Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
continued productivity and development. Jim Collins in his book
Good to Great
outlines this
concept as the approach of good managers to “fi rst get the right people on the bus (and the
wrong people off the bus) and then fi gure out where to drive it,” with the metaphor of the bus
being the agribusiness. The steps (or functions of a HR department) include:
1.
Determine the fi rm's human resource needs
2.
Find and recruit people
3.
Select and hire employees
4.
Orient new employees to their jobs
5.
Set terms of compensation and benefi ts
6.
Evaluate performance
7.
Oversee training and development
8.
Provide for promotions and advancement
9.
Manage terminations or transfers
Literally thousands of people enter the job market each month. Some of them have never
worked before; others have many years of experience and training. Each of these prospective
employees has the potential for performing a lifetime of service as a productive and satisfi ed
employee. Unfortunately, each employee has the same potential for being dissatisfi ed,
unhappy, and unproductive. The agribusiness manager's challenge is to tap the hidden
resources of each new employee and guide these resources to benefi t both the fi rm and the
employee. This process begins with an evaluation of the fi rm's human resource needs.
Defi ning the jobs to be performed
The fi rst step in human resource management is often the one missed by those new to formal
people management. The reason this step is neglected is simple—practically speaking, it
does not seem absolutely necessary. One can hire people without knowing specifi cally what
job they are supposed to do, or why or how they are supposed to do it. It is easy to go into a
hiring situation with only a vague idea of what the new hire should do. It is also easy to hire
a person to fi ll a vacant position with no real thought about whether or not the job responsi-
bilities should be changed. The challenge of defi ning the job rests on a sound, well-
developed organizational plan (
Chapter 16
). Every position should have job goals that
contribute to the fi rm's success. The job should be defi ned two ways: (1) job specifi cations
and (2) a job description.
Job specifi cations
Job specifi cations
spell out the qualifi cations needed to perform a job satisfactorily. A set of
job specifi cations should be developed for each job, regardless of the size or kind of agri-
business. In the Culpen County Farmers' Co-op, one of the department managers, perhaps
the offi ce manager, should be put in charge of the HR function. Delegation of this responsi-
bility to one person will help free top management from crises that occur because of inade-
quate personnel programs. The person to whom the HR responsibility is delegated can
develop a set of job specifi cations that use the following format:
1.
The purpose of the job. What are the job goals? What activities are necessary to accom-
plish those goals?
