Introduction to Information Technology ( pdf )

Introduction to Information
Technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Literature Review............................................................................................................................1
IT within success or failure of organisation................................................................................1
Ethical and social issues..............................................................................................................2
Types of networking technologies...............................................................................................3
Importance of intranet as well as internet....................................................................................3
System development life cycle....................................................................................................4
Benefits and drawbacks of IT within M&S.................................................................................6
Analysis and Discussions................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Information technology refers to set of tools, methodologies and processes which are
associated with equipments that are employed for collection, processing and presenting
information (Eason, 2014). Basically, it is associated with computing technologies like internet,
software, hardware, networking, etc. It is a broad field that is associated with various aspects of
processing and managing of electronic information within business world in which systems act
as major part within management of data. To have a clear understanding of this concept, Marks
& Spencer has been taken into consideration for illustration of information technology within
their working environment. M&S is a British multinational retailer which deals in sales on food,
home products and clothing. They are making use of e-commerce for distribution of their
products as well as improvise experience of customers. This report comprises of role of IT,
ethical and social issues, networking technologies and importance of intranet as well as internet.
Along with this, stages involved within system development life cycle are also analysed.
Literature Review
IT within success or failure of organisation
Information technology is integral as well as vital part within organisation. With respect
to M&S, role of IT has been explained below:
 Communication among customers, suppliers and employees: Email is the major
source through which communication occurs (Kiran, Oudshoorn and Verbeek, 2015).
Within every organisation it is major source through which communication takes place.
With passage of time, various communication tools have been evolved. Like M&S can
make use of online meeting tools, live chat systems and video-conferencing systems.
 Inventory management systems: M&S is making use of inventory management for
managing demands of their stock without making irrelevant investment by keeping more
stock. By this, they are able to manage quantity of each item along with triggering of
additional stock when quantities are below pre-determined amount. This also aids
organisation to create a closed information loop among all departments.
 Flow of information: It is the major resource within organisation. Information is
transferred by means of centralised data centre from where all the data can be retrieved.
Information within organisation depending upon their requirements (Law, Buhalis and
1