Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings Chapter 5~6

CHAPTER FIVE Hey, Buddy, Why the Big Brain? The next morning the four of them stood in a row on the front of the old Pioneer Hotel, looking across the Lahaina Harbor at the whitecaps in the channel. Wind was whipping the palm trees. Down by the breakwater two little girls were trying to surf waves whose faces were bumpy with wind chop and whose curls blew back over the crests like the hair of a sprinter. â€Å"It could calm down,† Amy said. She was standing next to Kona, thinking, This guy's pecs are so cut you could stick business cards under them and they'd stay. And my, is he tan. Where Amy came from, no one was tan, and she hadn't been in Hawaii long enough to realize that a good tan was just a function of showing up. â€Å"Supposed to stay like this for the next three days,† Nate said. As disappointed as he appeared to be, he was extraordinarily relieved that they wouldn't be going out this morning. He had a rogue hangover, and his eyes were bloodred behind his sunglasses. Self-loathing had set in, and he thought, My life's work is shit, and if we went out there today and I didn't spend the morning retching over the side, I'd be tempted to drown myself. He would rather have been thinking about whales, which is what he usually thought about. Then he noticed Amy sneaking glances at Kona's bare chest and felt even worse. â€Å"Ya, mon. Kona can spark up a spliff and calm down that bumpy brine for all me new science dreadies. We can take the boat no matter what the wind be,† Kona said. He was thinking, I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about, but I really want to get out there with the whales. â€Å"Breakfast at Longee's, and then we'll see how it looks,† Clay said. He was thinking, We'll have breakfast at Longee's, and then we'll see how it looks. None of them moved. They just stood there, looking out at the blowout channel. Occasionally a whale would blow, and the mist would run over the water like a frightened ghost. â€Å"I'm buying,† Clay said. And they all headed up Front Street to Longee's restaurant, a two-story gray-and-white building, done in a New England architecture with shiplap siding and huge open windows that looked across Front Street, over the stone seawall, and out onto the Au' au Channel. By way of a shirt, Kona slipped on a tattered Nautica windbreaker he'd had knotted around his waist. â€Å"You do a lot of sailing?† Amy asked, nodding to the Nautica logo. She intended the remark as dig, a return for Kona's saying, â€Å"And who be this snowy biscuit?† when they'd first met. At the time Amy had just introduced herself, but in retrospect she realized that she should probably have taken some offense to being called both snowy and a biscuit – those things were objectifying, right? â€Å"Shark bait kit, me Snowy Biscuit,† Kona answered, meaning that the windbreaker had come from a tourist. The Paia surfing community on the North Shore, from which Kona had recently come, had an economy based entirely on petty theft, mostly smash-and-grabs from rental cars. As the host led them through the crowded dining room to a table by the windows, Clay leaned over Amy's shoulder and whispered, â€Å"A biscuit is a good thing.† â€Å"I knew that,† Amy whispered back. â€Å"Like a tomato, right?† â€Å"Heads up,† Clay said, just as Amy plowed into a khaki package of balding ambition known as Jon Thomas Fuller, CEO of Hawaii Whale Inc., a nonprofit corporation with assets in the tens of millions that disguised itself as a research organization. Fuller had pushed his chair back to intercept Amy. â€Å"Jon Thomas!† Clay smiled and reached around the flustered Amy to shake Fuller's hand. Fuller ignored Clay and took Amy by the waist, steadying her. â€Å"Hey, hey, there,† Fuller said. â€Å"If you wanted to meet me, all you had to do was introduce yourself.† Amy grabbed his wrists and guided his hands to the table in front of him, then stepped back. â€Å"Hi, I'm Amy Earhart.† â€Å"I know who you are,† said Fuller, standing now. He was only a little taller than Arny, very tan and very lean, with a hawk nose and a receding hairline like a knife. â€Å"What I don't know is why you haven't come to see me about a job.† Meanwhile, Nate, who had been thinking about whale song, had taken his seat, opened a menu, ordered coffee, and completely missed the fact that he was alone at the table. He looked up to see Jon Thomas Fuller holding his assistant by the waist. He dropped his menu and headed back to the site of the intercept. â€Å"Well, partly† – Amy smiled at the three young women sitting at Fuller's table – â€Å"partly because I have some self-respect† – she curtsied – â€Å"and partly because you're a louse and a jamoke.† Fuller's dazzling grin dropped a level of magnitude. The women at his table, all dressed in khaki safari wear to approximate the Discovery Channel ideal of what a scientist should look like, made great shows of looking elsewhere, wiping their mouths, sipping water – not noticing their boss getting verbally bitch-slapped by a vicious research pixie. â€Å"Nate,† Fuller said, noticing that Nate had joined the group, â€Å"I heard about the break-in at your place. Nothing important missing, I hope.† â€Å"We're fine. Lost some recordings,† Nate said. â€Å"Ah, well, good. A lot of lowlifes on this island now.† Fuller looked at Kona. The surfer grinned. â€Å"Shoots, brah, you make me blush.† Fuller grinned. â€Å"How you doing, Kona?† â€Å"All cool runnings, brah. Bwana Fuller got his evil on?† There were neck-snapping double takes all around. Fuller nodded, then looked back at Quinn. â€Å"Anything we can do, Nate? There are a lot of our song recordings for sale in the shops, if those will help out. You guys get professional discount. We're all in this together.† â€Å"Thanks,† Nate said just as Fuller sat down, then turned his back on all of them and resumed eating his breakfast, dismissing them. The women at the table looked embarrassed. â€Å"Breakfast?† Clay said. He herded his team to their table. They ordered and drank coffee in silence, each looking out across the street to the ocean, avoiding eye contact until Fuller and his group had left. Nate turned to Amy. â€Å"A jamoke? What are you, living in a Cagney movie?† â€Å"Who is that guy?† Amy asked. She snapped the corner off a piece of toast with more violence than was really necessary. â€Å"What's a jamoke?† Kona asked. â€Å"It's a flavor of ice cream, right?† Clay said. Nate looked at Kona. â€Å"How do you know Fuller?† Nate held up his ringer and shot a cautionary glare, the now understood signal for no Rasta/pidgin/bullshit. â€Å"I worked the Jet Ski concession for him at Kaanapali.† Nate looked to Clay, as if to say, You knew this? â€Å"Who is that guy?† Amy asked. â€Å"He's the head of Hawaii Whale,† Clay said. â€Å"Commerce masquerading as science. They use their permit to get three sixty-five-foot tourist boats right up next to the whales.† â€Å"That guy is a scientist?† â€Å"He has a Ph.D. in biology, but I wouldn't call him a scientist. Those women he was with are his naturalists. I guess today was even too windy for them to go out. He's got shops all over the island – sells whale crap, nonprofit. Hawaii Whale was the only research group to oppose the Jet Ski ban during whale season.† â€Å"Because Fuller had money in the Jet Ski business,† Nate added. â€Å"I made six bucks an hour,† Kona said. â€Å"Nate's work was instrumental in getting the Jet Ski parasail ban done,† Clay said. â€Å"Fuller doesn't like us.† â€Å"The sanctuary may take his research permit next,† said Nate. â€Å"What science they do is bad science.† â€Å"And he blames you for that?† Amy asked. â€Å"I – we have done the most behavioral stuff as it relates to sound in these waters. The sanctuary gave us some money to find out if the high-frequency noise from Jet Skis and parasail boats affected the behavior of the whales. We concluded that it did. Fuller didn't like it. It cost him.† â€Å"He's going to build a dolphin swim park, up La Perouse Bay way,† Kona said. â€Å"What?† Nate said. â€Å"What?† said Clay. â€Å"A swim-with-the-dolphins park?† said Amy. â€Å"Ya, mon. Let you come from Ohio and get in the water with them bottlenose fellahs for two hundred dollar.† â€Å"You guys didn't know about this?† Amy was looking at Clay. He always seemed to know everything that was going on in the whale world. â€Å"First I've heard of it, but they're not going to let him do it without some studies.† He looked to Nate. â€Å"Are they?† â€Å"It'll never happen if he loses his research permit,† Nate said. â€Å"There'll be a review.† â€Å"And you'll be on the review board?† asked Amy. â€Å"Nate's name would solidify it,† Clay said. â€Å"They'll ask him.† â€Å"Not you?† Kona asked. â€Å"I'm just the photographer.† Clay looked out at the whitecaps in the channel. â€Å"Doesn't look like we'll be getting out today. Finish your breakfast, and then we'll go pay your rent.† Nate looked at Clay quizzically. â€Å"I can't give him money,† Clay said. â€Å"He'll just smoke it. I'm going to go pay his rent.† â€Å"Truth.† Kona nodded. â€Å"You don't still work for Fuller, do you, Kona?† Nate asked. â€Å"Nate!† Amy admonished. â€Å"Well, he was there when I found the office ransacked.† â€Å"Leave him alone,† Amy said. â€Å"He's too cute to be bad.† â€Å"Truth,† said Kona. â€Å"Sistah Biscuit speak nothin' but the truth. I be massive cute.† Clay set a stack of bills on the table. â€Å"By the way, Nate, you have a lecture at the sanctuary on Tuesday. Four days. You and Amy might want to use the downtime to put something together.† Nate felt as if he'd been smacked. â€Å"Four days? There's nothing there. It was all on those hard drives.† â€Å"Like I said, you might want to use the downtime.† CHAPTER SIX Whale Wahine As a biologist, Nate had a tendency to draw analogies between human behavior and animal behavior – probably a little more often than was strictly healthy. For instance, as he considered his attraction to Amy, he wondered why it had to be so complex. Why there had to be so many subtleties to the human mating ritual. Why can't we be more like common squid? he thought. The male squid simply swims up to the female squid, hands her a neat package of sperm, she tucks it under her mantle at her leisure, and they go on their separate ways, their duty to the species done. Simple, elegant, no nuance†¦ Nate held the paper cup out to Amy. â€Å"I poured some coffee for you.† â€Å"I'm all coffeed out, thanks,† said Amy. Nate set the cup down on the desk next to his own. He sat in front of the computer. Amy was perched on a high stool to his left going through the hardbound field journals covering the last four years. â€Å"Are you going to be able to put together a lecture out of this?† she asked. Nate rubbed his temples. Despite a handful of aspirin and six cups of coffee, his head was still throbbing. â€Å"A lecture? About what?† â€Å"Well, what were you planning to do a talk on before the office was ransacked? Maybe we can reconstruct it from the field notes and memory.† â€Å"I don't have that good a memory.† â€Å"Yes you do, you just need some mnemonics, which we have here in the field notes.† Her expression was as open and hopeful as a child's. She waited for something from him, just a word to set her searching for what he needed. The problem was, what he needed right now was not going to be found in biology field notes. He needed answers of another kind. It bothered him that Fuller had known about the break-in at the compound. It was too soon for him to have found out. It also bothered him that anyone could hold him in the sort of disdain that Fuller obviously did. Nate had been born and raised in British Columbia, and Canadians hate, above all things, to offend. It was part of the national consciousness. â€Å"Be polite† was an unwritten, unspoken rule, but ingrained into the psyche of an entire country. (Of course, as with any rule, there were exceptions: parts of Quebec, where people maintained the â€Å"dismissive to the point of confrontation, with subsequent surrender† mind-set of the French; and hockey, in which any Canadian may, with impunity, slam, pummel, elbow, smack, punch, body-check, and beat the shit out of, with sticks, any other human being, punctuated by profanities, name-calling, questioning parentage, and accusations of bestiality, usually – coincidentally – in French.) Nate was neither French-Canadian nor much of a hockey player, so the idea of having invoked enmity enough in someone to have that person ruin his research†¦ He was mortified by it. â€Å"Amy,† he said, having spaced out and returned to the room in a matter of seconds, he hoped, â€Å"is there something that I'm missing about our work? Is there something in the data that I'm not seeing?† Amy assumed the pose of Rodin's The Thinker on her stool, her chin teed up on her hand, her brow furrowed into moguls of earnest contemplation. â€Å"Well, Dr. Quinn, I would be able to answer that if you had shared the data with me, but since I only know what I've collected or what I've analyzed personally, I'd have to say, scientifically speaking, beats me.† â€Å"Thanks,† Nate said. He smiled in spite of himself. â€Å"You said there was something there that you were close to finding. In the song, I mean. What is it?† â€Å"Well, if I knew that, it would be found, wouldn't it?† â€Å"You must suspect. You have to have a theory. Tell me, and let's apply the data to the theory. I'm willing to do the work, reconstruct the data, but you've got to trust me.† â€Å"No theory ever benefited by the application of data, Amy. Data kills theories. A theory has no better time than when it's lying there naked, pure, unsullied by facts. Let's just keep it that way for a while.† â€Å"So you don't really have a theory?† â€Å"Clueless.† â€Å"You lying bag of fish heads.† â€Å"I can fire you, you know. Even if Clay was the one that hired you, I'm not totally superfluous to this operation yet. I'm kind of in charge. I can fire you. Then how will you live?† â€Å"I'm not getting paid.† â€Å"See, right there. Perfectly good concept ruined by the application of fact.† â€Å"So fire me.† No longer The Thinker, Amy had taken on the aspect of a dark and evil elf. â€Å"I think they're communicating,† Nate said. â€Å"Of course they're communicating, you maroon. You think they're singing because they like the sound of their own voices?† â€Å"There's more to it than that.† â€Å"Well, tell me!† â€Å"Who calls someone a maroon? What the hell is maroon?† â€Å"It's a mook with a Ph.D. Don't change the subject.† â€Å"It doesn't matter. Without the acoustic data I can't even show you what I was thinking. Besides, I'm not sure that my cognitive powers aren't breaking down.† â€Å"Meaning what?† Meaning that I'm starting to see things, he thought. Meaning that despite the fact that you're yelling at me, I really want to grab you and kiss you, he thought. Oh, I am so fucked, he thought. â€Å"Meaning I'm still a little hungover. I'm sorry. Let's see what we can put together from the notes.† Amy slipped off the stool and gathered the field journals in her arms. â€Å"Where are you going?† Nate said. Had he somehow offended her? â€Å"We have four days to put together a lecture. I'm going to go to my cabin and do it.† â€Å"How? On what?† â€Å"I'm thinking, ‘Humpbacks: Our Wet and Wondrous Pals of the Deep –  » â€Å"There's going to be a lot of researchers there. Biologists – † Nate interrupted. † – and Why We Should Poke Them with Sticks.  » â€Å"Better,† Nate said. â€Å"I got it covered,† she said, and she walked out. For some reason he felt hopeful. Excited. Just for a second. Then, after he'd watched her walk out, a wave of melancholy swept over him and for the thirtieth time that day he regretted that he hadn't just become a pharmacist, or a charter captain, or something that made you feel more alive, like a pirate. The old broad lived on a volcano and believed that the whales talked to her. She called about noon, and Nate knew it was her before he even answered. He knew, because she always called when it was too windy to go out. â€Å"Nathan, why aren't you out in the channel?† the Old Broad said. â€Å"Hello, Elizabeth, how are you today?† â€Å"Don't change the subject. They told me that they want to talk to you. Today. Why aren't you out there?† â€Å"You know why I'm not out there, Elizabeth. It's too windy. You can see the whitecaps as well as I can.† From the slope of Haleakala, the Old Broad watched the activity in the channel with a two-hundred-power celestial telescope and a pair of â€Å"big eyes† binoculars that looked like stereo bazookas on precision mounts that were anchored into a ton of concrete. â€Å"Well, they're upset that you're not out there. That's why I called.† â€Å"And I appreciate your calling, Elizabeth, but I'm in the middle of something.† Nate hoped he didn't sound too rude. The Old Broad meant well. And they, in a way, were all at the mercy of her generosity, for although she had  «donated » the Papa Lani compound, she hadn't exactly signed it over to them. They were in a sort of permanent lease situation. Elizabeth Robinson was, however, very generous and very kindhearted indeed, even if she was a total loon. â€Å"Nathan, I am not a total loon,† she said. Oh yes you are, he thought. â€Å"I know you're not,† he said. â€Å"But I really have to get some work done today.† â€Å"What are you working on?† Elizabeth asked. Nate could hear her tapping a pencil on her desk. She took notes during their conversations. He didn't know what she did with the notes, but it bothered him. â€Å"I have a lecture at the sanctuary in four days.† Why, why had he told her? Why? Now she'd rattle down the mountain in her ancient Mercedes that looked like a Nazi staff car, sit in the audience, and ask all the questions that she knew in advance he couldn't answer. â€Å"That shouldn't be hard. You've done that before, what, twenty times?† â€Å"Yes, but someone broke in to the compound yesterday, Elizabeth. All my notes, the tapes, the analysis – it's all destroyed.† There was silence on the line for a moment. Nate could hear the Old Broad breathing. Finally, â€Å"I'm really sorry, Nathan. Is everyone all right?† â€Å"Yes, it happened while we were out working.† â€Å"Is there anything I can do? I mean, I can't send much, but if – â€Å" â€Å"No, we're all right. It's just a lot of work that I have to start over.† The Old Broad might have been loaded at one time, and she certainly would be again if she sold the land where Papa Lani stood, but Nate didn't think that she had a lot of money to spare after the last bear market. Even if she did, this wasn't a problem that could be solved with cash. â€Å"Well, then, you get back to work, but try to get out tomorrow. There's a big male out there who told me he wants you to bring him a hot pastrami on rye.† Nate grinned and almost snorted into the phone. â€Å"Elizabeth, you know they don't eat while they're in these waters.† â€Å"I'm just relaying the message, Nathan. Don't you snicker at me. He's a big male, broad, like he just came down from Alaska – frankly, I don't know why he'd be hungry, he's as big as a house. But anyway, Swiss and hot English mustard, he was very clear about that. He has very unusual markings on his flukes. I couldn't see them from here, but he says you'll know him.† Nate felt his face go numb with something approximating shock. â€Å"Elizabeth –  » â€Å"Call if you need anything, Nathan. My love to Clay. Aloha.† Nathan Quinn let the phone slip from his fingers, then zombie-stumbled out of the office and back to his own cabin, where he decided he was going to nap and keep napping until he woke up to a world that wasn't so irritatingly weird. Right on the edge of a dream where he was gleefully steering a sixty-foot cabin cruiser up Second Street in downtown Seattle, plowing aside slow-moving vehicles while Amy, clad in a silver bikini and looking uncharacteristically tan, stood in the bow and waved to people who had come to the windows of their second-story offices to marvel at the freedom and power of the Mighty Quinn – right on the edge of a perfect dream, Clay burst into the room. Talking. â€Å"Kona's moving into cabin six.† â€Å"Get some lines in the water, Amy,† Nate said from the drears of morpheum opus. â€Å"We're coming up on Pike's Place Market, and there's fish to be had.† Clay waited, not quite smiling, not quite not, while Nate sat up and rubbed sleep from his eyes. â€Å"Driving a boat on the street?† Clay said, nodding. All skippers had that dream. â€Å"Seattle,† said Nate. â€Å"The Zodiac lives in cabin six.† â€Å"We haven't used the Zodiac in ten years, it won't hold air.† Clay went to the closet that acted as a divider between the living/sleeping area and the kitchen. He pulled down a stack of sheets, then towels. â€Å"You wouldn't believe how they had this kid living, Nate. It was a tin industrial building, out by the airport. Twenty, thirty of them, in little stalls with cots and not enough room to swing a dead cat. The wiring was extension cords draped over the tops of the stalls. Six hundred a month for that.† Nate shrugged. â€Å"So? We lived that way the first couple of years. It's what you do. We might need cabin six for something. Storage or something.† â€Å"Nope,† said Clay. â€Å"That place was a sweat box and a fire hazard. He's not living there. He's our guy.† â€Å"But Clay, he's only been with us for a day. He's probably a criminal.† â€Å"He's our guy,† said Clay, and that was that. Clay had very strong views on loyalty. If Clay had decided that Kona was their guy, he was their guy. â€Å"Okay,† said Nate, feeling as if he had just invited the Medusa in for a sandwich. â€Å"The Old Broad called.† â€Å"How is she?† â€Å"Still nuts.† â€Å"How're you?† â€Å"Getting there.†

Personnel Management Research in Agribusiness

Personnel Management Research in Agribusiness Vera Bitsch Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics Michigan State University, 306 Agriculture Hall, East Lansing, Michigan, 48824 Tel: +517-353-9192, Fax: +517-432-1800, [email  protected] edu Paper presented at the 19th Annual World Forum and Symposium of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, Budapest, Hungary, June 20-23, 2009 Acknowledgements This study was supported by the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, Hatch project #0191628. The author would also like to thank the Elton R.Smith Chair in Food & Agricultural Policy at Michigan State University for supporting the participation at the IFAMA World Forum and Symposium. Copyright 2009 by Vera Bitsch. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. Personnel Management Research in Agr ibusiness (Executive Summary) One of the challenges faced by agribusinesses in the 21st century is the attraction, motivation, and retention of sufficient and qualified labor.However, personnel management research has mostly focused on other industries. Accordingly, agribusiness managers have little to rely on, when developing personnel policies and procedures. Once a business has grown beyond the labor capacity of the immediate family, personnel management becomes an issue and practices developed for large corporations do not always scale down well to smaller businesses or may not fit the agribusiness environment. This paper reviews the foci and results of personnel management research in the United States and in Canada, but results are likely applicable beyond these two countries.The analysis concentrates on publications analyzing personnel management publications, largely excluding labor market, immigration, and similar analyses. The unit of analysis is the business, not the mark et, society, or other institution. The review covers agribusiness and agricultural economics journals, and also animal science and horticultural science journals. Research reports and conference papers are included when accessible. With few exceptions, personnel management was virtually absent from agribusiness and agricultural economics research before 1990.Since then research methods cover the full range from in-depth, unstructured interviews and group discussions, through interview or moderator guide based approaches, up to fully structured surveys. Several broadly based results are emerging. First, many agribusiness managers perceive their personnel management competencies as a weakness, in particular during periods of organizational growth. Second, experienced managers typically have an adequate conceptual frame of the personnel management functions, but with respect to the details gaps and misconceptions persist.Third, the peculiar circumstances of agribusiness and farm work r equire specific skill sets and beginning managers could benefit from targeted training. Fourth, although compensation is important, employees’ job satisfaction and retention can be increased with inexpensive measures, such as feedback and appreciation. Fifth, the relationship between personnel management practices and financial success measures is complicated and difficult to assess. Few personnel management studies have been able to provide evidence of a substantial relationship between any particular personnel management practice and profit, or even productivity. Personnel Management Research in Agribusiness Problem Statement One of the challenges faced by many agribusinesses and farms in the 21st century is the attraction, motivation, and retention of sufficient and qualified labor. Although this problem is more pronounced in industrialized and developed economies, growing and transitional economies, including China, also face a lack of interest in agricultural work. In ad dition, personnel management research has mostly focused on other industries, neglecting agribusiness.Accordingly, agribusiness managers have little to rely on, when developing personnel policies and procedures for a growing business. Once a business has grown beyond the labor capacity of the immediate family, personnel management becomes an issue and practices developed for large corporations often times do not scale down well to smaller businesses or may not fit the agricultural or agribusiness environment. Farm Labor in the U. S. In 2007, U. S. hired farm labor comprised $21. 9 billion or 9. 1% of total production expenses. That was an increase in monetary expenses of $3. billion, compared to $18. 6 billion in 2002, but a decrease in percentage of expenses. In addition, contract labor amounted to $4. 5 billion in expenses or 1. 9% of total production expenses, up $1. 1 billion from 2002. Custom work and custom hauling, which includes machinery costs was up by $0. 8 billion at $4. 1 billion; 1. 7% of total production expenses (2007 Census of Agriculture). Hired labor was the third largest expense group behind purchased feed and purchased livestock and poultry. But farm labor expenses are not equally distributed regionally.According to Kandel, total farm labor expenses amounted to 22. 3% of the cash receipts in California, but only to 2. 5% in Iowa in 2006. The top five states in terms of payroll expenses were California, Florida, Texas, Washington, and Oregon. They account for 42. 8% of the expenditure on hired labor in the U. S. Runyan reported that 1910-19 the share of family labor of total farm employment was 75%; 1990-99 this share had declined to 64%. While total farm employment is declining, the role of hired workers is increasing with increasing farm sizes.However, farm wages rank near the bottom of all occupational groups, second only to private household work (Runyan). This fact may be ameliorated, at least in part, by lower cost of living expenses in rural communities (Gisser and Davila). By agricultural specialization, hired labor is most important for horticultural 3 operations (tree nurseries, ornamentals, fruit, and vegetables) and in dairy farming, followed by livestock and poultry farming; hired labor is least important in field crops.Objectives This paper reviews the foci and results of personnel management research in agriculture and agribusiness in the United States and in Canada, but results are likely applicable beyond these two countries. The goal of the review is to extract the lessons learned and derive guidance for both agribusiness management practice and future research. The specific objectives are to (1) analyze the state of the art of personnel management research in agribusiness, in particular agricultural production, including an analysis of research methods; (2) determine the ain themes with respect to (a) research questions and (b) empirical fields; and (3) summarize empirical results to (a) provide a f oundation for manager training and decision support and (b) serve as a roadmap to future research projects. Procedures Geographically, this paper focuses on the United States and Canada and the review is limited to publications in English. The analysis concentrates on publications analyzing personnel management questions, largely excluding labor market, migration, immigration, and similar analyses.Labor market, migration, and immigration studies are important to understanding the agricultural labor problem and a considerable amount of work has been done on these questions (see, e. g. , Devadoss and Luckstead; Ise and Perloff; Martin and Taylor; Taylor; Tran and Perloff; Walters, Emerson, and Iwai). Less work has been published on personnel management functions and the use of different management practices in agribusiness. Personnel management functions include practices to recruit, train, manage, organize, evaluate, compensate, discipline, and terminate employees, as well as, questi ons of job satisfaction, motivation, and retention.Therefore, the unit of analysis is the agribusiness or farm, not the market, society, or other macro institution. The review covers agribusiness and management journals, agricultural economics journals, and also animal science and horticultural science journals. In addition, research reports and conference papers (gray publications) are included when accessible and relevant. 4 Articles reporting on empirical research, as well as, review articles were content analyzed with respect to the objectives outlined above.A qualitative analysis method was used to determine the personnel management questions addressed, the research methods, the empirical field, the specific results with respect to the questions addressed, and the broader implications of each article. Only articles meeting the criteria summarized above are included in the discussion of the main themes and in the summary tables. Furthermore, although this paper is based on a com prehensive review, it cannot claim to include every study in this field. State of the Art Before 1990, personnel management was virtually absent from agribusiness and gricultural economics research (Howard and McEwan; Rosenberg and Cowen), with very few exceptions (e. g. , Adams, How, and Larson). For the agricultural field, personnel management research basically began in the early 1990ies, but many of these studies are difficult to access, because they have been published as conference or working papers, or in trade magazines, not in peer reviewed journals. Until the end of the 1990ies, studies remain few and common themes are yet to develop, with the possible exception of job attitudes, which appear as an early focus (e. . , Adams, How, and Larson). Additional themes emerging later include managers’ conceptualization of the personnel management functions, managers’ personnel management competencies and practices, and the relationship between personnel management pra ctices and organizational outcomes. Few studies focus on one particular personnel management function; more studies encompass a broad array of functions and the related management practices. Exceptions are studies of the management and preferences of migrant workers and of compensation (table 1).Compensation studies in agribusiness frequently are limited to a description of actual wages and their distribution, sometimes not including benefits, and not relating compensation to organizational outcome variables (see, e. g. , studies cited in Maloney and Milligan). Examples of compensation studies, which transcend this limitation, are a pay method and performance study (Billikopf and Norton), a study of the effect of compensation and working conditions on retention (Gabbard and Perloff), and studies of the relationship between wage, production technologies, and farm size (Hurley, Kliebenstein, and Orazem; Yu et al. . Gabbard and Perloff found that for the same monetary investment employ ee benefits increase the probability of retaining good workers more 5 than higher wages. Strochlic et al. also found benefits to increase retention. No relationship between wages and retention rates was found by Miklavcic, as well as Strochlic et al. Considering that, regardless of the personnel management model used (see Delery and Doty for the universalistic, contingency, and configuration models), specific management practices cannot e considered to function in isolation and independent of other practices. Conclusions based on such studies of singular practices would be limited. Therefore, even researchers interested in a particular personnel management function and in comparing relevant practices for this function, would have to take a more integrative approach and describe other practices to provide context. Empirical evidence for the relevance of the integrative approach in agriculture and agribusiness was provided in Adams, How, and Larson; Chacko, Wacker, and Asar; and Muger a and Bitsch.Despite many commonalities between different branches of agricultural production, the type and conditions of work vary, as does the dependency on weather and growth cycles, e. g. , comparing vegetable production to swine production. Both researchers and practitioners therefore will primarily look at the research matching their current undertaking most closely. Studies vary in their empirical coverage, with respect to the scope of farming specializations included, from studies focused on a single specialization (e. g. , floriculture) to studies including multiple specializations (e. . , horticulture, including floriculture, fruit and vegetable production), and the scope of personnel management functions analyzed, from single function studies (e. g. , compensation; see above) to studies including selected or multiple functions (table 1). Dairy farming stands out as the specialization most likely to be researched. Given that hired labor plays an even larger role in horticu ltural production than in dairy farming, the reasons for the higher interest in personnel management in dairy research are not obvious.The Journal of Dairy Science published papers of a Symposium: Dairy Personnel Management as early as 1993. In addition to the dairy studies reported in table 1 that address personnel management specifically other studies of dairy farming included personnel management questions in broader studies of farm expansion (Bewley, Palmer, and Jackson-Smith; Hadley, Harsh, and Wolf; Stahl et al. ). These studies found that personnel management competencies are most important for the success of farm expansion, but these competencies are also most challenging for farm managers.After an expansion, managers are more likely to use formal practices with respect to all major personnel management functions (Stahl et al. ), but some 6 problems, such as communication, persist (Hadley et al. ), although managers spend more time on personnel management. Also, personnel ma nagement education for large dairy farms has been emphasized as an opportunity for extension programming (Brasier et al. ).A relatively new arena of research, which cuts across different agricultural specializations, is the interface of personal management and sustainable or organic production. The questions being asked include whether sustainable and organic agriculture are inherently beneficial to employees, whether the commitment to sustainability does or should include a social component, and whether a fair labor certification approach would be beneficial to producers (e. g. Shreck, Getz, and Feenstra; Strochlic and Hamerschlag; Strochlic et al. ). Although a majority of certified organic farmers in California believe that organic agriculture is more socially sustainable than conventional agriculture, there is little support to include criteria on working conditions in the organic certification (Shreck, Getz, and Feenstra). On the other hand, Strochlic et al. found considerable interest in a fair labor certification (59% of respondents).Research Methods of Empirical Studies Considering the early stage of personnel management research in agribusiness, research methods were expected to be mostly exploratory and qualitative (Bitsch 2000 and 2005). However, research methods cover the full range from in-depth, unstructured interviews and group discussions, through interview or moderator guide based approaches, up to fully structured surveys administered at the business site or off-site one-on-one or in a group setting, over the phone, or mailed questionnaires (table 2).Fornaciari and Dean found a similar phenomenon in the study of religion, spirituality, and management, where research methods also include many quantitative approaches, despite the early stage of the research field. Reasons for the seemingly early venture into highly structured and quantitative research approaches are more likely to be caused by expectations set up in the qualification process of researchers, professional pressures regarding publication outlets, and differing prestige of certain research approaches in researchers’ professional fields than by research considerations.Although, this review of studies of personnel management in production agriculture and agribusiness cannot claim completeness, the number of studies employing unstructured or moderately structured methods (first two columns in table 2) appears lower than the number of studies employing highly or very highly structured methods (last two columns in table 2). 7However, even many of the quantitative, highly structured studies did not attempt (or accomplish) representative sampling and, therefore, their generalizability can only be judged based on their descriptions of the research approaches and the methods used, and the comparison of results across studies. As a result, researchers and practitioners planning to use studies of either research approach may need to analyze the original sources a nd pay close attention to details, before evaluating the applicability of their results to a different context.Most studies rely on a single method for data collection and multi-method studies are rare. An exception is the case study approach of best management practices by Strochlic and Hamerschlag that employed a variety of methods including semi-structured interviews with farm managers, focus groups with employees, and informal interviews with key informants. Multimethod approaches are likely to yield more valid results, due to the method triangulation involved.The method used most often by personnel management researchers in production agriculture and agribusiness is a survey questionnaire (table 2). Questionnaires are administered in a variety of ways, most frequently in person, which is more likely to garner to reliable results than mailed questionnaires, given the sensitivity of many personnel management questions, but also requires more resources. The number of studies using a mailed questionnaire is surprisingly high, considering the difficulty of developing a questionnaire that is fully understood by potential research participants.Other methods used frequently are moderately structured interviews either in an individual setting or set up as group discussions. Although resource intensive, these latter approaches are more likely to gather reliable data and allow for in-depth study of research questions than the more highly structured approaches, given the early stage of the field, the lack of common understanding of personnel management terms of potential research participants and researchers, and the multitude of interactions etween personnel management practices. Managers’ Conceptualization of Personnel Management Functions As early as 1967, Adams, How, and Larson observed that some farmers seem to have much fewer difficulties in finding and keeping the workforce they needed than other farmers in a comparable situation. Their research showed that this difference was not a chance occurrence, but that these farmers had invested considerably in the relationships with their workforce and carefully developed their personnel management practices.Similarly, Rosenberg and Cowen 8 found dairy managers’ assumptions about their workforce to correlate with their milk output, and suggest that those assumptions guide the choice of organizational structure and the management practices. Hence, it may be concluded that managers’ perception of which personnel management functions need to be given attention and which practices are available to them, will be the determinants of their management choices.After 2000, a renewed effort to delineate the field of agricultural personnel management resulted in three studies using focus group discussions to identify management practices in different areas of agricultural production and services, to describe their advantages and drawbacks from managers’ perspective and to critica lly review these practices. As a research method, focus group discussions are useful to integrate research and extension goals.The interaction between research participants and between research participants and the researchers triggers learning processes. In addition, relationships are developed and reinforced, which not only increase openness during the research process, but encourage participation in educational programs. During the research process, knowledge deficits can be diagnosed (Bitsch 2004). Bitsch und Harsh convened five focus groups with managers and owners of greenhouses, tree nursery operations, and landscape operations in Michigan.The study showed that horticultural managers conceptualize personnel management and its challenges and opportunities along the management process: recruiting and selection, training and development, performance appraisal and discipline, careers and relationships, and compensation. For the research participants, hiring immigrants and labor l egislation were also important HRM topics. In addition, Bitsch et al. convened four focus groups with dairy farmers and managers.Their perceptions of personnel management functions were similar to the horticultural study, and differences were mostly due to the more seasonal character of labor needs in the earlier study. Discipline was more important in dairy farming, because the continuous availability of work creates the need for terminating and replacing some employees who do not perform at the expected level. Seasonal operations often deal with these employees by providing less work to them, laying them off before the end of the season, and not recalling them for the following season.While horticultural managers considered working conditions mostly as an image problem in recruiting, to dairy managers working conditions were a permanent stress on employees. 9 Labor laws and regulations were less important in dairy farming, because few operations had their practices audited by gove rnment agencies at the time of the study. Finally, Bitsch and Olynk (2008) convened six focus groups with owners and managers of pork farms in Kansas and Michigan and reanalyzed the transcripts of the second study.Results of this study served to refine the framework of agricultural personnel management developed based on the first two studies. The most significant extension is an additional set of personnel management practices regarding the performance management function. Performance management describes the daily, informal interaction between managers and employees, including informal feedback, task-related communication, setting priorities, and dealing with problems. Although these practices are important in the day-to-day management processes, there has been little discussion about them in the literature.Also, working conditions were extended to include the organizational structure, and the social environment at work was established as another arena to be monitored and consciou sly managed. The resulting framework of agricultural personnel management includes eleven management functions: recruiting, selection, hiring immigrant employees, training, working conditions and organizational structure, social environment, performance management, discipline, performance appraisal, compensation, and labor law and regulation.Managers’ Personnel Management Competencies and Practices In a recent study, Stup, Holden, and Hyde identified competencies in different management areas on the senior and the middle management level of dairy farms through group discussions and then surveyed different managers about their comfort level with respect to these competencies. While managers were generally confident about their competencies, senior managers were least confident about their personnel management competencies (4. 95 on a 7-point Likert scale, 1=very low, 7=very high, n=41). Middle mangers ranked themselves second lowest in personnel management competencies (4. 1, n=22) and lowest in community service and public relations (4. 05, n=20). Bitsch and Olynk (2007) developed a typology of required personnel management skills for successful management in animal agriculture based on ten focus groups with dairy and pork farmers and managers. The typology consists of five skill sets: motivator, housekeeper, model employee, counselor, and change agent. This typology shows a number of commonalities with 10 the Competing Values Framework, used in general management education (Faerman, Quinn, and Thompson), but also industry specific differences.The motivator with the ability to train and motivate others, and to provide constructive feedback and the housekeeper with the ability to control, to lead, and to discipline others build the core of agricultural personnel management skills and also likely other production enterprises. In addition, the ability and willingness to be a model employee plays a surprisingly large role in agriculture. The function of the counselor, to support employees with their personal problems at work and beyond, was discussed less frequently by the research participants, but is necessary to prevent problems and to sustain employee productivity.The change agent initiates or implements innovations in the production process and was mentioned mostly by managers of larger farms. The authors point out that to be successful managers need to command a complete repertoire of skills including skills from each of the five types and not limit themselves to skills from only one type, for example, out of familiarity with certain behaviors (Hutt and Hutt). The role and the functions of middle management are a field of agricultural personnel management with few studies, but increasing importance.Not only did the share and impact of hired labor increase with increasing farm sizes, and personnel management became more important, but supervisors and middle managers are also playing a larger role. Billikopf (2001) interviewed far m supervisors in California and found them to struggle with personnel management tasks. Bitsch and Yakura employed a case study approach to develop a grounded theory of agricultural middle management (see Bitsch 2005, on grounded theory applications in agribusiness; see Glaser and Strauss on the foundations of grounded theory).The participating middle managers described an unexpectedly large number of different personnel management practices. Bitsch and Yakura suggested that these practices can be clustered into two basic types: traditional practices and participative practices. Traditional practices include reprimanding employees, orienting and training employees, monitoring and controlling employees, and dealing with conflict. Participative practices include accommodating employees (e. g. flexibility in schedules, task and team assignments), managing relationships with employees, providing information and goal setting, listening to employees, providing appreciation and feedback, r ewarding employees (non monetary), modeling work behavior, peer control, manager-induced team building, and training by coworkers. 11 Although this typology shows similarities with McGregor’s Theory X and Y, Bitsch and Yakura underline a significant difference. For the participating middle managers, using traditional or participative practices was not correlated with individuals.Each manager used both traditional, as well as, participative practices. The authors suggest that management success corresponds rather with the number of practices individual managers command than with the type of practices they use more frequently. McGregor had assumed that participative managers would be more successful. Bitsch and Yakura pointed out that some managers did use few practices, whereas others were using the full breadth of the described practices. Given that day-to-day management consists of many different management situations, anagers with a more complete repertoire are more likely to choose suitable practices. Employees’ Job Attitudes and Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is considered both a goal in itself, as well as, a means to reduce turnover and increase motivation and performance. Although meta-studies found a smaller relationship between job satisfaction and these correlates than expected, several studies of job satisfaction in agriculture have been conducted during the past 50 years (see Bitsch and Hogberg). One of the more frequently applied models is the empirically grounded two-factor model by Herzberg et al.This model is particularly suited to structure the analysis of job attitudes and their context. Empirical evidence that indeed job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are caused differently as predicted by the Herzberg et al. model is scant (Bitsch 2007). Independent of the theoretical models and the research methods several common results emerge from studies of job attitudes in agriculture. Porter pointed out that half of the dairy far m employees surveyed in New Hampshire saw appreciation of their work as the most important factor for their performance.In addition, they mentioned open communication with their supervisor, good records, and control of the work situation; Porter concluded that financial incentives are less important. Adams, How, and Larson found financial incentives to be important for a satisfactory employer-employee relationships, but stressed the importance of consideration for workers as human beings, taking into account personal problems of workers and helping to find solutions, and getting the right fit of worker and job (see previous section for middle managers’ practices for a similar finding).Bitsch (1996) in a study of tree nursery apprentices in Germany found that a large majority did desire higher wages, but almost half also 12 desired increased appreciation, more training, and more responsibility for their tasks. More training was also requested by Spanish speaking dairy farm emp loyees surveyed by Maloney and Grusenmeyer in New York. Surveying New York dairy farms, Fogleman et al. found that employees were least satisfied with the factor managers had most control over, that is performance feedback.Billikopf (2001) had found supervisors in all branches of agriculture to be mostly satisfied with their jobs. More detailed case studies with horticultural operations found for employees without supervisory responsibilities (Bitsch and Hogberg) and also for supervisors (Bitsch 2007) that the same factors seem to contribute to job satisfaction, as well as, to dissatisfaction, depending on their availability and characteristics.For both groups of employees, job security, achievement, technical competency of the superior, and personal relationships at the workplace were more likely to be perceived as positive. The work itself and organizational procedures and policies were perceived as ambiguous, contributing to both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Compensation was perceived rather negative, more negative by employees without supervisory responsibilities than by supervisors; the latter are likely to be higher paid and more likely to receive benefits.Employees without supervisory responsibility perceived their work/life balance more positive than supervisors; the latter are also less satisfied with their working conditions. Mainly, this was due to the fact that employees with supervisory responsibilities were expected to be available for work whenever required, whereas employees without supervisory responsibilities were given more flexibility. An earlier study in Germany, also had found that horticultural employees value flexible scheduling and benefit arrangements (Bitsch, Bromm, and Schalich).Relationships between Personnel Management Practices and Organizational Outcomes Relationships between personnel management practices and various organizational outcomes, such as productivity (Rosenberg and Cowen), profit (Adams, How, and Larson), or co mpetitiveness (Chacko, Walker, and Asar; Mugera and Bitsch) have often been assumed, but infrequently been empirically researched. Owners and managers of agricultural operations also testify to a relationship between personnel management practices and farm level outcomes (Bitsch et al. Strochlic and Hamerschlag). The few studies attempting the empirical description and measurement of these relationships in production agriculture and agribusiness have found limited evidence. 13 Rosenberg and Cowen tested several personnel management practices’ and management assumptions’ impact on dairy farm productivity, including prevalence of Theory Y assumptions (McGregor), upward and downward responsibility diffusion, employee selection procedure, employee assessment criteria, and employee performance feedback, along with record use and herd size.In addition to record use, the authors found that Theory Y assumptions and the amount of feedback provided to employees impacted producti vity. Feedback has also been found to be important in employees’ job satisfaction (Bitsch 1996; Fogleman et al. ). Although management assumptions are likely to guide organizational structure, personnel management practice choice, and managers’ communication and interaction with employees, the study did not provide evidence of the relationship between assumptions and particular practices.Stup, Hyde, and Holden analyzed several personnel management practices of successful dairy farms in Pennsylvania, including milk quality incentives, performance reviews, employment of Spanish-speaking employees, use of standard operating procedures for milking, feeding, and reproduction tasks, continuing training, and use of job descriptions. Except for continuous training of employees, farm success did not differ significantly for farms using compared to farms not using these practices.While differences in definitions between Stup, Hyde, and Holden, and Rosenberg and Cowen and little overlap regarding the management practices researched, make it difficult to compare both studies, it should be noted that Stup, Hyde, and Holden did not find performance reviews to be significant. Chacko, Wacker, and Asar compared perceptions of agribusiness managers with respect to the contributions of different technological and personnel management practices to their competitiveness. In general, managers ranked technological practices higher than personnel management practices.However, job security and measures of training and development were among the top ranked management practices. Job security has also been emphasized in job satisfaction studies (Bitsch and Hogberg; Bitsch 2007). Training has been found to stand out in Stup, Hyde, and Holden and has also been emphasized in job attitude studies (Bitsch 1996; Maloney and Grusenmeyer). Based on managers’ perception of particular technological and personnel management practices, Chacko, Wacker, and Asar also aggregated pr actices in a factor analysis and regressed these factors on perceived competitiveness.The regression analysis showed personnel management 14 factors to contribute to a higher extent to different measures of competiveness than technological measures. The employee commitment factor (job security, sharing of profits and gains) stood out as contributing to most competitiveness measures. Mugera and Bitsch used a resource based perspective to analyze whether personnel management practices and the personnel itself constitute a competitive advantage for dairy farms (see Wright et al. for a general discussion of the application of the resource based theory to personnel management).The authors conducted case studies with dairy farms to analyze the integration of personnel management practices with each other (e. g. , practices regarding recruitment, selection, training, and compensation) and their outcomes (e. g. , voluntary turnover and termination). The case studies provided empirical examp les of the applicability of the resource based theory and evidence of the use of personnel management practices as a competitive advantage. The authors emphasize that studies of isolated management practices may lead to misleading results, due to the importance of the integration of practices with each other.Therefore, they recommend an integrative approach to researching and changing personnel management functions. Strochlic et al. surveyed 300 organic farms of various agricultural specializations with respect to their personnel management practices and organizational outcomes. They found significant relationships between an overall labor conditions score and 5- and 10-year retention rates, several occupational safety related practices and person-days lost due to accidents and injuries. No relationship was found between the surveyed management practices and supervisory costs or access to sufficient labor.Conclusions Personnel management research in agribusiness has increased over t he past 20 years, but the field is in an early stage of its development. Although agribusiness managers and organizations are demanding more decision support and training in personnel management, a rapid increase in research volume cannot be expected. The number of researchers giving this field more than cursory attention is relatively small compared to other agribusiness fields. Research funding is limited or unavailable for many agribusiness related personnel management questions. Peer reviewed articles are rare, because ublication outlets lack sensible reviewers for this field and many editors do not perceive it as a priority. 15 Notwithstanding the early stage of personnel management research in agribusiness, several broadly based results are emerging. First, many managers on different hierarchical levels perceive their personnel management skills as an area of weakness. This weakness becomes more visible during organizational growth, when additional employees are needed and tas ks change from production orientation to management, including management of more personnel. Growth processes have been researched mainly in dairy farming.Despite managers’ perception of a lack of personnel management competencies, participation rates in educational programs targeting such skills are not very high. Second, experienced managers typically have an adequate conceptual frame of the personnel management functions, and potential challenges and risks, at least regarding the big picture. They acknowledge all textbook personnel management functions (recruiting, selection, training, performance appraisal, compensation, discipline, and labor law and regulation), although they do not necessarily practice conscientious management with respect to all of these functions.For example, performance evaluation and discipline are rarely practiced. Also, gaps and misconceptions persist with respect to the details of each practice and potential alternative practices, and typically t he details decide the success of these practices. On the other hand, managers perceive a need for additional practices, rarely discussed in the literature, with respect to performance management, the social environment at the workplace, working conditions and organizational structure, as well as, hiring immigrant employees.Third, not only are the personnel management tasks outlined above numerous and often times difficult to balance, but they also result in challenging requirements with respect to the breadth and depth of management competencies and practices. Due to the peculiar circumstances of agricultural work, including long hours and family relationships, requirements of managers are not less stringent, but rather more demanding than in other sectors. Various new and unexpected tasks need to be mastered by newly promoted individuals who normally are not prepared to deal with these tasks.Learning management in agriculture is often limited to imitating the supervisor (Hutt and H utt) and training in many cases consists of â€Å"sink or swim† (Bitsch and Yakura). Many farms could improve their HRM practices through preparatory and accompanying training of their supervisors and managers. On the other hand, given their lack of training, managers have acquired and are using a surprisingly large number of traditional, as well as non traditional, HRM practices. 16 Fourth, compensation is important, as can be expected, considering the low level of agricultural wages compared to other occupational groups.However, incentive systems are not necessarily preferred by employees (Porter; Strochlic and Hamerschlag). In many cases, job satisfaction can be increased with inexpensive measures, such as providing more feedback and appreciation for tasks well done. Similarly, many farms could use training and employee responsibility for task performance to increase productivity and job satisfaction. On the other hand, in general, employees seem satisfied with their work and specifically with its context.Flexibility, especially for employees without supervisory responsibility, and positive personal relationships at work, particularly with superiors, contribute primarily to job satisfaction. As Adam, How, and Larson stated, â€Å"Such relationships seem to be the end result of a combination of policies and practices on the part of farmers and of a genuine liking of farm work and their employers on the part of employees† (p. 60). Fifth, the relationship between personnel management practices and financial measures of organizational success is complex and difficult to assess.Few personnel management studies in production agriculture and agribusiness have been able to provide evidence of a substantial relationship between any particular personnel management practice and profit, or even productivity. In particular, isolated practices do not usually show a statistical relationship with financial measures or even intermediate measures, such as produ ctivity, retention, or supervision costs. Although this is to be expected according to the integrative model of personnel management, it hinders the development of manageable research projects that can be analyzed and described in a standard form.Additional problems stem from the lack of data availability and changing conditions and actors who also continuously develop new practices and strategies. Compared to twenty years ago, when Howard and McEwan declared the absence of personnel management research in the agribusiness field, managers and researchers have more to build on today. A suitable framework of personnel management functions in production agriculture has been developed (Bitsch and Olynk 2008), on which manager training and future research can build.This framework must be broadened to encompass the agribusiness value chain as a whole. Groundwork has been done to describe and conceptualize what managers do in their day-to-day practice to motivate and lead employees, and wh ich competencies they need to acquire to be or become successful managers of personnel. In addition, a lot more is known about how 17 agricultural employees perceive their work and its context and where they see improvement needs. Nevertheless, differences and commonalities between production agriculture and the broader agribusiness environment need to be explored further.Also, future research will have to develop methods to establish the relationship between personnel management practices and organizational outcomes and to analyze specific practices in their organizational context more indepth. Education and training of production agriculture and agribusiness managers, both in the classroom and beyond, can and has started to build on a growing body of empirical research, instead of solely relying on results from other industries and large organizations, which may or may not be applicable in the industry settings.Specific results from many of the studies discussed have been used to develop personnel management programs for managers in production agriculture, both in terms of determining educational needs, as well as developing and organizing program content tailored to managers’ experience and understanding. 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The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Quali tative Research. Chicago: Aldine, 1967. Hadley, G. L. , S. B. Harsh and C. A. Wolf. â€Å"Managerial and Financial Implications of Major Dairy Farm Expansion in Michigan and Wisconsin. † Journal of Dairy Science 85 (2002):205364.Harrison, J. , J. McReynolds, T. O’Kane and B. Valentine. â€Å"Hired Labor on Wisconsin Dairy Farms: Trends and Implications. † Status of Wisconsin Agriculture ed. by E. Jesse, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008:58-68. Herzberg, F. , B. Mausner and B. B. Snyderman. The Motivation to Work. New York: Wiley, 1959. Howard, W. H. Human Resource Management on the Farm: Attracting, Keeping, and Motivating Labour on Ontario Dairy, Hog, Poultry, and Flower Farms. Report for the Canada/Ontario Agricultural Employment Committee (undated, unpublished).Howard, W. Y. and K. A. 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Stup, R. E. , L. A. Holden and J. Hyde. â€Å"Case Study: Profiles of Management Competencies Ide ntified by Successful Dairy Managers. † The Professional Animal Scientist 23 (2007):728-37. Stup, R. E. , J. Hyde and L. A. Holden. â€Å"Relationships Between Selected Human Resource Management Practices and Dairy Farm Performance. Journal of Dairy Science 89 (2006):1116-20. Stup, R. E. and T. R. Maloney. Managing Hispanic Workers: Perceptions of Agricultural Managers. College of Agricultural Science, Cooperative Extension, Pennsylvania State University, 2003. Taylor, J. E. â€Å"Earnings and Mobility of Legal and Illegal Immigrant Workers in Agriculture. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 74 (November 1992):889-96. Tran, L. H. and J. M. Perloff. â€Å"Turnover in U. S. Agricultural Labor Markets. † American Journal of Agricultural Economics 84 (May 2002):427-37. Walters, L. M. , R. D. Emerson, and N. Iwai. Proposed Immigration Policy Reform and Farm Labor Market Outcomes. † Selected Paper, American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meet ing, Orlando, Florida, 2008. Wright, P. M. , M. C. Gary and M. Abagail. â€Å"Human Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage: A Resource-based Perspective. † International Journal of Human Resource Management 5 (1994):301-26. Yu, L. , T. M. Hurley, J. B. Kliebenstein, and P. F. Orazem. â€Å"Firm Size, Technical Change and Wages: Evidence from the Pork Sector from 1990-2005. Selected Paper, American Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon, 2007. 2 Table 1. Scope of Personnel Management Studies and Personnel Management Functions Analyzed in Production Agriculture and Agribusiness Studies Focused on One Farm Specialization Studies Focused on One or Few Personnel Management Function(s) Dairy Immigrant employees Harrison et al. ; Maloney; Maloney and Grusenmeyer; Stup and Maloney Floriculture Recruiting and selection Maloney, Milligan, and Petracek Swine Compensation Hurley, Kliebenstein, and Orazem; Yu et al. Vineyards Compensation Billikopf and Norton Studies Encompassing Selected or Many Personnel Management FunctionsDairy Bitsch et al. ; Fogleman et al. ; Hutt; Hutt and Hutt; Mugera und Bitsch; Porter; Rosenberg and Cowen; Stup, Holden, and Hyde; Stup, Hyde, and Holden Swine Howard et al. Floriculture/Greenhouse Bitsch, Bromm, and Schalich Maloney and Milligan Horticulturea) Bitsch (2004); Bitsch (2007); Bitsch and Harsh; Bitsch and Hogberg; Bitsch and Yakura; Miklavcic; Strochlic and Hamerschlag Livestockb) Bitsch and Olynk (2007 and 2008) Studies Encompassing Multiple Farm Specializations Horticulturea) Compensation Billikopf (1995 and 1996) Compensation and working conditions Dunn; Gabbard and PerloffAgriculturec) Adams, How, and Larson; Billikopf (2001); Chacko, Tree nursery production Wacker, and Asar; Howard; Bitsch (1996) Rosenberg, Perloff, and Pradhan; Strochlic et al. a) Horticulture indicates two of more of the following specializations: floriculture and greenhouse, fruit, nuts, vegetable, and vineyard produc tion. b) Livestock indicates two of more of the following specializations: dairy, beef, swine, and poultry production. c) Agriculture includes at least one horticultural and one livestock specialization, as well as agribusiness. 23 Table 2.Degree of Structure of Research Approaches and Methods Used in Personnel Management Research in Production Agriculture and Agribusiness Unstructured or Little Structure Individual Methods Examples Unstructured interviewing Billikopf (2001)a); Hutta); Hutt and Hutta); Strochlic and Hamerschlag Moderately Structured Interview schedule Adams, How, and Larson; Bitsch (2007); Bitsch and Hogberg; Bitsch and Yakura; Howard; Mugera and Bitsch; Porter; Strochlic and Hamerschlag Highly Structured Administered questionnaires At the work site: Billikopf (1995 and 1996); Bitsch, Bromm, and Schalich; Fogleman et al. Howard et al. ; Maloney and Grusenmeyer; Rosenberg and Cowen; Stup, Hyde, and Holden At a housing site: Dunn Over the phone: Billikopf (1996); Malo ney; Maloney and Milligan; Maloney, Milligan, and Petracek; Strochlic et al. Group Methods Examples Unmoderated group discussion Stup and Maloney Moderated group discussion Very Highly Structured Mailed questionnaire Billikopf and Norton; Chacko, Wacker, and Asar; Hurley, Kliebenstein, and Orazem; Miklavcic; Rosenberg, Perloff, and Pradhan; Stup, Holden, and Hyde; Yu et al.Secondary data analysis: Gabbard and Perloff Questionnaire administered to individuals in a group setting Bitsch (2004); At school sites: Bitsch and Harsh; Bitsch (1996) Bitsch and Olynk (2007 and 2008); Bitsch et al. ; Harrison et al. ; Howard; Stup, Holden, and Hyde; Strochlic and Hamerschlag a) Studies where the method was not described sufficiently to categorize by the level of structure were categorized as unstructured. 24

Containerization, Unitized Cargo and Cargo Containers

ONCEPT OF CONTAINERIZATION The conteainerization is a physical distribution method that uses a container as a way of tranporting the cargo. Is an inter-modal system of transporting the general cargo or product in lots. With containerization goods are moved easier from one place to another with the help of the containers which can be loaded intact onto the container ships, trucks, railroad cars and planes. Nowadays, containerization is the innovative key in the field of logistics that helps to organize cargo in an efficient, better and save way.Benefits of containerization If you visit a port, you would notice that all shipping containers are very similar in form. The introduction of containerization has revolutionised the way cargo is handled. The standardization of container sizes, shapes, and forms lowered freight charges and costs. Containerization also improved cargo security. First, the box effectively hides whatever cargo from the casual viewer. Next, the container doors are se aled upon closing. The doors also prevent the cargo from falling out the back of the box.Finally, uniformly sized shipping containers reduce railway cargo problems that are caused by incompatible rail measures in different countries, making trans-shipment between different measure trains faster and easier. When transporting goods to an international location, there are many container ships that run regular routes to a variety of destinations. This helps the customer to receive the order in less time. CONTAINERIZED CARGO LOSS CONTROL—CONTAINERIZED CARGO The use of intermodal containers for the transport of a great variety of cargo has become increasingly popular in recent years. Intermodalism is a oncept that embraces the movement and transfer of standardized cargo containers by sea, air and surface. It has greatly reduced cargo handling, particularly in Door-to-Door shipments.The development of specialized containers with a wide range of types, sizes and configurations permit s containerization of most cargo. Undamaged arrival of the complete shipment at destination is the first objective of the shipper. In committing goods to containerized transport, the shipper can reduce losses by: * Select the proper container service. * Selecting the right type of container for the goods in question. Inspecting the container to ensure proper accommodation and protection of goods. * Packaging goods to withstand the hazards of the â€Å"toughest leg of the journey. † * Stowing and securing goods in the container to prevent damage to the goods, container ? and transport vehicle. * Properly describing and documenting the container contents, locking and sealing the ? container and recording container and seal numbers on all shipping documents. * Timely unloading at destination. Intermodal variations ?The popular intermodal container, adaptable to carriage by truck, railcar, and some other, is the most common form of containerization.The considerations governing pr eparation and storage of the cargo in these containers are no longer applicable to other methods of cargo transport. Cargo Containers? 1. End Loading, Fully Enclosed— The basic intermodal container with end doors, suitable for general cargo not requiring environmental control while enroute. 2. Side Loading, Fully Enclosed— Equipped with side doors for use in stowing and discharge of cargo where it is not practical to use end doors, as when the container must remain on a railcar while cargo is placed in or removed from the container. 3.Open Top—Used for carriage of heavy, bulky or awkward items where loading or discharge of the cargo through end or side doors is not practical. Most open top containers are equipped with fabric covers and are often termed â€Å"soft† or â€Å"rag† top containers. Some open top versions are fitted with removable hatch-type panel covers or detachable full metal roof. 4. Ventilated—Equipped with ventilating ports on ends or sides, and used for heat generating cargo or cargo requiring protection from condensation (sweat) damage. Versions with powered air-circulating fans are available.Vents are normally fitted with baffles to prevent entry of sea or rain water. 5. Insulated—For cargo that should not be exposed to rapid or sudden temperature changes. Available in ventilated or non-ventilated versions. Some carriers provide containers with heating systems for special applications. 6. Refrigerated—Insulated and equipped with a built-in refrigeration sys-tem, powered by direct electrical connection or by diesel or gasoline generator. It is used primarily for foods or other commodities requiring a temperature con-trolled environment. 7. Liquid Bulk—Tank-type containers for carriage of liquids.Some have been designed to high level specifications for carriage of certain hazardous materials. 8. Dry Bulk—Designed for carriage of bulk cargo such as dry chemicals and grains. 9. Flat Rack—Available in a variety of sizes and models, the flat racks are used for lumber, mill products, large, heavy, bulky items, machinery and vehicles. Some are equipped with removable sides. 10. Auto — Used for carriage of vehicles and available in enclosed or open versions.? 11. Livestock — Configured for the nature of livestock carried; containers are available for transporting poultry, cattle and other livestock.Also, transport boxes can be loaded onto flats. 12. Controlled Atmosphere—-These systems carry a cylinder of liquid nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Through computer-based controls, the atmosphere within the container can be maintained at preset levels to meet requirements of commodity carried. Used mainly in the transport of produce to extend the post-harvest and storage life. 13. High Cube—These containers are used for high volume/low weight cargo and can greatly increase the cubic area available for cargo stowage. High cube contai ners are in heights to 9. 5 feet and to lengths of a maximum of 48 feet. 4. Garment—With special tie downs and internal ceiling fittings, this container can handle hanging garments. UNITIZED CARGO It a system used to transport goods that are packaged in small volumes, can be consolidated or grouped into a single large volume (container), making sure that those godos are not easily destroyed. At the same time, it facilitates the handling and loading cargo or unloading of it. Unitarization It is the aggrupation of shipment in the corresponding type of package that is over a pallet and secure from damages to manipulate transport and warehouse as a whole unit of load.One of the first attempts of unitarizing the cargo is within the pallet, that is about placing the shipment over a platform, which is constructed with a variety of materials. Actually, pelleting and containerizing are the most common modalities of unitarizing the cargo. Unitarized cargo is composed of individual arti cles such as boxes, packages and other elements are originally separated and then grouped together as pallets or containers. In other words unitarization is the merchandise ready to be transported. There are some norms that have been developed to facilitate this process.For example, one is the ISO 3394 that ha to do with the size and dimensions of the boxes and pallets. Another norm is ISO 7000 that has to do with the code bars in the merchandize. Unitarization in containers is very important because it helps to maintain and preserve the merchandise in good conditions, is easier to transport it and it helps to save space in all the process of storage. And, when unitarizing cargo, in international markets, is very important to be informed of the rules and techniques that are followed by the Country for doing packing.Advantages of unitarization Optimization of time when manipulating the cargo in warehouses, cargo terminals, and in the unload of cargo in ports. It facilitates the recep tion and control in the delivery of merchandise. Well use of space and reduction of damages when the merchandise is handled. Simplifies the management of inventory and improves the identification of products. It provides multiple use in the process of production, goods transportation, international transportation, in the storage and warehousing.

Fund Managers, Intangibles, and Private Disclosure Essay

Fund Managers, Intangibles, and Private Disclosure - Essay Example Intangibles come in many different forms and nature. Example of these includes structural capital, human capital and relational capital. In the present case, however, intellectual capital is the only intangible that is mentioned. A large extent, it can be said that this is so because the intellectual capital of the present company is made up of an embodiment of all the components of intangibles. What is more, given any market value, intellectual capital is believed to be made up of the difference in the market value and tangible assets possessed by the company. Therefore, because the core component of cash input in the case was share price, the intellectual capital was named as the only intangible to represent all difference that would come from the share price and tangible assets. One critical condition that can be used to judge whether the meeting constitutes insider information or not has to do with whether or not the information given can provide any form of financial advantage in the trading of shares of companies. From this perspective, since the meeting with the fund manager involved information on how value arose and how efforts can be put in place to ensure that in future dealings, more value arose from the intangibles, this advantage could be described as insider information. If for nothing at all, the information that was received was a non-public fact and not accessible to all other players in the share trade business. Ideally, because the overall income of the fund manager is determined by a ratio of the overall fund average asset, it would be said that the insider information was going to benefit the fund manager. This is because he was going to be put in a position where he was going to have better strategies put in place to manage the portfolio of trading activities and consequently see a higher rise in the fund’s average assets.

Differentiating Between Market Structures Essay

Differentiating Between Market Structures - Essay Example The attraction of the consumers is ensured through high quality products. The products where the company specializes in are not available easily in the market and therefore the company has the opportunity to cement the consumer base. The company can thus control the bargaining power of the consumers. The needs of the consumers can be readily analyzed and they are assisted in taking the advantage of the buying opportunities. The customers are driven towards the shops with the help of the discounts offer. The supply chain managers of the company can recognize the importance of the customers in their business. They are aware that attracting more customers will involve more sales which in turn mean more revenue and profits. The customers are retained through the modes of product variety and low costs. The services offered are efficient and ensures that customers do not queue up in the shops of the competitors. The customer loyalty has been gained by the company through the modes of custo mer retention and widening up more opportunities for the customers which increases the customer sovereignty and the customers have the option to choose the products that suit their preferences. Competitors never got the chance to drive away consumers from Kedler Fine Foods. In order to compete effectively the competitors are forced to make additional expenses in terms of marketing and advertisements. Competitive strategies Branding ensures that the customers associated with the company believe in innovation and quality. The customers want value for money and so the company engages in providing top quality support to them. The efficient delivery system has paved the way for higher profits while the lack in innovation can lead to reduced sales and revenue. The company has been able to invent new product styles and effective delivery system upon placement of orders. Internet marketing is the strategy that was adopted by the company to promote the products. The website offers informatio n on a variety of products, details on delivery system and some other information that may be necessary for the customers (Porter, 1985). The online customer relationship is an effective way of managing the business and to deal with the customers in prompt fashion. Positioning is a strategy that tends to increase profits. The company enjoys the top position in offering fine quality products to the customers who demand quality with competitive prices. The company targets the middle class customers and focuses to cement the customers’ base with time. Market Structure The company operates in the market of perfect competition. A large number of small firms comprise the market for perfect competition. Each firm is small compared to the entire market. The comprising firms set the identical products. The customers as well as the firms are well informed about the prices. In the short run the firms can change only the variable factor namely labor. The other decisions are predetermined . In the long run the firms have the potential to change their scale. In the short run when the existing price is less than the average cost curve it is better for the firm to close down. Several buyers are present in this market. The market offers products that are substitutable. There are no barriers to entry and therefore provides a level playing field for the new entrants (Etro, 2009). The forces of demand and supply determine the prices of the products and since the company under

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 22

Marketing - Essay Example Without a doubt, the theme matches the environment. The audience in this advertisement is athletes, young students, and the adult population who take place in leisure activities. In addition, it also appealed to the â€Å"Sunday warriors,† who are engrossed in sports discussions and love to watch motivational TV advertisements to propagate about their sports. Nike does an excellent job of associating the personality with the product. Nike portrays this value of leadership, hard work, dedication, confidence, will power, and strength. In essence, Nike products are known for their quality and providing the best customer satisfaction. The â€Å"personality† of product is dynamic and possesses a very unique personality. As an athlete, the advertisement at once appeals and catches the sensory images of the audience. The advertisement starts out with an â€Å"image† of a fetus, which at once catches the attention. Then, it slowly transitions to a life cycle of both athletes. The advertisement focused more on the training part of both athletes. One of the best clip is when Troy Polamalu is running through the bleachers in snow. In essence, that portrays his determination to train even in the harshest conditions. Yes, as a matter of fact I tend to use Nike products for various reasons. First, Nike itself is a brand name that is unique in its own aspects. I wear the Nike Underarmour shirts during my workout sessions since they are fitted and give me this illusion of being bigger than I am. Moreover, Nike products are high quality and tend to absorb sweat in such a manner that the odor is not too prevalent. Nike products in my opinion are a top brand and allow individuals to express their personality and style with the variety of selection of products. Undoubtedly, Nike advertisements portray the culture and attitude that Nike embraces and displays to its customer

Unconditional and unconditional Convergence Coursework

Unconditional and unconditional Convergence - Coursework Example Unconditional and unconditional Convergence: Theorem: Every absolutely convergent series is unconditionally convergent. Conditional Convergence: A convergent series is said to be conditionally convergent if it is not unconditionally convergent. Thus such a series converges in the arrangement given, but either there is some rearrangement that diverges or else there is some rearrangement that has a different sum. Theorem: Every nonabsolutely convergent series is conditionally convergent. In fact, every nonabsolutely convergent series has a divergent rearrangement and can also be rearranged to sum to any preassigned value. The unordered sum of a sequence of real numbers, written as, ∑_iâ‚ ¬Nââ€"’ai has an apparent connection with the ordered sum ∑_(i=1)^∞ââ€"’ai The answer is both have same convergence. Theorem A necessary and sufficient condition for ∑_iâ‚ ¬Nââ€"’ai to converge is that the series ∑_(i=1)^∞ââ€"’ai is absolutely convergent and in this case ∑_(i=1)^∞ââ€"’ã€â€"ai=∑_(i∈â„ µ)ââ€"’aiã€â€"