Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- The Author -- Acknowledgements -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1 Introduction -- General Overview -- The Case Study Farmers -- Introducing Margrave -- Introducing Hank -- 2 What Defines Management Ability? -- Introduction -- Personality and Its Links to Management -- Personality and Tests -- Attitude to Risky Situations -- Intelligence and Its Links to Management -- Intelligence and Tests -- Motivation, Objectives and Emotional Intelligence -- Learning Style -- The diverging style -- The assimilating style -- The converging style -- The accommodating style -- Concluding Comments -- Appendix 2A. Managerial Style Test -- Appendix 2B. Managerial Aptitude Test -- 3 The Origins of Managerial Ability -- Introduction -- Objectives -- Locus of Control -- Relating LOC to Managerial Factors -- Modelling Managerial Ability -- Factors giving rise to ability -- Modelling results -- Concluding Comments -- Appendix 3A. Observation -- 4 Decision Processes and Goals -- Introduction -- Decision Processes -- Linear approach -- Decision rules -- Problem recognition -- Dynamic approaches -- Modifications to the processes -- Constructs -- Intuition (or tacit knowledge), and experts -- Innovations and their adoption -- Objectives and Their Impact on the Managerial Processes -- Maximization -- Satisficing -- Multiple goals -- Integration -- Complications -- Concluding Comments -- 5 Skills Required -- Introduction -- The Questionnaire, Sample and the Respondents -- Managerial Attributes -- Entrepreneurial Skills -- Personal Attributes -- Bringing Together the Farmers' Views on Competencies -- Summary of Skills Required -- Introduction -- Risk management -- Observation -- Negotiating -- Anticipation -- Planning -- Learning from experience -- People skills -- Implementation -- Technology -- Solutions.

Analysis -- Case farmer's views -- Introducing Two Consultants, and Their Views on Skills -- Bruce and his dairy farming interest -- 'Prof' and his comments about the skills required -- Concluding Comments -- Appendix 5A. Survey on Managerial Factors -- 6 Biases and Stress -- Introduction -- Areas of Bias -- Observation -- Forecasting -- People relationships -- Decision principles -- Implementation -- General -- Stress and Decisions -- Introduction -- Combating stress -- The Case Farmers' Thoughts on Bias and Stress -- Margrave's case -- Now Hank's views -- Concluding Comments and Bias Reduction -- 7 More on Objectives: Family Influences, Origins and Modification -- Introduction -- The Family Influence -- The Influence of a Spouse -- The Origins of Objectives -- Quantifying the Origins of Objectives -- Introduction -- The important factors -- Some quantification -- Locus of control -- Entrepreneurship -- Concluding Comments -- 8 Methods of Improving Managerial Ability -- Introduction -- Learning Processes -- Benefits of Changing -- Topics and Resources Available -- Training Methods -- Overview of methods -- Mentoring approaches -- Case farmer views -- Professional consultant's views -- Concluding Comments -- References -- Index.

Explores the role of the psychology of the manager running the farm business, the person responsible for staff, strategic decisions and financial success or failure. This book addresses fundamental questions such as the process of decision making, personal skills, and methods to improve managerial ability.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.