Individual Research Report: Marks and Spencer

This research report critically evaluates the use of IT in the business of Marks and Spencer, its benefits, and potential drawbacks. It discusses different networking technologies and the importance of internet and intranet. It also analyzes the potential benefits and drawbacks of investing in IT for Marks and Spencer.

Running head: INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH REPORT
Individual Research Report: Marks and Spencer
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Abstract
Information Technology has gradually become an inseparable component associated with
business operations of an organization. In this research report, the organization M & S is chosen.
The report critically evaluates the use of IT in the business of M & S, its benefits along with the
potential drawback. For developing a successful ICT presence, a company needs to invest on
different networking technologies. The report discusses the different types of networking
technologies and evaluates the importance of internet and intranet in M & S. The potential
benefit and the drawback of investing in Information Technology for M & S, forms the critical
component of the report.

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
1. Literature Review............................................................................................................3
1.1. Role of IT in the failure and success of Mark and Spencer......................................4
1.2. Social and Ethical Issues pertain to running Business..............................................6
1.3. Different Networking Technologies.........................................................................7
1.4. Importance of Intranet and Internet..........................................................................8
1.5. Different Stage of system development life Cycle...................................................9
2. Analysis and Discussion................................................................................................10
2.1. Potential Benefits and Drawback of IT in the business of M & S..........................10
2.2. Discussion...............................................................................................................11
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................11
References..........................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The use of information technology and its application in the modern world has become a
necessity for the current business organization. Information Technology (IT) has an important
effect on the success and the failure of a business. IT has become an essential requirement for a
business to survive. IT helps an organization or a company to increase the efficiency of their
work processes by reducing the time and effort and money. The aim of this report is to discuss
the implementation of IT in an organization, Marks and Spencer. The contribution of IT in
Marks and Spencer. The report will be identifying the role of IT in the success and failure of the
organization that is chosen. The social and the ethical issues linked with running a business with
the implementation of IT. The success of the implementation of information technology in an
organization is based on choosing the right networking technology. The report will be
differentiating between different types of networking technologies that can ascertain the success
of a company. Use of internet and Intranet is quite significant for the success of a company, and
the report will be discussing the importance of internet and intranet in the chosen business. The
report will further analyze the most relevant system development life cycle in the business of
Mark and Spenser. The following section of the report embarks on a critical literature review that
is linked with the use of Information Technology in business. The literature review will consider
the works that have been conducted in this field, to get an idea of the benefits and the drawbacks,
for a company to invest in the use of Information Technology. The report further analyses the
secondary data that is obtained from the literature search in the analysis and discussion section.
1. Literature Review

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A literature review is related to the evaluation of the substantive findings, which include
theoretical along with the methodological contribution of an author or a group of authors in a
particular topic. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the literature review provides a researcher
with a valid data source that can be used in the analysis of an identified research problem. A
literature review can further be described as a comprehensive summary of the previous
researches that is done in this field. The literature review includes scholarly articles, books and
other sources. This literature review is undertaken in order to determine the effectiveness of the
use of IT in the business of Marks and Spencer. The role, Information Technology play in the
chosen organization is further evaluated in the literature review.
1.1. Role of IT in the failure and success of Mark and Spencer
Mark and Spencer is a British multinational retailer. The headquarter of the company is
located in London. The company specializes in selling cotton clothing. Michael Marks and
Polish Jew, in a partnership business, founded the company Marks and Spencer. The company
has gradually become one of the highest grosser multinational companies.
The success of Marks and Spenser is largely dependent on the strategic use of
information technology on business. This is one of the significant reasons why Marks and
Spencer aim to becoming the “digital first” retailer. This business strategy has helped the
business to reach a global audience (Bennett and El Azhari 2015). The company invests on
business innovation that has become one of the significant business challenges in the world.
Digital innovation has enabled mark and Spencer to earn global recognition.
The current business strategy and adaptability of Mark and Spencer indicate that the
organization have invested largely on making a correct use and application of information

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technology in business. Innovation is the key to success to the products that are designed and
developed by Marks and Spencer. The planning and implementation of digital transformation by
Marks and Spencer have been quite fast that indicates that a panned approach is considered for
the incorporation of IT in a business (Wu, Straub and Liang 2015). The digital transformation in
Marks and Spencer is completed in five years. Information Technology has been significant
criteria in the digital business success of Marks and Spencer.
The supermarket chain Marks and Spencer (M&S), aims in modernizing its business by
accelerating the change in their business strategies. The company has largely invested in
Information Technology to modernize all the business operations running within the
organization. This strategy has been undertaken in order to increase and improve the shopping
experiences of shoppers who shop online. The need for changing the business strategy is
highlighted by the CEO of M & S, Steve Rowe. The business strategy was changed mainly
because of the poor financial performance (Wagner, Beimborn and Weitzel 2014). As per the
plan, in the first phase, the basics of IT is restored in the organization. The increase in adoption
of information technology in the organization is supported by the short term cost that can be seen
in today’s performance. Widespread adoption of IT in M & S has helped the company to address
the limitations of the Omni-channel customers. The use of IT has helped the company to reach to
a larger number of audiences, spread across the globe and increase the number of online
shoppers as well. The information Technology adoption in M & S has driven significant
efficiencies in the process of adoption of newer technologies. The partnership of M & S with
TCS, which is one of the world’s leading technology company have strongly affected the digital
revolution of the company and has impacted the company in a positive manner. It is, therefore,

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seen that IT has played a large role in the success of M & S, and has largely contributed to the
improvement in the business benefit obtained by the organization.
1.2. Social and Ethical Issues pertain to running Business
The Information Technology revolution in M & S has given rise to several unforeseen
ethical and social issues (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson 2014). These issues are concerned with
online privacy and maintaining the confidentiality of the data that is being shared in an online
platform. The increased use of IT and increase in dependence of IT, has nowadays resulted in
individuals leading a complex life. The ethical issues linked with the adoption of IT in an
organization involve making use of personal information to develop targeted ads. M & S, collect
data related to the purchasing patterns of the customers, their preferences, along with their social
affiliations. This gives rise to a major social and ethical dilemma. A number of recent advances
in technology have provided M & S, the ability to transmit a significantly large amount of
information in a short time. The personal information that is collected about the customers, from
their online presence is used in an unethical way to design personal attribute based shopping
experiences.
Therefore, it can be said that although technology make the business of M & S, more
efficient and faster, it raises questions regarding the ethical and social dilemma regarding the
extent to use the personal information of the customers can be used for business benefit. M & S,
collect data related to the personal attributes of its customers from social media to understand
their preferences (Jussila, Kärkkäinen and Aramo-Immonen 2014). This is one of the most
efficient business strategies shown by M & S. Although, this strategy may not have a negative

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impact on the customers, it concerns their privacy, and therefore, this particular action can be
considered to be one of the significant ethical and social issues.
1.3. Different Networking Technologies
Networking is described as an act of linking a number of computers that operate
interactively in an organization. It is a technology that helps in transportation and exchange of
the information, over a shared medium (Bui et al. 2017). Networking form an integral part of the
information technology adoption in a number of business organization.
There are a number of networking technologies and networks, which include, LAN,
MAN, WAN, inter network or internet and internet.
LAN or Local Area Network is considered to be a private network that is not subjected to
any regulatory control and therefore, it operates at a relatively higher speed in comparison to that
of Wide Area network or WAN (Wang et al. 2014).
MAN or Metropolitan area network can be described as a bigger version of LAN and
make use of similar technology as LAN (Jia, Cao and Liang 2015). This type of network
generally extends to an entire city. It provides efficiency of fast communication at a very high
speed.
WAN, on the other hand, is a private or a public leashed network that is used for covering
a large distance. However, WAN has serious privacy issues and therefore, requires good firewall
protection to restrict the outside access into the network.

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The Internet can be described as a combination of two or more individual networks such
routers, gateways and bridges. This networking technology is used to connect a million
computers, globally, forming a network. Internet is a public network and has a number of issues.
Intranet, on the other hand, is a private network that is generally used by an enterprise. It
makes use of local area networks and wide area networks that remains interlinked. An intranet,
therefore, involves connections from one or more gate ways of computers.
The networking technology, internet and intranet have significant usage in the business of
M & S.
1.4. Importance of Intranet and Internet
As a part of the incorporation of IT in the business of M & S, the use and the importance
of internet and intranet in M & S cannot be ruled out. These two networking technologies
contribute to a large part of the business operations of M & S.
The customers of M & S make use of the internet to access the services that are offered
by the organization (Horn 2018). Internet is a large contributor to the success of business
operations by M & S. Furthermore, the data collected over the internet helps in increasing the
business efficiency of the organization as well. M & S sell unique and innovative product across
the globe with the help of internet.
Along with the internet, the intranet play a vivid role in the success of the operations of
M & S. M & S have lately invested in developing a new intranet for the organization. Although
the old intranet has been in place for quite a large time, the new intranet that is implemented in
the organization is more reliable and accurately measurable. The use of intranet within the

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organization has helped the company to develop a new and better shop window to enable
shoppers with a prominent experience. The intranet of M & S is mostly customer oriented and
achievement of the same could be possible by reframing the perception of the intranet and its use
in the organization. M & S has invested a lot on the resources and in developing featured content
that attracts customers towards the brand. Thus, it can be seen that both the internet and intranet
has a large contribution to the success of the business of M & S.
1.5. Different Stage of system development life Cycle
System development life cycle (SDLC) is a term that is used in systems engineering and
software engineering and is related to testing, creating and deployment of the information
system. The system development life cycle aims in delivering systems of high quality, that is
exclusively linked with the customers’ needs and their expectations (Valacich, George and
Hoffer 2014). The SDCL is considered to be an iterative process that is generally structured in a
methodical form.
The different stages of the system development life cycle are indicated as follows
Planning: This is the first stage of system development that identifies the scope of a
particular work and determines the solution to the problem.
System Analysis and Requirements: In this stage, the functional requirements of the
project is identified
System Design: The third stage of the system development helps in describing the major
specifications of a system.

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Development: The development stage is one of the most critical stages as it signifies the
start of the production.
Integration and Testing: The integration and system testing is an important stage of
system development, that is done by the professionals of quality assurance to design the first set
of the identified business goals
Implementation: The implementation stage of the system’s development is a stage when
the majority of the code, of the system to be developed, is written.
Operations and Maintenance: The maintenance phase is the end phase of system
development that is mainly focused on the addition of new capabilities to the project to meet
additional user requirements.
2. Analysis and Discussion
The aim of the analysis and the discussion chapter is to discuss the benefits and the
drawbacks of making use of IT in the chosen business. The extensive literature search has helped
in the identification and the use and the benefits of IT in M & S.
2.1. Potential Benefits and Drawback of IT in the business of M & S
There are a number of benefits that are offered by IT in M & S. M & S is committed to
serving the customers and the shareholders in an efficient ay by delivering a digital-first retailing
across the stores. The use of technology has helped M & S in modernizing the business to attract
more customers in the organization (Piercy and Evans 2014). The data from the literature review
indicate that M & S has invested in the development of a flexible and responsive online platform
for their customers. Thus, the potential benefit of the use of IT in M & S includes the business

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benefit of increasing the number of customers linked with the business, which in turn increases
the financial benefit of the business (Hannington 2016). The only drawback of the use of
technology in M & S is the identified ethical and social issues that are linked with the collection
of the data related to the personal attributes of the customer to make use of the same in
developing business strategies.
2.2. Discussion
The role of information and communication technology is quite integral for business
survival. IT addressed the modern business needs and provided an opportunity of reaching to a
large customer base with significantly less effort. M & S could identify the need for introducing
information technology in the business and could achieve all the benefits it provides. Use of ICT
in business has shown tremendous growth, mostly because of the increase in the number of
internet users (Wilson and Beard 2014). It is observed that the use of IT provide significant
marketing solution at a much lower cost. The technology used in a business increases business
efficiency and provide a solution to directly interact with the customers. This is an effective
process which can ascertain continuous business growth. M & S is one of the global retailers.
The use of IT provides the company with a global customer reach and increases the efficiency of
the business processes as well.
Conclusion
The report establishes the need and the benefit of IT in M & S. The role of IT in the
success of M & S is established in the report. The social and ethical issues that are related to the
business of M & S is identified in the report. M & S is largely dependent on the use of
technology to increase their customer reach. This British multinational company has invested in

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developing a good online presence, which helped in effective business growth. Over the internet,
the customers of M & S gets an idea of the products and services offered by the organization,
which is one of the most promising business strategies of the company. The report discusses the
social and the ethical issues linked with the retail company M & S. The report further discusses
the use of internet and intranet in M & S to develop a promising social media presence. The
report discusses the main stages of SDLC. In the analysis section of this report, the potential
benefits that M & S could gain from the use of IT and also its drawbacks are discussed. It can be
concluded that IT has a crucial contribution in ascertaining success in the business of M & S.

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References
Bennett, D.R. and El Azhari, J., 2015. Omni-channel customer experience: An investigation into
the use of digital technology in physical stores and its impact on the consumer's decision-making
process.
Bui, N., Cesana, M., Hosseini, S.A., Liao, Q., Malanchini, I. and Widmer, J., 2017. A survey of
anticipatory mobile networking: Context-based classification, prediction methodologies, and
optimization techniques. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, 19(3), pp.1790-1821.
Hannington, T., 2016. How to measure and manage your corporate reputation. Routledge.
Horn, T., 2018. Internet-Intranet-Extranet: Potentiale im Unternehmen. Walter de Gruyter
GmbH & Co KG.
Jia, M., Cao, J. and Liang, W., 2015. Optimal cloudlet placement and user to cloudlet allocation
in wireless metropolitan area networks. IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing, 5(4), pp.725-
737.
Jussila, J.J., Kärkkäinen, H. and Aramo-Immonen, H., 2014. Social media utilization in business-
to-business relationships of technology industry firms. Computers in Human Behavior, 30,
pp.606-613.
P. Wilson, J. and Beard, C., 2014. Constructing a sustainable learning organization: Marks and
Spencer's first Plan A learning store. The Learning Organization, 21(2), pp.98-112.
Piercy, N. and Evans, M., 2014. Managing marketing information (rle marketing). Routledge.

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Piotrowicz, W. and Cuthbertson, R., 2014. Introduction to the special issue information
technology in retail: Toward omnichannel retailing. International Journal of Electronic
Commerce, 18(4), pp.5-16.
Valacich, J., George, J. and Hoffer, J., 2014. Essentials of systems analysis and design. Prentice
Hall Press.
Wagner, H.T., Beimborn, D. and Weitzel, T., 2014. How social capital among information
technology and business units drives operational alignment and IT business value. Journal of
Management Information Systems, 31(1), pp.241-272.
Wang, Y., Chi, N., Wang, Y., Tao, L. and Shi, J., 2014. Network architecture of a high-speed
visible light communication local area network. IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 27(2),
pp.197-200.
Wu, S.P.J., Straub, D.W. and Liang, T.P., 2015. How information technology governance
mechanisms and strategic alignment influence organizational performance: Insights from a
matched survey of business and IT managers. Mis Quarterly, 39(2), pp.497-518.