Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in China
Farm management can directly and indirectly affect animal care. We explored how farm management affected animal care on two large dairy farms in China (anonymized as Farm A and Farm B). We used a mini-ethnographic case study design whereby the first author lived for 38 days on Farm A and 23 days on...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-04-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/5/1260 |
| _version_ | 1797536042198237184 |
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| author | Maria Chen Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk Sabina Magliocco Daniel M. Weary |
| author_facet | Maria Chen Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk Sabina Magliocco Daniel M. Weary |
| author_sort | Maria Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Farm management can directly and indirectly affect animal care. We explored how farm management affected animal care on two large dairy farms in China (anonymized as Farm A and Farm B). We used a mini-ethnographic case study design whereby the first author lived for 38 days on Farm A and 23 days on Farm B. She conducted participant observation and ethnographic interviews with farm staff positions within five departments in Farm A and six departments in Farm B. In addition, she conducted 13 semi-structured interviews (seven on Farm A; six on Farm B). We used template analysis to generate key themes. On both farms, workers believed that animal care practices had improved over time, due to three key employee management factors: 1) organizational culture, 2) competency of worker and management, and 3) an effective incentive system. Our results suggest that animal care may be improved in this context by: 1) promoting a culture in which workers have ‘grit’ and are eager to learn, 2) ensuring basic worker wellbeing, and 3) using animal care outcomes as performance indicators linked to pay. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:53:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-573f75227ddf485080f65bf3abb4f3d7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:53:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-573f75227ddf485080f65bf3abb4f3d72023-11-21T17:27:37ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-04-01115126010.3390/ani11051260Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in ChinaMaria Chen0Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk1Sabina Magliocco2Daniel M. Weary3Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, CanadaAnimal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, CanadaDepartment of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, CanadaAnimal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, CanadaFarm management can directly and indirectly affect animal care. We explored how farm management affected animal care on two large dairy farms in China (anonymized as Farm A and Farm B). We used a mini-ethnographic case study design whereby the first author lived for 38 days on Farm A and 23 days on Farm B. She conducted participant observation and ethnographic interviews with farm staff positions within five departments in Farm A and six departments in Farm B. In addition, she conducted 13 semi-structured interviews (seven on Farm A; six on Farm B). We used template analysis to generate key themes. On both farms, workers believed that animal care practices had improved over time, due to three key employee management factors: 1) organizational culture, 2) competency of worker and management, and 3) an effective incentive system. Our results suggest that animal care may be improved in this context by: 1) promoting a culture in which workers have ‘grit’ and are eager to learn, 2) ensuring basic worker wellbeing, and 3) using animal care outcomes as performance indicators linked to pay.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/5/1260animal welfarefarm culturehuman resourcebehavior changequalitative methods |
| spellingShingle | Maria Chen Marina A. G. von Keyserlingk Sabina Magliocco Daniel M. Weary Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in China Animals animal welfare farm culture human resource behavior change qualitative methods |
| title | Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in China |
| title_full | Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in China |
| title_fullStr | Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in China |
| title_short | Employee Management and Animal Care: A Comparative Ethnography of Two Large-Scale Dairy Farms in China |
| title_sort | employee management and animal care a comparative ethnography of two large scale dairy farms in china |
| topic | animal welfare farm culture human resource behavior change qualitative methods |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/5/1260 |
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