Tools of the Trade

Assessment Technology: Its Use in Improving Leadership and Management Performance

Gail J. Gunderson
Leader, Organization Development
Ohio State University Extension
Columbus, Ohio
Internet address: gunderson.1@osu.edu

Bill R. Haynes
District Director/Associate Chair
Ohio State University Extension
Vandalia, Ohio
Internet address: haynes.2@osu.edu

Businesses and organizations have used the assessment center method to select, evaluate, and develop individuals for managerial positions. The Cooperative Extension System, fragmented both programmatically and geographically, must rely on managers throughout the organization to effectively utilize economic, human and material resources.

The Use of Assessment Centers for Management and Leadership

The assessment center method is unique in that it combines standardized individual assessment procedures such as tests, interviews, and situational exercises (Thornton & Byham, 1982). Three human resource functions can be effectively addressed through the use of the assessment center process.

• The first is selection, deciding whom to select for or promote into management positions.
• The second is diagnostic, determining strengths and weaknesses in work related skills as a prelude to development.
• The third is development, providing training for managerial and teamwork skills (Thornton, 1992).

Essential features of an assessment center include situational exercises that simulate aspects of the job and are based on a detailed job analysis. Such exercises may include: in-basket, interview simulation, structured and unstructured group discussions, oral and written communication exercises, case study, and other job simulations.

Multiple assessors are involved in the role of observation and evaluation of participants' performance in individual and group exercises, providing an opportunity to observe the behaviors of participants as they interact with other people, solve problems, and act on their analyses. The use of multiple assessment procedures representing important elements of the target job, coupled with multiple observations by highly trained assessors and a systematic process of pooling and integrating those observations, results in an evaluation of several management competencies and, in some cases, an evaluation of the participant's potential to succeed as a manager (Thornton, 1992). Specific behavioral dimensions or competencies serve as the focus of the structured observations (Task Force on Assessment Center Guidelines, 1979).

Numerous studies have determined that the assessment center method has greater validity for promotion and selection than traditional techniques. Having been developed on the basis of job analysis, it is inherently valid and has proven to be a better indicator of future success than any other tool yet devised. This method is relatively objective, provides uniform standards for judgment by trained observers, is valid, and can serve as a developmental experience for participants. Assessment centers aid in the early identification of management potential and in the diagnosis of individual management development needs so that training and development efforts might be invested more productively.

Use of Assessment Centers by Ohio State University Extension

Ohio State University (OSU) Extension has utilized assessment centers and adaptations of the assessment center methodology since 1985 to identify and evaluate supervisory, managerial, and leadership capabilities of professional staff. The authors have been involved in the development and on-going management of several assessment centers within their organization.

1) County Chair Assessment Center

The Ohio State University Extension County Chair Assessment Center was developed in 1984 with a review of literature and a comprehensive process focused on county chairs of local Extension units. County chairs are administratively responsible for personnel and program management. A job analysis committee was used to determine the skills and capacities required to successfully perform the chair role, resulting in 15 job-related dimensions. These dimensions include:

• Oral communications,
• Written communications,
• Leadership,
• Initiative,
• Planning/organizing,
• Decision making/judgment,
• Development of co-workers,
• Behavioral flexibility,
• Organizational sensitivity,
• Assertiveness,
• Objectivity,
• Perception,
• Sensitivity,
• Management control, and
• Collaborativeness.

The emphasis of the County Chair Assessment Center in Ohio has been developmental. Individuals participate in the center prior to appointment as a county chair or within the first 6 months of their appointment. The organization is currently considering using the center for selection, in addition to development, because of current research documenting its value in selection (Haynes,1996).

2) National Leadership and Management Assessment Center

Based on the success and credibility of the County Chair Assessment Center in Ohio, OSU Extension was asked to offer an adapted assessment approach for Extension managers and leaders throughout the United States. A national assessment center has been offered annually since 1989, with more than 400 participants from over 25 states.

Conclusions

The assessment center method is a valid and reliable method for Extension organizations to use when selecting individuals for supervisory or managerial positions, for diagnosing administrative strengths and weaknesses, and for determining developmental needs of participants. Organizations that use a comprehensive assessment center process have a stronger foundation on which to build training and development programs related to management and leadership.

The simulations provide a realistic job preview for participants and may assist them in decision making before pursuing a new job role. Personal learning and development are substantial throughout the individual's participation in the simulations. The process is highly individualized and customized to the learner, with personalized feedback, developmental support, and follow up.

The assessment center is a strong, integral component of a system contributing to management and leadership development within OSU Extension. In research conducted by Haynes (1996), participants cited several behavioral changes made as a result of their feedback and personal insight. These behaviors included a greater use of planning tools, stronger listening skills, ability to be more open minded and proactive, increased goal setting, ability to build stronger teams, increased sensitivity, increased use of technology, and ability to recognize employees for work.

The authors urge those interested in management and leadership development who are not yet familiar with assessment centers to consult some or all of the references listed below.

References

Buford, J.A., Bedeian, A.G., & Lindner, J.R. (1995). Management in Extension. The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

Haynes, B.R. (1996). Factors affecting supervisory and management competencies of participants in Extension Assessment Centers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. The Ohio State University.

Hersey, P., & Blanchard, K. (1982). Management of organizational behavior. Prentice-Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

Kreitner, R. (1989). Management. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, MA.

Mees, C. (1963). County Extension administration. Journal of Extension 1(2).

Moses, J.L. (1987). Assessment centers. Training and development handbook: A guide to human resource development. New York: McGraw Hill, 248-262.

Task Force on Assessment Centers Standards. (1979). Standards and ethical considerations for assessment center operations. New Orleans.

Thornton III, G.C., & Byham, W.C. (1982). Assessment centers and managerial performance. New York: Academic Press.

Thornton III, G.C. (1992). Assessment centers in human resource management. Addison-Wesley.

A Technique to Measure Opinions, Skills, Intentions, and Behaviors That's Different - Even Fun

Nancy Ellen Kiernan
Program Evaluator
College of Agricultural Sciences
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
Internet address: nekiernan@psu.edu

Gwen Brock
Education Supervisor
Holmes Correctional Institution
Bonifay, Florida

You can measure program changes using a graphic such as a series of steps, pictured below in the "Examples" section. This step-scale measure is thought provoking and offers a fresh approach to evaluation for program participants.

A step scale measure has several benefits. It:

• Can increase the validity of data by providing a larger number of answer choices.
• Allows you to collect data at one time point or, as the examples below demonstrate, at two time points, BEFORE and AFTER a program.
• Can be adapted for youth.
• Can be used successfully with low literacy audiences. (For example, put the graphic on a flip chart or overhead to explain how to fill it in; give each participant his or her own copy of the graphic; ask the question orally; and then have participants mark their own graphics.)

To Construct a Step Scale

• Consider the question you want to ask.
• Decide on the number of points you want in the scale, anywhere from 7 to 11. Answer scales with more points can register subtle differences among people. They are very useful in program evaluation, because they offer the opportunity for respondents to indicate small and moderate change, often very difficult to measure.
• Label the bottom and top of the scale to represent each end of the continuum of the answer you are measuring, for example, "not confident at all" and "very confident."
• Provide directions orally or in written form.
• Enlarge the graphic to the width of your paper.

To Analyze Data

Assign each step on the scale a consecutive value: one, two, three, four, etc. Enter individual responses into a computer and analyze as nominal, ordinal, or continuous data. You can find the percent of participants who increased one, two, or more steps. You can also compare BEFORE and AFTER results.

Examples

Below are examples using a step scale to collect evaluation data in a water quality program at two points in time: BEFORE and AFTER the program on a skill, attitude about a recommended solution, intention to use a recommended practice, and knowledge of a solution.

Perceived Skill

Please place a (B) on the step signifying how confident you felt about your ability to divert rain from paved surfaces BEFORE the workshop. Place an (A) on the step indicating how confident you feel about your ability to divert rain from paved surfaces now, AFTER the workshop.

Attitude About a Recommended Solution

Please place a (B) on the step signifying how important you thought diverting rain from paved surfaces was BEFORE the workshop. Place an (A) on the step that indicates how important you believe diverting rain from paved surfaces is now, AFTER the workshop.

Intention to Use Recommended Practice

Please place a (B) on the step signifying how likely you were to divert rain from paved surfaces BEFORE the workshop. Place an (A) on the step indicating how likely you are to divert rain from paved surfaces now, AFTER the workshop.

Knowledge of a Solution

Please place a (B) on the step signifying your level of understanding about erosion prevention BEFORE the workshop. Place an (A) on the step indicating your level of understanding now, AFTER the workshop.

The Revolving Client Pool: One Solution to Value-Added Programming Challenges

David G. Kraenzel
Agribusiness Development Specialist/University Lecturer
Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics
North Dakota State University Extension Service
Fargo, North Dakota
Internet address: kraenzel@ndsuext.nodak.edu

Introduction

Educational support is the primary focus of my NDSU Extension Service appointment. One of my most productive tools for providing assistance is the Revolving Client Pool (RCP). I developed this concept over the years as a result of trial and error, experience, and testing in various business, industry, and university Extension programs. In sharing the RCP, it is helpful to understand the context for its use. Thus, I provide a brief description of my position and background information. The example discussed in this paper combines the RCP with the powerful technique of mentoring.

Context

The NDSU Extension's mission is to "To create learning partnerships that help adults and youth enhance their lives and communities" (NDSU Extension Mission Statement, 2000). Our charge is to be available to all clients as needed in the state throughout the year. We accomplish this in part through broad-based program planning and delivery geared to larger audiences.

My position title at North Dakota State University is Agribusiness Development Specialist, a 70% Extension/30% Research faculty appointment. This is a state specialist responsibility addressing the needs of individual producers, agribusinesses, agribusiness-related audiences, in-service Extension, and young people. The rationale is to provide education, conduct research, and facilitate the transfer of information relating to existing and newly emerging value-added enterprises.

My specialty area is strategic marketing management. I base my approach on the work of David A. Aaker (1995, 1998) and apply it to agribusiness. This approach is best defined as a whole-organization marketing approach to production. I also have 27 years of business experience.

A growing Extension audience segment is interested in agri-entrepreneurial, agri-entertainment, and other value-added businesses that pose new challenges for program planning, design, and delivery. The question becomes how does Extension provide more specialized training, education, and instruction to individual clients at critical times during the agribusiness development process? There is the additional challenge of client confidentiality arising from the competitive nature of value-added agriculture. Given this context, it seemed logical in 1997 to introduce the RCP as one vehicle to address this new programming challenge.

The Pool

I developed and used the RCP model while working in the private sector developing a marketing group during the pre-NAFTA days (1990-1993). I modified the original RCP concept to fit the value-added industry challenges in North Dakota.

In the simplest form, I choose a prospective "pool" of existing value-added agribusinesses, ideally, start-ups or individuals, to partner with. Usually, seven to nine clients per business quarter is a manageable number. I informally base my selection on input from a university, department, colleague, and statewide network. I provide specialized training, education, and information to these selected as one-on-one collaboration upon demand during that particular quarter. I make an in-state 1-800 number selectively available for them to use during this time frame. Then, depending upon a quarterly review and assessment, the clients receiving this extra attention may exit the pool.

The RCP program is based upon the "human capital" philosophy of investing resources into the "Champion" or other key person(s) driving the agribusiness development process. One could argue that clients could use this individualized help all the time, especially in a new start-up company. But I reserve this assistance for those times in the agribusiness development process where the agribusiness may be especially vulnerable to external forces such as economics, government policy, or technology.

An Example

The effectiveness of the RCP is illustrated through the following story. Dave and Peg were seasoned cattle producers. Their family had been in the business for over 100 years. They were looking to secure their financial base and were also very willing to try a whole-farm/ranch market approach to their agricultural business enterprise.

So they decided to sell their herd on the upside of the cattle cycle around 1990-92, pay off all the family debt (a growing burden), and keep the land and buildings. They began a 4-year search for marketing opportunities that would allow them to return to agriculture in a stronger business position.

Dave and Peg became interested in the market for lambs and secured a good contract at a good price. Their special need was to think through, plan, and implement this new market approach, taking advantage of the livestock business and production skills they already possessed. A well-managed systematic approach to production would allow them to meet the contract specifications to which they would agree.

The special, one-on-one mentoring and assistance I gave Dave and Peg included visiting their operation, helping them to think through the marketing opportunity, planning for the production requirement, helping them construct secure and flexible production and marketing contracts, and searching for additional alternative markets.

Important in this process was navigating the gray area between offering advice and encouraging informed decisions, and avoiding making decisions for them. Presenting different options for their consideration was one way to handle this situation. After 7 or 8 months of intensive attention, Dave called me one bright fall day in 1997. He told me they had taken the plunge and bought 225 ewes and five or six rams, and were now in the lamb business. This was 3 years ago.

Today, Dave and Peg own 600 ewes and a dozen rams. In addition, they have joined forces with a new lamb cooperative in the state that some of my Extension colleagues in livestock production and agricultural economics have been assisting. Dave was named interim CEO of the state lamb producers coop, and he recently completed a statewide equity drive to finance the growing organization. Dave and Peg called me recently to thank me again and to tell me that they had 102 new producers signed on, with a production capacity of 8,000 ewes, well over the 6,000 goal the organization had targeted.

When you ask me if the RCP concept is effective and if it works in meeting some of the new programming challenges in Extension education, I have to say, "yes, it does"--when handled and serviced properly. It's important to observe that this agribusiness development process is now in the tenth year of continuous progress for Dave and Peg, which reminds us that success is a journey not a destination.

References

Aaker, D.A. (1995). Strategic Marketing Management. 4th Ed. New York:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Aaker, D.A. (1998). Strategic Marketing Management. 5th Ed. New York:

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The NDSU Extention Service Mission Statement. (2000)[On-line].

Available: http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extwhite.htm

Developing a Farm Newsletter for Better Communications Between Tenant and Landowner

Joe Parcell
Assistant Professor & Extension Economist
Department of Agricultural Economics
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Internet address: parcellj@missouri.edu

J. Bob Wells
Farm Management Specialist, Pike County
University of Missouri Outreach & Extension
Internet address: welljb@missouri.edu

Introduction

The 1997 U.S. Census of Agriculture indicated that over 40% of all U.S. agricultural land is rented. Furthermore, farm management associations in various states have found that tenants typically rent from 3 to as many as 20 landowners. Sometimes these landowners are neighbors, persons who have moved to town following retirement from farming, inherited the land through an estate, or purchased the land as a speculative investment. Thus, it is not uncommon for a tenant seldom to have contact with the landowner outside of the customary rental settlement.

Agriculture is an evolving industry that has had to deal with technological adoption and the realization of the term "economies of size" during the past 10 years. A combination of increased competition for land to benefit from economies of size and more landowners not understanding production agriculture technology adoption has caused communications between tenants and landowners to become crucial.

The Farm Newsletter

One method Extension farm management specialists can recommend to improve communications between tenants and landowners is for tenants to develop a farm newsletter. Producing a farm newsletter is not as difficult as it once was, thanks to farmers' adoption of computer technology. A 1999 USDA survey found that 40% of U.S. farmers owned or leased a computer, 24% of U.S. farmers used a computer for record keeping, and 29% of U.S. farmers had access to the Internet.

Extension farm management specialists can compare the farm newsletter to the "Christmas Newsletters" the tenant probably receives that allow friends and family to catch up with each other. The specialist can explain that, much like a Christmas Newsletter, a farm newsletter acts as a way to let the landowner know what is going on. This is particularly true when the landowner lives in San Francisco and the tenant is farming his/her land in the Midwest. It may be that the tenant has never met the landowner. Thus, a quarterly or semi-annual synopsis of what the tenant plans to do can be beneficial, and at times crucial, for the long-term relationship between tenant and landowner.

A farm newsletter can take several forms. It can be very colorful and technical, or it can be a single typed page. But the goal is the same: to establish a regular communication link between the tenant and the landowner. This goal can be accomplished by making the landowner feel like part of the farming operation. The level of either production or management information contained in the newsletter depends on the most common rental arrangement between the tenant and landowners. A cash rental agreement may require little technical information. A crop-share rental agreement requires more information, because the tenant's management decisions have an impact on landowner profitability.

Because tenants may rent from multiple landowners and the landowners may have multiple interests, providing general summary information is a safe method. The tenants can discuss topics such as the importance of biotechnology in farming (e.g., how it may have a positive environmental impact), how precision agriculture works, and the information they have compiled for the landowners' farms (e.g., yield maps). Note: the tenant should make sure to help the landowner understand the costs of precision agriculture, so that the landowner realizes that yield maps can't just be give away.

Discussing issues such as these will allow landowners to better understand the economic and environmental impacts of using new technologies. More and more landowners lack an agriculture background, so it behooves tenants to help educate them about production agriculture.

There are a few crucial elements of a farm newsletter. Key elements are discussed in more detail below. Other considerations include a readable font, clear and concise wording, a reasonable length, (preferably front and back of one page), and a friendly tone to keep the reader/landowner interested.

Key Elements of the Farm Newsletter

At the minimum, a farm newsletter should include the following.

Title

The title should be catchy, yet not wordy. The title of the newsletter should be used for several years, so the landowner does not develop the impression that the tenant is indecisive.

Tenant Contact Information

As with any communication between tenant and landowner, information pertaining to how to contact the tenant is important. Including contact information in the newsletter allows the landowner to feel as though the tenant is always willing to visit with the landowner.

Informational Content

The informational content provides the "what is going on" information about the farm. This is the section of the newsletter where the tenant helps the landowner become more familiar with the tenant's farming operation.

Overview of happenings since the last newsletter

This section should be a short synopsis of what has happened since you sent the last newsletter. General statements should be used in this section. For example, "We wrapped up harvest on the second week of November. The much-needed rain in mid July must have helped out because there was about average production." The tenant may also want to report in this section about to land improvements/habitat enhancements undertaken since the last newsletter.

Crop progress/pasture condition/livestock development

Particularly if the rental arrangement is a commodity-share (or flexible cash) agreement, the landowner be interested in knowing about crop progress or livestock development. And, even if the rental arrangement is a cash rental arrangement, the landowner will feel more a part of the farming operation. What landowner doesn't like to discuss, or even brag, about the land he or she owns? Land ownership to some is a social activity and a conversation piece. Thus, the tenant should give the landowner "something to talk about."

Weather update

Farmers and non-farmers always have one area of interest in common, weather. Everyone understands the impact of not enough, average, and above average rainfall. Also, if the landowner is not aware of the effects of severe weather, e.g., high winds and hail, then he or she needs to be made aware of the impact of severe weather.

Commodity prices

The tenant could also provide a brief synopsis of relevant commodity prices and price trends, and discuss what futures markets are suggesting for prices in the future. The tenant should relate current prices to historical prices and remind the landowner of the historical variability in prices.

Technology

The tenant could use this section as an educational section to help landowners better understand technology change in the farming operation.

Upcoming events

In this section the tenant could let the landowner know what is being planned for the upcoming months. For instance, a winter newsletter may discuss planting intentions and the crop acreage mix being considered. Also, if there are important forthcoming community events, they should be mentioned.

Conclusion

This article provides some examples of what Extension farm management specialists can suggest as contents for a farm newsletter. Again, the goal of the newsletter is to build, or continue, a working relationship between the tenant and landowner. Thus, suggesting that a tenant produce a farm newsletter may be among the best advice an Extension specialist can give.

For an example farm newsletter, readers can contact the lead author.

The Value of a Toolkit

Martha C. Monroe
Assistant Professor
School of Forest Resources and Conservation
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Internet address: Mcmo@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu

Extension specialists design and produce resources that county agents can use to deliver information to a variety of audiences. Because the agents know best what works with their clients, they need to be able to choose from among a publication for the walk-in visitor, a video for the service club meeting, or a demonstration area for the hard-to-convince homeowner. Even if the agent has a preferred medium, the ability to adapt a resource is important: a slide show for homeowners should be different from a slide program for elementary teachers or cattlemen. In other words, agents need a variety of program tools to do their jobs well.

In addition to this variation in delivery methods, many issues require a variety of messages based on variation across a state or region. The answer to halting an invasive plant might change if it is in a wetland or upland ecosystem. Which fertilizer will be more effective depends on soil and climate. Many issues in Extension are so complex that the risks and solutions vary from one community to another. Agents need to be able to adapt a set of educational resources to give the most appropriate message through the most appropriate channel, even when state specialists cannot create scenario-specific resources. In other words, agents need toolkits with adaptable program tools.

Toolkits are sets of versatile, adaptable educational resources. Versatile resources offer agents choices. Agents can reconfigure adaptable resources to meet unique needs, such as using a slide kit instead of a taped slide show. The more complete the toolkit, the more useful it will be to more people.

This article describes the process of creating a toolkit and the additional components that make it more useful (such as a needs assessment and an in­service training). Guidelines it provides on the costs of our Florida wildland fire toolkit may help others budget proposals to include their requisite components.

When to Use a Toolkit

Complex issues with solutions that change from one part of the state to another and with a variety of audiences are likely subjects for a toolkit. Wildland fire is a good example. Homeowners at the urban-rural interface need to know to how to protect their property from fire, developers should learn how to design subdivisions to allow prescribed fire to maintain the fire-dependent ecosystems, and forest landowners would like their neighbors to be tolerant of a prescribed burn.

In the wake of the 1998 fires, Extension specialists in Florida began to create program resources for Extension agents on this topic. The variation across the state in ecosystems meant one state message would not suffice. Adaptable resources were needed, accompanied by training so local teams could use them successfully.

Providing Helpful information About Targeting Messages

County agents may have an intuitive notion of what their populations knows and needs, but perceptions about new and controversial issues are less likely to be accurate. You can provide a valuable resource for your agents by conducting a statewide assessment. This information will help county agents develop their programs, and it will also help you develop messages for the variety of publications and tools for the Toolkit.

In Florida, we developed the survey questionnaire and contracted with an on-campus survey unit to implement the random-dial phone survey. We learned that our rural and suburban populations are already quite aware that wildland fire is good for natural areas. They are concerned, however, about the effects on wild animals and decreased air quality. We also learned that the urban population cannot define prescribed fire.

Providing Multiple Resources

Agents like to show videos, and action footage is an effective mechanism for conveying a graphic message. But once the video is produced, the message cannot be adapted or changed. Therefore, using video in a Toolkit means a set of videos to cover all scenarios.

We obtained permission to reproduce five existing videos on Florida fire covering wildland fire, prescribed fire, varying perspectives on fire, and different fire-prone ecosystems. Similarly, the list of fact sheets grew to include air quality, wildlife, prescribed burning, demonstration areas, and designing subdivisions.

Providing Adaptable Resources

Slide shows are the traditional "adaptable" resource. Not only can the slides be reorganized and the text modified by the speaker to meet specific audience needs, but also the agent can add locally relevant slides to the show. The modern equivalent of the slide show is the PowerPoint or Presentations slide show. If agents have the requisite equipment, this is a much cheaper tool to reproduce.

We were able to provide CD-ROMs in each toolkit that contained 80 photographs, Word and WordPerfect versions of text files, and 48-slide presentations. Those counties without laptops received sets of 40 slides to supplement their own collection. Directions to adapting presentations were provided, and 30 minutes of the training session were allocated to assist agents in this process. They were encouraged to bring their own laptop to the training.

Providing Personnel Resources

Even the best set of publications, videos, and slide presentations may not be enough to give Extension agents the confidence to conduct programs on a new topic or controversial issue in their county. We believed it was important to also provide them with a team of experts and specialists in their own county, in our case, Division of Forestry and County Fire and Rescue staff.

We established partnerships with both agencies at the beginning of the project, made sure they were informed of our progress, and encouraged them to edit and revise each publication. We made Toolkits available to these organizations at no charge. As a result, Division of Forestry sent 64 staff and requested 55 toolkits of their own; County Fire departments sent 19 staff. We were able to build teams of county Extension agents and cooperative, supportive experts in 40 of our 67 counties.

Marketing Toolkits

Unless you have a group of agents ready to implement any program you produce, you'll have to entice them to use your Toolkit. We choose to make the materials attractive and durable--too good to shelve.

The plastic box, enormous signs, color labels, and nifty notebook were highly desired and quickly disappeared. Even before they knew what was inside, workshop participants wanted a toolkit. The extra cost for producing materials in color with printing sticky labels was a necessary expense. Agents are busy people with many fancy packages and kits to choose from. One that is designed to draw attention, is remembered when the need arises, and is easily retrieved from the closet is worth the investment.

Cost

Our direct costs for producing 150 toolkits and training 140 field staff in three workshops in 1999 are listed in Table 1. Partners provided in-kind resources for their staff. Time, of course, is a cost as well. This project required approximately .5 FTE for one year; we also hired a part-time program assistant.

Assessment ($1 per minute per person)	$7,500
Duplicating the manual (150 copies)	$1,160
Duplicating 6 Fact Sheets (15,000 copies)	$500
Printing 4-color brochure (25,000 copies	$3,000
Packaging (Notebook, CDs, binder clips, labels, office supplies)	$600
Plastic Box (144)	$540
Duplicating Video Library	$720
Duplicating Slides (15 sets of 40)	$450
Roadside Signs (150 plywood)	$10,070
Truck Rental (for delivering materials)	$500
Snacks and lunch (for 140 participants and trainers)	$960
Travel to 1-day workshops (car pool)	$4,000
Total Direct Product & Training Costs	$30,000
Program Assistant Salary	$24,000

Summary

A toolkit is a useful product that state specialists can produce for county agents. For current, complex issues and for problems that have different solutions across the state, a set of multiple, flexible resources may be the only reasonable way for specialists to adequately provide agents with helpful program tools.

But educational program resources like videos, fact sheets, and a CD alone do not make a prepared agent. State specialists must also develop a training session to help agents adapt these tools, create their own programs, and garner the support they need to serve their local population.

The Happier Way–A Film Review

Jan Scholl
Associate Professor
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
Internet address: jscholl@psu.edu

Extension Service (circa 1920s). The Happier Way. A 20-minute, silent, black and white feature film. (May be viewed at Archives II, near the University of Maryland, or loaned on a limited-time basis from the author of this review.)

When we hear about the need to save deteriorated black and white silent movies, we often think of Hollywood's Clara Bow, Abbot and Costello, and the like. But how many of you know about Extension's 20-minute feature film, The Happier Way?

I happened to see this film several years ago at a conference at Cornell University. A very talented piano player provided the accompaniment, which added to my enjoyment. I was intrigued enough to have a video copy made (at great expense, I might add) from the National Archives.

Fred Perkins is credited as the cinematographer, and Mignon Quaw and George R. Goergrens are credited as producers. But little is known about them, the actors, or how the film would have been seen (at movie theatres?).

The Plot

The Happier Way is the story of Louisa Little, from Pleasant View (USA), who is working herself to an early grave packing water from outside the house. The film tells us that she "keeps a cheerful disposition except during wash day." When she becomes exhausted, the doctor orders her to bed, and the rest of the family takes over her chores. The farmer, who has the latest field equipment, realizes just how hard his wife has been working.

While he tends the chores, he sends Grandpa and son to the Extension office to find information on plumbing and other labor-saving devices. Later, Grandpa carries out a "scientific" study at home: measuring how much water Louisa has been lifting and the distance from the water source to the house (54 tons of water and 62 miles a year). According to Grandpa, "progress is made by the lazy ones--the hard workers are too busy to think of easier methods."

With calculations in hand, Louisa's concerned relatives purchase the needed supplies at WW. Reeder Tin Shoppe. When Louisa rallies, she invites the women in the neighborhood to see her new kitchen. In the closing scene, she is seen rocking peacefully outside the home in the evening.

The Significance

What is interesting about this film is not just the story, but that it is a record of the times--virtually a tour of the home and Extension office of the 20s. You see both "home demonstration" and agricultural agents working together with the family to reach a desired solution. The secretary is running around the office (in a fashionable hat!), pulling out resources to aid the discussion. You can reflect on how little Extension work has changed when you see the home demonstration agent sending out a labor-saving questionnaire, followed by a scene where the family is exasperated at receiving yet another survey!

You can actually witness what was known at the time as a "result demonstration" created when the neighborhood ladies see the "resulting" improvements made to the house.

There is tragedy and concern in this film, but humor, too. It is the type of film that makes you feel good to be a part of the Extension family--a bit like watching a well-produced "home movie."

If any of you have more information about The Happier Way, please let me know.

This article is online at http://joe.org/joe/2000december/ent-tt.html.

Copyright © by Extension Journal, Inc. ISSN 1077-5315. Articles appearing in the Journal become the property of the Journal. Single copies of articles may be reproduced in electronic or print form for use in educational or training activities. Inclusion of articles in other publications, electronic sources, or systematic large-scale distribution may be done only with prior electronic or written permission of the Journal Editorial Office, joe-ed@joe.org.