The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	The socio-economic role of crude oil in the United States and Finland
Author:	Kallo, Judith Deak
View Online:	njit-etd1997-061 (xvi, 243 pages ~ 10.7 MB pdf)
Department:	School of Industrial Management
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Management
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Hawk, David L. (Committee chair) Chang, Tung-Lung (Committee member) Worrell, Malcolm L. (Committee member) Honkasalo, Antero (Committee member)
Date:	1997-10
Keywords:	Petroleum industry and trade--Economic policy--International cooperation. Petroleum industry and trade--Social aspects. Petroleum industry and trade--Environmental policy.
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	Running a company requires daily assessment of opportunities, risks and trends which involve socio-economic changes and scientific uncertainties. Technical-material resources play a major role in the uncertainty of corporate economics. Overproduction combined with increasing efficiencies have resulted in accelerated use and misuse of resources, accompanied by socio-ecological abuses related to wars and pollution. A significant current threat is global warming. As a result of this global challenge several companies have moved towards a more comprehensive environmental business management model. This is seen in corporate management initiating life cycle assessment and risk analysis of their products. The socio-economic role of crude oil is analyzed as a critical variable in this thesis. Crude oil has played and continues to play a critical role in the development of industrial societies. This variable is linked to human perceptions from different social structures that transcend and give definition to ideas about socio-economic progress and ecology. These cultural, linguistic and physiological differences come into play and are the resources for alternative ideas on how humans should interact with their immediate environment. This is demonstrated via a philosophical model of the U.S. and Finland as followed by an analysis of American and Finnish socio-economic progress in recent history. Conclusions relate to the sustainability of energy utilization through means to increase the efficiencies of economics.