Strategic Positioning Under Agricultural Structural Change: A Critique of Long Jump Co-operative Ventures

Industrial Organization, Agribusiness,

Strategic Positioning Under Agricultural Structural Change: A Critique of Long Jump Co-operative Ventures

This study utilizes strategic management theory to analyze the recent proliferation in non-commodity vertical integration producer-owned businesses in the US. The paper introduces the notion of the Value Creation Triad where ownership, competency, and control need to be aligned for success. Very related to the Triad concept is the differentiation in strategy between long and short jumping. The paper presents an empirical case of successful vertical integration by a New Zealand lamb cooperative.Strategic management theory, Value added agriculture, Vertical integration, Producer-owned enterprise, Core competencies, Tacit knowledge, Productivity gap, Opportunity gap, Agribusiness,

Who Are These Wild Indians : On the Foreign Policies of Some Voluntarily Isolated Peoples in Amazonia

This paper is a reflection on the phenomenon of voluntary isolation in Amazonia, about anthropology’s implication in its formation as a concept, and what anthropologists might profitably say about it as a concrete phenomenon in the world. While knowledge based on ethnographic fieldwork might by minimal or even totally absent for people in voluntary isolation, anthropological research has produced a very impressive understanding of indigenous Amazonian social forms in general, knowledge that can be brought to bear on the question

STRATEGIC POSITIONING UNDER AGRICULTURAL STRUCTURAL CHANGE: A CRITIQUE OF LONG JUMP CO-OPERATIVE VENTURES

Structural change in US agriculture has disrupted the traditional organization of the supply chain. Not only does the scale increase of firms common during the industrial period (1970-1995) continue, but also with the rise of a knowledge-based economy, new organizational forms and supply chain linkages are proliferating. Examples are the radical transformation of the relationship between input suppliers and producers in the biotech arena, the dominance of the swine industry by the integrated model, the rise of marketing and production contracting, and the arrival of multi-member closed producer organizations such as the new generation cooperatives and limited liability companies. The focus of this research is these new integrated producer organizations. Much of the activity and subsequent analysis of new producer organizations has focused on value-added opportunities through integration (i.e., Merrett et al, 1999). There are numerous examples from pasta plants and egg breaking, to cattle feeding, hog slaughter, and alcohol production. These value-added opportunities we define as long jump ventures. That is, they lie outside the core competencies of the principles in the firm, the producers. Strategic management theory (Prahalad, 1986,1990,1993; Quinn, 1977,1990; Mintzberg, 1987,1994,1996,1998,2000) suggests that there may be other opportunities available to producer organizations that better leverage their core competencies, short jump ventures. Short jump ventures are value-creating opportunities that involve a minimum R&D, less capital, less risk, and less direct specialized knowledge. While the economy at large is producing vast quantifies of long jump innovations in the fields of biotechnology and information, there is another revolution occurring in business involving short jump innovation in the area of service. This new field, known as; one-to-one marketing (Pepper, 1993, 1999), relationship management (Hansen, 1983), relationship marketing (Curry, 2000), and strategic partnering (Rackam, 1996), focuses on the supplier-client interface. Value is created by significant coordination between supplier and client. The boundary between firms is blurred, knowledge is actively shared, and partners are dedicated to mutual profitability. By understanding the needs of the client, the supplying firm is able to adapt its products and more importantly services. This creates a unique and more valuable business for the supplier insulating it from competitive forces and allowing greater value capture. This not only creates greater supply chain efficiency, but intra-firm and inter-firm product innovation result as well. The objective of this paper is to study strategic options for production agriculture dealing with the failure of the commodity business model. From this analysis of strategic positioning the paper introduces relationship management as a viable strategic alternative for commodity producers. Finally, a case study of the Wairarapa Lamb Cooperative, a New Zealand based firm doing business in the United States, is introduced. The case serves not only as an example of relationship management in agriculture but also demonstrates how producers can work within their own core competencies, leverage knowledge assets, and avoid highly specific fixed assets. The methodology will be: 1) Review the literature as to the types of activities in which integrated producer organizations are engaged. 2) Present a theoretical model of strategy analyzing short jump versus long jump ventures. 3) Introduce Relationship Management. 4) Employ a case study example of the theory in practice. This paper theoretically analyzes producers' vertical integration through "brick and mortar" investments, such as hog slaughter and ethanol production. A theoretical model using strategic management theory and a case study are used to critique the long jump strategy and suggest relationship management as a more viable alternative.Agribusiness,

Carolina’s Story. A case study of the diffusion of a myth in Southwestern Amazonia

Peoples can disappear, but not stories. This is what happened with a kuniba myth, narrated to Nimuendaju by Carolina, in a situation of forced removal promoted by the Brazilian State at the beginning of the 20th century. Such myth was about the origin of the moon, caused by the incest of a brother with a sister. Until the beginning of the 20th century, neighboring peoples of the Kuniba, such as the Cashinahua and the Kanamari, had very different narratives about the origin of the moon. However, throughout the 20th century, with the departure of the Kuniba, the theme of incest between brother and sister becomes part of the narratives, spreading throughout the region of the Juruá and Purus river basins. This leads to a reflection on the problem of “informational causality”, on the “foreign policy” that differentiates peoples, and on the “spatial dialectic” promoted by myths.Um povo pode desaparecer, mas não uma história. Isso foi o que ocorreu com um mito kuniba, narrado a Nimuendaju por Carolina, em uma situação de remoção forçada promovida pelo Estado brasileiro no começo do século XX. O mito em questão falava da origem da lua, ocasionada pelo incesto de um irmão com uma irmã. Até o começo do século XX, povos vizinhos dos Kuniba, como os Cashinahua e os Kanamari, tinham narrativas muito distintas sobre a origem da lua. No entanto, ao longo do século, com a partida dos Kuniba, o tema do incesto entre irmão e irmã passa a estar presente nas narrativas, difundindo-se pela região das bacias dos rios Juruá e Purus. Isso conduz a uma reflexão sobre o problema da “causalidade informacional”, sobre a “política externa” estabelecida entre diferentes povos e sobre a “dialética espacial” promovida pelos mitos

The Piro canoe. A preliminary ethnographic account

The Piro canoe. A preliminary ethnographic account. The article provides a preliminary account of the canoes made and used by the Piro (Yine) people of the Urubamba river in Peruvian Amazonia, with a particular focus on the processes of construction, naming and crewing. The canoe, among these people, is a basic model of affinity, both male-female and male-male. The canoe and canoe journeys are a basic social model of space for these people, serving a symbolic function that usually falls to house and village space in indigenous Amazonian societies.La pirogue piro. Un premier compte rendu ethnographique. Cet article a pour objectif de fournir un premier compte rendu sur les pirogues fabriquées et utilisées par les Piro (Yine), groupe vivant près du fleuve Urubamba, en Amazonie péruvienne. Y seront décrits les processus de construction, de nomination et de formation de l’équipage. Chez les Piro, la pirogue peut être considérée comme un modèle de l’affinité, dans les relations entre hommes et femmes, mais aussi entre hommes. La pirogue comme les voyages en pirogue correspondent à un modèle d’organisation sociale de l’espace, servant une fonction symbolique qui, dans les sociétés amazoniennes indigènes, revient, habituellement, à l’espace de la maison ou à celui du village.La canoa piro. Un informe etnográfico preliminar. Ese artículo propicia un informe preliminar acerca las canoas hechas y empleadas por el pueblo piro (yine) del rio Urubamba de la Amazonía peruana, con un enfoque especial en los processos de la fabricación, el nombreamiento y la composición de la tripulación. La canoa, entre este pueblo, es el modelo por excelencia de la afinidad, tanto entre hombres y mujeres como entre hombres. La canoa y los viajes de canoa representan, para este pueblo, un modelo social básico del espacio asumiendo así una función simbólica que normalmente recae en los espacios de la casa o del caserio en las sociedades indígenas amazónicas

Radiation damage analysis of the swept charge device for the C1XS instrument

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis is concerned with ensuring high energy resolution from the swept charge device (SCD) CCD54, essentially a non-pixellated version of the charge coupled device (CCD), for use in the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS). Of particular interest is the effect on performance due to the radiation damage, caused by protons, the CCD54s used in C1XS will receive during the transfer to the Moon and during the two years in lunar orbit. Chapter 2 reviews the atomic structure, the formation and detection of X-rays, and the operation of a CCD. Chapter 3 discusses the space radiation environment and the damaging effects it has on CCDs, for example increasing dark current and charge transfer inefficiency. Chapter 4 presents the basic laboratory equipment and procedure used during the experimental work, and details the initial optimisation and characterisation, the pre-flight characterisation of devices available for use in C1XS, the measurement of the depletion depth, and quantum efficiency of the CCD54. Chapter 5 details the results of the initial proton irradiation study, intended to demonstrate the ability of the CCD54 to provide excellent scientific data over the two years at the Moon. Chapter 6 describes a second irradiation study covering a more detailed investigation of the damage effects, investigating dark current, trap energy levels, and charge transfer inefficiency. Chapter 7 describes work conducted to assist the C1XS science team in the development of an X-ray fluorescence model, to be used with X-ray spectra provided by the X-ray solar monitor and the spectra detected by C1XS, to provide elemental abundance information of the lunar surface. It also presents the initial C1XS results from the Moon, and a brief comparison of the CCD54 with other semiconductor X-ray fluorescence detectors. Chapter 8 describes the final conclusions and recommendations for further work, including a study of the radiation damage effects during the two years at the Moon and the future development of SCD detectors for use in space

FOOD SAFETY IN THE MEAT INDUSTRY: A REGULATORY QUAGMIRE

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

FIRMS, INCENTIVES, AND THE SUPPLY OF FOOD SAFETY: A FORMAL MODEL OF GOVERNMENT ENFORCEMENT

Recent instances of significant food safety breeches in both meat and biotechnology challenge traditional safety efforts. A formal model utilizing agency theory is used to explore the power relationships between the regulator and the firm. Fundamental issues effecting firms' supply of safety are demonstrated and alternative corrective mechanisms are discussed.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,