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Study on Human Resource Management in Agriculture
171-181Views:71The human factor has been reassessed with regard to strategic initiatives towards obtaining and preserving competitive advantage. Knowledge, experience and special skills are a specific form of capital, forming part of the organisations’ assets and serving as an organisational strategic resource. Their development and use require major investments, both on the part of the individual and the organisation. In a Europe undergoing integration, the quality of human resources enjoy priority among our really important values and specific features. The opportunities of the near future can be utilised, and agricultural economic organizations can survive and increase their organizational effectiveness, if they possess a basis of human capital which is able to make a shift in perspective and behaviour which is of primary importance from the point of view of incorporating market mechanisms and implementing them in practice. My investigations were focused on the current position of human resource management in a comprehensive manner; further, on the approach of top managers regarding the future. Analysing the business and other indicators of the companies studied, I have set the objective to describe the differences and special features of the human resource management practice of companies, which are different in size, operational form, and from the perspective of success or failure.
Human resource management is directed to attracting, retaining, motivating and utilising labour. A given work process can be successful or unsuccessful – given the same conditions – depending on who performs it. Therefore, human resource management related tasks require special attention when enterprises are planned, established and operated. On analysing the responsibilities of human resource management, I have found that the functions and responsibilities of human resource have low or medium importance in the operation of economic organisations today. Regarding the future, top managers have expressed higher expectations of human resource management responsibilities in all areas and they consider individual functions to be more important. The establishment and operation of a human resource information system has been presented as the most important need for change. Correlation analyses have proved that the higher the sales revenues of a company, the higher the development of human resources is regarded by its manager, and the same holds for training, career support and a proper establishment and continuous evaluation of job profiles. -
The examination of human resources in the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region on the basis of human resource hierarchy
91-110Views:72In this paper, I deal with the examination of the situation and change of human resources through the human resource hierarchy. My research covers the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region, which includes four settlements, two towns (Hódmezővásárhely as the centre of the area and Mindszent) and two villages (Mártély and Székkutas). Based on population density the micro-region is qualified as a rural territory, which is underpinned by the micro-region’s market town and homestead like character.
I took the human resource system of Cloke and Park (1985) published in their book of Rural Resource Management as a basis of my examination and I pursued my research in consideration of Fehér’s (2005) researches related to rural economy. The system of human resources provided a hierarchical and logical framework for my examination. In the course of the research I made analyses along the three levels of human resources concerning the micro-region and its settlements.
During the examination of the human resources of the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region I pointed out some negative changes and situations which unfavourably influence the socio-economic processes of the territory and its settlements. All this reveal that the human resources are not only factors of the economy of the micro-region as a rural economy but at the same time they are areas to be developed. The living standard (welfare) of the people living in the area and their quality of life (well-being) depend on the development and level of the different dimensions of the human resources largely. For that very reason there is a need for coordinated development of the human resources and the related fields with respect to the cause-effect relations.
My research contributes to the better cognition of rural resources of the Hódmezővásárhely micro-region, without this a rational improvement and sustainable development of the micro-region and its settlements based on inner resources cannot be imagined. -
Human resource management surveys at organizations operating at profitoriented and public spheres
79-86Views:77I introduce the performance management from the area of human resource management that I examined at organizations operating in market environment and in the public sphere as well. The reason of my choice of subject is that the performance management got into the centre of interest also in Hungary lately.
The scale of values connecting traditionally to the organizations of the private and public sphere is different vitally, what affected substantive differences of the organization, the management and the human resources management environment. Within these I tried to reveal their performance management system and with their comparison to draw conclusions. I did my surveys at profit oriented organizations and at organizations operating at the public sphere.
Performance management is one centre field of modern human resource managing, as the basis of the successful functioning of any company is the possibly most effective operation of its resources. Performance management is a possibility for the company and for the employer to overview the realization of the determined aims and the factors that block or promote accomplishments. Considering the results, the employee and the manager could determine subsequent realistic and accessible aims for the following period. Achievement management is extremely
important in those positions where achievement could not be measured accurately.
I carried out my surveys according to performance management by observation and data acquisition. I applied questionnaire survey to collect data, or rather made deep interviews; I talked personally with more employees as well.
The questionnaire consisted of one data format and performance management questionnaire. I processed the gathered data by computer and visualized graphically. I also did examinations by using statistic methods, by which I was able to get to know the certain organizations deeper and thus it was possible for me to reveal more connections. -
Examination of requirements of labour market, connected with competencies of agrienvironmental engineers and nature protection engineers
81-87Views:97The most important goal of firms is to supply demand of their economic partners. To make it successfully, highly qualified human resource is needed. The quality of human resource is determined not only by qualification, command of a language, professional experience, practise, but extant competencies that can also be developped. To choose the expectant employee, it is not enough to have intelligence and proficiency. It is also decesive to examine particular competencies. All of these will define the employee’s achievement that can be the right way to the success of
the enterprise.
It is need to make the cooperation between higher education institutions and employers closer. As a result of this, employers can know theirs ways about possibilities of the new higher educational training system. They can use professional knowledge, competencies of the Bologna system’s graduates at different pointsof the economic life. The higher education institutions can revise their training systems considering requirements of labour market. According to these requirements, they can form syllabus in order to train auspicious experts. -
Validation of the competence profile of agri-environmental engineering bachelor course
63-71Views:149As member of the European Union, the development if the Hungarian agriculture is determined by the Common Agricultural Policy. After the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2003, the environmental protection has got a crucial function. The constant changing role of agriculture has reacted students in higher education. For firms connected to agriculture, human resource management based on competency has an important role in custody of competitiveness. One of the most important goals of firms is to supply the demands of their economic partners. To make it successfully, highly qualified human resource is required. The quality of human resource is determined not only by its qualification, language skills, professional experience, and practise, but extant competencies that can also be developed. To choose the expectant employee, it is not enough for them to have intelligence and proficiency; it is also decisive to examine their particular competencies. All of these will define the employee’s
achievement that will definitely contribute to the success of the enterprise. Basically, closer cooperation is needed between higher education institutions and employers to achieve this goal. At the same time, the higher education institutions can revise their training systems considering the actual requirements of labour market, and accordingly, they can form syllabus in a way to train auspicious experts. In this article examination of the requirements of labour market for graduates from agri-environmental engineering bachelor course is presented. -
Congruency Analyses in Agricultural Organizations
56-61Views:66Management is one of the ancient activities. Managerial behaviour helped humans to become sociable creatures. The aims and roles of management have continually changed along with social and economic changes. Some management theories in the early literature interpret the managerial function as „to instruct” and „to control” subordinates. The manager – having the appropriate authority – unilaterally appoints the expected activities in accordance with the objectives of the organization and his/her own wish. Its form is the instruction or the command.
Later, organizations and management theories defined the managerial function rather as the impact on the employees than (or instead of) a unilateral manifestation of will. These focus on collaboration and imitation instead of on obedience. These theories were based on the fact that the employees work hard to succeed in meeting organizational goals because they want to meet their own needs, desires and wishes.
Today, management means being in a relationship with colleagues, effective and successful working methods and, last but not least, commitment and liability for the company. The responsibilities of directors are to estimate the employees’ competences and to apply the workforce expediently.
In our opinion, the two most important questions of human resource management (HRM) will be:
• the expectations made of the manager by the subordinates,
• the expectations made of the subordinates by the manager.
The expectations of management have continuously evolved along with the social, political and economical improvement. We consider the most important requirements will be the following:
• the exploitation of employees’ abilities (especially the leaders’),
• the exploitation of human resource,
• aim-oriented leadership related to different management levels.
The actual research covers only the examination of managerial requirements. We experienced that the expectations are affected by many factors starting with the fulfillment of a specific task to the social environment as a whole. Managements of the last century did not require such self-reliance, creativity and broad knowledge from their subordinates as they do today. Employees have to be able to adapt to new tasks, technology and methods; have to react quickly against the problems; and be loyal to the company and the manager.
We plan to expand our research backwards as well, in which we will search for the answer what kind of expectations are formulated by subordinates on the manager. Thus, we can approach and reveal the expectations (the examined factors) from two sides.
Due to this method, we would like to work out such coherences which can help us to demonstrate the opinions of the differently qualified employees of the organisations. The applied method provides us facilities to carry it out in various organisational parameters, such as functional form, size, effectiveness, range of activity. -
Social capital as a resource influencing social and economic processes
69-73Views:90The concept of social capital became well-known in the 1980s and as a non-material resource existing in the society and today it is one of the most popular fields of the sociological and economic research. There are many definitions of social capital, but there is a common point that they all have: a network-related interpretation. The networks are made up of discrete elements, which have some kind of relation between them. Accordingly, social capital is manifested in the totality of the relations between elements (actors of the economy and society) forming the network not in the elements themselves (e.g. human capital). This is a resource which influences the social and economic processes of a community – even if it is a community of a micro region or a nation. Consequently, social capital has a significant impact on the development and improvement of an area or a territorial unit. In this paper, I try to summarise the information concerning social capital and to sketch the relation between rural development and social capital as one of the immanent resources of a territorial unit.
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Some strategic aspects of animal protein production
11-19Views:177The access to food shaped human societies and dietary models throughout the history of mankind. Animal protein consumption became a part of human culture. Data are presented showing the relationship of daily calorie and animal protein consumption as affected by capita GDP changes. Examples are presented how genetic improvement of animal and fodder plants influenced the resource efficiency and the overall environmental footprint per unit product. The two examples presented are: the dairy industry of the USA the 1944 and 2007 situation, and the Hungarian broiler chicken sector considering data relevant to 1930, 1960 and 2010. In both cases, dramatic improvements in resource efficiency could be demonstrated. The agricultural area required to animal feed production was reduced by more than 80% in both cases per unit product. Future possibilities are briefly discussed, referring to the still unutilized land reserves of the Globe, the new evolving technologies in progress inclusive the CASPR/Cas 9 genetic editing methods.
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Managerial Questions of Human Resource Management in Agriculture
45-54Views:87Human resource management has many charasteristics in the field of agriculture, which should be taken into consideration from the point of view of management. Becoming a farmer is a result of a socializational process, in which tradition has a determining role. The ratio of unqualified labour in agriculture is high, compared to other sectors, and the situation is similar considering age. The number of employees is continuously decreasing; and this kind of work is determined by seasonality. Fluctuation is high, and methods for evaluating production are not well accepted. Managerial expectations changed considering labour. According to experimental results, the importance of qualification has decreased, while suiting a specific job and its duties has become more important.
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Soil – Environment – Sustainability
331-337Views:179The future and life quality of human society depends primarily on the success of the sustainable use of natural resources: the geological strata–soil–water–biota–near surface atmosphere continuum. Soil is the most significant conditionally renewable natural resource in our Earth’s system, with three unique properties: multifunctionality; fertility/ productivity; resilience. In the case of rational land use and precise soil management soil does not disappear, and its desirable „quality” does not decrease considerably, irreversibly and unavoidably. Its renewal, however, requires continuous care and permanent activities.
Consequently, the prevention, elimination or moderation of soil degradation processes and extreme hydrological situations (the two main factors limiting desirable soil multifunctionality) with rational land use and soil management are the key factors and priority tasks of sustainable development on each level and in each phase of the decisionmaking process. -
Study of Educational Motivation among Agricultural Managers
161-170Views:88It is a priority for companies to utilise human resources as much as possible. The form and effectiveness of the utilisation of labour largely depends on how much the manager of the company and the human resource management area support and encourage labour to develop individually and work more efficiently – as far as the size of the company justifies and allows. Effective incentive methods have to be set and run. Training incentives will have to play an important part in the future.
There has been no major difference between training incentives between managers and subordinates. Material incentives continue to be the key factor. For managers, exchange of information is currently a primary training incentive, as is the opportunity to meet other experts and exchange their ideas. Further, performance-related payment and bonuses applied jointly are also some material incentives. In the future, material incentives will gain in importance. For subordinates, the operation of material incentives is currently highly important as a training incentive. This is not expected to change in the future either, while expectations linked to quality work will strengthen. -
Regional Development Differences in Hungary and the Northern-Great Plain Region
62-71Views:116The most important endeavour of European Union’s regional policy is to moderate disparities. An emphasised strategic objective of member states, based on the principle of solidarity, fairness and justice, is to develop regions and almost forty percent of the common budget is devoted to achieving this objective.
Hungary, as a full EU member state, will get a new chance for underdeveloped regions, especially for the Eastern-Hungarian as well as the North Hungarian and North Plain Region.
The differences in development among the regions are significantly influenced by the economic characteristics of the specific region, quality and quantity of human resources, accessability of the region and other factors influencing local quality of life beside natural conditions.
The new spatial structure was formed by change of regime, processes of the nineties, primarily the economic renewal based on foreign capital investments and the crisis phenomena in parallel with these. The economic, political and social consequences of the transformation significantly changed spatial structure and increased disparities. New disparities formed which were further aggravated as a consequence due to the formation of the eastern-western slope and local crisis zones. As a result of the outstanding development of the capital, the long term differentiation of regional development differences can also be detected when examining the regional distribution of Hungarian gross domestic product. The collapse of heavy industry and agricultural mass production based on the eastern markets primarily affected the north-east counties in the eastern part of the country.
Strengthening regional competitiveness is of key importance for the region, which requires the application of consistent development policy. The most important is economic development which, if it operates well, also infers the possibility of establishing welfare infrastructures. Drawing in external sources to ease the significant lack of capital is important for the processing industry and the development of supplier networks. Agricultural development also plays an important role in transforming economic structure, since the characteristics of the region, its traditions and long term competitive advantages are favourable, therefore it is going to represent a higher ratio within the economy than the EU average. The modernisation of the agricultural sector can be promoted by supporting market accession, quality agricultural production and stimulating producer-retailer cooperation. The development of transportation and informatics infrastructure as well as human resource development plays a significantly important role in the development of the region.
In conclusion, the implementation of such a consistent regional development policy is required in the future, based on the strengths of the region, that serves the most efficient utilisation of regional development funds through the implementation of regional policy principles and prevents the irreversible decay of the region while promoting rapid development. -
Stability and development of Transdanubian agricultural enterprises
77-82Views:104Personal fulfilment, financial security, flexibility, relationships, information, rules - these are all hallmarks of entrepreneurship. Furthermore, one more important factor should be added to the list, which enables satisfaction resulting from reliable income and self-fulfillment: this is openness. An open mind to changes, to novelties, and to the workforce is necessary. The central question of the present research is how to effectively develop Hungarian small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, especially in the Transdanubian region, by utilizing these factors. In addition to production, institutional and price risks, agricultural enterprises, like other sectors, are also affected by massive labour shortages and resource-intensive development objectives. In the research, primary agricultural producers, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises were surveyed through questionnaire in the second and third quarters of 2019. Using the snowball method, both the development opportunities and the risks were mapped in this sector, mostly among growers. The research results show that there is a correlation between satisfaction and development and favorable workplace relationships. These correlations were presented by demonstrating the relationship between technological development, income satisfaction, stable job creation, and the need to try new developments. However, there seems to be an invisible boundary to development in the examined field, which may stem from uncertainty, and yet, it is important to maintain development and learning activity so that the right knowledge and know-how is available to the business when needed. Since the results show that there is a lack of openness to new technologies among the farmers in the studied region, and this may pose a problem in the future in terms of meeting the expectations of precision farming, it is recommended to focus on innovation in the agricultural sector in Hungary.
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The strengthen of the second pillar in the European Union and Hungary
88-94Views:80The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) took shape in the early 1960s. At that time the first action was to stop food shortages. Among the objectives of the Treaties of Rome appeared the subvention of rural development had not yet.
Rural development appeared, in 1992, in connection with accompanying measures, and by end of decade, the European Agricultural Model had taken shape. Agenda 2000 pointed out the direction of rural development and introduced the first and second pillars in the CAP. The regulations of rural development were simplified by 1257/1999/EC, which stressed the importance of rural development to and it has to continue the principle of subsidiarity and has to be decentralized.
The last enlargement raised new problems, the mid-term review of Agenda 2000 occurred and resulted in a new CAP-reform in 2003. The 1783/2003/EC rural development regulation modified the previous regulation. According to the new regulation it is necessary to strengthen the new rural development policy, enlarge the circles of accompanying measures, place greater emphasis on requirements of environment, human resource, animal welfare and plant health. Digression and modulation take part in the new CAP-reform in order to increase the role of rural development in the common budget.
In the next budget from 2007-2013, the European Union wants to create a single rural development fund and simplify programming, financing, monitoring. The EU wants to enlarge the instruments of rural development with a four axis model. -
Assessment of Environmental Susceptibility/Vulnerability of Soils
62-74Views:84Soils represent a considerable part of the natural resources of Hungary. Consequently, rational land use and proper soil management – to guarantee normal soil functions – are important elements of sustainable (agricultural) development, having special importance both in the national economy and in environment protection.
The main soil functions in the biosphere are as follows: conditionally renewable natural resource; reactor, transformer and integrator of the combined influences of other natural resources (solar radiation, atmosphere, surface and subsurface waters, biological resources), place of „sphere-interactions”; medium for biomass production, primary food-source of the biosphere; storage of heat, water and plant nutrients; natural filter and detoxication system, which may prevent the deeper geological formations and the subsurface waters from various pollutants; high capacity buffer medium, which may prevent or moderate the unfavourable consequences of various environmental stresses; significant gene-reservoir, an important element of biodiversity.
Society utilizes these functions in different ways (rate, method, efficiency) throughout history, depending on the given natural conditions and socio-economic circumstances. In many cases the character of the particular functions was not properly taken into consideration during the utilization of soil resources, and the misguided management resulted in their over-exploitation, decreasing efficiency of one or more soil functions, and – over a certain limit – serious environmental deterioration.
Soil resources are threatened by the following environmental stresses:
– soil degradation processes;
– extreme moisture regime;
– nutrient stresses (deficiency or toxicity);
– environmental pollution.
Environmental stresses caused by natural factors or human activities represent an increasing ecological threat to the biosphere, as well as a socio-economic risk for sustainable development, including rational land use and soil management.
The stresses are caused by the integrated impacts of various soil properties, which are the results of soil processes (mass and energy regimes, abiotic and biotic transport and transformation and their interactions) under the combined influences of soil forming factors. Consequently, the control of soil processes is a great challenge and the main task of soil science and soil management in sustainable development.
The efficient control of these processes necessitates the following consecutive steps:
• registration of facts and consequences (information on land and soil characteristics, land use, cropping pattern, applied agrotechnics, yields, with their spatial and temporal variability);
• evaluation of potential reasons (definition and quantification of soil processes, analysis of influencing factors and their mechanisms);
• assessment of the theoretical, real, rational and economic possibilities for the control of soil processes (including their risk-assessment and impact analysis);
• elaboration of efficient technologies for the „best” control alternatives (best management practice).
Scientifically based planning and implementation of sustainable land use and rational soil management to ensure desirable soil functions, without any undesirable environmental side-effects, require adequate soil information. In the last years such data were organized into a computer-based GIS soil database in Hungary, giving opportunities for the quantification, analysis, modelling and forecasting of the studied environmental stresses and for the efficient and scientifically based prevention, elimination or reduction of environmental stresses and their unfavourable ecological and economical consequences.
Special attention was paid to the assessment of various soil degradation processes, as: (1) soil erosion by water or wind; (2) soil acidification; (3) salinization and/or alkalization; (4) physical degradation (structure destruction, compaction); (5) extreme moisture regime: drought sensitivity and waterlogging hazard; (6) biological degradation; (7) unfavourable changes in the plant nutrient regime; (8) decrease of natural buffering capacity, (9) soil (and water) pollution.
The actions against undesirable environmental stresses and their unfavourable consequences are important elements of sustainable, efficient, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound crop production and agricultural development. These are joint tasks of the state, decision makers on various levels, the land owners, the land users and – to a certain extent – of each member of the society. -
The managerial aspect of the police’s organizational development
57-62Views:158During my research, I have studied the relationships of the organizational development and the managerial functions at a specific governmental agency, the police. The police carry out official activities, but also provide a service which essentially assumes two types of contact systems and modes of management. To meet the demands of the citizens and to ensure the effectiveness of the organization, it is necessary to develop the managerial methods applied at the police, on the one hand, and to use certain parts of the organizational development, on the other hand.
The police organization has changed significantly after the integration of the Police and Border Guards. The complexity of the structure and the anomalies in the work load, as well as several researches conducted by myself directed my attention to elaborate an organizational development method that can be applied to the current organization, while it improves the operation of the organization.
The police’s operation and its organizational structure are determined by the laws, thus changing the structure of the organization is placed within relatively narrow limits. The police managers have the soft parts such as human resource development, skills, and management style at their disposal to develop the organization, but their use is isolated and they are not for a long term. The present article aims to present the set-up model related to the organizational development of the police, elaborated by myself, in terms of the leadership and the management styles, whose long-term use may contribute to the efficiency of the operation.
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Trends in Dry Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Production
53-58Views:125Dry pea is an important, cool-season grain legume, which is grown worldwide on over 6 million hectares. The major producing countries outside Europe are China and Canada, followed by India, Australia, and the United States. France, Canada and Australia produce over 2 million hectares and are major exporters of peas. During the 1980’s, in developed countries of the European Union, pea production rose yearly by 6-10%, which represents a significant increase in both area and yield. Europe accounts for 50-75% of world pea production. In the 1990’s, the European Union produced 4-5 million tonnes of dry pea, of which 3-4 million tonnes were used for feed and 1 million tonnes for export. At the end of the 20th century, the growth in production was low, mainly because of the absence of support measures, and the better returns offered by other crops. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, dry pea was primarily used as feed and pea production dropped, due to a trend in livestock raising.
Food consumption of dry pea is concentrated in developing countries, where grain legumes represent a useful complement to cereal-based diets as a relatively inexpensive source of high quality protein. As a result, human consumption of grain legumes fell from 2,2 kg/capita in 1961 to 0,5 kg/capita in 1999. The importance of grain legumes in food protein supply decreased, while that of cereal products increased. Shortage of grain legumes has adverse effects on the nutritional standard of poor people in developing countries.
World dry pea production reached 16,7 million tonnes in 1990, with 3,7 million tonnes used as food, 11,4 million tonnes used as feed, and 1,0 million tonnes used as seed. Dry pea production was 10,9 million tonnes in 1999, and 3,5, 5,8 and 0,8 million tonnes was used as food, feed and seed, respectively. In the coming decades, world grain legume production and utilization as feed are expected to expand at a slower rate than in the 1980’s. Most of the increase is expected to occur in Eastern European countries, Canada and Australia, where production is anticipated to grow at 2% annually. The projection for the new millennium was derived from adjusted trends in area and yield over the period 1961-2000, based on FAO statistical data. -
A vezetői elégedettség vizsgálata egy mezőgazdasági szervezetben
77-81Views:78Human resource managers are able to plan and organise activities which influence their own and other peoples’ performance, and also make necessary corrections on the basis of those performances. Managerial skills, experience, type of abilities and competencies each play a definitive role in organisational decisions. On the other hand, the second determinative factor of managerial performance is the organisation in witch they work.
The goal of my survey was to analyse contentment of different level managers at Szerencsi Agricultural Rt.