Introduction to Information Technology - Impact on Business, Ethical and Social Issues, Computer Networks and Types

This report discusses the impact of information technology on business operations, ethical and social issues, types of computer networks and their impact on businesses. It includes a literature review, analysis and discussion of the impact of IT on business, ethical and social issues that pertain to running a business, and types of computer networks. The report is based on the Lloyd's Banking Group, a British financial institution. Course code, course name, and college/university are not mentioned.

Introduction to
Information Technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Literature review .............................................................................................................................1
Analysis and discussion .................................................................................................................2
Impact of IT on business.............................................................................................................2
Ethical and social issues that pertain to running business...........................................................3
Computer Networks and their types with their impact on businesses........................................5
Artificial intelligence..................................................................................................................6
Advantages and disadvantages of information technology.............................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
References:.......................................................................................................................................8

ABSTRACT
The use of information technology in the companies possess the potential to reach more
customers. It also helps in introducing the new products and services quickly. In the work and
personal lives of people the information technology has the greater importance. In the
organisation the information technology brings several aspects such as bid data analytics, cloud
computing and artificial intelligence in the efficient & effective manner to produce the
productivity. With the help of IT, the management is able to take decision and provides
satisfactory results to the customers which creates the strong relationship. In the study the impact
of information technology and various ethical and social issues is been discussed which pertains
to information technology such as privacy, protection of information etc. The computer network
with its types is also elaborated. The artificial intelligence has the great role in the organization
which helps in completing task in efficient way. The AI also improves the communication in the
bank with the customers and employees.

INTRODUCTION
In the information technology all the kind of electronic data and information is create,
exchange, process, and stored which involve the use of computers. In the context of the business
operation and the field of computing the IT is used. The information technology is the computer
system which involves the hardware, software and peripheral equipment operated by large IT
users in the context of the business. For the scientific investigation and production of goods &
services technology is used in the business which defines to the techniques, methods, and skills
(Askari, A and et.al., 2019). The business operations of the organisation are improved by the
technological advancement by storing and sharing the information and data, and with technology
driven devices. The commercial use of information technology encompasses both computer
technology and telecommunication. The report is based on the Lloyd's Banking Group which is a
British financial institution introduced in 2009 by Robin Budenberg. It is the largest financial
service organisation in the UK with 30 million customers and 65000 employees. This bank deals
in the retail, commercial, private, investment banking, general insurance and many more (Lloyd's
Bank, 2021). The discussion in report is based on impact of information technology on business
operations and with the importance of social and ethical issues. The types of computer network
and artificial intelligence is been also discussed to enhance the business.
MAIN BODY
Literature review
To enhance the competitiveness of the economy the information technology is considered
as the essential tool. The information technology helps in saving the time, money and efforts
which increases the company productivity with efficiency. In the business, the use of information
technology is very important for maintaining the data flow, employee records and tracking the
process. In accordance to the technology trend, 2019 the information technology defines to
anything associated to computing technology (Baker, R.M., 2019). For the data processing and
communication the information technology is the design and implementation of the computer
networks. In accordance to ND century code, to deliver and manage the information by using the
voice, data and video the information technology involve the use of hardware, software, and
services. The article 1958 in Harvard Business Review defined the information technology in
three basic parts- computational data processing, decision support and business software
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(Southern New Hampshire University, 2021). It covers the wide range of the computer
application and data processing in the organisation. The aim of the information technology is to
create computer-based system of information by using computer system in organisation. The
information technology has the great importance in the business as it helps each & every sector
in automating their process and systems to target objective, revenue generation and work
inefficiency is reduced. Through IT the demand and regulatory requirement is fulfilled.
Analysis and discussion
Impact of IT on business
The demand of the technology with the revolution is increased and efficiently resources
are utilised in the business. Various innovations have increased with the information technology.
To enhance the business prospects the leveraging benefit of digital tool has increased in the
economy with the digitization. The business strategies are planned and data is analysed with the
help of information technology which persuades the Lloyd's bank in generating profit. In the
modern time frame the bushiness gets the guidance for the use and development of the
technology. The bank needs the updated information to work efficiently and can deal with the
many clients, customers and other business. To make the working easier, faster and stores all the
information the Lloyd's bank provides the online service to customers. The impact of the
information technology to heighten the business operation are as follows-
 Cloud computing- The conception of cloud computing is popular among business
offering efficiency in business operations. It involves the use of information technology
to capitalize the ability of storing and accessing the data, programs over the internet. In
the organisation it provides the improved resources and time management. There is a
requirement of good internet connection and WIFI connectivity to accomplish the task of
banking such as recruiting, training of employees, maintenance of transactions effectively
in the Lloyd's bank (Capehart, B.L., 2020.). The collaboration is enhanced with the cloud
application as different services are furnished where different groups meets virtually to
exchange the information with the help of shared storage.
 Automation of business process- The efficiency is improved and workflow is
increased by the automation of the business process with the help of information
technology. The speed up of business process is significant and saves time which can be
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used for completing other purpose of tasks. The cost of operations is reduced. The
business process can be automated easily such as billing, collection of consumer data,
tracking metrics and monitoring of certain process with the help of automation software
in Lloyd's bank.
 Protection of information- In each organisation there is a database comprising ODF
various information regarding business transactions, client details which are extremely
valuable for the business. To keep the information safe in Lloyd's bank it requires the
information technology as several issues can be created if there is lost of any data like
personal information, banking transactions of customers. The protection of information is
maximized by providing the right resources to store the information. The information can
be access by limited users with the help of virtual storage system which is kept safe and
reduces the problem of hacking.
 Providing customer satisfaction- The customer experience and satisfaction is the crucial
aspect for the business. The strong customer experience is the key to customer
satisfaction which caters the availability of customer requirements. In the Lloyd's bank
thwe use opf information technology helps in solving the problems of the customers. The
facility of email, social media and other platforms for messaging is provided by the bank
(Chiang, H.T. and Chang, C.T., 2019). The business growth depends on the happy
customers as they provide the feedback and reviews on the banking facilities which also
helps in creating large customer base. The customer experience has improved with the
several cloud-based communication channels.
Ethical and social issues that pertain to running business
From the use of technology the ethical and social issues arises as it maintains day-to-day
activities. The information technology specifies the component used for storing, fetch and
manipulating the information at minimum level with the sever having operating system. It is
necessary to have the knowledge of the security, privacy issues with the leading advancement in
the information technology. There are several ethical and social issues-
Ethical Issues
 Personal privacy- It is found as important aspect of ethical issue in information
technology as personal details is shared online which makes purchases, browse internet
sites. The information or data is transferred in big amount due to the network distribution
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on large scale which leads to chance of disclosing information and privacy of the
individual is violated. To access the servers that are connected to each other by network
the IT facilitates users of having their own hardware, operating system and software
tools. In the framework of the Lloyd's bank to maintain the privacy and integrity of data it
is a major challenge (Chunli, C., 2019).
 Access rights- With the great technology advancement, to access right becomes high
priority issue for the the IT and Cyberspace. With the evolution of internet the electronic
payment system is heightened which is an issue faced by the Lloyd's bank. Various
services are provided by the Lloyd's bank like online banking, mobile banking which also
faces the issues as there is fear of having fraud in the transactions or hacking of mobile
phones. To determine the user is intruder or an appropriate user the intrusion detection
system is used.
 Harmful actions- It defines to the negative consequences or damage in the computer
ethics to the information technology like loss of important information, loss of property,
ownership and undesirable impacts. The outsider is restricted in the principle of ethical
conduct from the usage of IT which leads to loss to any employees, users and employers.
These actions consist of intentional destruction or alteration of files and programs causes
a serious loss of resources. To remove the viruses from the computer system the extra
time and efforts are required to recover the harmful actions (Ding, H.B. and Phan, P.H.,
2021).
Social Issues
 Breakdown of communication- The most of people are busy in their mobile phones,
laptops which is considered as social issue and leads in communication breakdown. the
modern times the digitization improves the life of the people and enhance the company
growth. The portable devices in the household grant the to access the information and
entertainment but reduces the interaction of the family members. In the Lloyd's bank
there is also an breakdown of communication with the customers as there is a less branch
visit of customers and most of the banking transactions is done through online.
 Identity theft- The fraud is a social issue which is usually done by assessing the personal
details of someone else in the easily accessible computers and internet as third party can
use the information of customer and employee for the malicious purpose of committing
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fraud by carrying online transactions and other damaging activities. To store the
information of the customers and employees, the Lloyd's bank brought many privacy
sources to avoid frauds (Domdouzis, K and et.al., 2021).
 Online banking- The Lloyd's bank provides online services to the customers to make the
transactions from their mobile phones. The online banking service is also an social issue
as sometimes it is not safe to perform the banking transaction because there are high
chances of getting mobile phone hacked or computer system which may result in the
theft of money or personal information.
Computer Networks and their types with their impact on businesses
The computer network defines the purpose of communicating data electronically where
two or more computers are connected with one another. The set of devices are connected through
the links. It makes the use of distributed processing to divide the task between several computers.
The resources are shared provided by network nodes. The computer network involves the nodes
of personal computers, servers, networking hardware etc. To have the communication between
two different devices the computer network involves the multiple devices (Farjon, D and et.al.,
2019.). The network devices of hardware include routers, switches, hubs and bridges and
software includes business application or operating system in computer network. The nodes such
as fibre optics, wireless communication connects the computer network to allow the sharing and
communication of information. The computer network follows the protocols which uses the IP
address for each device to define the way of communication how it is sent and received. The
different types of computer networks are-
 LAN (Local area network)- In the small area the group of computers are connected to
each other like building, office, schools. The two or more computers are connected
through a communication medium with the helps of twisted pair, coaxial cable etc. The
security is provided and data transferring is at faster rate. The LAN is privately managed
and owned which comprises of both wired and wireless network. The impact of the LAN
on the business of Lloyd's bank helps in reducing cost and it is inexpensive as data can be
shared easily. The data of all users is stored on a hard disk of central computer which
helps the users in accessing the required data by using any computer in a network. The
business productivity is improved and security of information is provided with the
username and password (Gettman, D. and et. al., 2017.).
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 MAN (Metropolitan area network)- To form a larger network it covers the large
geographical area by interconnecting different LAN. Within a metropolitan area the
computers are connected which could be a large city, multiple cities or towns. The
government agencies use MAN to connect the citizens and private industries. It is high in
range which can be used in airline reservation, colleges within a city, military etc. The
MAN size is larger than LAN but smaller than WAN. The business in context to Lloyd's
bank the impact of MAN through internet connection link is provided to the computers
for the connection in long-run in metropolitan region (Ghobakhloo, M., 2020). It is less
expensive which helps in sending locals emails faster. The internet connection is shared
between the users. High security is provided by this network to the business.
 WAN (Wide area network)- This refers to the telecommunication network extended
over the large geographic area for the prime purpose of computer networking. In states,
countries, business and government entities uses WAN which connects through telephone
line, satellite links, fibre optic cable. The internet is the biggest WAN in the world. The
network size of the WAN is larger than the LAN and MAN. In large organisation such as
Lloyd's bank to connect the various cities, remote employees and data centres the wide
area network is used to run the application. It also helps in accessing necessary
information regarding the banking (Kirby, J and et.al., 2020). On the business the
impact of WAN provides traffic to the organisation by having direct communication and
between the locations the data is transmit which provides the security.
Artificial intelligence
It refers to the simulation of human intelligence process by machines especially computer
systems. The artificial intelligence was founded in 1956 as an academic discipline (Built in beta,
2021). As opposed to natural intelligence it is demonstrated by machines. It helps in problem
solving which is related with the human mind. It is a system or machine that mimicked human
intelligence to perform tasks (Kuang, W., 2018). The use of artificial intelligence in the
organisation improves performance and productivity by automating process. The traditional goal
of the artificial intelligence includes reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, perception etc.
The artificial intelligence describes the thinking like human and their actions are mimic which
are programmed with machines. The artificial intelligence automatically learns computer
programs and without the help of human new data is adapted as it is a machine learning. The
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artificial intelligence comprise of four approaches which are thinking humanly, thinking
rationally, acting humanly, acting rationally which leads to reasoning and thought processing
(Laraia, M., 2018.). In the banking of Lloyd's bank, the use of artificial intelligence enhances the
speed, precision and human efforts effectiveness. It helps in identifying which transactions are
likely to be fraudulent. The fast and accurate credit scoring is adopted as well as automate
manually intense data management tasks in artificial intelligence. In the business organisation
the artificial intelligence has the great importance of analysing more and deep data by using
neural network that has many hidden layers. The AI performs frequent, high volume and
computerized tasks. The impact of artificial intelligence on enhancing the business operations are
as follows-
 Time and money is saved- The working of the machines is more efficient rather than the
human begins as they can work 24*7 without any break and even do not get bore. There
is reliability in the working and large amount of data can recognised which takes less
time in making decision and relevant information is produced. The artificial intelligence
helps in repetitive jobs in the Lloyd's bank as it takes the verification of documents. The
process of verifying document can be speed up by using AI cognitive Automation which
will benefit to both the customers and owners and leads to save in time and money
(Manian, V. and Vadivel, P., 2021).
 Business insights are generated to take smart decisions- The data is valuable for the
business organisation in the modern economy. The AI provides the quick process of
generating data and efficiently the answers can be provided to the problems arising in the
business of Lloyd's bank. The AI also offers relevant predictions and correct needs of the
customer is analysed.
 Productivity is enhanced through artificial intelligence- The AI increase the
productivity by performing most of the tasks which is not required by the employees to
perform. The real time assistance is provided by the artificial intelligence which includes
the communication constantly with the customers. In the Lloyd's bank the working load
on employees is reduced as various activities are managed by the machine learning. The
business operations and customer service is improved which boosts the productivity
(Melin, U and et.al., 2020,).
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Advantages and disadvantages of information technology
The benefit of using information technology in the Lloyd's bank improves the business
services and provides the online services to the customers for making the transactions. The tools
of electronic mail, phones are used for improving the communication which helps in flow of
information easily within the company. The bank store lot of data and requires the less paper
work which leads in saving time. The use of information technology will improve the custom er
relationship in the bank and will able to maker the customer aware regarding the banking
products & services, online banking, credit card facility etc. The deployment of the advance
technology will improve the business competitive advantage (Reeve, D.E. and Petch, J.R., 2019).
The using of information technology in the Lloyd's bank can face some drawback as
maintaining the technology leads to be very expensive as lot of resources and money is required.
The most of the task is completed with the help of technology which can create unemployment
and lack of job security. The bank has drawback of security issue as there can be chances of
hacking the data. The working can be interrupted if there is power outage or servers go down.
CONCLUSION
From the above study the conclusion is made that the use of information technology in
various fields increases the efficiency and effectiveness. It leads to wide impact on the business
which bring s innovation and success is achieved. In every organisation separate IT department
is maintained where all the information and files are stored safely regarding the employees,
transactions etc. The company faces several ethical and social issues due to the technological
advancement. To share, process the information computer network is used between one or more
computers through link which can be physical link or virtual circuit. It involves the types of
computer network such as LAN, MAN, WAN. The artificial intelligences enhance the business
operations which has its own importance in the workplace.
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References:
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Online:
Southern New Hampshire University, 2021 [Online] Available Through
<https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/stem/what-is-information-technology>
Llyod's Bank, 2021[Online] Available Through <https://www.lloydsbank.com/>
Built in beta, 2021 [Online] Available Through <https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence>
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