Showing papers on "Resource management published in 2001"

Is the Resource-Based “View” a Useful Perspective for Strategic Management Research?

Abstract: As a potential theory, the elemental resource-based view (RBV) is not currently a theoretical structure. Moreover, RBV proponents have assumed stability in product markets and eschewed determining resources' values. As a perspective for strategic management, imprecise definitions hinder prescription and static approaches relegate causality to a “black box.” We outline conceptual challenges for improving this situation, including rigorously formalizing the RBV, answering the causal “how” questions, incorporating the temporal component, and integrating the RBV with demand heterogeneity models.

Managing energy and server resources in hosting centers

Abstract: Internet hosting centers serve multiple service sites from a common hardware base. This paper presents the design and implementation of an architecture for resource management in a hosting center operating system, with an emphasis on energy as a driving resource management issue for large server clusters. The goals are to provision server resources for co-hosted services in a way that automatically adapts to offered load, improve the energy efficiency of server clusters by dynamically resizing the active server set, and respond to power supply disruptions or thermal events by degrading service in accordance with negotiated Service Level Agreements (SLAs).Our system is based on an economic approach to managing shared server resources, in which services "bid" for resources as a function of delivered performance. The system continuously monitors load and plans resource allotments by estimating the value of their effects on service performance. A greedy resource allocation algorithm adjusts resource prices to balance supply and demand, allocating resources to their most efficient use. A reconfigurable server switching infrastructure directs request traffic to the servers assigned to each service. Experimental results from a prototype confirm that the system adapts to offered load and resource availability, and can reduce server energy usage by 29% or more for a typical Web workload.

Critical factors for successful implementation of enterprise systems

Abstract: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have emerged as the core of successful information management and the enterprise backbone of organizations. The difficulties of ERP implementations have been widely cited in the literature but research on the critical factors for initial and ongoing ERP implementation success is rare and fragmented. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, 11 factors were found to be critical to ERP implementation success – ERP teamwork and composition; change management program and culture; top management support; business plan and vision; business process reengineering with minimum customization; project management; monitoring and evaluation of performance; effective communication; software development, testing and troubleshooting; project champion; appropriate business and IT legacy systems. The classification of these factors into the respective phases (chartering, project, shakedown, onward and upward) in Markus and Tanis’ ERP life cycle model is presented and the importance of each factor is discussed.

Condor-G: a computation management agent for multi-institutional grids

Abstract: In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of available computing and storage resources, yet few have been able to exploit these resources in an aggregated form. We present the Condor-G system, which leverages software from Globus and Condor to allow users to harness multi-domain resources as if they all belong to one personal domain. We describe the structure of Condor-G and how it handles job management, resource selection, security and fault tolerance.

The impact of critical success factors across the stages of enterprise resource planning implementations

Abstract: The paper describes the impact of critical success factors (CSFs) across the stages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations using the responses from 86 organizations that completed or are in the process of completing an ERP implementation. Our results provide advice to management on how best to utilize their limited resources to choose those CSFs that are most likely to have an impact upon the implementation of the ERP system.

From initial idea to unique advantage: The entrepreneurial challenge of constructing a resource base

Abstract: Strategies for attaining competitive advantages emphasize developing and configuring existing resource strengths into a valuable and unique resource base. But what if you do not yet have a legacy of resource strengths? Entrepreneurs in emerging organizations must first assemble resources, then combine them to build a resource platform that will yield distinctive capabilities. The case studies included in this article illustrate the challenges entrepreneurs confront in identifying, attracting, combining, and transforming personal resources into organizational resources. We offer two analytical tools for assessing initial resource needs and developing a resource strategy that can enhance possibilities for wealth creation. Our pathway approach provides guidance for entrepreneurs constructing a resource base.

Managing organizational knowledge as a strategic asset

Abstract: Knowledge is a resource that is valuable to an organization’s ability to innovate and compete. It exists within the individual employees, and also in a composite sense within the organization. According to the resource‐based view of the firm (RBV), strategic assets are the critical determinants of an organization’s ability to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage. This paper will combine RBV theory with characteristics of knowledge to show that organizational knowledge is a strategic asset. Knowledge management is discussed frequently in the literature as a mechanism for capturing and disseminating the knowledge that exists within the organization. This paper will also explain practical considerations for implementation of knowledge management principles.

Change management strategies for successful ERP implementation

Abstract: When implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, top management commonly faces an unwanted attitude from potential users – for one reason or another, they resist the implementation process. Top management should, therefore, proactively deal with this problem instead of reactively confronting it. In this paper, I describe an integrated, process‐oriented approach for facing the complex social problem of workers’ resistance to ERP.

Local Ecological Knowledge and Institutional Dynamics for Ecosystem Management: A Study of Lake Racken Watershed, Sweden

Abstract: The sustainable use of resources requires that management practices and institutions take into account the dynamics of the ecosystem. In this paper, we explore the role of local ecological knowledge and show how it is used in management practices by a local fishing association in a contemporary rural Swedish community. We focus on the local management of crayfish, a common-pool resource, and also address the way crayfish management is linked to institutions at different levels of Swedish society. Methods from the social sciences were used for information gathering, and the results were analyzed within the framework of ecosystem management. We found that the practices of local fishing association resemble an ecosystem approach to crayfish management. Our results indicate that local users have substantial knowledge of resource and ecosystem dynamics from the level of the individual crayfish to that of the watershed, as reflected in a variety of interrelated management practices embedded in and influenced by institutions at several levels. We propose that this policy of monitoring at several levels simultaneously, together with the interpretation of a bundle of indicators and associated management responses, enhances the possibility of building ecological resilience into the watershed. Furthermore, we found that flexibility and adaptation are required to avoid command-and-control pathways of resource management. We were able to trace the development of the local fishing association as a response to crisis, followed by the creation of an opportunity for reorganization and the recognition of slow ecosystem structuring variables, and also to define the role of knowledgeable individuals in the whole process. We discuss the key roles of adaptive capacity, institutional learning, and institutional memory for successful ecosystem management and conclude that scientific adaptive management could benefit from a more explicit collaboration with flexible community-based systems of resource management for the implementation of policies as experiments.

Applied ethnobotany: people, wild plant use and conservation

Abstract: Its wise and sensitive approach to working with local people will be relevant in situations throughout the world.' ECOS 'The numerous diagrams, tables of data, information flow charts, fieldwork sketches etc. give a great vibrancy to the work... It deserves a wide readership.' TEG News Wild or non-cultivated plants are crucial to the lives of a large portion of the world's population, providing low-cost building materials, fuel, food supplements, medicines, tools and sources of income. Despite their importance, their vulnerability to harvesting and other social impacts is not well understood. Applied Ethnobotany is the first practical guide to be published on how to manage wild plant species sustainably. This detailed manual on wild plant resources sets out the approaches and field methods involved in participatory work between conservationists, researchers and the primary resource users. Supported by extensive illustrations, it explains how local people can learn to assess the pressures on plant resources and what steps to take to ensure their continued availability. For all those involved in resource management decisions regarding plant species and diversity, and in particular those studying or working in conservation, rural development and park management, this guide is invaluable. Published with WWF, UNESCO and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

Social taboos: “invisible” systems of local resource management and biological conservation

Abstract: Social taboos exist in most cultures, both Western and non-Western. They are good examples of informal institutions, where norms, rather than governmental juridical laws and rules, determine human behavior. In many traditional societies throughout the world, taboos frequently guide human conduct toward the natural environment. Based on a survey of recent literature, we synthesize information on such taboos. We refer to them as “resource and habitat taboos” (RHTs). Examples are grouped in six different categories depending on their potential nature conservation and management functions. We compare RHTs with contemporary measures of conservation and identify and discuss some key benefits that may render them useful in partnership designs for conservation and management. We conclude that many RHTs have functions similar to those of formal institutions for nature conservation in contemporary society but have not been sufficiently recognized in this capacity. We suggest that designs for conservation of biologi...

Radio Resource Management for Wireless Networks

Abstract: From the Book: The development in the field of wireless communications has been nothing short of astonishing in the past decades. We now are witnessing the transition between the mobile telephone era and the era of wireless computing. With the breakthrough advances of digital signal processing high data rate, many of the technical problems associated with the adverse and changing propagation conditions in mobile radio communication have been solved. Multimegabit data rates to portable mobile terminals are no longer science fiction, but reality. As the engineer seems to have the upper hand in this struggle against nature, very much of the development efforts are concentrated on the social struggle for scarce resources, such as the frequency spectrum and terminal battery power. The question is not only if we, as engineers, can provide wideband wireless communication everywhere, but rather, if we can afford it. These issues, the Radio Resource Management (RRM) problem are addressed in this book. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the problems in resource management and an historical outlook over the field and its relations to adjacent disciplines. In Chapter 2, a refresher of multi-user communication theory is given. Readers with a solid background in this area may omit the first section of this chapter. The last section of Chapter 2 introduces the analysis model used throughout the book. In Chapter 3, the radio resource management problem is defined in a more stringent way. Chapter 4 is probably the core chapter of the book where static resource management and cellular system design is introduced and the RUNE tool is put to work for the first time. In Chapters 5-7, various elements of resource management, such as handoffs, dynamic channel allocation, and transmitter power control are treated. Whereas the treatment in Chapters 1-7 mainly has been focused on F/TDMA type (orthogonal) waveforms, Chapters 8 and 9 deal with spread spectrum waveforms and the special problems in RRM for these systems. In particular Chapter 9, where resource management issues in CDMA systems are dealt with, is an important chapter in the book. Chapter 10 brings the focus on to RRM for data communication systems and the special characteristics and problems related to management of packet traffic. In Chapter 11, various aspects of system planning are investigated, in particular so-called "hierarchical cell structures" (HCS). The last chapter, Chapter 12, widens the scope of RRM to consider resources other than the frequency spectrum. Here also other resources are taken into account, mainly the infrastructure of fixed networks and wireless access ports. Throughout the book, examples from the application of RRM techniques, current 2G systems, as well as future 3G systems are provided. The book is intended as a textbook for a second graduate course in wireless networks. The student and reader should be familiar with the fundamentals of radio communications, communication theory, and some queuing theory basics. Wireless networks are complicated systems, which makes the design and performance analysis inherently difficult. Several approaches are taken in the book. Classical analysis involves highly simplified models but renders easily tractable results. Slightly more elaborate models are analyzed by means of numerical analysis. The most interesting results, however, are those derived from the more realistic models for propagation and traffic conditions. Here, stochastic simulation has been the tool of choice in the field. For this purpose, RUNE, a MATLAB™-based software tool for performance analysis in wireless networks, has been included in the book. This tool was originally developed at Ericsson, but has been developed by the software authors for pedagogical use. Most of the examples in the book that require simulations have been solved using this tool. The software solutions for these examples have been provided on the CD, enabling the reader to repeat and modify the experiments in the book. In addition, a number of problems are provided for each chapter. Some of the problems are marked with an asterisk and require simulation solutions with the RUNE tools. Most of the material has been used in courses given by the authors at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden, and in various in-house courses at Ericsson. The authors would like to thank the software authors, Magnus Almgren at Ericsson, who is the original architect of RUNE, and Olav Queseth at KTH, who made RUNE "student friendly," for their valuable contributions and discussions around the simulation examples in the book. We would also like to acknowledge the help received in the development of the course material and early versions of the manuscript. In particular we are grateful for the contributions of Magnus Frodigh, Hakan Olofsson, Anders Furuskar, and Sverker Magnusson at Ericsson Radio Systems. Thanks to all graduate students at the Radio Communication Systems laboratory at KTH that have been instrumental in solving and designing many of the problems. Last but not least, we would like to extend our gratitude to the anonymous reviewer whose valuable comments have helped us to clarify some of the more intricate concepts in the book. Jens Zander Seong-Lyun Kim

Oceano-SLA based management of a computing utility

Abstract: Oceano is a prototype of a highly available, scaleable, and manageable infrastructure for an e-business computing utility. It enables multiple customers to be hosted on a collection of sequentially shared resources. The hosting environment is divided into secure domains, each supporting one customer. These domains are dynamic: the resources assigned to them may be augmented when the load increases and reduced when load dips. This dynamic resource allocation enables flexible service level agreements (SLAs) with customers in an environment where peak loads are an order of magnitude greater than the normal steady state.

A case for economy grid architecture for service oriented grid computing

Abstract: Computational Grids are a promising platform for executinglarge-scale resource intensive applications. However, resource management and scheduling in the Grid environment is a complex undertaking as resources are (geographically) distributed, heterogeneous in nature, owned by different individuals or organizations with their own policies, have different access and cost models, and have dynamically varying loads and availability. This introduces a number of challenging issues such as site autonomy, heterogeneous interaction, policy extensibility, resource allocation or co-allocation, online control, scalability, transparency, resource brokering, and "computational economy".A number of Grid systems (such as Globus and Legion)have addressed many of these issues with exception of acomputational economy. We argue that a computationaleconomy is required in order to create a real world scalableGrid because it provides a mechanism for regulating the Gridresources demand and supply. It offers incentive for resourceowners to be part of the Grid and encourages consumers tooptimally utilize resources and balance timeframe and accesscosts. We propose a 'computational economy framework' thatbuilds on the existing Grid middleware systems and offers aninfrastructure for resource management and trading in theGrid environment. We discuss the usage economic models forresource trading in the Nimrod/G resource broker and presentdeadline and cost-based scheduling experimental results onthe Grid.

Resource kernels: a resource-centric approach to real-time and multimedia systems

Abstract: We consider the problem of OS resource management for real- time and multimedia systems where multiple activities with different timing constraints must be scheduled concurrently. Time on a particular resource is shared among its users and must be globally managed in real-time and multimedia systems. A resource kernel is meant for use in such systems and is defined to be one which provides timely, guaranteed and protected access to system resources. The resource kernel allows applications to specify only their resource demands leaving the kernel to satisfy those demands using hidden resource management schemes. This separation of resource specification from resource management allows OS-subsystem- specific customization by extending, optimizing or even replacing resource management schemes. As a result, this resource-centric approach can be implemented with any of several different resource management schemes. We identify the specific goals of a resource kernel: applications must be able to explicitly state their timeliness requirements; the kernel must enforce maximum resource usage by applications; the kernel must support high utilization of system resources; and an application must be able to access different system resources simultaneously. Since the same application consumes a different amount of time on different platforms, the resource kernel must allow such resource consumption times to be portable across platforms, and to be automatically calibrated. Our resource management scheme is based on resource reservation and satisfies these goals. The scheme is not only simple but captures a wide range of solutions developed by the real-time systems community over several years. One potentially serious problem that any resource management scheme must address is that of allowing access to multiple resources simultaneously and in timely fashion, a problem which is known to be NP-complete. We show that this problem of simultaneous access to multiple resources can be practically addressed by resource decoupling and resolving critical resource dependencies immediately. Finally, we demonstrate our resource kernel's functionality and flexibility in the context of multimedia applications which need processor cycles and/or disk bandwidth.

Soil quality: Current concepts and applications

Abstract: Soil quality has evolved as an educational and assessment tool for evaluating relative sustainability of soil resource management practices and guiding land-use decisions.This review discusses the rapid development of the soil quality concept throughout the decade of the 1990s,addresses misconceptions regarding soil quality efforts,and presents examples to illustrate how soil quality research,education,and technology-transfer activities are being used to help solve various soil resource and agroecosystemproblems.This review stresses that soil quality assessment re .ects biological,chemical,and physical properties,processes,and their interactions within each soil resource unit.By using examples from throughout the United States and around the world,we demonstrate the importance of using soil quality concepts to integrate both inherent and dynamic properties and processes occurring within a living,dynamic medium.We also emphasize that there is no ideal or magic soil quality index value by illustrating a framework for indexing that can be adapted to local conditions.The framework requires identifying critical soil functions,selecting meaningful indicators for those functions,developing appropriate scoring functions to interpret the indicators for various soil resources, and combining the information into values that can be tracked over time to determine if the soil resources are being sustained,degraded,or aggraded.This review is intended to provide a reference and background for land managers,resource conservationists,ecologists,soil scientists,and others seeking tools to help ensure that land-use decisions and practices are sustainable

Technology portfolio management: optimizing interdependent projects over multiple time periods

Abstract: In order to maintain competitiveness, companies need to continually invest in technology projects. However, resource limitations require an organization to strategically allocate resources to a subset of possible projects. A variety of tools and methods can be used to select the optimal set of technology projects. However, these methods are only applicable when projects are independent and are evaluated in a common funding cycle. When projects are interdependent, the complexity of optimizing even a moderate number of projects over a small number of objectives and constraints can become overwhelming. This paper presents a model developed for the Boeing Company, Seattle, WA, USA, to optimize a portfolio of product development improvement projects. Using a dependency matrix, which quantifies the interdependencies between projects, a nonlinear, integer program model was developed to optimize project selection. The model also balances risk, overall objectives and the cost and benefit of the entire portfolio. Once the optimum strategy is identified, the model enables the team to quickly quantify and evaluate small changes to the portfolio.

Resource-based strategy and managerial power in networks of internationally dispersed technology units

Abstract: A linking of the Resource Based View of the firm, Resource Dependency Theory and the Vroom-Yetton model of leadership is used to show that when important technical (R&D) resources are located offshore for strategic and efficiency reasons, resource-based power goes with them. The extra-national technology units that embody those strategically important resources should be managed with inclusive methods that respect that power shift. Theoretical, empirical and managerial implications are drawn from this analysis. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Adaptive management: A tool for conservation practitioners

Abstract: Perhaps you are a member of a project team that is responsible for managing a biosphere reserve or national park. Maybe you work for a non-governmental conservation organization that is doing community-based conservation in an area rich in natural resources. Perhaps you are a research scientist or graduate student trying to figure out the best way to conserve an ecosystem in a particular area. Or maybe you work for a government agency responsible for managing natural resources in a certain state or country. These roles are typical of conservation practitioners — people who work on projects that are designed to achieve goals related to biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources. If you are like most

Mapping the Dimensions of Successful Public Participation in Messy Natural Resources Management Situations

Abstract: It is not an eye-opening statement to suggest that natural resource management increasingly occurs in turbulent, contentious settings These settings are often typified by contested or ambiguous goals and lack of scientific agreement on cause?effect relationships These settings are termed messy problems The research reported here asked the question, What dimensions characterize successful public participation in a messy setting? Two ecosystem-based planning projects located in western Montana served as the research context for this study Both projects contained a number of typically contentious resource management issues, such as logging, vegetation management, and fire as a management practice Forty-two scientists, managers, and members of the public who participated in the two ecosystem-based planning processes were interviewed to address this question Results indicated that participants provided answers reflecting several dimensions: writing a plan and implementing it; learning; interest represent

Rethinking Resource Management: Justice, Sustainability and Indigenous Peoples

Abstract: Part I: Introduction (and Disorientation) 1: Worlds Turned Upside Down Part II: Ways of Seeing 2: The Problem of 'Seeing' Part III: Ways of Thinking 3: Complexity in Resource Management Systems: Conceptualizing Abstractions and Internal Relations 4: Beyond 'Negotiation': Rethinking Conceptual Building Blocks 5: Reading Landscapes: Cartesian Geographies or Places of the Heart? 6: Ethics for Resource Managers Part IV: Case Studies 7: Case Studies: A Tool in Research for Resource Management 8: Recognition, Respect and Reconciliation: Changing Relations Between Aborigines and Mining Interests in Australia 9: Dependent Nations or Sovereign Governments? Treaties, Governance and Resources in the USA 10: Indigenous Rights of States' Rights: Hyrdopower in Norway and Quebec Part V: Ways of Doing 11: Diversity and World Order: Professional Practice and Resource Managers 12: Social Impact Assessment 13: Policy Arenas: Reform, Regulation and Monitoring 14: Co-Management of Local Resources Part VI: From Theory to Praxis 15: Sustainability, Equity and Optimism

Managing content resources

Abstract: Content resources are managed. A request is received from a user for access to a source of content resources. It is determined that the user is authorized for access to the source. A portal Web page is generated based on a set of content element data applicable to the subscriber. The portal Web page is returned to the user. A system for use in managing content resources has a switch for receiving requests from Web browsers, a content resource management engine in communication with the switch, and a billing system in communication with the content resource management engine.

Tradeoffs or synergies? : agricultural intensification, economic development, and the environment

Abstract: Alternative approaches to assessing tradeoffs in resource management economic and environmental tradeoffs in tropical deforestation challenges facing favoured versus less-favoured agroecosystems institutional and policy issues. (Part contents).

Place attachment in Canyonlands National Park: visitors' assessment of setting attributes on the Colorado and Green Rivers.

Abstract: In recent years, place attachment, and its non-economic approach to assessing the value of places, has gained acceptance in the natural resource management field. Managers and planners have begun to recognize the concept of place attachment as a tool for understanding resource conflicts and identifying key stakeholders. To further advance the knowledge of place attachment as a potential resource management tool, the authors examined attitudes and preferences of river users in two river environments in Canyonlands National Park. The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential utility of place attachment as a way to help understand how people identify themselves with outdoor natural settings, as well as to investigate the implications of such research for land management resource professionals Emotional/symbolic and functional place attachments were measured on the Green and Colorado Rivers within the park’s boundaries. Although the two rivers represent very different recreational settings, it was possible to document both types of attachment by using 12 place attachment statements. Based on respondents’ agreement with the place attachment statements and their rating of specific experiences, as well as their support for potential management actions, river users on the Green and Colorado Rivers demonstrated different motives for taking a river trip as well as different levels of support for specific management actions. Results suggest that this analysis provides another useful variable for segmenting visitors with respect to their preferences and attitudes concerning recreation settings. Concerning visitor tolerance for encountering other river users, comparisons also were made between visitors with high and low levels of agreement with place attachment statements to determine the existence of differences as related to encounter norms. For each day of their river trip, study participants were asked to record the maximum acceptable number, preferable number, maximum number of watercraft they could see before they would consider not visiting the river again, and the maximum number of watercraft for which the National Park Service should have managed for them to see. Based on their level of agreement with both emotional/symbolic and functional attachment statements, respondents demonstrated significant differences in tolerances for encountering other watercraft, regardless of how the encounter question was asked. Results indicate that applying different management strategies on the Green and Colorado Rivers within Canyonlands National Park may be an effective approach to providing quality recreation opportunities for visitors with varying degrees of attachment to the resource. In addition, implementation of a resource management framework that recognizes the potential value of managing a particular resource to provide more than one type of recreation opportunity could help prevent the displacement of Green River visitors seeking a feeling of solitude in a minimally developed setting.

Developing a spatial framework of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States.

Abstract: In 1996, nine federal agencies with mandates to inventory and manage the nation's land, water, and biological resources signed a memorandum of understanding entitled "Developing a Spatial Framework of Ecological Units of The United States." This spatial framework is the basis for interagency coordination and collaboration in the development of ecosystem management strategies. One of the objectives in this memorandum is the development of a map of common ecological regions for the conterminous United States. The regions defined in the spatial framework will be areas within which biotic, abiotic, terrestrial, and aquatic capacities and potentials are similar. The agencies agreed to begin by exploring areas of agreement and disagreement in three federal natural-resource spatial frameworks--Major Land Resource Areas of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Hierarchy of Ecological Units of the USDA Forest Service, and Level III Ecoregions of the US Environmental Protection Agency. The explicit intention is that the framework will foster an ecological understanding of the landscape, rather than an understanding based on a single resource, single discipline, or single agency perspective. This paper describes the origin, capabilities, and limitations of three major federal agency frameworks and suggests why a common ecological framework is desirable. The scientific and programmatic benefits of common ecological regions are described, and a proposed process for development of the common framework is presented.

Determinants and impact of local institutions for common resource management

Abstract: In this article, local institutions for forest conservation and management are analysed. The discussion is based on data from 37 villages and 180 households randomly sampled from a protected area in Rajasthan, India. Local management institutions are described, factors affecting inter-village differences in management institutions and collective action are analysed in a logit model, and the impact of institutions and other variables on common resource dependency and forest outcomes is tested using instrumental variable regression. Village population size has a positive effect and prior institutional experience a negative effect on the probability of collective action. It is concluded that efforts at improving forest management should not be confined to the poorest farmers. Large landowners are heavily involved in degrading use practises, especially when resources have good market potential. Local management institutions play a positive role in the area, but their impact appears insufficient to safeguard forests and commons from continued degradation. Conservation policies should target win–win options through interventions aimed at improving technologies for private and common lands as well as institutional changes.

System and method for developing a farm management plan for production agriculture

Abstract: Disclosed is a system comprised of hardware, software, and business processes for developing an optimal custom farm management plan, and in particular, a single year or multi-year crop selection, acreage allocation, and resource management strategies for production agriculture. The method uses mathematical programming (120) and sensitivity analysis (124) to help the user determine optimal allocations of controllable resources such as land, capital, labor, water, machinery, and chemicals in the context of farm management objectives. The system allows the import of data and information relating to the farm (112) and data and information from third party industry professionals and sources (128), thereby providing for a complete analysis based on these parameters.