THE GOALS AND PERFORMANCE OF GRAIN ELEVATOR MANAGERS: A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT
Abstract
The decision-making process of the firm and the manner in which these decisions are carried out have in the past been considered to occur in a "black box." This research examined the relations between the goals, strategies, and performance of firms, and the factors which influence the importance of firm goals to managers. Fifty grain elevator managers participated in workshops involving the use of a business game which simulated the operation of a grain elevator. This allowed for the testing of hypotheses in a controlled environment. The goals and specific objectives of the subjects were recorded. Strategies and performance measures were defined in terms of game variables which were related to the pursuit of the various goals. The goals and characteristics of the firms and their managers appeared to be related to the importance of several real life goals. The logit models did a reasonably good job of predicting the goals of increasing efficiency, assuring farmers of a dependable market for grain and/or a dependable supply of inputs, and protecting the interests of investors. The strategies the managers pursued appeared to be consistent with the goals they chose in the game situation. There was some indication that the performance of firms was related to the goals of the manager. However, this analysis was complicated by several factors, and further research seems warranted. There was some indication that managers who believed it was important to have specific goals better achieved their specific objectives. Managers of cooperatives had a high level of agreement in their goal rankings, as did managers of proprietary firms. This was also the case for all firms combined. It was concluded that the managers were consistent in their ranking of real life goals. However, as in previous studies no relation between performance in the game and in real life was found.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Agricultural economics
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