Introduction
In a computerized and digitalized world, various technologies play an essential role. Appropriate information technologies are used to help make business decisions, manage large volumes of information, process transactions, and others. Computerization provides businesses with many advantages because new technologies can deal with data faster and more accurately than humans. That is why it is not a surprise that many organizations rely on information technologies. Golden Harvest is an example of a highly technological company, but scientific evidence demonstrates that the business can benefit from implementing a decision support system.
Company Background and Information Systems
The given report focuses on Golden Harvest Seeds, an American agricultural company. The business specializes in providing corn and soybean seeds to various customers. According to the official website, the company relies on genetics, agronomy, and service to provide its customers with high-quality products (Golden Harvest, n.d.b). As a result, Golden Harvest offers hybrid products that meet the individualized needs of multiple farmers.
In particular, the products feature excellent results regarding “insect control, water optimization, and herbicide tolerance” (Golden Harvest, n.d., para. 3). In addition to that, Golden Harvest offers specific services to its clients. This statement refers to Seed Advisor’s assistance that farmers can request. This service stipulates that experts from Golden Harvest can help individual farmers make the most optimal seeding decisions considering the farmers’ unique agronomic conditions.
Golden Harvest uses a highly technological approach to produce its seeds. They are bred in specific conditions to ensure that the obtained hybrids will have excellent characteristic features contributing to increased crop yield. Simultaneously, the business is constantly looking for agricultural experts from various geographical regions. The company hires them because the high-quality assistance of Golden Harvest Seed Advisors can maximize the crop yield of specifically bred seeds. Customers can find experts by witnessing the official website and entering their zip code. The system will then show the closest Advisors and their contact information. As for the seeds, the business distributes them online, meaning that the customer can order home or farm deliveries.
At this point, it is reasonable to explain why information systems are essential for the business under consideration. Munz et al. (2020) stipulate that these technological advancements are required because farmers and their organizations need to address economic, ecological, and social issues. As a result, an information system can be used to make business more cost-effective or ensure that agricultural activities result in less harm to the environment. Consequently, since the farming industry implies manufacturing high volumes of products, they deal with many stakeholders. Consequently, Munz et al. (2020) highlight that technologies are beneficial since they allow for gathering, analyzing, and exchanging data from multiple customers and partners. That is why it is evident that information systems can provide agricultural companies with many advantages.
However, it is impossible to mention that technological advancements are free from defects. For example, Tyrychtr (2017) notes that information systems do not always result in increased economic value for organizations. The researcher emphasizes the fact that information systems can only produce positive outcomes if they are correctly applied. In particular, Tyrychtr (2017) reveals that poorly implemented technologies can bring specific errors that will make it impossible to achieve economic value. This information demonstrates that farmers should carefully select and use information systems in their business.
It has already been mentioned that Golden Harvest relies on particular technological solutions, and it is now reasonable to comment on them. On the one hand, one can admit that the company significantly relies on technology when it comes to its production activities. For example, the official website reveals that Agrisure Artesian, Agrisure Duracade, and Agrisure Viptera solutions are used to increase the quality of seeds (Goldern Harvest, n.d.a). In particular, Agrisure Artesian relies on specific genes that maximize yield when it rains and that increase yield when there is no precipitation (Golden Harvest, n.d.a). This and other solutions result in the fact that the company can provide its customers with highly-technological products.
On the other hand, the company’s sales and marketing sphere also benefit from an information system. Since the business deals with online payments and orders, it is not a surprise that an appropriate transaction processing system should be in place. This technological solution ensures that customers can visit the company’s website and make their orders via it. The given approach is convenient for customers, while Golden Harvest also witnesses some advantages. For example, the business finds it useful that all orders come from a single route, meaning that controlling and reporting transactions is easy.
Information Technology Recommendation
According to the information above, it is possible to suggest that Golden Harvest can benefit from applying a decision support system (DSS) to facilitate its advisory service. In particular, this technological solution should deal with crop planning by offering the best time to plant, fertilize, and reap the products. This outcome is possible because the system is supposed to analyze the historical and predictive meteorological data, soil peculiarities, and specific features of a crop. The analysis of this information will result in providing users with reasoned answers and recommendations to maximize crop yield.
Specific information demonstrates that such an information system should be in place. The customers can access the DSS to make strategic decisions because farmers should determine what, when, and how they should do to achieve more optimal outcomes. Consequently, customers require assistance when dealing with an informal group representing a strategic level. The proposed DSS is going to address these users’ needs because the output data can be sufficient to make any strategic decisions. The rationale behind this statement is that the analysis of all the required information will provide farmers with appropriate recommendations to bring future benefits.
The system is also justified because it has an opportunity to bring automation. A study by Rupnik et al. (2019) provides an overview of a DSS and stipulates that automation is an essential feature that can bring many advantages. In particular, this feature can minimize the possibility of errors, shorten the required time to perform operations, and so on. As for the proposed information system for Golden Harvest, automation is possible because the technological application does not require manual input of all data. For example, a user can insert geographic coordinates of their field, and the system will automatically collect and analyze all the appropriate data, which makes it convenient and easy to use the DSS.
Now, it is reasonable to mention that ease of use is not the only possible benefit of the proposed information system because it offers multiple advantages. Firstly, Ara et al. (2021) admit that technological solutions lead to labor savings. Regarding Golden Harvest, the organization will manage to save financial resources in the long run because it will not need to hire a vast number of Seed Advisors. Secondly, a DSS leads to quality improvement because it offers reasoned solutions (Zhai et al., 2020). The proposed system is expected to increase crop quality because farmers will be given recommendations on how to improve their cultivation activities. Thirdly, there is no doubt that the suggested DSS leads to faster processing when compared to humans because the software can automatically find and analyze relevant information.
It is reasonable to explain that the DSS for Golden Harvest will work with versatile data elements. Operations with textual and numerical data are essential because they allow the system to find information for analysis. Simultaneously, the system can benefit from relying on images and photographs. This step is critical because the system can establish a connection between the identified data, cultivation practices, and the crop’s physical peculiarities. The combination of these data elements can guarantee that the DSS provides a comprehensive analysis and offers reasoned recommendations. There is no evident need to use sound and video materials in the given information system.
In addition to that, the DSS is appropriate because it promotes networking and interactive processing. The former phenomenon refers to the fact that the system allows for integrating various data. It has already been mentioned above that the DSS deals with meteorological data, soil peculiarities, and crop features. As a result, the combination of this information contributes to a detailed analysis. As for interactive processing, this term denotes that end users can adjust the information to their needs. Ara et al. (2021) stipulate that agriculture innovation is an interactive process where farmers should review, act, and reflect. Consequently, the proposed DSS only offers recommendations for individuals, and they should check the suggestions and adjust them to their needs, if necessary.
It is also reasonable to explain why the proposed DSS is a decentralized information system. According to Chen et al. (2020), this approach implies specific advantages, including cost-effectiveness and a reduced number of necessary operations. On the one hand, decentralization leads to saving costs because it does not mean having large and expensive servers that would handle all the procedures and processes (Chen et al., 2020). On the other hand, decentralization is associated with delegating responsibilities. Consequently, centralized institutions allow trusted elements to perform all the processes on their own. For example, when a user uses the DSS on their device, the information system does not access the central server; instead of it, the device directly collects and analyzes the required data from appropriate sources.
The proposed DSS is supposed to provide service to a significant population layer, and it is reasonable to comment on end-user computing needs. It is necessary to ensure that as many potential customers as possible can access the proposed information system. That is why a suitable decision will be to make the information system available for personal computers, tablets, and smartphones. This fact will demonstrate that farmers can use the system in the most convenient way, which maximizes their satisfaction.
Finally, it is reasonable to mention that the system software should be developed, not acquired. The rationale behind this claim is that such systems are typically created because of a technology push rather than in an attempt to satisfy end-user demand (Ara et al., 2021). In other words, there exists a slight possibility that Golden Harvest will manage to find a software package that will perfectly fit the company’s needs and expectations. That is why the best strategy will be to develop specific software to ensure that it can face all the required expectations.
Potential Security Threats
At this point, it is possible to state that the proposed DSS will not be subject to many security threats. On the one hand, the system does not imply working with much sensitive information. For example, the DSS will not require payment credentials, users’ documents, or any other details that hackers can steal to gain personal benefits. Instead of it, farmers will only need to insert their full name, contact information (phone number or email), and geographical location.
There is no doubt that this seemingly non-sensitive information requires protection, though. One can admit that appropriate measures are taken at the development stage. This statement refers to the fact that decentralization leads to information security, minimizing the possibility of hacking attacks, equipment failures, and others (Chen et al., 2020). The given approach demonstrates that user information is protected against prevalent threats.
Social, Political, and Diversity Impacts
The proposed information system is supposed to result in a few political and social advantages. On the one hand, the DSS addresses the political issues of national food security and overall wealth. The information system aims at maximizing crop yields, and if this condition is achieved, American farmers will provide the internal market with good products. This fact will lead to decreased prices and higher quality, which will be beneficial for ordinary citizens. On the other hand, the DSS also addresses an essential social issue. Since many farmers can utilize the system irrespective of their field size, geographic location, and income levels, one can firmly claim that it promotes equality in US society.
Diversity also significantly impacted the development of the proposed information system. Since farmers live in different conditions and have various goals, the interactive processing principles were utilized to allow individuals to adjust the DSS to themselves. Ara et al. (2020) clarify that flexibility of information systems is one of their essential benefits. Furthermore, the DSS was developed to ensure that the service will be available for representatives of various cultures and geographical areas. That is why the DSS will be available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.
Conclusion
Golden Harvest is an agricultural firm that relies on technological solutions to create high-quality products. However, research has demonstrated that the business can benefit from a decision support system when it comes to distributed services. Since Golden Harvest currently offers the assistance of Seed Advisors, it is possible to suggest that the proposed information system can contribute to better outcomes. This decision support software can deal with collecting and analyzing historical and predictive meteorological data, soil peculiarities, and specific features of a crop to provide farmers with specific recommendations.
For example, these guidelines will comment on when to plant, fertilize, and reap the products to maximize the crop yield. The decision support system implies multiple advantages, including cost-effectiveness, increased information security, interactive processing, quality improvements, and others. Finally, the proposed system addresses political and social issues to make life better for US society. As a result, sufficient evidence demonstrates that it can be reasonable for Golden Harvest to implement the decision support system.
References
Ara, I., Turner, L., Harrison, M. T., Monjardino, M., DeVoil, P., & Rodriguez, D. (2021). Application, adoption, and opportunities for improving decision support systems in irrigated agriculture: A review. Agricultural Water Management, 257, 107161. Web.
Chen, Y., Li, Y., & Li, C. (2020). Electronic agriculture, blockchain, and digital agricultural democratization: Origin, theory and application. Journal of Cleaner Production, 268, 122071. Web.
Golden Harvest. (n.d.a). Industry-leading traits and technologies. Web.
Golden Harvest. (n.d.b). The Golden Harvest story. Web.
Munz, J., Gindele, N., & Doluschitz, R. (2020). Exploring the characteristics and utilization of Farm Management Information Systems (FMIS) in Germany. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 170, 105246. Web.
Rupnik, R., Kukar, M., Vračar, P., Košir, D., Pevec, D., & Bosnić, Z. (2019). AgroDSS: A decision support system for agriculture and farming. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 161, 260-271. Web.
Tyrychtr, J. (2017). Economic value of information systems in agriculture: Cohesion and coupling of information elements. AGRIS On-Line Papers in Economics and Informatics, 9(3), 71-79. Web.
Zhai, Z., Martínez, J. F., Beltran, V., & Martínez, N. L. (2020). Decision support systems for agriculture 4.0: Survey and challenges. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 170, 105256. Web.