7.3 RESEARCH AND
SERVICE CENTERS
Center for Business and Economic Research
The Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) in the
Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration serves
as the central reservoir within the state of Alabama for business,
economic, and demographic data. Since its creation in 1930, CBER has
engaged in research programs to promote economic development within
the state, while continuously expanding and refining its broad base
of socioeconomic information and statistics from federal, state,
local, and private sources.
CBER staff responds to queries for
specific business, economic, or demographic information on Alabama,
the region, and the nation. Additionally, the results of CBER-originated
special projects and ongoing programs frequently are available to
meet information needs.
The Alabama State Data Center,
housed within CBER, provides an important link with the U.S. Bureau
of the Census. The center maintains all census publications for the
state of Alabama and many surrounding states. The center also
provides extraction of items from census computer files that would
not otherwise be available. Under the Federal-State Cooperative
Programs for Local Population Estimation and Projection, CBER works
with the Bureau of the Census to prepare Alabama 's intercensal
population estimates and projections. Through this participation and
the historic need for reliable population estimates and projections,
CBER has engaged in population research for more than 30 years. This
experience, coupled with the rising demand for detailed demographic
data, has made CBER a leader in demographic work within the state.
As a part of the effort to track
the level of economic activity in Alabama, CBER has developed an
annual econometric model of the Alabama economy. The model was
constructed and tested in the late 1970s and first exercised in 1980
to produce short- and long-term forecasts (by industry group) of the
economy: gross state product, employment, personal income, and
wages. The model is continuously revised and refined to reflect the
changing structure of the state's economy. Output from the model is
published in the annual Alabama Economic Outlook.
CBER has an active publications
program. Published since the 1930s, Alabama Business features
analytical and tabular economic data in a concise format. CBER also
publishes ASDC News and Research Notes. The center maintains a site
on the World Wide Web (http:// cba.ua.edu) that contains news and
announcements, as well as articles presenting and interpreting
socioeconomic data. Users can read, print, or download current and
historic data on Alabama 's population, employment, income, retail
sales, and other economic indicators.
William R. Bennett Alabama
International Trade Center
The William R. Bennett Alabama International Trade Center (AITC) is
a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development of
international business activity. The trade center actively seeks
international opportunities to assist firms and public agencies in
successfully concluding business agreements and international
projects. Since its creation in 1979, under the auspices of the
College of Commerce and Business Administration, AITC has served
more than 4,500 firms in a variety of international marketing areas,
including international market research, strategic planning, and
consulting.
Internships are available at AITC
for students with experience or academic training in international
business.
Alabama Productivity Center
The Alabama Productivity Center is a vehicle for improving
productivity in manufacturing and service firms throughout the
state. One of its primary activities is to coordinate
applied-research projects in which University faculty and students
work jointly with a company's management and labor to resolve
specific marketing, production, or other operational problems. These
projects have simultaneously a research/educational focus and a
real-world mission. Academic benefits include thesis topics,
scholarly articles, research assistantships, and permanent
employment contacts. Other activities of the center include
conducting basic research in productivity analysis and improvement
technologies and administering a state productivity and quality
award.
Alabama Real Estate Research and Education Center
The Alabama Real Estate Research and Education Center (AREREC)
is a state of the art, comprehensive research and education facility
designed to support Alabama 's real estate industry and the state's
overall economic development efforts.
The center serves as a clearinghouse for real estate expertise and a
depository for local, state, and national data that can be used to
provide real estate decision makers with site selection,
feasibility, and market area analyses.
The center also offers professional
real estate education for practitioners and conducts academic
research on real estate related topics, real estate markets, and
housing policy issues that impact both real estate professionals and
the consumer.
Enterprise Integration Lab
The EIL was founded by C&BA in 1996 to help business organizations
seamlessly integrate business activities using information
technology (IT). Confronted with global market demands and evolving
IT, the EIL's mission is to develop business best practices for
sharing, managing, controlling, and coordinating business data, work
practices, and networks. To accomplish this goal, the lab performs:
- basic research to expand the
fundamental knowledge related to developing complex management
information systems
- applied research to examine
how to align theoretical concepts with constraints of the real
world
- business outreach to aid
business in applying accepted best practices
- education to transfer best
practices using state of the art techniques and methods
Each of these areas nurtures the
others. The results of the lab's basic research is intended to
provide the fundamental tenets that are used to solve real business
issues for the first time (applied research). Once these tenets are
used and their value substantiated, they become the basis for
generalized outreach projects. Outreach projects serve a broad
segment of the business community and provide experiential education
to students through real-world consulting assignments.
Garner Center for Current
Accounting Issues
The Garner Center was established within the Culverhouse School
of Accountancy in 1988. The center has been successful in fostering
and enhancing accounting research and education by providing a focal
point for scholarly activities and a vehicle for faculty efforts to
address accounting issues. In particular, the center hosts a speaker
series to facilitate interaction among faculty, students, and
professional accountants. The Garner Center also houses the
International Academy of Accounting Historians.
Human Resources Institute
The Human Resources Institute, a unit of the Manderson Graduate
School of Business, was organized in January 1972. Through the
institute, the University seeks to contribute to the development,
upgrading, and effective utilization of human resources in the
state, region, and nation. The mechanisms utilized to accomplish
these goals include both individual and contract research; training
programs for labor, management, and governmental groups; technical
assistance programs for private- and public-sector organizations;
and the publication and national distribution of research
monographs, papers, and proceedings. The institute houses the
Alabama Chapter of the Industrial Relations Research Association.
Hess Institute for Retailing Development
The Hess Institute for Retailing Development is based in the
Department of Management and Marketing. The initial contribution of
funds for the establishment of the institute was made by Parisian
Inc. of Birmingham.
The primary objective of the
institute is to provide better quality teaching, research, and
service to companies that make up the retailing industry. To
accomplish this objective, faculty talent and expertise are used to
address the needs of both the business and student markets. The Hess
Institute sponsors three major annual events—Retailing Day,
Retailing Week, and the Annual Marketing Symposium—that bring
together students, academicians, and retailing practitioners so all
will benefit through interaction and exchange of ideas.
Institute of Business Intelligence
The Institute of Business Intelligence (IBI) is an applied research
institute partnered with the latest vendors and industry users of
enterprise products covering the entire spectrum of the business
intelligence process in general, and the knowledge discovery and
data mining process in particular. The IBI contains an extensive
suite of industry leading tools for database, data cleansing, data
quality analysis, data preparation and aggregation, statistical
analysis, data mining predictive modeling, and data visualization.
In addition, the IBI has experienced academic and student staff
extensively trained in the practical use of these technologies. The
Institute serves as a key focal point for University/industry
partnerships in applied research in data mining and knowledge
discovery.
M.B.A. Association (M.B.A.A.)
The M.B.A. Association (M.B.A.A.) was established to assist in
the professional development and program enrichment of M.B.A.
students in the Manderson Graduate School of Business. Membership
includes first and second-year M.B.A. students, and the association
supports a learning environment of fellowship, social interaction,
and program enhancement. The M.B.A.A. sponsors professional
development programming, alumni and community events, corporate
outreach, and philanthropic initiatives as well as coordinates
social, cultural, athletic and other activities.
Small Business Development Center
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a service arm of
the College since 1981, works to improve the economy and quality of
life of West Alabama by developing new small businesses and helping
existing businesses expand. Assisting 200 to 300 new or existing
businesses each year, SBDC provides entrepreneurs with education and
training opportunities that cover a wide range of business topics.
Specifically, SBDC is available to
assist new or existing firms in devising business plans, assessing
new markets, answering basic start-up questions, and addressing
other needs. Counseling, workshop training, and information transfer
form the core of SBDC activities.
SBDC's location within the College
encourages maximum benefit from the College's extensive business
resources. Faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, library
holdings, and other College units (for example, the Center for
Business and Economic Research) support SBDC's service mission. |