Role of Information Technology In The Organisation

Main Body

Role of IT in the success and the failure of the business

The success of any business depends upon various factors which include selection of various appropriate technology, a better vision, accuracy in the analysis and many more. With the emerging technology the role of digital marketing, online shopping, and social networking has increased on the behaviour of the consumers. Due to this the role of IT in retail sectors companies such as Tesco is analyse which has impact on the profitability and their operations:

• Effective communication: With the help of Information technology the communication among the customers and the business organisation has improved. It offers various platforms with which the messages can be conveyed to the customers such as through social media, websites etc. To be competitive it is important for the businesses to interact with their customers so that an understanding can be developed. For Tesco it is important to communicate effectively as they offer the goods which are essential for them. This will help them to build and maintain their brand image among the customers which will help them to achieve their targets  (Buabeng-Andoh, 2012).
• Resource management: Resources are crucial asset of the organisation which has to be managed effectively. For large organisation it is not possible to manage them manually and in this case the information technology plays important role. It offers various software, automated systems with the help of which they manage and monitor the resources effectively whether it is physical resources, human resources or financial resources etc.
• Effective decision making: With the accuracy and the speed an effective decision making is possible. For this continuous market research need to be done by the company which is possible by way conducting online surveys, Also with the help of various tools such as Big Data, Google Analytics etc. real time responses of the target market and ensures the authenticity and accuracy of such data. It will provide advantage to the Tesco as with this their decision making will be faster in comparison to their competitors.
• Opportunities to collaborate with the partners: The information technology also facilitates the companies to collaborate with their partners which improve their operational efficiency. Also with the help of such collaborations Tesco can expand their business as this will help them to procure more of resources, innovate their technology with the improved availability of the funds. With the help of internet they can identify the potential investors for their business and along with this they can identify various suppliers which can provides goods to them at comparatively lowers rates than the existing suppliers (Held, 2016).

Ethical and social issues faced by the company while running the business

Ethics is related with what is right and what is wrong. In business the conduct should be in favour of the society and the customers. Adoption of right path make the organisation ethical while taking shortcuts can take the business towards their failure. Social issues are related with the various problems that has impact on the society at large. Such issues are faced because of the extension of the limit of the control. The ethical and social issues have impact on the operation of the organisation which can further affect their profitability.  Tesco also faced some ethical and social issues which are given below:

Ethical issues pertains to running business

• Hacking:  Hacking is related with identification of the weaknesses in the computer system and network from which the data is being stolen without permission. In businesses generally the data related with customers, plans and strategies are stolen with the help of which the other company can formulate their Strategies and plans. If such an act is done by Tesco it can affect its image adversely as the competitors whose data and information has been stolen can sue them. It will impact the sales, profitability, revenue and brand image of the company. Apart from this the company may have to pay huge fines and penalties for the misconduct either to the organisation or to the government (Laudon and Laudon, 2015). 

• Lack of security and privacy: There are some crucial and sensitive information which has to be shared by the employees and the organisation with each other. Such information could be bank details, details related to the identity of the individual and many more. This is the responsibility of the managers of the company to ensure the safety of such information and the data. The company as the founder member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) uses its base code which ensures various ethical practices such as safe and healthy working conditions to the employees, no discrimination, freedom of association etc. Such practices of the employees build trust among the employees on the company which motivates them to perform ethically. 

Social issues pertains to running business

• Cyber bulling: To manage the business operations and activities effectively various tools of information technology are used by the companies. But with the increasing use of internet all the data and information can easily be gathered which leads to harassment of the people. This act of harassing the people through online or electronic means are known as cyber bulling or online bulling. With Tesco this issue can arise if the information of the consumers is misused by the employees. Such an issue can severely affect the brand image which will lead to loss of business as the customer may move to the competitors  (Aliyu and Tasmin, 2012).
• Communication breakdown: Communication Breakdown is the situation of being failure in communicating the message to the consumers while exchanging the information. A communication can be made effective when their exist face to face interaction among the people of the company and the customers as they can make them understand the utility of the products and services to them. Due to increasing use of the internet the preference of the consumers also changed such as the customers prefers online shopping over offline, this brings communication breakdown among the customers and the clients (Magrabi and et. al., 2013).

Identification and differentiation among various networking technology

Network technology is referred to as the technology with the help of which the individuals can communicate with each others. Also small and large data and information are shared with each other. This can done using various electric devices and the computer system. Various such devices include intranet, cable, modem, wireless technologies etc. Through networking the end users can pass on data and the information, files to various other channels via e-mail and other similar sources. There is basically three network technology which is adopted by the people. Three network technologies include:

• LAN: LAN stands for local area network. It connects a group of computer system with various low voltage devices for a short distance that can be within a building or among two-three buildings. With the help of this the resources and the information can be effectively be shared among the connected computer systems. Businesses generally use this network technology as it helps them to share the resources and easily transmit the data. Tesco can use this technology by installing routers as this will help them to connect the others rapidly and safely.  
• MAN: MAN stands for metropolitan area network. This is larger network than LAN but is comparatively smaller than the WAN. It incorporates the features of both such network. MAN is generally used to connect a geographical location which is generally be a city or a town and can be managed by the single entity or by an individual. This technology can be used by the companies such as Tesco as it will enable them to ensure the connectively among various branches of the organisation  (Schwalbe,  2015).
• WAN: WAN stands for wide area network. It connects the systems which are at longer distances physically as the computers and various low voltage devices can be connected for sharing the data and information on one large network created by the WAN. Also it facilitates communication with each other. Internet is a common example of WAN which connect all the devices across the world. Using such technology the Tesco can effectively market their products and can create awareness about their products and services.    

LAN	MAN	WAN
LAN connects the computers only to a limited area which can be within the offices, building etc.	MAN interconnects the computers system within geographical are whose coverage is larger than LAN but Smaller than WAN.	While WAN connects the systems to a larger geographical area across the world.
It covers the area between 1km to 10 km.	This covers the area of approximately 100km.	It covers a larger area which is beyond 100 km.
It is easy to design and maintain a LAN as it is limited to a specific area and people.	While it is difficult to design and complicated to manage as it spread to 100 km.	This is also difficult and complicated to design and then to manage it.
The speed to transferring the data is high and as there are limited numbers of users so there is less congestion.	In this the speed to transferring the data is moderate and the congestion is also moderate in this technology.	The speed of transferring is low and thus the congestion is also low in this networking technology.

 

Importance of Social media in the retail business

Social media has become an important part of the business as they need to consider it while formulating various marketing strategies. It is a platform with the help of which the businesses can easily and effectively communicate with their customers, create brand awareness which will help them in increasing their sales and thus their profitability. The importance of social media for Tesco is given below:

• This is cost effective platform for creating awareness about the brands as the use if social media has increased.
• It is good source of engaging people with the organisation as it is a two way communication process.
• With this healthy relations can maintained as with this continuous interaction is possible with the customers.

Different stages of the System life cycle

System development life cycle includes various steps which help in maintaining, developing and deploying the software. Various stages of system development include:

• Requirement gathering and analysis: At this stage all the information are gathered and analysis is done. For Tesco, in this stage they can develop software which can help them in satisfying the customers. This can be done by way of gathering relevant information about them (Shladover, 2018).
• Design: After collecting the information the software need to be design which can be used to implement the system development.
• Implementation or coding: In this phase, the software is implemented. Coding is done while designing the software and then it is transformed into source code. Various newly developed software will be implemented in this phase.
• Testing: In this phase the coding gets complete and various modules are prepared for the purpose of testing the software. The test will be done as per the requirements of the organisation and defects will be found out. On the basis of which various modifications will be made in the software.
• Deployment: After the successful testing the software are deployed for the first use. This helps to identify whether it can satisfy the needs of the customers and on that basis the processes are repeated. 
• Maintenance:  In this last phase of the cycle, a period is decided in which the maintenance of the software needs to be done so that the outcomes from the use of the software can be maximised.

Analysis and Discussion

Potential benefits and drawbacks for the organisation of investing in Information and technology

Potential Benefits:

The use of information technology offers various benefits to the organisation such as Tesco which are given below:

• With the help of information technology strategic thinking is possible which will help the Tesco in managing their operations effectively by focussing on the operations. The strategies which are adopted can be analysed effectively which will provide competitive advantage over other as they can easily adopt the changes (Bruss and Leuchs,  2019).
• The major benefit of using IT is that it facilitates communication and continuous interaction with the customers that helps them to satisfy them. Also it helps in various activities such as advertising and promotion, keeping and maintaining records etc. 

Drawbacks:

With various potential benefits there are some drawbacks which are faced by the organisation while investing in the Information technology. Some drawbacks for Tesco are given below:

• The maintenance of information technology is not that easy as it requires continuous updates which gradually makes it complex. Also with this the information are stored at one place and if such information is lost then it can lead to loss of customers which affects the revenue and the profitability of the organisation (Nijssen,  Schepers and Belanche, 2016). 

• The investment in the information technology is very high which requires huge capital and for this trainings need to be provided to the people working in the organisation to make them comfortable with the technology. This increase the cost for Tesco which has impact on their profitability.

CONCLUSION

From the above report it is concluded that the information technology is important for the success of the business as it helps the business to manage their operations effectively. This helps them in satisfying the customers by communicating with them in a proper manner. Also there are various ethical and social issues which are faced by the company such as hacking, cyber bulling etc, which has to be managed by them in order to reduce its impact on the business operations. All this can be done through various network technologies that help in establishing connection at various levels. Also it is concluded that with the help of various stages of development life cycle a better system can be formulated which can help the organisation to achieve their objectives.

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