School of Economics

Created in late 1999, the Center for Paper Business and Industry Studies (CPBIS) at the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) is a member of a growing family of 24 similar Sloan Foundation Industry Centers. CPBIS is a tax exempt, non-profit entity designed to create and disseminate knowledge and further understanding of business, management, organizational and social issues of vital importance to the Paper Industry. It does so by simultaneously engaging key Industry organizations and personnel and academic institutions’ representatives -- principally through GT and its associated colleges and Centers, such as the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST).

CPBIS has three primary explicit purposes: 1] conduct research on the fundamentals of the Paper Industry’s business and social sciences dynamics; 2] produce Ph.D. and Masters graduates in Paper Industry studies; and 3] conduct Paper Industry oriented business and social sciences continuing education.

To achieve its purpose, CPBIS focuses on issues of significant importance to the Paper Industry business community, covering a wide array of academic specialties and resources. Key topics include trade, the economy, business management, marketing, applied business technology (such as e-commerce), manufacturing management and administration, commercialization of technology, employee training, public policy, sector sociology and community interactions, business (management) operations benchmarking, and human resources issues and development.

CPBIS VISION: CPBIS seeks to be a globally recognized, industry-valued academic center, creating knowledge and tools to support Paper Industry decision-makers, and producing interdisciplinary graduates who contribute to the long-term commercial success of the Industry. CPBIS is Research Led and Business Focused.

CPBIS MISSION: The Center’s Mission is to be the preeminent business studies research and education enterprise dedicated to issues of the Paper Industry worldwide. CPBIS’ purpose encompasses several important elements:

• Create an academic community that understands the Paper Industry;
• Study the Industry by direct observation, providing research results of high, practical value to the Industry;
• Produce skilled, Paper Industry-oriented Ph.D. and M.S. graduates in a variety of disciplines; and
• Establish a diverse set of in-depth continuing education programs tailored to meet explicit Industry needs.

CPBIS OBJECTIVES: A basic Center objective, in accordance with both the Sloan Foundation’s model for Industry Centers and Paper Industry Leadership input, is to gain an improved understanding of strategically important managerial, economic, social, and organizational challenges facing the Industry. Creating an integrated set of high quality and innovative educational and research programs will achieve this.

An equally important objective is to build and sustain ties between the Industry and the academic community in ways that address issues of interest to analysts and scholars. This will include such arenas as relationships between culture and organizational effectiveness, Industry responses to the changing business environment, shifting regulatory processes, and emerging trends in information technology. Thus, the programs developed are intended to fuse practical and theoretical concerns.