Communication
Barriers to Communications
Publish Date: April 19, 2012
Communication plays a most important role in employer-employee relationships on farm operations. It also affects the relationships among family members on the management team. Although effective communication does not guarantee success of a farm operation, its absence usually assures problems. A communication problem may soon become a disaster or it may linger on for years. No matter how good the communication systems in an operation are, communication barriers can and do often occur. This may be caused by a number of reasons that can usually be summarized as being due to physical barriers, system design faults, or additional barriers.
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Conflict Management Skills
Publish Date: April 18, 2011
Whenever choices exist there is potential for conflict. Such conflicts, when handled correctly, can result in effective, creative solutions and interactions. But unfortunately, it is difficult to consistently turn conflicts into opportunities for growth and improvement. When conflicts are inadequately dealt with, the result can be controversy. Controversy creates a sense of emotional distance between people, such as feelings of dislike, aggression, competition, alienation, and disregard.
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Aligning Incentives for Employees
Publish Date: December 21, 2011
Production agriculture is rapidly changing. Producers are constantly being asked to learn the latest technologies, new production practices, and keep up with regulations coming from an increasing number of interested agencies and parties. Not surprisingly, the skills necessary to successfully manage todays increasingly complex farming operations are rapidly evolving as well. Perhaps the most evident change is the size and scale at which farms are operating. For an operation to remain economically viable, farms must often hire additional labor beyond the family labor available. Hiring non-family employees is becoming more common for farms across the country.
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