Authors: Phil Kenkel, Oklahoma State University, phil.kenkel@okstate.edu, and Bill Fitzwater,
Oklahoma State University
The board should also analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the firm. Is the cooperative serving its customers? Few firms can afford to provide all of the services customers might want. Not all service needs of customers are unreasonable, however. Many increased services are sound business practices. The board should routinely make independent inquiries to determine that customer services are adequate. Some specific areas for assessment include:
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- Frequency of sale contacts
- Frequency and promptness of shipments
- Adequacy of cash discounts
- Responsiveness to damage claims or inferior products
- Packaging and containers
Human resources are important strengths, and unfortunately, sometimes major weaknesses. Employees who take pride in and derive satisfaction from their work and who are properly compensated are important to business success. Some questions that the board should ask in appraising the condition of the personnel policies are:
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- Do employees feel encouraged to offer suggestions?
- Do the proper people participate in planning?
- Does each position have a written description that is used when hiring new employees?
- Are salaries and wages comparable with those paid by similar firms in the area for similar work?
- Is there a defined salary level for each type of job?
- Are employees encouraged to participate in training activities?
- Is the organizational structure consistent with the objectives and functions of the firm?
- Are the functions, authorities and relationships of various units clearly established and understood?
- Are working conditions conducive to maximum effort?
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- Step 2: Develop Objectives within KPAs
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- Step 3: Preparing Budgets
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- Step 4: Identify Controls to Monitor Progress