Assessment Task 1: Gross Margin Evaluation of Business Performance
The current report has been prepared in order to monitor and review a business plan. This report will not help in understanding the structure as well as operations of a small business but will also highlight the legal requirements for the same. The report will also take into consideration of the environmental conditions, practices and measures. The human resource aspect of the enterprise will be also critically reviewed. The report will help in development of realistic indicators of performance, managing of resources as well as provide a mean to formulate a plan for improving the business performance after reviewing the results of the indicators.
In order to start operating in Queensland, Australia it is necessary to plan the business by taking into account the market as well customer reach. It is advisable to evaluate the idea to consider the suitability in context of the market. It is also necessary to take into account the threat due to competitors as well as threat to environment. To be able to keep up with growing demand of consumers, the business owners also need to keep a track of their finances so as they can zero in on a pricing strategy which takes into account the start-up cosy as well as the running cost.
Any necessary legal requirements applicable to the business should also be considered. The legal obligations should not be taken lightly as they will help in protecting the rights of the business owners as well as the consumers. It is also necessary to identify the location from where operations will be undertaken (Williams 2017). In order to successfully run a business, individuals must come together to form a team which has efficient communications which in turn will help in managing resources and decisions during times of crisis. It is also very necessary to identify the desirable skill set of an individual before hiring them.
Reviewing the team will also help in determining the strengths as well as weaknesses present in the team. In case a shortage in skill has been identified or the current skill level is incompetent with performance, the business owners must make sure to provide a mean of upgrading the existing skill set either by recruiting new individuals or by undergoing training and workshops. The important market parameters as well as laws involving consumer service must be kept in mind. The business owner should also delve in matters of workplace safety and changing with time.
Assessment Task 2: Short Answer Questions
The Environmental effects statement is necessary as it provides a detailed description of the project in relation to the potential effects of the project on the environment in order to achieve mitigation. The Environmental effects treatment is necessary As it provides information to the public as well as the stakeholders while at the same time desires feedback that can be utilised for assessing the Environmental effects of the undertaking project under the Environmental effects act of 1978 at the process conclusion (Mehlhorn, Miles, Bonney & Tewari, 2017). The Environmental effects treatment focus on the impact and potential effects on the biodiversity as well as the ecological balance in proximity to the location where the project is being carried out. It also analyses the potential effects on the regional as well as local landscape values and visual immunity in the proximity of the project. The Environmental effects statement provides an assessment of alternatives which is necessary for minimising and avoiding potential effects.
Farmers are the backbone of the nation and are the force behind Australian agro industry. The farmer’s job can be divided into either arable farming or pastoral farming. In arable farming the individual has to spend their time in the farms tending to crops while in case of pastoral farming the individual will become skilled in animal rearing. Hence it is easy to understand that the roles and responsibility of the farmer is variable. Initially the primary focus will be on manual labour and will require carrying out a plethora of farm duties such as cleaning, driving tractor, tending livestocks, handiwork, planting, ploughing as well as harvesting during apprentice phase and with time will be overlooking the management of the entire farm (Johnson 2016). A farmer is also responsible for planning the production and creating liaisons with customers and suppliers while maintaining financial records. A farmer also has to adhere to the strict environmental and agriculture related laws and statuettes in order to comply with the regulations of health and safety. A farmer does not need to have a high level of education but experience of working in a farm and have fair share of practical knowledge. However, there is a rising trend of farmers having formal qualifications such as a degree in agriculture, animal care, animal management, agri-business to name a few. Necessary training will be provided during working at the farm under the guidance of manager of the farm.
Assessment task 2.1 Setting up and running a small business in Australia
In order to evaluate the success of the company or organisation it is necessary to use Key Performance Indicator (KPI) as a standard attribute against which the performance of the organisation is measured. The same is also true for an agribusiness. The characteristic reasons of implementing KPIs is that they are quantitative which means the data can be reproduced in form of numbers, practical as it will aid the integration of the company processes, directional as they are a scale for reviewing performance as well as actionable which means that the indicators can be put in action in order to bring about the wanted change (Ho, Nguyen, Adhikari, Miles & Bonney, 2017). In agriculture, KPI is used for tracking usage of feed, evaluating the production as well as cost monitoring. This means that KPIs are accepted part of agribusiness as they help in enhancing the productivity while saving agricultural programme time as well as helps in making informed decisions.
There are four broad categories of KPIs that are used in agribusiness which are namely productivity, administration, finance and industry. Increasing the productivity can be done by estimating the potential for production by taking into account fertilisers, chemicals, water and labour per output as well as the yield (Bairwa, Kalia, Meena, Lakra & Kushwaha, 2014). Administration KPIs are concerned with plantation age, plants in an area, total number of plants, rate of field utilisation, efficiency of labour as well as utilisation of machines. The finance KPIs provide information of shareholder returns, calculates profitability, flow of cash by evaluating investments in a fixed versus variable cost model. In inventory KPIs, the focus is usage period, sales period, stock usage, waste percentage and related inventory upkeep.
The KPI structure can be developed by first clearly identifying the objectives and goals of the organisation. It is critical for developing KPI structure. The next logical step is to share the developed KPIs with the stakeholders. Once the structure is approved by the stakeholders, it is safe to implement these attributes to the operations and processes of the company. However, it is necessary to monitor and review the KPI on a weekly or monthly basis. This will help in developing a KPI structure which is actionable (Boland & Çak?r 2018). The review and monitoring is also very necessary as it will help in changing the operations and processes with changing market scenarios. The monitoring step is repeated several times after implementation in order to make sure that the developed KPIs are attainable as well as updated.
Assessment task 2.2 Environmental effects statement
Normally the performance review is a desk job which requires certain additional informations which are critical to analysis. On the basis of the analysis, suggestions will be made on basis of technical expertise in order to support the performance review design, methodology as well as tools of data collection. First and foremost, there will be one-on-one interview with the key stakeholders as well as beneficiaries of the organisation. The review will be supported by ongoing analysis of the qualitative as well as quantitative data. The key findings of the review would be share with the various individuals of the organisation along with suggestions and recommendations (Zylbersztajn 2017). Business review is also done for evaluating or measuring the progress of an organisation within a stipulated time frame and it helps in determining the processes and operations which are working well as well as those which do not seem to be working well. This will help in increasing the income of individual farmers working in a farm. The time period will be also used for modifying as well as correcting the implemented practices. The business review will help the stakeholders of company to make informed investments in the future.
The management style that is most commonly observed in agribusinesses is a mix of democratic as well as Laissez-faire style of management. In the democratic management the subordinates as well as the manager are involved in decision making and this requires extensive communication between the subordinates and managers. This kind of style is observed in events when the organization requires specific technical skills and expertise (Barnard, Akridge, Dooley, Foltz & Yeager, 2016). In Laissez-faire, the managers have adaptive management style in context to the situation that they are dealing with the manager acting as mentor who supervise the work of the subordinates which allows the subordinates to undertake more actionable practices.
The agribusiness industry is involved in slaughtering animals for direct human consumption or as to minimise ‘farm waste’. The industry employs a workforce of nearly 25000 individuals which involves cutting of meat pieces and deboning. Good animal husbandry practices are very important for any agri-business. In order to minimise the development of farm waste it is very necessary to implement these practices. The statutory requirements are evident in case of pasture, animal health and welfare, veterinary as well as agricultural chemicals, premises and equipments. It is necessary for abbaitors to be well ventilated and systemic where the animal can be drawn in and made unconscious before making the kill. The business organisation who are interested in joining the business require special license which is examined by the officials to ascertain that everything is properly planned. The company desires to service the domestic as well as the international market which means that there will be a voluminous requirement of individuals at slaughterhouses and this means that there is a lot of investment required firstly, to develop a facility which is suitable for the cause and secondly, to hire, train and educate the farmers of good animal husbandry practices which will not only minimise the chance of risking the export quality of the products but also ensure that the animals are not suffering from some venereal disease.The export of live animals is managed by the export control act of 1982 as well as the export control (animals) order of 2004 which states that live cattle, goats and sheeps can be exported by a company only if they have a export license. The australian meat and livestock industry act 1997 oversees the use of export licenses. AQIS is important for obtaining the export certification of live animals to certify that the requirements of the importing countries have been made. The farm should be located on a land approved by the local government and compliant with the regulations and also have proper electric and water supply as well as transportation access. These farms should be far away from water bodies and not susceptible to drowning. The farm should also not be located at site of erstwhile physical, chemical or biological hazards. The farm contains suitable feeding area, waste management system, restrooms which are easy to clean and ventilated. The farm also has perimeter fence to avoid interference from stray animals. The farm in question is also supplied with a policy statement that covers the emergency procedures which can be inspected and monitored. Organising the work structure is also very critical. The resource allocation is directly proportional to the type of animals that are being reared for direct consumption. As compare to the diary, eggs, pork industry, a company dealing with beef is believed to be requiring approximately 28 times more normal land, 6 times more fertiliser and about 11 times more water as compared to the rest of the industries.
Conclusion
The present report has been formulated so as to monitor as well as review business plans in agri-business. The report provides in depth assessment of the various operations and structure present in a small business. The legal requirements have been also discussed. This review report also provides an overview of the environmental conditions to be taken into consideration and implementing practices and measures suitable for these conditions. Another point that has been critically discussed is that of human resources which helps in identifying the performance parameters while at the same time provides efficient managing of the resources. All these aspects can be effectively utilised for planning improved business performance.
References
Bairwa, S. L., Kalia, A., Meena, L. K., Lakra, K., & Kushwaha, S. (2014). Agribusiness management education: a review on employment opportunities. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), 4(2), 1-4.
Barnard, F. L., Akridge, J. T., Dooley, F. J., Foltz, J. C., & Yeager, E. A. (2016). Agribusiness management. Routledge.
Boland, M., & Çak?r, M. (2018). Agribusiness economics and management. In The Routledge Handbook of Agricultural Economics (pp. 760-777). Routledge.
Ho, K. L. P., Nguyen, C. N., Adhikari, R., Miles, M. P., & Bonney, L. (2017). Leveraging innovation knowledge management to create positional advantage in agricultural value chains. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge.
Johnson, G. (2016). Agribusiness: How to enable agribusiness-driven development. Partners in Research for Development, (2), 8.
Mehlhorn, J. E., Miles, M., Bonney, L., & Tewari, R. (2017). Perceptions of entrepreneurship in a university agribusiness program: developing a scale. International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics, 5(2), 27-33.
Williams, G. (2017). Sustaining Australia’s food and agribusiness sector. Food Australia, 69(4), 20.
Zylbersztajn, D. (2017). Agribusiness systems analysis: origin, evolution and research perspectives. Revista de Administração (São Paulo), 52(1), 114-117.
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
