Browsing by Author "Hall, Otis F."
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- An analysis of factors influencing quality perceptions and purchase of office furnitureHansen, Bruce G. (Virginia Tech, 1990-04-26)This dissertation presents an in depth investigation of the office furniture industry and of the factors that influence selection and purchase of office furniture. It also utilizes data obtained in a national survey of nearly 270 office furniture buyers to investigate several general conceptual marketing issues. The industry-specific investigation includes a look at the history of the office and at events during the past 2-1/2 decades that have impacted the market for office furniture. It also includes a comparative look at the relative performance of wood (SIC 2521) and metal (SIC 2522) industry sectors. The performance of the office furniture industry is also compared with the wood household furniture industry (SIC 2511). This report includes a detailed look at the industry's changing product mix and use of wood-based materials. While the total use of wood-based material inputs by the industry was at record levels for all material categories in 1987, use on a per unit of output basis declined in several material categories. Material preferences, as expressed by survey respondents, indicated that solid wood is still rated highly and is the material of choice for interior and exterior applications in conventional office furniture manufacture. Twenty-six attributes of office furniture and of dealer/manufacturer services were rated on dual 7- and 5-point Likert scales for importance and difference, respectively. The most important attribute was the ability of the dealer manufacturer to provide products free of defects. However, when differences in the performance of suppliers or products were taken into account, the top determinant attribute was the ability to deliver on schedule. Comparisons of quality and selection and purchase ratings suggested that respondents tended to rate attributes on the bases of their use in selection and purchase higher overall than they rated their use in assessing quality. However, the relative ranking of attributes within the two sets of ratings were highly correlated. Respondent ratings of the 26 attributes were utilized in a multivariate study of quality dimensions employing confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses. Results of these analyses supported operationalization of most of Garvin's eight dimensions of quality.
- An analysis of the retail customer of CCA pressure treated lumber, timbers and plywoodSmith, Paul M. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)Professional builders (PRO's) and do-it-yourself (DIY) households throughout the U.S. were surveyed individually to assess their overall knowledge/awareness, product and service attribute preference and the general product quality and risk perceptions of CCA pressure treated lumber products. Primary data were acquired via two separate nationwide mail surveys; one included 3,361 PRO's, the other was administered to 3,224 households. Findings indicate that each of these retail customer groups is comprised of distinct subsegments that may be distinguished in various ways. These meaningful PRO segmentation strategies emerged from analysis of 543 PRO respondents portraying treated lumber customers according to the following: (1) geographic region as characterized by product and service attribute preferences, opinions, knowledge and demographics, (2) quality perceptions in terms of the relationship between benefits sought and product quality perception opinions and (3) physical risk or safety perceptions based on a risk personality type as delineated further according to three sets of psychographic predictor variable sets. The 491 responding DIY'ers were segmented according to risk perception orientation similarly to the builders. In addition, the DIY'er was profiled with regional breakdowns for treated lumber usage, applications and purchase intent, the husband/wife involvement in treated lumber buying decisions, knowledge, and product and service attribute importance. Consumer knowledge and awareness of pressure treated lumber products, in general, is very low. Only one-third of PRO's and 21% of DIY'ers could recall, unaided, at least one brand of treated lumber. Moreover, approximately one-third of all PRO and DIY respondents are knowledgeable about the preservative chemicals and a mere 38% of the 436 PRO respondents and 23% of the DIY respondents who have used treated lumber products from 1985-1987 could successfully identify the correct response from a multiple choice question which described the contents of Consumer Information Sheets (CIS's). Primarily through reading materials, Permanent Wood Foundations (PWF's) are well known among builders with 70% aware. However, only one-fourth of DIY'ers have ever heard of PWF systems.
- Cultural, Management and Economic Research Needed To Assist the Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowner in the Southeastern U.S. - a Problem Analysis -McElwee, Robert L.; Hall, Otis F. (Virginia Tech. Division of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, 1982)Much attention has been directed in recent years to finding ways of increasing the productivity of private non-industrial forest land ownerships in the South. Justification for the interest directed towards this ownership lies in its collective size, physical accessibility, potential for intensive management and the annual erosion of land base and growing stock of southern forests. Non-industrial private owners collectively are a most influential group, in position to shape the future posture of forestry and the quantity and quality of bbenefits to be obtained from forest lands. The manner in which these landowners husband their ownerships will determine progress made in arresting soil erosion, providing adequate supplies of potable water, maintaining a wildlife resource for consumptive and non-consumptive uses, continuing forest environments as a locale for recreational uses, and assuring a continuing supply of timber at reasonable costs for an expanding population. There is little doubt concerning the need to encourage greater production from these lands. By its sheer size, the non-industrial private ownership is the key to achieving gains in forest production. This ownership controls more than 70 percent of the forest land in the South. These owners must provide the major means of meeting projected increased needs in the goods and services derived from forest lands. As later paragraphs show, anticipated future needs surpass present productivity for southern pine. The productive potential exists tor the South to meet anticipated future needs, but to do so the non-industrial private ownerships must increase the amount of forest land supporting southern pines and must husband more intensively the southern pine forest. Non-industrial private landowners are a diverse group. They vary widely in their methods and reasons for acquiring forest properties, objectives of ownership, knowledge of forest management, financial capabilities and interests in enhancing the productive and financial values of their properties. Motivation is often lacking for them to enhance the value of their ownerships by increasing production. To define research priorities to assist these owners, a cooperative effort was initiated by the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station of the U.S. Forest Service, the Virginia Division of Forestry and the School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources at Virginia Tech. Some funding was provided by the Station and a Problem Analysis Team organized. This team met three times during 1981, planned the approach taken, reviewed and made suggestions on the sequence of manuscript revisions, and participated in the ranking of research priorities. Suggestions, preliminary manuscript review, and research priority ranking were solicited from a Technical Review Panel (See Appendix A). The resulting analysis presented here is a synthesis of the viewpoints of individuals representing governmental agencies, associations, wood-using industry, private landowners and forestry educators throughout the southern pine region. The prime objective is to assure an adequate supply lo southern pine to meet projected needs, while assuring non-industrial private landowners that investments in forest production are financially sound.
- Development of a method for implementing group selection in Appalachian hardwoodsBoucher, Britt A. (Virginia Tech, 1989-05-05)A method is described for implementing group selection regeneration in Appalachian hardwoods. The diverse set of definitions of the method, and the current forest demands are combined to form a flexible system of implementation that can accommodate public as well as private forests. Group selection is used where an uneven-aged silvicultural system is required and multiple objectives demanded. Several types of information are collected in a sample of the forest and then used to make the selection decision of which groups of trees to remove, and which groups to leave.
- Influences of varying stand harvest methods on timber harvesting costs in southwestern Virginia hardwoodsBell, Robert D. (Virginia Tech, 1989-05-15)A method was developed for estimating costs of harvesting operations in the hardwood stands of the Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia. The method was then tested on one logging operation to estimate the cost of harvesting a group selection tract as compared to a clearcut. Eight loggers were contacted and interviewed to obtain data on their costs of logging. The mean, median, and standard deviation of the responses were calculated to develop a profile. Mean crew size was three men, including the owner operator. Mechanized equipment consisted of a cable skidder from 75 to 120 hp. and a small to medium size loader. Average skidder age was 4.8 years. Loggers produced 144 cords per week, of which 54.6% was pulpwood and 42.4% sawtimber with 3% firewood. Products were hauled an average of 33 miles one way. Labor costs, including wages and all benefits averaged $411 per man per week. Total harvesting costs had a mean of $2252 per week. Mean hauling cost was $1289 per week. Annual production averaged 6778 cords. Cords per man hour was 0.99. Total cost per cord including hauling averaged $26. The information taken from the interviews was incorporated along with data from current literature into the Harvesting Analysis Technique (HAT), a main frame harvesting simulator, to model group selection harvests against clearcut harvests. A twenty-seven acre group selection cut was compared to a 160-acre clearcut. Clearcut area was based on the access estimated possible by the group selection skid road network. Results showed group selection harvested at a 21% slower rate than clearcutting. Harvest cost per cord was 25.8% greater. Variation in cost was caused mainly by the increased average skid distances present in the groups. Every 100 foot increase in skid distance resulted in a $0.68 increase in cost per cord for skidding in group selection harvests compared to a $0.33 increase for clearcutting.