Farm Business Management: The Core Skills

Contents......Page 6
The Author......Page 10
Acknowledgements......Page 11
List of Figures......Page 12
List of Tables......Page 13
Introduction......Page 14
Relevant Facts to Observe......Page 18
Observation Skills Needed......Page 19
Recent Observations......Page 20
Reality Check: Questionnaire on a Case Farm (or Perhaps Your Farm)......Page 21
1.2 Visual Observation......Page 22
Steps in Visual Processing......Page 24
Introduction......Page 25
Summary of Effective Reading......Page 31
Thinking Carefully About the Objectives......Page 32
Achieving Goals is Sometimes Different from Reality!......Page 37
Summary......Page 38
Introduction to Your Memory and its Functioning......Page 39
Retrieval of Information on Demand May Need Help......Page 40
A Memory Enhancer......Page 41
Definition of ‘a Problem’......Page 42
Define and Specify......Page 43
Defining the Problem (Opportunities)......Page 46
1.7 Deciding Relevance......Page 48
Maintaining a Critical View of All Proposals......Page 49
1.8 Record Keeping......Page 50
Individual Systems......Page 51
Data and Information......Page 52
What Records to Keep......Page 55
Summary......Page 56
Introduction to Listening Skills......Page 57
Active Communication – Concentrate on the Speaker......Page 58
Making Use of Active Communication in Problem Solving......Page 60
Listening With Your Eyes......Page 61
Passive Listening: Hard Work is Necessary for Success......Page 62
Summary of Listening and Communication Skills......Page 64
Concluding Comments on Listening......Page 65
The Plan Ahead......Page 66
Areas Requiring Observation......Page 67
Farm Reality Check......Page 68
Practice at Using the Correct Visual Observation Process......Page 73
Reinforcement of Visual Observation......Page 77
Exercises to Enhance Your Memory......Page 81
Exercises on Critically Assessing Information Offered......Page 83
2.1 Introduction to Anticipation and Looking Ahead Skills......Page 86
Introduction to Creativity......Page 91
Creativity: Areas to Consider in Thinking Ahead......Page 94
Rolling Out Imagination......Page 97
Approaches to Thinking Ahead and Creativity......Page 102
Futures Approach to Creativity: Stimulating a Forward-looking Attitude......Page 105
Retirement Planning......Page 110
Review: Creativity and Idea Generation......Page 113
Introduction: Visualization and Looking Ahead Skills......Page 115
The Farm Totality......Page 118
Review of Visualization and its Use......Page 122
Introduction: Putting Pen to Paper......Page 123
Checking the Visions – Plans, SWOT and Time Lines......Page 125
Budgets: Calculating the Bottom Line – Costing Out the Proposals......Page 128
Introduction......Page 139
Project Management and Critical Path Analysis......Page 140
Monitoring, Control and Rules......Page 142
Getting the Sums Right: Using the Basic Economic Optimization Principles......Page 145
Conclusions and Action......Page 155
Time Management......Page 158
Feed Management: the Culmination of Observation and Anticipation (and Comments on the Cropping Equivalent)......Page 166
Exercise One: Beef Prices......Page 169
Exercise Two: Time Management......Page 171
General Review of Imagination and Creativity......Page 172
Exercises in Anticipating Change Impacts......Page 174
3.1 Introduction to Managing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 178
3.2 Measuring and Describing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 180
Calculating the Expected Value of an Outcome......Page 181
The Past as a Basis for Future Probabilities......Page 183
Graphs......Page 184
Looking to the Future......Page 186
Summary......Page 187
3.3 Sources, or Anatomy, of Risk and Uncertainty......Page 188
Sample of Farmers’ Views on Risks......Page 191
3.4 Attitude to Risk......Page 192
Methods of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty: Introduction......Page 194
Insurance as a Method of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 195
Diversification as a Method of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 196
Contracts as a Method of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 201
Products and Production Methods With Low Variability: a Method of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 209
Asset Structure Approaches to Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 218
Flexible Systems and Resources as a Method of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 223
Knowledge and Information as a Method of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 231
Using a Tax System as a Method of Reducing Risk and Uncertainty......Page 235
Objective Probabilities......Page 238
Subjective Estimates......Page 239
Types of Risk and Uncertainty......Page 240
Comparing Alternatives From a Risk and Uncertainty View......Page 241
Calculating Probabilities......Page 248
Ways of Improving Risk Management......Page 250
A Farm’s Risk Situation and Management (Questionnaire)......Page 251
Part 4 Concluding Comments – Assessing and Improving Managerial Ability......Page 254
5.1 Introduction to Assessments......Page 260
5.2 Assessment of Management Style......Page 261
5.3 Locus of Control Test and Assessment......Page 263
5.4 Managerial Aptitude Test and Assessment......Page 266
5.5 Assessment of Managerial Bias in Decision Making......Page 277
5.6 Assessing Risk Attitude to Decisions......Page 283
Probability Estimates......Page 286
Reducing Risk......Page 288
Risk Knowledge......Page 290
Observation Exercise One......Page 292
Observation Exercise Two......Page 294
Checking Reading Skill......Page 297
General Observation Knowledge......Page 301
General Anticipation Skills......Page 305
Anticipation Skills Knowledge......Page 306
C......Page 312
E......Page 313
I......Page 314
N......Page 315
Q......Page 316
R......Page 317
Y......Page 318