1. Assessment Center for Dairy Farm Owners and Managers
Management Assessment Center Team
University of Wisconsin-Cooperative Extension

2. Developed in Summer, 2004 Team members include:
Robert K Cropp: Associate Professor; Pepin County
Carl A. Duley: Associate Professor; Buffalo County
Gregg Hadley: Assistant Professor; Farm Management Specialist
Randy Knapp: Professor; Chippewa County
Jenny Vanderlin: Senior Information Processing Consultant
Jonathan Zander: Associate Professor; Trempealeau County

3. Developed in cooperation with:
Gail J. Gunderson, Ohio State University
Bill R. Haynes, Ohio State University Extension
Grant from University of Wisconsin Dairy Initiatives - USDA Funding

4. History of Assessment Centers
An Assessment Center is not a building, a group of people or a location.
It is an assessment approach different from most other methods of measurement and assessment approaches.
Characterized by:
Multiple assessment techniques
Multiple assessors
Situational tests
Structured procedures for making observations

5. History of Assessment Centers
Early 1900’s German military officer selection
Adopted by British, American, Australian, and Canadians around WWII
Adapted by AT&T and becomes the model used for business and industrial applications

6. Why assessment centers:
The assessment center method combines multiple observations, by three different observers, over multiple evaluation techniques. Participants are assessed for three different human resource functions:
Selection – who to select for a management position
Diagnostic – determining strengths and weaknesses in work related skills
Development – providing training for managerial and teamwork skills

7. Farm Management Assessment Center observers watch for the many layers that make up the human essence of farm managers.

8. Attributes for Assessment Center derived from a thorough job description.

9. Job Description
Dairy Farm Owner/Manager
Manages dairy farm: Plans, develops, and implements policies, procedures, and practices for operation of dairy farm to ensure compliance with owner's standards. The dairy manager will guide and assist the farm owner in maximizing the financial returns to their farm by managing the day-to-day activities. Their duties and responsibilities will vary widely from establishing output goals to determining financial constraints; monitoring production and marketing; hiring assigning and supervising workers; and overseeing the maintenance of the property and equipment. The dairy farm manager needs to be proficient in written and verbal communication skills.
Duties and Responsibilities:

10. Attributes for the Dairy Farm Manager Capacity Assessment

11. Attributes for the Dairy Farm Manager
1. Communications – the extent to which one can communicate orally, listen and respond effectively, or express effectively his/her ideas in writing.
Planning and organizing – the process of establishing a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal.
3. Leadership – the ability to influence others to move toward the attainment of a specific goal using techniques such as delegation and motivation.

12. 4. Decision making and judgment - the process of identifying problems, securing relevant information, developing courses of action, and making a decision from information gathered.
 5. Management control – the extent to which one maximizes and monitors the use of all resources (e.g. personnel, financial and material) to obtain effective outcomes.
6. Empathy – the ability to respond/react to a problem considering the feelings, emotions and needs of others.

13. 7. Teamwork – the degree to which one is willing to work cooperatively with others.
8. Initiative – the ability to begin actions without stimulation or support from others, the capacity to see courses of action and to discover new means of goal achievement.

14. Participant Self Assessment of Attribute Skills
Participant___________________________
Rating scale: 1=Poor; 2=Fair; 3=Average; =Very Good; 5=Excellent
Attribute
Pre-Center Participation
Post-Center Participation
Communications – the extent to which one can communicate orally, listen and respond effectively, or express effectively his/her ideas in writing.
Planning/Organizing – the process of establishing a course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a specific goal.
ETC

15. Activities Conducted Background Interview In-Basket Case Study
Personnel Discussion/Interview
Group Discussion Non-Assigned Roles
Group Discussion Assigned Roles

16. Assessment Exercises Exercise % frequency of use 95 85 75 45 40 35 10
In-Basket 95
Assigned role group discussion 85
Interview simulation 75
Non-assigned role group discussion 45
Scheduling 40
Analysis 35
Management games 10
Background interview 5
Tests 2

17. Assessment Exercises Exercise % frequency of use 95 85 75 45 40 35 10
In-Basket 95
Assigned role group discussion 85
Interview simulation 75
Non-assigned role group discussion 45
Scheduling 40
Analysis 35
Management games 10
Background interview 5
Tests 2

18. Group Discussion Non-Assigned Roles Group Discussion Assigned Roles
Attributes
In-Basket
Case Study
Personnel Discussion
Group Discussion Non-Assigned Roles
Group Discussion Assigned Roles
Communications X
Planning and organizing
Leadership
Decision making/judgment
Management control
Empathy
Teamwork
Initiative

19. Assessment Center Ratings and Definitions
Rating
Description
Definition 5 5-
Excellent
Exhibits behaviors that greatly exceed owner/manager effectiveness. 4+ 4 4-
Very Good
Exhibits behaviors that exceed owner/manager effectiveness. 3+ 3 3-
Average
Exhibits behaviors that meet owner/manager effectiveness. 2+ 2 2-
Fair
Exhibits behaviors that limit owner/manager effectiveness. 1+ 1
Poor
Exhibits behaviors that greatly limit owner/manager effectiveness.
In assessment centers ratings, average is the normal acceptable level of competency one would expect to observe in farm owners/managers. In other words, average is OK. Even very competent farm owners/managers need more experience and training in skills related to the attributes assessed to rate higher than average.

20. Example exercise
Personnel interview:
Handouts for taking notes

21. References
Thornton, George C. and Byham, William C. Assessment Centers and Managerial Performance. Academic Press, Inc
Thornton, George C. Assessment Centers in Human Resource Management. Addison-Wesley, 1992.