, a must for all native Texans. 

It starts at the San Pedro Theater here Friday, caution, uncontrollable laughter will result from attending.....

For Profit Schools, the Next Sub Prime Disaster

Sunday August 8, 2010    

There won't be empty subdivisions and Auction signs but there are already plenty of defaults on for profit school loans. It is basically the same recipe. The government guarantees the loan, the seller seeks marginal qualifiers and the result is a default. The school offers little in the way of academic education, the student fails to get the promised job, and so does not pay the loan. Meanwhile the school pockets the money and you and I pay for the default. And of course the prices for say a six month Legal Assistant class run well into four or possibly five figures. 

The SA Express News did a good piece on this continuing train wreck. Why wait until 2014 to start investigating?

Library Research Program - Good Idea!

Friday August 6, 2010

Surefire Methods And Research Techniques

Brought to you by Texas A&M University-San Antonio’s University Library

 

 

This five part series of one hour workshops will assist undergraduate and graduate students in the basics of conducting research and preparing to write a research paper.  Each course can be attended individually, or a student may choose to attend all five sessions.  Those who attend all five sessions will have their names entered into a prize drawing.

 

Session 1 Beginning your research

   Types of assignments, choosing a topic/creating a thesis, developing a search strategy,

   and types of research resources

 

Session 2 Research using journals

   Types of periodicals, databases, note-taking, selecting articles, and citing journal articles

 

Session 3 Research using books and similar resources

   Locating books, e-books, using bibliographies, evaluating sources, and citing books

 

Session 4 Internet resources

   Choosing and evaluating Internet resources, citing websites, and review of research sources

 

Session 5 Preparing to write

   Review topic/thesis, organize sources, prepare outline, using your sources properly, style

   manuals, and Smarthinking

 

 

All sessions will be held in Building A, Room 102 on the main campus.

 

Sessions are offered on the following days and times:

 

Tuesday 5:30-6:30 pm on 9/7, 9/14, 9/21, 9/28, and 10/12

Wednesday 2:30-3:30 pm on 9/8, 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, and 10/13

Friday 5-6 pm on 9/10, 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, and 10/15

 

 

 

 

 

The Apple Management Style

Friday August 6, 2010

Here is an interesting article on why Apple enjoys the success that it does. Two things in the list jumped out at me. The managers are engineers first, so they know the process. GM lost its way when it started hiring managers from Procter and Gamble, next thing you knew Oldsmobiles looked like toothpaste, the Cutlass once a success had four different styles, all dull. 

The other thing is that they did not compare features with the competition. They focused rather on what they were doing. This explains why there are no keys on an iPhone, one button on an Apple Mouse, a closed system on the Mac so no virus problems, clever design like having the USB plug mate with the electric plug on the iPhone, even the packaging looks good. 

The Coming Crisis

Wed Aug 4, 2010

Gov Arnold is re instating furloughs, the Comptroller is pondering IOUs by Sept or October, the Tipping Point draws ever closer. 

$1 Goes a Long Way these Days

Wed August 4, 2010

Newsweek just sold for a buck, Businessweek did as well. Now Barnes and Noble is for sale.  The brick and mortar retailer is reeling from the effects of increased popular e books, and one does not need a lot or real estate to sell those.I think this means we will not be seeing B and N at my neighborhood shopping center despite the sign. It's tough out there in print land.