Moral Hazard problem in a small business

[Henry17]

I don't know enough about what is involved with being a dispatcher but is there any way to remove the discretion over who gets what load? Some sort of software that optimizes assignments. That would make giving the dispatcher kickbacks moot since they would be simply administrators with no decision making power.

[skindog]

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I don't know enough about what is involved with being a dispatcher but is there any way to remove the discretion over who gets what load? Some sort of software that optimizes assignments. That would make giving the dispatcher kickbacks moot since they would be simply administrators with no decision making power.

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There are too many variables for such software - what kind of load it is, when it needs to be there, the drivers' special needs (doctors' appointments, family obligations, general whining), and a bunch of others that need human discretion.

So a control system of some sort is the only thing I can think of.

Thanks for the idea though! I will look into whether something (maybe simply done) like this is available.

[Jimbo]

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There are too many variables for such software - what kind of load it is, when it needs to be there, the drivers' special needs (doctors' appointments, family obligations, general whining), and a bunch of others that need human discretion.


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There is commercial software on the market that will do this but it might not prove cost effective for you.

Personally I would treat it like I did in my bar business. I know that 75% of my employees were going to steal from me. I added some incentive bonus programs and reduced it to 50%, I fired the worst offenders and made sure the remaining ones knew why. I tolerated the remaining amount of theft as both inevitable and just a cost of doing business. Afterwards I slept well at night and hardly thought about the thefts again other than to monitor the ratio and make sure it stayed in line with acceptable losses.

Jimbo

[CrushinFelt]

I would immediately fire any and every dispatcher until I found one that would not do this. You can't view it as "oh well that's part of the game." This is your business. They are stealing from you. Why in the hell would you want to employ someone that is stealing from you.

This isn't a moral hazard problem, this is a theft problem.

[Henry17]

Skindog: I know this is a long shot but I know someone in a very similar situation (taking over family trucking business in the Midwest). Any chance you attended Grand View and your family owns a gorgeous cottage on a private island in maskoka?