Local Data Wanted by Business Firms

Abstract

M ANAGERS of business firms in industry like managers of farn firms make decisions that attempt to maximize profits for the firm. Failure to maximize profits in the long run means either that owners of capital in the business firm receive a lower return on their investment, or that new management or new management decisions are in order. The major difference in decisions of business firm managers and farm firm managers is in magnitude. Business firm decisions usually involve a larger volume of resources and effect many more people. For example, a problem now being considered for a decision in my organization involves directly more than 60,000 dairy farmers, their families and their employees, thousands of milk marketers and their employees, and more than 15,000,000 consumers of fluid milk. Participating in this decision are the officers and employees of cooperatively organized business firms of dairy farmers; employees of proprietary business firms; city, state and federal public servants; individual dairy farmers and consumers.