Producer Companies Research Articles

Evaluation and improvement of service quality in information technology department of a detergent production company using the SERVQUAL approach

Nowadays organisations are seeking for effective ways to compete with their competitors, where internal services play one of the main roles. The information technology (IT) service is an integral part involved in internal services, the ones usually associated with high costs. Therefore, performance appraisal of the personnel of IT department is one of the most important tasks of organisation managers. In this paper, various common appraisal models used to evaluate service quality are first introduced. Then, the SERVQUAL model is selected and customised for quality evaluation of IT departments. A case study is next presented for the application of the SERVQUAL model in the performance appraisal of the IT department of a detergent producer company. In addition, a gap analysis is used to investigate the weaknesses and strengths of the IT unit. To this aim, a radar chart is applied to the data obtained from questionnaires. Analysing the results shows that the courtesy is the main influential factor in view of the customers followed by reliability, empathy, tangibility, assurance, and responsiveness, respectively. Finally, some corrective actions are proposed to improve the performance of the IT staff.

Evaluation and improvement of service quality in information technology department of a detergent production company using the SERVQUAL approach

Nowadays organisations are seeking for effective ways to compete with their competitors, where internal services play one of the main roles. The information technology (IT) service is an integral part involved in internal services, the ones usually associated with high costs. Therefore, performance appraisal of the personnel of IT department is one of the most important tasks of organisation managers. In this paper, various common appraisal models used to evaluate service quality are first introduced. Then, the SERVQUAL model is selected and customised for quality evaluation of IT departments. A case study is next presented for the application of the SERVQUAL model in the performance appraisal of the IT department of a detergent producer company. In addition, a gap analysis is used to investigate the weaknesses and strengths of the IT unit. To this aim, a radar chart is applied to the data obtained from questionnaires. Analysing the results shows that the courtesy is the main influential factor in view of the customers followed by reliability, empathy, tangibility, assurance, and responsiveness, respectively. Finally, some corrective actions are proposed to improve the performance of the IT staff.

Problems and prospects of coconut producer organizations in Kerala-An exploratory study

The State of Kerala is entirely different from other States in India. The unique ‘Kerala Model of Development’, resulted in the highest ‘Human Development Index'in the country. Kerala has the largest area under coconut cultivation in the country but in terms of production, it comes third. Hence the Government of Kerala has been encouraging entrepreneurial ventures, for the production of value added products like desiccated coconut, beverages, shell based products, coconut cream, Neera etc. Under these circumstances, the Coconut Development Board also promotes coconut producers'organizations to support the coconut farmers in Kerala. However, they face many problems and need strong intervention to streamline the functioning of the system. This is an attempt to highlight the problems, faced by the Coconut Producer Companies (CPCs) in Kerala and to examine its prospects. It is an ongoing, funded project and six CPCs were considered for the study. Though the selected CPCs were engaged in production, processing and marketing of coconut products, they have not realised the full potential still. Many federations and societies are non-functional. They mobilized equity share capital and borrowed money to investin plant and machineries. Butthey did not follow best practicesas faras fund management was concerned. Many CPCs are in the debt trap and need bailout strategy by the State and Union Governments. The Government should train the management committee and other executives, particularly on financial management. If the CPCs are directed to move in the right direction, coconut farmers can double their farm income.

Transforming Rural Life, A Case of Bapudham Milk Producer Company Motihari

Transforming Rural Life, A Case of Bapudham Milk Producer Company Motihari

Perception of the Members of Farmer Producer Organization on Mobile Agro-Advisory Service

The main aim of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) is to ensure better income for the producers through an organization of their own. Mobile phones despite their recent entry into agrarian communities are already helping those communities improve their agricultural activities. This allows the farmers to make a query in a local language from a mobile phone and receive personalized advice or relevant information on the same in local language. Keeping this in mind, a study was taken up to determine the perception of the respondents on mobile agro-advisory service. The study was taken up in Kanchipuram District with a sample of 120 registered members of Chennai Horticulture Produce Producer Company by using random sampling technique. The selected members of FPO obtained agro-advisory service through mobile phone. Usefulness of information through mobile service was measured under two dimensions viz., useful and not useful. Further, their perception on mobile service was also assessed against 12 items. Simple percentage was calculated based on their response. The findings on overall perception revealed that medium to high level of perception on usefulness of mobile advisory service was observed among majority of the respondents. Nearly three-fourth (74.16%) of the respondents reported that the information provided was both time and cost saving. Nearly three-fourth (73.33%) of the respondents expressed that they were satisfied with the local language used by mobile advisory service in delivering the agricultural information.

Analysis of Services Rendered to Dairy Farmers by Farmer Producer Companies

Analysis of Services Rendered to Dairy Farmers by Farmer Producer Companies

The Development of Linkages and Value Chains For Sustainable Farmer Producer Companies, Evidences from Southern Districts of Tamil Nadu, India

The Development of Linkages and Value Chains For Sustainable Farmer Producer Companies, Evidences from Southern Districts of Tamil Nadu, India

Preserving Local Fishing Ecosystems: Imperatives for Policy Making Based on Views from the Bottom of the Pyramid

Indian fisheries sector has emerged as an important driver of food production providing nutritional security, besides livelihood support and gainful employment to more than 14.5 million people. The current paper discusses aquaculture in the context of fish ecosystem with regard to freshwater fish cultivation in tanks, ponds and similar water bodies existing in rural India. The issues discussed here are based on the author’s hands-on experience and insights while working on a livelihoods project in Lakhanpur Block of Jharsuguda District in Odisha supported by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme of Odisha Power Generation Corporation (OPGC) Ltd. The paper augues that in the context of fishing in rural/ village areas, a vast scope is available for safeguarding fishers’ fundamental interests like steady basic income, food security and nutrition through promotion of fishing projects focusing on sustainable market-linked business models by bringing people together under a strong collective like a Producer Company. The Producer Company (PC) business model has been promoted to encourage the concept of collectivity in conducting business so that marginal and small primary producers can come together to form a larger group to command competitive advantage in the market and sell their products at a price that is profitable which is not possible for individual small village based fishers to achieve. This is where they regularly lose the incremental part of income every day and end up earning less throughout their productive life cycle. Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) operating along this value chain would be willing to form long-term partnerships with PCs in order to leverage the huge untapped business generation potential available at the BOP (village and local levels). In other words, economies of scale can be unlocked and livelihoods of fishermen can be improved significantly every month. Producer Companies offer greater credibility in the market than unregistered producers’ organizations. Hence, it would be a win-win proposition for MNCs to pitch in with required support mechanisms and generate sustainable spaces for conducting ethical businesses.

Qasab: Kutch Craftswomen’s Producer Co. Ltd.

The ‘Qasab’ case is designed to teach students about the characteristics of social entrepreneurship and the impact it has on the society. It also describes how sustainable development and social innovation are interlinked. ‘Qasab’ was an organization whose main focus was to preserve the traditional art of the Kutch region. The case describes the genesis and the journey of ‘Qasab,’ how it preserved the traditional art forms, and the personality traits of Pankaj Shah (the social entrepreneur who started ‘Qasab’). The case talks about the problems faced by the artisans in the region, which led to the formation of this social venture. Also, it touches upon the HR challenges faced by a social entrepreneur. At the time this case was written, ‘Qasab’ had become a collective enterprise comprising 1,200 rural master craftswomen from 11 ethnic communities spread across 62 villages in the arid interiors of Kutch and has been formally structured and registered as a ‘Producer Company’ owned by traditional craftswomen. ‘Qasab’ included different communities such as — ‘Mutwa’, ‘Sodha Rajput’, ‘Jat-Daneta’, ‘Meghwal’, ‘Sindhi Memon’, ‘DhebariyaRabari’, ‘KacchiRabari’, ‘Ahir’, ‘Halepotra’, ‘Sumra,’‘Hingorja’ and ‘Pathan’ — that had distinct embroidery styles and emphasized maintaining these styles (since the embroideries were an integral part of their cultural identity) — to preserve their unique identities. ‘Qasab’ was known for its outstanding quality of authentic Kutch embroidery, appliqué and patchwork products, its hallmark being traditional motifs reflecting the cultural identity of each community in contemporary designs through items of premium quality. ‘Qasab’ had made artisans stakeholders in the organization and was able to preserve the distinct art of each community. The case is based on the theme of social entrepreneurship and analyzes the process of the emergence of such enterprises, their importance and the factors that lead to their success and sustainability. Students can assess how these organizations are different from other types of organizations. The case should help students to find the parameters that show that social innovation and sustainable development are interlinked. The case can be used to study the business model of social innovation.

Material Flow Optimization with The Application of Generalized Network Flow Model

Abstract It is essential for every company to know their business processes well, because these companies must allocate their resources in an efficient way in order to keep or strengthen their market position. During the research we aimed at optimizing the material flow at a wooden box producer company with the use of the generalized network flow model as this model is widely used for modelling production processes. In the first part of our work we calculated the optimal material flows focusing on two objectives, and in the second part we determined a compromise solution. Finally, we compared and evaluated the results of the three models.

A statistical analysis of the impact of farmer producer company (FPC) on coconut farmers in Coimbatore district

The Farmer Producer Company (FPC) can serve as a potential alternative to improve the socio-economic condition of the farmers. The present study was conducted with Velliangiri Uzhavan Producer Company Limited (VUPCL), located at Thondamuthur block in Coimbatore district. The primary data were collected through personal interview from 50 members and 50 non-members of selected Farmer Producer Company (FPC). The study revealed that membership in the company directly affected the socio-economic conditions of the coconut farmers in the study area. Using various statistical techniques it was found that members of the Farmer Producer Company (FPC) were highly benefitted compared to non-members of the company. A significant difference between the members and non-members was also observed in terms of socio-economic conditions.

Enhancing farmers income through farmers' producers companies in India: Status and roadmap

There is a growing optimism that the farmers' organizations can act as a potential driving force for enhancing farmers' income. India has witnessed a positive growth of producer organizations in terms of types of organization, numbers and members. The Producer Company is a special case of producer organization that is registered under Section IXA of the Companies Act, 1956. A need was felt at that time to have an independent farmers’ organization which enables incorporation of producers into such an institution like the companies which will be controlled by them, having welfare and business outlook at a time while not compromising the sustainability issues. That creates the milieu for the genesis of Farmers’ Producer Company (FPC) in India. The FPCs are fundamentally farmer-owned and farmer-governed micro-enterprises which can be considered as hybrids between cooperative societies and private companies. The way of participation, membership and organization is similar to that of a cooperative, while the incorporation into corporate law allows greater flexibility and professionalism in their business actions. Till date 1048 FPCs are registered in India. In this article attempt has been made to review the issues of FPC, current status and future prospects. Forecasting the growth of FPC has been done up to the year 2020 utilizing Grey Model. Emphasis has been given to critically analyse the status, prospects and potentials with future outlook of 2020 concluding with strategies and policy needs.

Palm Sap—Quality Profiles, Fermentation Chemistry, and Preservation Methods

Palm sap is quite nutritious and highly prone to fermentation. The unfermented juice could be an ideal health drink. Palm sap’s quality profile and fermentation chemistry help to predict its shelf life and potential safety. There is demand from farmer–producer companies and food processing industries to develop bottling technology and a transportation/distribution protocol for palm sap similar to common soft drinks. Different techniques were followed for bottling palm sap, but none proved successful at the pilot level or commercial scale. To develop a systemic preservation technique, it is crucial to understand the biochemical composition, fermentation chemistry, and existing preservation methods and their disadvantages. This review mainly focuses on the chemical, microbial, volatiles, and flavor changes of palm sap. In addition to a detailed discussion on contemporary sap preservation techniques, this paper also addresses the effect of pasteurization in combination with preservatives, such as nisin, sodium benzoate, chitosan, potassium sorbate, sorbic acid, citric acid, and sodium metabisulfite, on the shelf life of sap, challenges to preserving palm sap, and future directions for preservation methods.

Strategies for Sustaining the FPOs: Case Illustrations

In India, there are many legal forms of organisations into primary producer can organise themselves. A Producer Company (PC) is one such and relatively new legal entity of the producers of any kind, viz., agricultural produce, forest produce, artisanal products, or any other local produce, where the members are primary producers. PC as a legal entity was enacted in 2003 as per section IXA of the Indian Companies Act 1956. Since the above enactment, the PC has been hailed as the organizational form that will empower and improve the bargaining power, net incomes, and quality of life of small and marginal farmers/producers in India. In India, FPCs were originally promoted and supported by the State Government (Madhya Pradesh) under the World Bank (WB) poverty reduction project since 2005, and thereafter (since 2011) extensively under similar projects in states like Maharashtra. Such initiatives are also taking place in states like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. NGOs, the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), Department of Agriculture of State Governments (some supported with World Bank assistance) and the NABARD are promoting (FPOs) in rural areas in the form of producer companies with financial support of the Government of India. Kasturi initiative of Tata Chemicals society for Rural Development is working towards women agripreneurs to realize their leadership and network with other women across value chain. This includes identifying and networking potential partners for strengthening women agripreneurs and helping them for market linkages. The institutional partnerships will support to demonstrate the collective power for long term sustenance.

Assessment of exposure packaging worker and designing work methods using OCRA index in fertilizer producer company

Repetitive tasks carried out by packaging workers of fertilizer producer company. These task led to some complains of pain and fatigue on upper body part of the workers based on Nordic Body Maps (NBM) questionnaire. This is because the workers work continuously for eight hours per shift and no recovery period. This study aims to determine risk level of musculoskeletal disorders and break time calculation. In this study, using Occupational Repetitive Actions (OCRA) index to reduce the risk level. The samples according to expert judgement criteria are three workers (packer clamper, packer tailor and loader). The improvement in this study is designing work methods with break time calculation. This improvement shows the risk reduction on the left hand of the packer clamper from 4,2 to 3,4 and the right hand from 9,9 to 8,2. Risk reduction on the left hand of the packer tailor from 3,44 to 2,2 and the right hand from 5,7 to 2,26 while the risk level on the left hand of loader from 1,4 to 0,87 and in the right hand from 2,17 to 1,18.

Economic analysis of mustard production by members of farmer producer organization in swai Madhopur District of Rajasthan

An attempt has been made to study the economic analysis of mustard production by members of farmer producer organization in Swai Madhopur district of Rajasthan State, India. The study was conducted in Chauth Mata Agro Producer Company Limited, Chauth ka Barwada blocks in Swai Madhopur district. Eighty farmers were selected randomly from ten villages from these blocks to collect the required information on the cost of cultivation and other aspects for the present study. The primary data were collected from the mustard producers through personal interview method with the help of wellprepared schedule and questionnaire for the production and post-harvest year for Rabi mustard 2017–18. The analysis of cost of cultivation was done as per Cost concept given by CACP. The average cost of cultivation of mustard of member and non-member of Farmer Producer Organization (FPO) were worked out as Rs. 43, 900/ha and Rs. 45, 195/ha, respectively. Input-output ratios of member and non-member farmers of FPO were worked out as 1: 1.29 and 1: 1.20, respectively. Out of average cost of cultivation, the operational cost was Rs. 29, 320/ha and Rs. 30, 595/ha, respectively and fixed cost was Rs. 14, 580/ha and Rs. 14, 600/ha, respectively of the total cost. The study suggested that urgent attention must be paid towards enhancing the productivity of mustard crop by providing improved and high yielding varieties, technology, irrigation, price support, policy and effective extension through formation of FPOs.

Consumer preference towards farmer producer company (FPC) value-added products in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu

Consumer preference towards farmer producer company (FPC) value-added products in Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu

Evaluation of Hepatitis A and Isolated Anti-Hbc IgG Prevalences in A City of Eastern Anatolia

Background: Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are virological diseases which cause serious health problems worldwide and are closely related with social, economic, and cultural status of countries. Their seroprevalences change with varying social conditions. The purpose of our study was to evaluate hepatitis A and B encounter rates and anti-HAV IgG and Hbc IgG serological parameters in patients admitted to our clinic. Method: Biochemical tests of the patients included in our study were studied using Mindray BS2000M autoanalyzer and Mindray kits in accordance with the instruction manual of the producer company. ELISA tests (HbsAg, anti- Hbs, anti Hbc IgG, and anti HAV IgG) were studied using Cobas 6000 e601 autoanalyzer and Roche kits with the chemiluminescence method in accordance with the instruction manual of the producer company. Results: This study included 897 subjects (475 females and 422 males) who admitted to a gastroenterology clinic of our hospital for various reasons and had hepatitis viral parameters testing. In 874 study participants (97.4%) anti HAV IgG was positive. HAV IgG was positive in 465 of the 475 females (97.9%) and 409 of the 422 males (96.9%). There was not a statistically significant difference in anti HAV IgG positivity according to sex (p=0.402). Isolated anti Hbc IgG positivity rate was 3.7%. Isolated anti HbcIgG positivity rate was 3.2% in females (s=15) and 4.3% in males (s=18). Conclusion: Anti-HAV IgG positivity rate in our study was 97.4%. Isolated anti Hbc IgG positivity rate was 3.7%. Both hepatitis A and hepatitis B encounter rates were detected to increase with age. High anti-HAVIgG positivity in our society warrants careful reviewing of our food and water resources. Moreover, informing public about contagiousness of hepatitis and implementing vaccination programs in a controlled fashion are among precautions that should be practiced.

FIELD STUDY FOR SEASONAL EFFECTON PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF BROILER BREEDER CHICKENS

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of season (summer versus winter) at different ages on productive performance (body weight, feed consumption, mortality %, egg weight and egg production%) of Hubbard classic broiler breeder’s females during egg production period (25- 45 wks). The birds were fed according to the program feeding of producer company. The results revealed that there were significant differences in productive performance betweentwo seasons at different egg production periods. Body weight, feed consumption, egg weight and egg production% were significantly higher in winter than summer season. However, mortality rate was significantly lower in winter compared with summer season. Moreover, productive performance was significantly affected by season, breeder age and their interaction. It could be concluded that, there were significant differences in productive performance of broiler breeder chickens (Hubbard classic) under the two seasons (summer versus winter) at different egg production periods (25- 45 wks).

Effluent valorization in copper hydrometallurgy plant

Copper is commonly produced by hydrometallurgical processes. The production of this metal results in the formation of emissions (unwanted solids, liquids and gases). In this paper, an effluent from a Cu producer company is valorized by means of Fe and Cu recovery.In the current process, an effluent from the secondary solvent extraction (secondary raffinate) was sent to neutralization plant to be discharged. In this paper a modification of the process is proposed. The secondary raffinate was contacted with TP207 resin for Fe3+ and Cu recovery. Metals were eluted from the resins using another real effluent (primary raffinate, effluent from the primary solvent extraction) from the same plant.Experiments for the uptake and elution were carried out in batch and in columns. The effect of pH, resin dosing, and temperature onto metals retention are analyzed. Retention efficiencies (loading capacities) were 50.1% (8.1mg·g−1) for Cu and 54.8% (23.2mg·g−1) for Fe3+ under the optimal operational conditions (pH=0.45 and T=65°C). These values were confirmed in column tests. It is possible to recover Fe3+ and Cu from the secondary raffinate, leaving most of Fe2+ and other elements in solution. The experimental affinities that TP207 showed are: Cu>Fe3+>Fe2+>Zn.The elution of Fe and Cu was quantitatively achieved with concentrated H2SO4 solution. When acidified primary raffinate was used as eluting solution, an enriched solution containing 14.3g Cu·L−1, 20.3g Fe2+·L−1, and 18.6 de g Fe3+·L−1 was obtained. This enriched primary raffinate can be reintroduced in the process as leaching solution.So, after the modification of the process, using secondary raffinate as loading solution and acidified primary raffinate as eluting solution, the ion-exchange stage could substitute the external FeSO4 addition. In addition, 30–80kgCu·h−1 are reintroduced in the process.