(PDF) Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age

INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY

ABSTRACT
Information technology is a technology used through the personalised computer for
converting data into useful information. In this report, the role of information technology is
analysed through the various approaches such as data management etc. The ethical and social
issues are the main components to be taken care of through proper management of technology.
The difference between various networks are identified by their covering of geographical area .
The internet is important as it improves communication and intranet is important as it improves
internal communication. It can be concluded that this report shows that the information
technology is an important tool for the effective operations of the business.

Table of Contents
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
Identifying role of IT in success or failure of an company.........................................................1
Ethical and Social issues that relate the company.......................................................................2
Difference between different types of networks.........................................................................3
Importance of Internet and Intranet in the company...................................................................5
Different stages of system development life cycle....................................................................6
Analysis with discussion of benefits and drawbacks of information technology in context of
Marks and Spencer......................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
Information technology refers to the use of personalised computer by an organisation to
transmit raw data into useful information. This can be considered as communication through
technology(Althobait, Kruschwitz and Poesio 2012). The information technology is a tool for
processing and a approach to calculate statistic data and a method which is used in decision
making. The company chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer which is a multinational
retailer and its headquarter is established in Westminster London and the company is a clothing
company and also produces home product and food product. This project report will cover the
role of information technology in success or failure of firm and ethical and social issues that
sustain a company. This also involves differentiation between different types of network
technologies and importance of internet and intranet and different stage of system development
cycle and how information technology influences the working of a company.
TASK
Identifying role of IT in success or failure of an company.
Information technology is a type of technology which is used through personalised
computer to keep, manipulate and transform or generate information. It can be summarised as
possessing knowledge which comes from information. This is the role of IT which is providing
knowledge through absorbing information. Marks & Spencer use information technology to
obtain knowledge by converting data into useful information through personalised
computers(Bright and et. al., 2015). This provide accurate information to the company which is
useful in the operation of the company. There are several roles which information technology
plays which are helpful in context of Marks and Spencer are as follows-
 Communication- This technology is used as communication tool in the company as
employees of the Marks & Spencer communicate through e-mail when transfer of
professional information is required. This is also useful for the company in
communicating with the outsiders such as customers, business partners and suppliers.
The transfer of information becomes easier and faster through the use of electronic mail.
But in modern era, there are many forms of communication has emerged such as Skype
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