Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T07:14:06.676Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Labor Risk Attributes in the Green Industry: Business Owners' and Managers' Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Vera Bitsch
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Stephen B. Harsh
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Abstract

Managers of greenhouses, nurseries, and landscape contractors participated in five focus group discussions on labor-related risks. Managers conceptualize labor risks along the human resource management process: (1) recruitment and selection, (2) training and development, (3) performance evaluation and discipline, (4) careers and relationships, and (5) compensation packages. In addition, they identified (6) immigrant employees and (7) labor laws and regulations as sources of risk. They recognized a large number of risk-increasing attributes, but also a number of mediating strategies to reduce these risks.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, J.R.Agricultural Research in a Variable and Unpredictable World.” Agricultural Research Policy: International Quantitative Perspectives. Pardey, P.G., Roseboom, J., and Anderson, J.R., eds., pp. 103–28. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1991.Google Scholar
Babcock, B.A., Fraser, R.W., and Lekakis, J.N., eds. Risk Management and the Environment: Agriculture in Perspective. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baquet, A.E., Hambleton, R., and Jose, D.. Introduction to Risk Management: Understanding Agricultural Risks. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency, 1997.Google Scholar
Barry, P.J.The Setting.” Risk Management in Agriculture. Barry, P.J., ed., pp. 37. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1984.Google Scholar
Barry, P.J., Ellinger, P.N., Hopkin, J.A., and Baker, C.B.. Financial Management in Agriculture, 6th ed. Danville, IL: Interstate Publishers, 2000.Google Scholar
Bessler, D.A.Subjective Probability.” Risk Management in Agriculture. Barry, P.J., ed., pp. 4352. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1984.Google Scholar
Bitsch, V.Job Satisfaction during Apprenticeship.Acta Horticulturae 429(1996):97102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bitsch, V.Management of Human Resources in Agriculture.” Large Farm Management. Balmann, A. and Lissitsa, A., eds., pp. 91111. Bergen, Germany: Agrimedia, 2003.Google Scholar
Canavari, M., Caggiate, P., and Easter, K.W.. Economic Studies on Food, Agriculture, and the Environment. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2001.Google Scholar
Findeis, J.The Labor Shortage is Finally Here.Choices 16(1st Quarter 2001):3.Google Scholar
Hardaker, J.B., Huirne, R.B.M., and Anderson, J.R.. Coping with Risk in Agriculture. Oxon, UK: CAB International, 1997.Google Scholar
Harwood, J., Heifner, R., Coble, K., Perry, J., and Somawaru, A.. “Managing Risk in Farming: Concepts, Research, and Analysis.” Agricultural Economic Report 774, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 1999.Google Scholar
Hurley, T.M., Kliebenstein, J., and Orazem, R.F.. “The Structure of Wages and Benefits in the U.S. Pork Industry.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 81(1999):144–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Just, R.E.Addressing the Changing Nature of Uncertainty in Agriculture.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 83(Number 5, 2001):1131–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Just, R.E.Risk Research in Agricultural Economics: Opportunities and Challenges for the Next Twenty-Five Years.Agricultural Systems 75(February-March 2003):123–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Just, R.E., and Pope, R.D. (eds.). A Comprehensive Assessment of the Role of Risk in U.S. Agriculture. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002a.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Just, R.E., and Pope, R.D. (eds.). “Past Progress and Future Opportunities for Agricultural Risk Research.” A Comprehensive Assessment of the Role of Risk in U.S. Agriculture. Just, R.E. and Pope, R.D., eds., pp. 557–77. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002b.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, EH.Risk, Uncertainty and Profit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1921.Google Scholar
Krueger, R.A.Analyzing & Reporting Focus Group Results. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michigan Agricultural Statistics Service (MASS). “Michigan Agricultural Statistics 2002-2003.” 2002 Annual Report, Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of Agriculture, 2003.Google Scholar
Morgan, D.L.Focus Groups.Annual Review of Sociology 22(1996):129–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, D.L.Focus Groups as Qualitative Research. 2nd ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Musser, W.N., and Musser, L.M.. “Psychological Perspectives on Risk Analysis.” Risk Management in Agriculture. Barry, P.J., ed., pp. 8292. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1984.Google Scholar
Musser, W.N., and Patrick, G.F.. “How Much Does Risk Really Matter to Farmers?A Comprehensive Assessment of the Role of Risk in U.S. Agriculture. Just, R.E. and Pope, R.D., eds., pp. 537–56. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roe, B., and Randall, A.. “Survey and Experimental Techniques as an Approach for Agricultural Risk Analysis.” A Comprehensive Assessment of the Role of Risk in U.S. Agriculture. Just, R.E. and Pope, R.D., eds., pp. 265–85. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenberg, H.R.Recognizing and Managing Risks in Agricultural Labor Management.Labor Management Decisions 8(Winter-Spring 1999):1-3, 6-7, 12, 14.Google Scholar
Rosenberg, H.R., Perloff, J.M., and Pradhan, V.S.. “Hiring and Managing Labor for Farms in California.” Working Paper 730, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California, 1994.Google Scholar
Taylor, C.R.The Role of Risk versus the Role of Uncertainty in Economic Systems.Agricultural Systems 75(February-March 2003):251–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. “1997 Census of Agriculture.” Internet site: http://www.nass.usday.gov/census/census97(Accessed April 09, 2001).Google Scholar
Young, D.L.Risk Concepts and Measures for Decision Analysis.” Risk Management in Agriculture. Barry, P.J., ed., pp. 3142. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1984.Google Scholar