Role of Information Technology in Business Success and Failure

This report discusses the role of information technology in the success or failure of a business, including ethical and social issues, different networking technologies, and the growth of ICT and internet in business. It also explores the role of IT in management. Study material and assignments on these topics are available on Desklib.

INDIVIDUAL REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..............................................................................................................................................3
Role of IT in success or failure of a business...........................................................................................3
Ethical and social issues associated with technology for running businesses..........................................4
Differentiate between different types of networking technologies...........................................................5
Growth in ICT and use of the intranet and internet in business...............................................................7
Role of Information technology in management......................................................................................8
Different stage of system development life cycle....................................................................................9
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Information Technology works for running an effcetive business practices at the work
place. Present study is based on the company TESCO that is a British multinational retail
company in England, UK. It is the third largest retail company founded by Jack Cohen in the
year 1919. Report will include different role of Information technology in the success or failure
of the business. Report will also identify different ethical and social issues that are coming while
information technology is been used at the firm. Further report will identify the different types of
networking technologies and the ways they are differentiable with each other. Report will discuss
some of the growth in ICT and different use of internet and internet for running an effective
business. Further report will identify the respective role of Information technology for
management at the workplace. Finally, report will evaluate different stages of systems
development life cycle.
MAIN BODY
Role of IT in success or failure of a business
Information technology plays a key for success and failure of the business as the success
of the business depends on various factors that the most important factor is IT itself. It is very
important for the firm to have accurate analysis with the help of an effective technology in hand.
The businesses that are investing more in technology are leading to an innovative path where
they earn huge market share, revenue and are also able to compete in market with an effective
image. The IT technology helps TESCO to analyze different data and accordingly leads to a plan
that can help them for their future growth. The different digital marketing tools are helping the
business to promote their offerings in global market and making the things easy for both
customers and TESCO. The cloud computing and different communication mediums are helping
the organisation to manage and monitor their work more effectively without leading to any sort
of error. However, there are different ethical and social issues that are related with the use of
technology and if the organisation is not regulating it properly, IT may also lead to failure of the
business practices(Dinata, 2020).
The success and failure of a business depends on its decision making and the reason of
success for TESCO is the market research process that helps the management for making right

decision with the help of an effective information technology. This research is done by the
business with the help of online surveys, forums etc. with the use of World Wide Web. There are
different online tools that helps the business to minimize the risk associated with human errors.
Another important role that Information technology is playing for success of TESCO is working
for the business growth with the help of marketing strategies. With the raising demand and
competition in market, the organisation is using different digital marketing platforms for
promoting their offerings. Company is using search engine optimization, pay per click, email,
SMS etc. platforms for advertising their products and services(Ravichandran, Han and Mithas,
2017).
It is very important for the business to bring higher level of customer satisfaction and all
that is possible with the help of an effective communication with them. Information Technology
is providing different channels for the business like email, social media platforms etc. with the
help of which they can communicate with them. TESCO is having customer relationship
management systems that contain the data for understanding the actual and future need of the
customers. Information technology is also playing an important role for automating complex
tasks into easy one by providing some friendly solutions to the top management. TESCO is
having Enterprise Resource planning solutions that is helping the business to manage its
resources more effectively with the use of internet and cloud technology. However, if the
business is not working on the data safety of the customers and also their own, it may also lead to
threat for the business. So, it is clear from these points that the long term success of TESCO is
not possible without adopting the benefits of Information Technology. With the use of different
IT solutions, business can lead to high productivity and efficiency(Khanam, Siddiqui and Talib,
2016) .
Ethical and social issues associated with technology for running businesses
There are number of unforeseen issues that are making the organization’s concern about
the safety, protection of the customer’s data, labor practices and law. With the use of an effective
technology at the work place, the concern with respect to the moral and ethical aspects gets
increased and organisation needs to work for different ethical dimensions (Oravec, 2019). The
different ethical and social issues that are arising at the workplace due to technology are
generally leading to new type of ethics that is techno ethics. Techno ethics is working to make

the organisation use different technologies more ethically and also protecting them from misuse
of these technologies. The different issues that are coming to run a business due to technology
are as following:-
 Privacy and security:- The technology may leads to unethical business behavior as it may
directly affects the privacy of an individual either the customer or the management of
TESCO itself. With the use technology, the company can track the customer’s buying
behaviour and can have their personal data in hand. Company generally monitors their
respective customers and collects additional information in the name of security. So, the
organisation are required to have control over this as collecting the personal data of the
customers without their permission is not an appropriate behaviour and also affects the
customers rights(Sargolzaei and Nikbakht, 2017).
 Communication:- It is difficult for the businesses to monitor the telephonic conversations,
but the organizations are able to monitor digital and text based communication such as
emails. Millions of messages can be scanned at the same period of time and can also
identify the sender easily with the use of information technology. It is therefore leading to
ethical and social issues and it is responsibility of TESCO to implement ethical
implications by not having their personal information without their permission.
Differentiate between different types of networking technologies
Network is generally referred to as two or more computers or any other devices that are
connected with each other in order to an effective communication or to transfer data from one
computer to different other sources. There are different types of networks that are available for
the businesses and company can use the right one for their business. These networks have some
differentiating factors on bases of the devices that are connected within the network area and the
way they are connected. The different types of networks are as following:-
 LAN:- The most common network found in the market is the Local area network that is
connecting a group of devices that are located at the same place. With the help of
Ethernet cables, these devices are been connected and these cables are generally having
limitations with respect to their length.
 MAN:- It is the metropolitan area network and is having capability to cover a whole city,
college campus etc. The multiple number of LAN are linked together with the help of

wired backhaul that is the MAN is generally used to connect number of LANs in order to
form bigger network. The best example of such network is the Wi-Fi network with the
help of which whole city can be connected.
 WAN:- Wide area Network is the network that covers all the necessary distance that is in
need to be covered. In simple words this networks covers the large geographical areas
and the best example of WAN is the internet with the help of which large geographical
areas get connected.
 CAN:- With the help of campus area network, a whole campus or several building get
connected with the main firewall and this network is formed by connected several LAN’s
together(Sharma and et.al., 2016).
 HAN:- Home area network connects the devices within a home and generally been used
to connect computers, smartphones, televisions etc. at the home.
 VPN:- Virtual private network are generally not connected with any physical means and
is generally used to connect devices that distance apart. With the help of internet these
devices are been connected and can transfer information from one device to another.
Most of the individuals use this networking on their personal computers for having extra
security and for protecting their private data(Leon, Parra and Bermudez, 2018).
 PAN:- The personal area network is connecting the devices that are not more than 10
yards apart and they are generally connected with the help of Bluetooth technology. In
this networking the devices are required to be within a close proximity to each other.
 BAN:- This is body area network and is used for low-range wireless communication. The
example of such type of network is the smart watches, medical devices etc.
 NAN:- Near me network generally connected with their proximity to each other. There
are business meetings in which it is been used where the employees sits at the same
conference table and data is shared among them with the help of PAN. The connection is
done with the help of Wi-Fi or any wired connection.
Following were the different types of network that organizations may use for their
convenience. However, TESCO generally use Wide Area Network that is with the help of
internet it get connects with different stores and also with its different customers (Srinivas and
Kale, 2017).

Growth in ICT and use of the intranet and internet in business
Information and communication technology generally includes the digital technology
with the help of which an organisation can use different information. There is an electronic
product that is been used to deal with these information in digital format and leads to digital data
storage and its transmission from one place to another. With the help of ICT, TESCO is able to
make its business more efficient and effective in eyes of the customers by fulfilling their desired
needs. The ICT generally assist different activities of the business that may include research and
development, distribution, sale and also feedback. ICT is very helpful for TESCO as it is helping
the business to reduce its cost and promoting and enhancing communication for the development
of the organisation. The ICT is leading to the growth of the business as it helps the business for
bringing an effective communication and with less investment; more information can be send
from one place to another. It is helping TESCO to produce its products and services in global
market by bringing the countries closer with effective technologies in hand. It is bringing cost
effectiveness at the work place as it is quite cheap for the business to send an email to its
customers. With the help of ICT, organisation is able to provide 24*7 hours services to its
customers(Avgerou, Hayes and La Rovere, 2016).
Intranet and internet is playing a crucial role for today’s business as without the help of
such connectivity, business cannot run smoothly. Internet is worldwide interconnection of
different computer networks and on the other side, Intranet is the system where multiple personal
computers are been connected to each other. Most of the organisation has its own Intranet
network with the help of which their employees can access the computer systems with the help
of their internet. Internet is having global access with the help of which, organisation can provide
its customers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week service very easily(Majumder and Roy, 2017).
TESCO use the internet as it helps the organisation to improve their client’s service with greater
flexibility. Not only this, business is also able to save the cost with respect to marketing of its
products and services and sending emails with the use internet is very cheap. With the use of
internet, business is able to sale its offerings with the online platforms and helps in faster
delivery of products and services. On the other hand Intranet is useful for TESCO as it brings an
effective internal communication within the firm and the employees are able to find the required

information very easily. Not only this, it helps the company to get connected across different
locations and time zones. The employees work get more simplified and provides organisation
clarity. With an effective use of Intranet, business is able to create an effective brand value in
market(Horn, 2018).
Role of Information technology in management
Information technology is playing an important role for management of the organisation
as it helps the business to manage its data processing and storage. There are various key roles
like communication, record keeping, decision making etc. that are all managed with the help of
Information technology. The business process can be improved by implementing the best
practices at the workplace and for implementing the same an effective communication is
required. For the same Information technology helps by providing different digital tools with the
use of which information can be transferred from one department to another. It also helps the
business to bring strategic planning, allocation of resources etc (Imran and Hameed, 2019). The
main role of Information technology is to bring an effective decision making with the help of
different strategies. There are different technical platforms that IT provides to its customers with
the help of which different business goals can be achieved effectively. There are different set of
roles that IT plays for management and these roles are as following:-
 It ensures that the business operations are carried out effectively:- There are different
business activities that are handled and managed with the help of information technology.
It works to make the business procedures error free and ensures that the TESCO meets its
business goals within a specific period of time.
 Monitor and manage performance:- Information technology works to monitor and
manage the performance of the TESCO on time to time bases. There are different
databases that are maintained with the help of different technology and different utility
programs are also set so that no system failure occurs(Khanam, Siddiqui and Talib,
2016).
 High level of accuracy:- With an effective use of IT management, business is able to
bring high level of accuracy and reliability at the workplace by handling the complex
tasks very easily. There are different software and programs used by TESCO in order to
bring an effective management at the workplace.

 Sound decision making:- IT management generally helps in flow of information from
one part of the organisation to another with the help of different software and digital
technologies. There are different decision made by the TESCO on bases of different data
base and information that are provided with the use of Information technology and this
helps in improving the quality and speed of decision making at the firm.
Different stage of system development life cycle
With an effective use of System development life cycle, a newly developed project can
be transformed to an operational one. This process is been used for both technical and non-
technical activities that can deliver a quality system in order to meet business expectations and
also to have an effective decision making process at the firm.
There are seven major stages of this life cycle and are as following:-
 Planning:- In the first phase of this cycle, the business finds out the scope of the problem
and also determines the respective solution that can handle the issue very easily. For the
same, business works to have desirable resources in hand and works to deal with the
associated cost and time that will be leading to solution of the respective problem. An
effective plan is set by identifying the required information system and resources.
 Systems Analysis and requirements:- Next phase is the functional requirements of the
projects. A study is been conducted by the business in order to understand that the project
is organizationally, economically, technologically feasible or not. Business here is
required to have an effective communication with the customers so that they can have a
clear vision of the respective products and services. It is very important to analyze as it
helps to ensure that the new system meet the respective expectations or not. The
performance of the software at different stages is analyzed so that the further
requirements can be into consideration(Wong, Yu and Too, 2018).
 Systems Design:- Next phase is the systems design where the required specifications,
features and operations are been decided so that they can satisfy the different functional
requirements of the system. Here, a blueprint is used with the help which different
applications, network, databases and system interfaces is been designed.
 Development:- In this phase the actual work starts that is the software is been developed
and the required information system is been set. In this stage the actual task begins where

the software is been developed and for the same hardware is been purchased and
installed. The software is then coded and is loaded in order to test whether it is
functioning or not.
 Integrating and testing:- The quality analyst at the workplace analyze the testing
process and will make sure that the new information system works effectively at the
workplace(Kramer, 2018).
 Implementation:- As the software get developed, it is been implemented at the work
place and after an effective testing of the program is been done, it is been implemented
fully. It is a time taking process as it is done with the help of coding.
 Maintenance:- At last comes the maintenance stage where the software is been
maintained and upgraded time to time in order to adapt the respective changes that are
coming in market. This stage also includes handling of remaining errors and resolves
them.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it is been concluded that the IT is playing an important role for
both success and failure of the business. It is been also concluded that information technology is
leading to various ethical and social issues with respect to the organisation. There are different
types of network that are used at the workplace on bases of their requirement and TESCO is
using Wide Area Network at the workplace. Report also concluded that internet and intranet is
playing a key role for an effective functioning of TESCO. Finally, report concluded that to
develop a new system at the workplace, business takes help of system development life cycle in
order to implement new system and software at the firm.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals

Avgerou, C., Hayes, N. and La Rovere, R.L., 2016. Growth in ICT uptake in developing
countries: new users, new uses, new challenges.
Dinata, H., 2020. Business Process Reengineering: The Role of Information Technology as a
Determinant of Success for Improving Performanc. Inform: Jurnal Ilmiah Bidang
Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi, pp.25-31.
Horn, T., 2018. Internet-Intranet-Extranet: Potentiale im Unternehmen. Walter de Gruyter
GmbH & Co KG.
Imran, M. and Hameed, W., 2019. The contributing factors towards e-logistic customer
satisfaction: a mediating role of information Technology. Uncertain Supply Chain
Management. 7(1). pp.63-72.
Khanam, S., Siddiqui, J. and Talib, F., 2016. Role of information technology in total quality
management: a literature review. Khanam, S, Siddiqui, J. and Talib, F.
(2013),“Role of Information Technology in Total Quality Management: A
Literature Review”, International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer
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Khanam, S., Siddiqui, J. and Talib, F., 2016. Role of information technology in total quality
management: a literature review. Khanam, S, Siddiqui, J. and Talib, F.
(2013),“Role of Information Technology in Total Quality Management: A
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Kramer, M., 2018. Best practices in systems development lifecycle: An analyses based on the
waterfall model. Review of Business & Finance Studies. 9(1). pp.77-84.
Leon, A., Parra, O. and Bermudez, G., 2018. LAN-WAN-LAN end-to-end Network Simulation
with NS2. International Journal of Applied Engineering Research. 13(17).
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Majumder, A. and Roy, S., 2017. Implementation of enhanced forward pointer-based mobility
management scheme for handling internet and intranet traffic in wireless mesh
network. Telecommunication Systems. 66(2). pp.145-168.
Oravec, J.A., 2019. Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and Social Welfare: Some Ethical and
Historical Perspectives on Technological Overstatement and Hyperbole. Ethics
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Ravichandran, T., Han, S. and Mithas, S., 2017. Mitigating diminishing returns to R&D: The
role of information technology in innovation. Information Systems
Research. 28(4). pp.812-827.
Sargolzaei, E. and Nikbakht, M., 2017. The Ethical and Social Issues of Information
Technology: A Case Study. International Journal of Advanced Computer Science
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Quality Assurance: The Relationship of Project Activities within Project Life
Cycle and System Development Life Cycle. In 2018 IEEE Conference on
Systems, Process and Control (ICSPC) (pp. 123-128). IEEE.