Manager's perceptions of categories of training needs

Tong Zhang, Purdue University

Abstract

Agribusiness is becoming more sophisticated and as a result the skillsets needed for agribusiness professionals must evolve. The purpose of this research is to assess the training topics that agribusiness managers perceive to be important for their success. Perceptions about sales and marketing, finance and accounting, strategy, organizational leadership and human resources, and supply chain management/logistics were considered. Variance in perceptions was divided into personal factors, such as level of management, and organizational factors such as company size and channel role. The study found that training topic selections are influenced by both organizational and personal characteristics. These findings are useful for shaping the professional development agenda of managers, trainers, and agribusiness researchers.

Degree

M.S.

Advisors

Marshall, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Agricultural economics

COinS