Kerry K. Litzenberg

Educational priorities for tomorrow's agribusiness leaders

This article presents the results of AGRI-MASS, a national survey of agribusiness managers. This project was designed to rank order 74 personal and professional characteristics required for successful careers in agribusiness. The authors discuss the role of Universities and the international priorities for developing successful careers in agribusiness management. The role of agribusiness industry and government in developing effective agribusiness programs is also discussed.

Academic and Professional Programs in Agribusiness

Concern for serving the agribusiness sector of agriculture has been of increasing interest for agricultural economics professionals in recent years. Many departments of agricultural economics have added specific programs with agribusiness emphasis, and others have incorporated agribusiness into the name of the department. The MBA programs in agribusiness at Santa Clara and Harvard Universities and

Designing agribusiness capstone courses: Overt and covert teaching strategies

An agribusiness capstone course offers the opportunity to integrate previous courses in finance, marketing, and other functional areas. In addition to the stated (overt) objectives of coursework integration and new material in strategic management, the capstone course allows for building interpersonal and communication skills through a covert agenda. The covert agenda is not explicit in the syllabus, but is an integral part of a well-defined set of learning objectives.

Strategic issue identification among agribusiness firms

Identification of strategic issues is a key managerial task. This study reports on an exploratory survey effort to identify strategic issues as perceived by managers of a diverse sample of agribusiness firms. The results suggest that both strategic management and strategic issue identification are important to agricultural managers. In general there was considerable commonality of interest expressed relative to individual strategic issues. However, the existence of key differences in concern were documented based on structural characteristics of the firm.

Time Allocation Decisions Associated with Job Market Preparation: Undergraduate Perceptions versus Market Realities

A survey of agribusiness firms identifies characteristics associated with above average starting salary offers in the allied fields of agribusiness, agricultural economics, business, and economics. A complementary survey is made of students at Texas A&M University and University of Georgia. Results show that firms value work experience and leadership experience more than students do, whereas students value raising grade point average and interview preparation more than do firms. Students seeking a firms maximum starting salary offer will need to enhance academic performance with substantial work experience and leadership experience. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.

Characteristics required for success in management of agribusiness firms: An international perspective

The relative importance of various skills and attributes for success in business of entry-level employees as perceived by managers of agribusinesses in Australia, Canada, and the US are compared. The Agribusiness Management Aptitude Skill Survey (AGRI-MASS) was the instrument used. All three countries ranked personal qualities and communications skills highest, followed by business and economic skills, technical skills, computer and quantitative skills, and experience, in relative order.

Factors Associated with Students' Academic Motivation in Agricultural Economics Classes

A study of undergraduates at Texas A&M University, Purdue University, and the University of Florida reveals that students viewing grades as a contributor to career success tend to be more academically motivated. Several measures of academic motivation are examined by means of general linear and also nonlinear models. Electronic entertainment, socializing, and time spent working are all negatively associated with academic motivation. Greater academic motivation exists among females. To the extent that additional work is needed for the support of increased tuition costs, students have the potential to be less academically motivated.

A review of past agribusiness management research

This article presents a review of the agribusiness management research activities completed since World War II. The authors present their estimate of the relative emphasis of research completed in eight subcategories of agribusiness management research. Also included in this article is a review of the research activities structured into four time periods. 1945-1955, 1956-1969, 1970-1981, and 1982 to the present. The final section identifies five major types of barriers currently inhibiting agribusiness management research and presents potential ways to overcome these limiting factors.

Computer Use in the Agricultural Economics Classroom

The introduction of computer technology into the agricultural economics classroom is not a recent phenomenon. Babb and Eisgrubers 1966 book, Management Games for Teaching and Research, outlines the use of computerized management games for classroom applications. The computer has been a part of agricultural economics teaching activities for fifteen years in several schools across the United States. Why, then, this sudden increase in awareness and interest in the impact of computer technology in the profession? Three reasons come to mind. They are (a) the availability of computers, (b) the need and/or demand for computer skills by employers of agricultural economics students, and (c) increased computer capabilities for classroom activities.

Economic analysis of job-related attributes in undergraduate students’ initial job selection

Economic tradeoffs students place on location, salary, distances to natural resource amenities, size of the city where the job is located, and commuting times for their first college graduate job are estimated using a mixed logit model for a sample of Texas A&M University students. The Midwest is the least preferred area having a mean salary premium of