Importance of Information Technology in Business Organizations

This article discusses the importance of information technology in business organizations, with a focus on ethical and social issues, different business application software, and the role of ICT, internet, and intranet. The article also evaluates the benefits and drawbacks of using information technology in business organizations.

Introduction to
information
technology

Abstract
Now a days Information technology plays a very important role in each and every
individual's lives. This bring various kinds of elements with in a company such as information
analytical, cloud computing, etc. Through information and technology, the firm can easily
concentrate the larger amount of customers which will result in a increasing rate of revenue and
profitability. Apart from this, IT also assist in taking decision effectively that will help in
providing satisfaction as a result to the customers. There are different types of ethical and social
issues that the companies face such as protection of information, privacy, etc. which should be
taken care of as it will restrict the organization to grow. Various types of network has been
evolved like local, wide, metropolitan area networks which help in storing and sharing the
informational data. In addition to this, a significant role has been played by the artificial
intelligence(AI) within the company which assist in improving the communications. The
information technology not only have a good side but have many drawbacks as well.

Table of Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Literature review..............................................................................................................................3
Discussion of different business application software's used by organisation................................4
Evaluation of the importance of ethical as well as social practices in running organisation ..........5
Ethical issues ..............................................................................................................................5
Social issues................................................................................................................................6
Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Internet and Intranet in business
organization......................................................................................................................................7
Role of IT in retail sector helping managers to manage businesses................................................9
Benefits of using information technology-....................................................................................10
Drawbacks of using information technology-................................................................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................10
References .....................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Computer network is applied as information technology that saves, recover and redeem
data of the company and reduce the chances of manipulation via telecommunication device.
Database has certain criteria that help employee resolve issues of business with the support of
mobiles and computers. Task is executed in best efficient manner, as information technology had
critical role in digital role.. Assignment that is requested is completed by the time, with the
enhancement of advanced technologies that have their basic sense in the sector of corporates.
With the increase in technologies, the way of doing business is also changing, best technology
driven equipments are used for storage of data (Castells, 2020). ASDA is considered for report, it
is the finest chain of supermarket in retail sector. ASDA started in 1949 and headquarter in
Leeds, England, UK. Grocery, financial services and general merchandise are the products of
company. Recent report will discuss about different types of software that company can use for
application. For this the findings highlight the significance of ethical and social concerns with
the effect of ICT on effectively responding to the request of the customers. In addition, the role
of IT is assisting the business organisation to work effectively and efficiently.
Literature review
According to Digital Class Educational Marketplace 2022, in the today's world,
information technology is to be considered as the most helping and important tool which helps
the organisation in grabbing the opportunity of competitive advantage within the economy. By
using such tools not only the productivity of the organisation can be increased but it also help in
saving money and time for them. IT assist in administrating the employee data and keeping
tracks of the process which is very vital for the company. The information technology is related
to the computing technology and internet also lye under the umbrella of IT (Chandra, and Bedi,
2021). Almost all the activities in an business which are part of banking are related to the
information technology because of which they are being able to provide their services all across
the globe and 24*7. These companies has generally have three main parts i.e. business software,
data processing and decision support. All of them help in developing various types of business
skills and technical skills which gives opportunities to do various types job like web designer,
system analyser and many more. IT not only consist of hardware, software, and networking of
the data but it also include the implementation and designing of theses networks. In order to
develop and maintain the computer network it is very essential to develop a infrastructure which
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will help in managing the information. This will result in correct usage of such services in all the
aspects of banking.
Discussion of different business application software's used by organisation
The application software is also known as system software which assist in performing of
particular functions through programming of computer. The computer application are
categorised that is primarily formulated in order to support business so that crucial task can be
executed in effective and efficient manner. In Context to ASDA, practices of crucial application
tool is taken by firm which help in attaining daily operations of business activities along with
ensures functioning of business in most suitable manner. There are several business applications
that can be used in framework to ASDA.
 Resource management software- The organisation get help form using this software in
management of resources in effectual manner. In context to ASDA, through this software
there is allocation of task to employees as per their ability and project requirements. In
this organisation schedule and human capital are managed. It is required to match in-
bound work demand with available resources to match needs of effective resource
management supplying at project portfolio level (Evans, 2019).
 Payroll software- This is a web-based management solution which helps in eliminating
the needs of manual handling. This helps in managing, maintaining and automating
employees payments. In ASDA the use of this software assist business to accurately and
efficiently process payroll, payslips year-end bonuses etc. In organisation there is smooth
functioning of business operations which is allowed by payroll software along with
ensures the satisfaction of employees. The professional pay management assist in
maintaining morale in context to ASDA.
 Customer relationship management software- This software helping the organisation
in making analysis of business interaction with the customer base to run business
organisation. The CRM software in context to ASDA helps managers to get insight of
increasing customer retention so that there can be increase of sales. Through CRM
software this also benefits to get in touch with with existing customers along with their
reach to potential customers is expanded by CRM software.
 Project management software: This type of business software aids a business in
appropriate planning and organising resources tools to forecast the resources that are
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required to complete the projected task in ASDA. For this software of project
management assist the organisation in accurate planning the requirements of budget to
keep the future risk and expenses under control. By this ASDA can efficiently manage
the project cost.
 Time management software: In order to track and improve their time management
abilities in ASDA this sort of business software assists the organisation and tracking the
time taken by employees to finish activities. Performance level and productivity can be
increase by this software assistance to employees (Itoo, and Singh, 2021). With the use of
digital platforms time management can be done be this software and provide critical
information about the time spent by individuals while using the digital apps in ASDA.
Evaluation of the importance of ethical as well as social practices in running
organisation
Information technology is needed in all areas like security and data protection. To
develop honesty and business trust the company is mandatory to comply with regulation in
ethical area. ASDA ethical practices are valuable that assist in obtaining trust from employees
and customers. Unlimited information can be access with the use of internet, this is great change
for the society. There are some ethical and social issues in context to ASDA that are likely to
consider as significant to run business in best manner.
Ethical issues
 Design for privacy and security: To collect and manage data in ethical manner
company get support from this principle. Confidential data is use to assist employees and
customers in providing support to company in context to ASDA. Integrated and
transparent approach of management is conducted for the collection of data from
customers. Information technology allows users to approach servers that are linked to
each other with network by providing tools like hardware, operating system etc. Security
of data and integrity for the business organisation and its IT users is critical concern for
ASDA (Kara, Baytemir, and Inceman-Kara, 2021).
 Access right: With the evaluation of technology access rights are becoming a critical
concern for information technologies and cyberspace. Internet growth has boosted e-
commerce and electronic payment systems, it become a concern for government
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institutions and different business units. Internet network is not protected from illegal
access of internet. Process of finding out invader or appropriate user is known as
intrusion detection.
 Promoting an ethical culture: Benefit of ethical practices is they work for the
development of the company' ethical culture and values. These ethical practices help the
business organisation to save the employees from unwarranted risk that can effect both
the company as well as employees. For the achievement of honesty and fairness in
operations of the firm the organisation was guided by ethical practices to establish value
for their staff (Kazado, Kavgic, and Eskicioglu, 2019).
 Maintaining accountability: ASDA should maintain appropriate accountability
structure while using digital technology such as artificial intelligence and machine
learning. The value of accountability is not diminished by digital services, insured by
digital services, and fulfil companies objectives in most efficient manner.
Social issues
 Discrimination in the employment practices: As talking about career and professional
stage women and minorities have generally been discriminated a lot. Even the the
outcasting of black people and scheduled cast people is common in today's work culture.
The company, ASDA should not do such things and should not be concerned about the
provincialism, racism, religion, and so on of their work force.
 Labour unions: the management's labour union is considered as the most important part
and opposite end of the spectrum of the organization. They are always thought as the
ones having issues and conflicts with management, but in real there is always the fault in
the labours, there are some drawbacks of the management also. The company should also
take care of their labour union (Kotusev, S., 2019).
 Marketing of products considered anti-social: The respective company should not be
promoting the selling of those products which are anti -social. Such products which
negatively affect the moral health of the community. Such products as tobacco,
cigarettes, alcohol, drugs and weapons, etc. should not be involved in producing or
marketing.
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 Policies regarding modernization: The company should be knowing what is going on in
the world. All of the fashion trends and modernizations should be taken in consideration.
Following trends will help the company to attract more customers and the company will
grow more. Change is part of nature, so there should be technical innovations to
modernize the organizational operations.
 Worker Health and Safety: The company should be providing their workforce a healthy
and safe working environment. The business working should not possess women or small
children doing dangerous jobs that endanger their health or their lives. The company
should take care that there should be no abusive actions happening in their company.
Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Internet and Intranet in
business organization.
The huge set of technical tools and resources are known as information and
communication technology that is primarily used in sharing or exchanging of relevant data and
information. Internet, computers, software are some of tools which helps organisation people in
order to connect and have interaction through digital platform. ICT is a broader term for
IT(information technology) as it is consist of more components than IT. Two of the main ICT
factors supporting the business administration in ASDA company are stated below: -
 Internet: It is a vast network which connects the world through computers. With the help
of internet anyone can share communicate and share information from anywhere in the
world with an internet connection (Khiat, and et.al., 2019). It helps organization in
finding solutions that are related to communication and collaboration with the outside
word and companies. The company, ASDA can use various tools of internet that improve
the company's communication and productivity. The main factor internet include to
function is high -speed connection.
◦ Internet as customer service: ASDA is providing internet and network as services
also. The company is providing their customers with network services through their
SIMs. For this purpose it is using Vodafone network.
◦ Internet for customers while shopping: the customers at Asda can now enjoy free wi -
fi while shopping in the retail stores of the company.
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◦ Online website: The company has its own online accessible website which is
beneficial at the time of on-line shopping era and deliver the majority of goods they
sell. One website is for the customers to shop and another one is for the customers
queries and solutions.
 Intranet: It is a local computer network which enables the organizations to store, organize
and share data or information within the organization only. The usage of intranet is
helping Asda in easier communication, accurate information sharing and beneficial use of
other computing device. The respective company is using intranet for creating a smart
building. If there is a good control of the people of the organization on the building, the
cost savings and the business performance of the organization will improve (Kumar,
Dabas, and Hooda, 2020).
◦ Real time data access: The company has arranged the intranet services in such a way
that the retailer is having access to all the real time data. This will help in keeping
record of each branch building performance. This will also help Asda in having an
improved visibility on all of its assets.
◦ CCTV (Closed-circuit Television): The CCTV is a feature of intranet not only
facilitates as a security element but also is pocket- friendly means for the purpose of
safety and security. It is more reliable than a security guard who will not be able to
always watch the whole store and even can not always be trusted, it takes care of the
security. The CCTV saves a lot of money for the organization which can be put to
some other use. It is major use is for keeping evidence. If any theft happens in the
store, the situation would be recorded in the footage and the culprit will be caught, or
anyone who claims anything false there would be proofs against them to conclude
them wrong, or any other security connected evidence can be caught in CCTV.
◦ Barcode Scanning system: It is the most common but an important technical tool used
in grocery retail shops. Just like the other companies in retail industry Asda has also
switched to Barcode Scanning systems in their stores (Kumar, 2020). When there
were no barcode scanning systems the bills at the stores were calculated by
calculators but the introduction of barcode scanners now make the work easy. There
is not only the use of barcode scanners to calculate the prices of the products but also
to know whether the product belongs the respective store or not. If someone try
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stealing anything from the store that person will be caught by security sensors
because the stolen product is not scan at the system. The company would be relived
because of the barcode scanner systems, the reason is its accuracy and it save a lot of
time instead of going through the hard work of adding products price.
◦ Security Sensors: Asda takes help of the security sensors mainly on the expensive
products because it would be hard to claim high valued losses. It also affects
profitability, if security sensors will not be installed, there is a possibility of theft and
because of this the shop will increase the price of that commodity, this will give the
competitors the chance to decrease the price of the same product increasing the
buyers of the product for the competitors (Lorenzen, 2021).
Role of IT in retail sector helping managers to manage businesses.
Retail is the important part of the supply chain. It is the place where goods and products
are sell to the consumers. Managers of ASDA buy goods from manufactures in huge quantities
and then sells it to consumers in small quantities. It is very important for the managers to
communicate with the suppliers and consumers. Managers of ASDA should know when the
product is launched and whether consumer comes to buy the products. If managers have all the
information then they will be effectively managing their business. Information systems do it
very well by the use of software ,databases and various other modules. IT plays crucial role in
managing complex retail operations. (Mahapatra, 2019). This give them competitive advantage.
Markets are changing rapidly and business have to adapt to new technology. ASDA company is
using many information systems in the company for efficiency in operations. Some of these are-
 Point of sale- Earlier consumers had to wait in the line for buying the products. But
technology has changed the way buying. ASDA managers have use point of sale
technology through which consumers can check out from anywhere in the store. It has
improved the consumer satisfaction and use of this has made payments also easy with
contact less payments. Company is using computers,scanners and printers for self check
out system.
 Management of inventory- Earlier management of inventory was very costly for
company. But after implementing IT in the organization, managers of ASDA can track its
inventory from its purchases cycle and tell management about products. It has become
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less costly to business and they can see which product is being purchased and stock of
items. It is more organized.
Benefits of using information technology-
 Automating processes- Retailers get more advantage after automating process. It
reduces costs,increases accuracy,reduces time for processing and many more. It gives
accurate prices ,self check out systems,all of these reduces cost for the company
(Pencarelli, 2020).
 Collection of data of consumers- The details of customers are collected and analysed
for making products and promotion of goods. It gives them information about the
consumer preferences so that business strategies can be changed according to it.
 Communication- Managers can effectively communicate with the suppliers,they can
send orders and it results in fast orders and saves money of the company. Systems
collects data and send orders to the suppliers electronically.
Drawbacks of using information technology-
 Reduction in jobs- Companies which are automating the process in business is reducing
the jobs for humans as the process eases the activities of business,which humans also can
perform but due to cost cutting companies use IT.
 Excessive dependency- Technology is good for growth of business but dependency on it
will make business suffer if due to some reasons like machine breakdown. Due to
automation company is primarily depend on IT (Saltz, and Dewar, 2019).
 Cost of implementation- The cost of using the IT systems in business is very high as
extra employees and infrastructure is needed for running the systems.
CONCLUSION
The above report stated that there are various types of activities in an organization on
which the communication and information technology have a great impact. This is helping in
securing the data of company along with making a communication network of the firm. This
report also concluded that there are variety of software that can be taken in use by the
organization in order to perform their functions in a very effective way. Several social and
ethical issues which is faced by organisation with its importance in running its business is
concluded in this report. The overall conclusion of the report is that IT plays a vital role in
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business administration. Furthermore the report conclude the role of information technology like
Automating processes, Communication, Collection of data of consumers etc. all these helps
organisation in managing of their business operations.
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References
Books and Journals
Castells, M., 2020. Space of flows, space of places: Materials for a theory of urbanism in the
information age. In The city reader (pp. 240-251). Routledge.
Chandra, M.A. and Bedi, S.S., 2021. Survey on SVM and their application in image
classification. International Journal of Information Technology, 13(5), pp.1-11.
Evans, O., 2019. Repositioning for increased digital dividends: internet usage and economic
well-being in sub-saharan Africa. Journal of Global Information Technology
Management, 22(1), pp.47-70.
Itoo, F. and Singh, S., 2021. Comparison and analysis of logistic regression, Naïve Bayes and
KNN machine learning algorithms for credit card fraud detection. International Journal
of Information Technology, 13(4), pp.1503-1511.
Kara, M., Baytemir, K. and Inceman-Kara, F., 2021. Duration of daily smartphone usage as an
antecedent of nomophobia: Exploring multiple mediation of loneliness and
anxiety. Behaviour & Information Technology, 40(1), pp.85-98.
Kazado, D., Kavgic, M. and Eskicioglu, R., 2019. Integrating building information modeling
(BIM) and sensor technology for facility management. Journal of Information
Technology in Construction (ITcon), 24(23), pp.440-458.
Khiat, A., Bahnasse, A., Bakkoury, J., El Khaili, M. and Louhab, F.E., 2019. New approach
based internet of things for a clean atmosphere. International Journal of Information
Technology, 11(1), pp.89-95.
Kotusev, S., 2019. Enterprise architecture and enterprise architecture artifacts: Questioning the
old concept in light of new findings. Journal of Information technology, 34(2), pp.102-
128.
Kumar, A., Dabas, V. and Hooda, P., 2020. Text classification algorithms for mining
unstructured data: a SWOT analysis. International Journal of Information
Technology, 12(4), pp.1159-1169.
Kumar, K., 2020. From post-industrial to post-modern society. In The information society
reader (pp. 103-120). Routledge.
Lorenzen, M., 2021. Using outcome-based education in the planning and teaching of new
information technologies. Information technology planning, pp.141-152.
Mahapatra, S., 2019. Smartphone addiction and associated consequences: Role of loneliness and
self-regulation. Behaviour & Information Technology, 38(8), pp.833-844.
Pencarelli, T., 2020. The digital revolution in the travel and tourism industry. Information
Technology & Tourism, 22(3), pp.455-476.
Saltz, J.S. and Dewar, N., 2019. Data science ethical considerations: a systematic literature
review and proposed project framework. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3),
pp.197-208.
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