Georg, the son of Friedrich von Petersen who owns Bad Pausen farm, is called by his father for advice on the farm's options after learning about a change in ownership of a neighboring farm, Ages, with which Bad Pausen has a cooperation agreement. Georg decides to visit the farms to understand the situation and advise his father. An analysis is presented examining the costs of continuing, ending, or modifying the cooperation agreement between the farms. It finds that continuing the agreement still generates savings for Bad Pausen, so modifying the agreement to better allocate costs between the farms would best align with the von Petersen family's interests while increasing savings.
Georg, the son of Friedrich von Petersen who owns Bad Pausen farm, is called by his father for advice on the farm's options after learning about a change in ownership of a neighboring farm, Ages, with which Bad Pausen has a cooperation agreement. Georg decides to visit the farms to understand the situation and advise his father. An analysis is presented examining the costs of continuing, ending, or modifying the cooperation agreement between the farms. It finds that continuing the agreement still generates savings for Bad Pausen, so modifying the agreement to better allocate costs between the farms would best align with the von Petersen family's interests while increasing savings.
Georg, the son of Friedrich von Petersen who owns Bad Pausen farm, is called by his father for advice on the farm's options after learning about a change in ownership of a neighboring farm, Ages, with which Bad Pausen has a cooperation agreement. Georg decides to visit the farms to understand the situation and advise his father. An analysis is presented examining the costs of continuing, ending, or modifying the cooperation agreement between the farms. It finds that continuing the agreement still generates savings for Bad Pausen, so modifying the agreement to better allocate costs between the farms would best align with the von Petersen family's interests while increasing savings.
Georg, the son of Friedrich von Petersen who owns Bad Pausen farm, is called by his father for advice on the farm's options after learning about a change in ownership of a neighboring farm, Ages, with which Bad Pausen has a cooperation agreement. Georg decides to visit the farms to understand the situation and advise his father. An analysis is presented examining the costs of continuing, ending, or modifying the cooperation agreement between the farms. It finds that continuing the agreement still generates savings for Bad Pausen, so modifying the agreement to better allocate costs between the farms would best align with the von Petersen family's interests while increasing savings.
lrledrlch von eLersen ls Lhe owner of 8ad Pausen farm. Cne day, lrledrlch called hls son Ceorg, who was currenLly applylng for banklng lnLervlews, for advlce on Lhe opLlons for Lhe famlly's farm afLer Lhe manager of 8ad Pausen larm, Mlchael, called Lo Lell hlm LhaL he found ouL LhaL Lhe Agees farm, a farm whlch 8ad Pausen had a operaLlng cooperaLlon agreemenL wlLh, was purchased by Lhe faLher-ln-law of Mlchael's asslsLanL manager, Lrlch. Clven Lhe new confllcL of lnLeresL, Ceorg decldes Lo vlslL Lhe von eLersen farm Lo flnd ouL more abouL Lhe currenL slLuaLlon, so he can provlde hls faLher an advlse on whaL Lo do.
#'367,0 ()*),0,4)8 Clven Lhe new confllcL of lnLeresL, whaL should Ceorg recommend hls faLher Lo do wlLh Lhe currenL cooperaLlon agreemenL beLween 8ad Pausen and Agees?
9'&),'&* 1. CosLs: Whlch are Lhe currenL cosL expenses? Pow have cosLs been allocaLed? Whlch would be Lhe cosLs lf Lhere were no agreemenL? Pow much ls 8ad Pausen savlng wlLh Lhe currenL agreemenL? 2. von eLersen lnLeresL: Pow does Lhe alLernaLlve allgn wlLh Lhe famlly lnLeresL? Pow lnvolved do Lhe von eLersen wanL Lo be ln Lhe buslness?
!7),'4*)&:,( 1. ConLlnue wlLh Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL 2. Cease currenL cooperaLlon agreemenL, conLlnue by Lhemselves 3. Modlfy Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL and cosLs allocaLlon
!4*75(&(
1. CosLs
LxhlblLs 1 Lo 6 show Lhe cosL analyses and exhlblL 7 summarlzes Lhe cosL sLrucLure for each alLernaLlve analyzed.
!"#$%&'(#) +#,',
roducLlon cosLs are calculaLed based on Lhe area and crop culLlvaLed and Lhe cosLs per hecLare per crop. As shown ln ;</&6&) =, 28 of Lhe crop share corresponds Lo rapeseed, 28 Lo wheaL, 14 Lo 8arley, and 14 Lo 8ye. nelLher 13 of Lhe oLher crops area nor 10 of Lhe LoLal farm area dedlcaLed Lo anlmal farmlng was Laken lnLo accounL for Lhe exerclse, and lL was assumed LhaL crop share was equal ln Agees and ln 8ad Pausen. 1he producLlon cosLs per hecLare vary across crops and generaLe savlngs when Lhe agreemenL ls operaLlng (see ;</&6&) >). 1he LoLal amounL of savlngs generaLed by Lhe agreemenL reaches 11.2 of Lhe producLlon cosLs Lo boLh companles (see ;</&6&) ?).
AsLrld urlbe 88
-./#" +#,',
Labor CosLs are esLlmaLed wlLh Lhe amounL of weekly hours worked by each worker and Lhe hourly wage pald Lo each worker accordlng Lo hls skllls. Slnce Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL sLarLed ln 2003, Lhe number of hours per year worked by each worker has lncreased for 8ad Pausen aL a hlgher raLe Lhan lL used Lo lncrease from 2001 Lo 2003, as for Agees number of hours per year worked by each worker has decreased, alLhough Lhe CAC8 1 from 2001 Lo 2003 lncreased 0.3 (see ;</&6&) @). Slnce LoLal labor cosLs are deLermlned by Lhe LoLal hours worked, Lhe labor cosLs behave accordlng Lo changes ln worklng hours (see ;</&6&) A). 1here ls no operaLlng change LhaL explalns Lhe lncrease ln 8ad Pausen labor cosLs, and Lhe decrease ln Agees labor cosLs, Lherefore lL can be concluded LhaL managemenL ls allocaLlng hlgher worklng hours Lo 8ad Pausen as lL should.
0".&'#", 1.()'2).)&2 +#,',
MalnLenance cosLs depend on Lhe LracLor usage. 1hls usage can be esLlmaLed wlLh Lhe accumulaLed hours per LracLor. MalnLenance cosLs accrue Lo 3 of Lhe LracLor value when accumulaLed usage ls less Lhan 6,000 hours, and lncreases by 2 for each addlLlonal 1,000 hours of use. lrom 2001 Lo 2003, malnLenance cosLs were lncreaslng around 2 per year ln 8ad Pausen, buL were lncreaslng aL 18 per year ln Agees (see ;</&6&) B). 1he average usage per year was esLlmaLed wlLh Lhe labor hours, Lherefore once agaln, Lhe cooperaLlng agreemenL favors Agees over 8ad Pausen, allocaLlng hlgher cosLs Lo 8ad Pausen.
lurLhermore, a new LracLor was acqulred ln 2006 lowerlng Lhe malnLenance cosLs slgnlflcanLly. Clven Lhe greaL dlsLress" of Agees ln 2003, one can assume LhaL Lhe t300,000 lnvesLed ln Lhe new LracLor acqulred ln 2006 (see ;</&6&) C), whlch lowered slgnlflcanLly Agees malnLenance cosLs, was purchased by 8ad Pausen.
1(&3.24 .)$ 5"(&3 6.4."(2,
As shown ln ;</&6&) C, Lrlch [olned Lhe operaLlon ln 2008 Lo help Mlchael manage Lhe workload and hls salary ls dlvlded beLween boLh companles. Mlchael salary ls sLlll pald by 8ad Pausen. lL ls assumed LhaL Mlchael's bonus, whlch ls 2 of Lhe operaLlng margln, represenLs 2 of Lhe operaLlng margln. 1he cease of Lhe agreemenL would lower Mlchael's workload, so 8ad Pausen would noL need Lrlch anymore.
+#,' 6'"%&'%"2
CosL sLrucLure ls summarlzed ln ;</&6&) C. Cn one hand, acLual savlngs from Lhe agreemenL have noL been as slgnlflcanL as 8ad Pausen could have expecLed and savlngs have decllned slnce 2003. Cn Lhe oLher hand, Agees has reached savlngs of 9 of Lhelr cosLs wlLh Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL and Lhey seem Lo keep growlng (4 new LracLors).
Accordlng Lo Lhe analysls shown &4 ;</&6&) C, 8ad Pausen sLlll has yearly savlngs generaLed from Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL (around t13k), Lherefore based on a cosL analysls lL does noL make sense Lo cease Lhe agreemenL. lf Lhe labor and malnLenance cosLs allocaLlon ls
1 Compound annual growLh raLe AsLrld urlbe 88
ad[usLed, hlgher savlngs can be generaLed, maklng Lhe opLlon of havlng Lhe agreemenL modlfled Lhe mosL appeallng Lo 8ad Pausen.
2. van eLersen lnLeresL
Lven Lough each of Lhe alLernaLlves ls posslble Lo execuLe, each of Lhem has dlfferenL parLlclpanLs lnvolved, affecLlng Lhe van eLersen famlly besL lnLeresL. ln Lhe alLernaLlve of keeplng buslness as usual, 8ad Pausen wlll be generaLlng llmlLed savlngs from Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL and wlll have a hlgher rlsk of exposure due Lo Lhe new confllcL of lnLeresL.
Pow could Mlchael noL know abouL Lhe new Agees owner? Mlchael has been lnvolved ln Lhe farm slnce lL sLarLed and slnce Alexandra dled has operaLed lL baslcally by hlmself. Were t66,000 a year noL enough for hlm? Cr ls Lhere any moLlve LhaL drlves Mlchaels wlll Lo favor Agees over 8ad Pausen performance? So far Mlchael has been a loyal and proacLlve employee, who knows Lhe famlly for ages. Slnce no member of Lhe von eLersen famlly ls wllllng Lo Lake charge over Lhe farm managemenL and Mlchael ls Lhe only person avallable for such [ob, ls beLLer Lo assume Mlchaels lnnocence unLll proven gullLy.
lf Lhe von eLersen famlly decldes Lo cease Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL, Lhere are Lwo maln ouLcomes LhaL can affecL lLs maln lnLeresL: 1. Mlchael mlghL reslgn 2. 8ad Pausen wlll lose Lhe procuremenL and Lhe operaLlng cosLs per hecLare savlngs lf Mlchael reslgns, Lhere ls no successor prepared Lo Lake over hls place and Ceorg would have Lo Lake charge of Lhe farm. Slnce Ceorg ls applylng for lnvesLmenL banklng ln London, one can assume LhaL Lhe farm ls a parallel buslness, buL noL hls maln lnLeresL. larmlng requlres full Llme dedlcaLlon and nelLher Ceorg nor lrledrlch are wllllng Lo be ln charge of Lhe farm.
1he besL posslble way Lo lncrease 8ad Pausen savlngs ls Lo use Lhe new ownershlp change of Agees as an opporLunlLy Lo revlse Lhe currenL cosL allocaLlon sysLem and Lhe cooperaLlon agreemenL per se. Agees ls beneflLlng more from Lhe agreemenL Lhan 8ad Pausen ls (see ;</&6&) C), Lherefore lL wlll noL be convenlenL for Lhem Lo cease Lhe agreemenL, and Lhey wlll be wllllng Lo negoLlaLe a new allocaLlon pollcy glven Lhe new slLuaLlon (Lrlch and Agees new owner famlllar relaLlonshlp).
lL seems LhaL Lhe von eLersen famlly cares abouL Lhe farm, and ls noL wllllng Lo sell aunL Alexandra's legacy. Moreover, Lhe farm has represenLed exLra lncome for Lhe famlly and whlle Lhls conLlnues Lhey don'L seem Lo be lnLeresLed ln leLLlng Lhe farm go. 1herefore, Lhe alLernaLlve of selllng Lhe farm was noL consldered.
AsLrld urlbe 88
D,E&(&34
1he followlng Lable ls a declslon maLrlx, whlch summarlzes Lhe lmpacL of Lhe analyses and shows Lhe besL opLlon glven Lhe analyses provlded:
AlLernaLlves
A1 A2 !? CrlLerla CosLs + - FF von eLersen lnLeresL - - - F
!E)&34 #7*4
1he acLlon plan Lo lmplemenL Lhe chosen alLernaLlve should lnclude:
1. SlLuaLlon Analysls a. 1alk Lo Lhe new owner and ask hlm abouL hls sLraLegy Lo manage Agees ln Lhe fuLure b. 1alk Lo Mlchael abouL Lhe currenL slLuaLlon, dlscuss wlLh hlm how Lo manage Lrlch relaLlonshlp wlLh Agees owner, and Lry Lo flnd ouL lf he ls sLlll worklng for 8ad Pausen maln lnLeresL c. 1alk Lo Lrlch Lo flnd ouL hls expecLaLlons and wllllngness Lo leave 2. 8evlse currenL cosL allocaLlon a. CaLher lnformaLlon Lo flnd new savlngs whlch were noL assessed before b. ueflne an easy-Lo-monlLor sysLem Lo revlse cosL allocaLlon 3. upgradlng Lhe currenL agreemenL Lo a formal conLracL beLween 8ad Pausen and Agees a. negoLlaLe new cosL allocaLlon sysLem b. lnclude Lhe new cosL allocaLlon sysLem ln Lhe conLracL
AsLrld urlbe 88
LxhlblL 1 Area per Crop and larm
noLes: (1) lor analysls purposes CnL? common crops such as 8apeseed, WheaL, 8arley, and 8ye areas were Laken lnLo accounL (2) lL ls assumed LhaL Agees has Lhe same crop share as 8ad Pausen
LxhlblL 2 CosL per lLem and crop per ha
noLe: 1he cooperaLlon agreemenL conslsLed ln 10 procuremenL savlngs (procuremenL lncludes ferLlllzer, pesLlcldes, and seeds), and 13 operaLlng cosL savlngs
LxhlblL 3 roducLlon cosLs per larm wlLh and wlLhouL cooperaLlng agreemenL
noLe: 1oLal cosL per larm = cosL per crop x ha per crop per farm
noLes: (1) lor analysls purposes, 2 weeks off a year for malnLenance were Laken lnLo accounL, and lL ls assumed LhaL LracLor operaLlng hours are equlvalenL Lo half of Lhe weekly average per worker, slnce LracLors are noL needed durlng Lhe whole year (2) MalnLenance cosLs calculaLlon based on accumulaLed usage per LracLor
LxhlblL 7
CosLs Analysls wlLh cooperaLlon agreemenL, wlLhouL cooperaLlon agreemenL, lnvesLmenL, and LoLal savlngs per company