Gamma Theory

Modern Wild Faunal Resource Management

Professional Notes

Time is money. Every hour spent costs someone money. If you are not as productive as someone else in the same hour, it is rational for a supervisor to replace you or train you, or provide an incentive or threat. Effective managers listen, are cooperative, and communicate.

They are "objectives oriented" and can, on average, improve management by using (privately, secretly, or otherwise) a "systems approach"

They are learning, curious.

They are cost-effective (vs. "cheap").

Assignment Work independently. Complete and turn in the following on or before the next class meeting. Show your work. Make the results readable and meaningful to you if read 10 years from now.

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Calculate the number of working years needed for a wildlifer to visit and observe every 1.1 million cells of a geographic information system (27 acres each) in Virginia. Allow them to reach and stay in each cell for only one hour.

First estimate the hours in a "working year." This is only 8 hours per day, minus 52 weekends, 16 holidays, and 5 days of vacation. (To calculate quickly, standardize calculations and allow for class comparisons, assume 40 40-hours weeks in a year.)

How many hours should each cell be observed for some named relevant project? How large a staff is needed to complete the job in 2, 5, 10 years? Is the work feasible? What percentage would be an acceptable sample? Is normal random sampling appropriate?

Relate in a paragraph your observations made above to statistical confidence and managerial risk.

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Assume a salary of $18,000 per year. You get 70% of that as "take-home" pay. You work 40 hours/work; 2 week vacation, 10 days holidays. You take 2 30-minute breaks per day. What is the worth of 1 hours of work in take-home pay equivalents?

Your employees come to work 10 minutes late, leave 10 minutes early; take 70 minutes for lunch and 40 minutes for each coffee break. What are the lost hours and money per employee? In an average agency with 300 employees? (Assume $18,000 is their average salary).

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