Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
16
Managing organizational
structure
Objectives
•
Differentiate between responsibility, authority, and accountability relationships in agri-
business
•
Describe formal organizational structures used in agribusiness
•
Understand organizational principles as they apply to the development of agribusiness
organizational structures
•
Discuss the impact of informal organizational relationships on the success of the agri-
business
•
Identify various leadership styles employed by agribusiness managers
•
Review current theories of managing and motivating employees
•
Discuss the types of recognition and their role in motivating employees
Introduction
Food and agribusiness fi rms are made up of people working together toward a common
purpose. As soon as an agribusiness involves more than one person, a variety of organiza-
tional, personnel, leadership, and motivational issues inevitably arise. The larger the organi-
zation, the more complex and critical these issues become. One of the fundamental
responsibilities of management is to acquire, organize, motivate, lead, and manage its human
resources to accomplish its business objectives as effectively as possible. Given this charge,
management must address whatever complex issues may challenge or potentially disrupt
that responsibility.
Managing the human resources in an agribusiness involves many dimensions. First, man-
agement must develop an organizational structure where the responsibilities, authority, and
accountability of individuals are clearly defi ned. By
organizational structure
, we mean the
formal way that employee responsibilities are assigned in a fi rm—who reports to whom,
who has responsibility for what, etc. Basically, we are talking about the fi rm's organizational
chart. Management must also concentrate on directing and supervising the day-to-day activ-
ities of employees. This involves the total personnel function—recruiting, hiring, training,
evaluating, promoting, administering compensation and benefi ts, fi ring, and, in some agri-
businesses, working with organized labor (see
Chapter 17
).
This chapter will focus on issues of organization and leadership. The organizational
structure may well determine whether or not an agribusiness succeeds or fails. There are