In 1989, the Midland College Business and Economic Development Center conducted a survey of manufacturing and oil-related businesses in the Midland area of Texas who were members of the Midland Chamber of Commerce. A comparable study was conducted in 1990 of businesses who were members of the Big Spring Chamber of Commerce. For the Midland survey, 70 out of 200 firms returned surveys, while for the Big Spring survey, 151 usable surveys out of 500 were returned. The surveys sought to determine: (1) the companies' description and history; (2) the extent to which the samples were representative of the local business communities; (3) local economic factors and the extent to which businesses were familiar with factors influencing business such as capital availability and taxes; (4) employment and labor trends, including those labor force issues affecting business retention and expansion; (5) general categories of commodities used in production and the sources of these commodities; (6) customers and competitors, including the success of businesses in marketing efforts and how they are affected by competitive pressures; (7) physical facilities, including the effects of present facilities and future needs on businesses; and (8) trends and outlooks for businesses over the next few years. Survey instruments and detailed tables of results are included. (JMC)