Assignment : Introduction To Information Technology

Introduction To
Information
Technology

Table of Contents
Assessment 1 ...................................................................................................................................3
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................3
Assessment 2....................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Role of Information Technology (IT) in the success or failure of Marriott International......4
Ethical and social issues that pertain to running businesses...................................................5
Identify and differentiate between various types of networking technologies.......................6
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................................7
FINDINGS.......................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
.........................................................................................................................................................9

Assessment 1
Covered in PPT
Assessment 2
Introduction
Technology plays a vital role in business operations. There are various technological
tools which are practised by the companies to operate different type of functions such as data
sourcing and storage, complex calculations, daily task and activities. This report is based on the
impact of technology on Marriott International which is a hotel company that operates
internationally across the globe (Bloom, Sadun and Van, 2014). The respective organisation
offers services like lodging, food, recreations, etc. There are various ways in which information
technology helps in pertaining the success of Marriott International which can be understand
through the report. However, there are certain social and ethical issues which are faced by the
company that will be studied in further discussions. Addition to this, different types of network
technologies are also stated in the report.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Role of Information Technology (IT) in the success or failure of Marriott International
Information Technology assist the companies by collecting the data & information,
transferring and accessing in order to helps the organisation achieve its goals. Technology can
assist the companies only through supportive management and reforms in system. In past few
years, information technology has been able to replace the conventional method of business with
advanced yet innovative tools and technologies. Information and technology has helped in
increasing the efficiency and output (Voogt and et. al., 2017). IT is central to organisations for
earning growth, revenue and helps in providing a strategic direction to the companies. With the
help of information technology advancements, the organisations are able to fulfil the customers
expectations by tools such as advertisements, enhanced research and development, etc. Thus,
some of the factors which reflects the role of Information Technology in the success of Marriott
International are mentioned below:
Business growth and Expansions- Information technology is one of the key source of
globalising the business and its activities. With the help of appropriate techniques such as online

room booking facilities, Marriott International is able to expand its services to wide range of
customer (Eason, 2014). Similarly, the respective hotel is able to enhance the customers
experiences with the help of appropriate quality of networking services.
Business Performance management- There are various tools and techniques which
helps in analysing and monitoring the performance of employees and the company itself. Some
of the most commonly used tools are online Analytical processing (OLAP) and Executive
Information Systems also known as EIS. Thus, with the help of these tools, Marriott
International can examine the performance of their employees and further plan strategies which
will help in motivating and improving the productivity of these staff members.
Management of customer data and information- Information system are a successful
solution for managing the information and past history of the customers of Marriott hotel. This
data helps in providing more personalised services and helps in meeting the demands of the
customers which is very much important for the company.
Productivity- Information technology systems helps in minimising the efforts of the
employees and other members of management of Marriott hotel. As with the technological
advancements, the respective company is able to manage customer's history and other relative
data. These data are managed for a longer period of time and are easily accessible to all the
divisions of the company (Gattorna, 2017). Hence, with the helps of this, the employers of
Marriott International can minimise the time that is taken which will ultimately increase the
productivity of the employees and the respective company which results in maximising the profit
of the company.
All such factors help in gaining higher success and growth level in the Marriott hotel.
They are managing customers data and information for maintain their records and use this for
future enquiry. The mentioned factors assist in increasing productivity which reduces the efforts
of organisation employees and other staff members who work within an organisation.
Ethical and social issues that pertain to running businesses.
There are various ethical and social issues which are faced by the company in running
their business. Some of them are discussed below:
Ethical Issues:
Security- As per the point of views of Gattorna, 2017, security is one of the major
concern of the companies. There are many professional hackers which are proficient of hacking

the information and data of company with the help of IP address of the system. Similarly, many
hackers steal money from online transactions of the customers which is one of the main concern
of security as it causes heavy loss to the customers and the company and lower down the trust on
these technological advancement (Piotrowicz and Cuthbertson, 2014). Due to this, many
customers don't prefer to operate online transactions which results in limiting the business
opportunity for the organisation. Thus, to overcome these concerns, Marriott International invest
a huge amount of investment in safety and security of data and information which ease out the
transactions and helps in building trust with the company.
Software Piracy- This is another ethical issue which states that using software which are
not safe and authentic can cause legal issues to the company. Apart from this, it is important to
regularly update these softwares in order to assure that these softwares are capable of managing
and safeguarding the information data of the Marriott from viruses and bugs which can cause
technical problems and risk the data.
Social Issues:
Network Dependency- Companies are very much dependant on the network efficiency
of the IT system as it helps in operating various functions. Addition to this, business facilities
like Wi-Fi services are very crucial in today's time. If there is no proper maintain of these
services, it can affect the services quality of the respective hotel company. Similar to this,
Marriott International is also dependant on the external network for communicating and online
booking of the customers. With the low speed internet, the experience of the customers also get
hamper.
High Demands of Customers- Due to the changing trend and open opportunities, the
customers have high demands from the companies relating to their services and other factors.
This becomes concern to satisfy the needs and wants of every customer which turns out to be the
social issue for Marriott International (Ricci, Rokach and Shapira, 2015).
Identify and differentiate between various types of networking technologies.
There are various types of computer networks which can be distinguished by their sizes
and purposes. The size of the network can be measured through number of computers and
geographical areas that are been served. Some of the networks based on their sizes are mentioned
below:

Personal Area Network (PAN)- It is a small network which is organised with in a
building or individual uses which is perfect for small office and residences. This type of network
is functional for telephones, 1 or more computers, entertainment devices and peripheral devices.
Hence, some of the examples of PAN network which can be practised by Marriott International
are Wifi, Bluetooth, USB, etc. (Silverstone, 2017). This style of networking is best suitable for
providing network to the business centre of the respective hotel.
Local Area Network (LAN)- It is referred to the network of computers in a single site
or location such as office buildings. It is used for sharing data and informations with the help of
less expensive hardware such as Ethernet cables, Hubs, etc. The smallest LAN network can help
two computers where as larger network of LAN can assist to near by thousand of computers.
Hence, these types of networks can be planned to provide WIFI facilities to the rooms of
Marriott International.
Metropolitan area network (MAN)- This is a wider range networking system which
provides network to wider area such as college campus, small regions or entire city. MAN is
mostly used to connect several LAN networks together in order to form a bigger network. Thus,
MAN is capable of covering several miles. Thus, Marriott International can practise this style of
networking in the common areas such as Lobby area, reception area, restaurant, etc.
Wide Area Network (WAN)- Similar to its name, WAN helps connecting areas on
wider contexts. This network is capable of connecting offices in different countries through
satellites. Thus, Marriott can practise this network in order to maintain a common network
between all of its hotels in different countries which will help in having a clarity in
communication and other management aspects.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
It can be examined that there are various factors which reflects the advantage and the
disadvantage of Information systems for Marriott International. Addition to this, IT is one of the
most important method which helps in managing the information and data of the respective
company (Xiang, Magnini and Fesenmaier, 2015). Also, it is useful for providing quality to the
customers and helps in further expansion of the business. Information technology also helps in
performance management with the help of which Marriott International can plan certain
strategies in order to improve the productivity of the employees and company.

However, there are certain disadvantages in this technological advancement which causes
risk to the information and data along with the online income to the company. Thus, Marriott
International should practise different methods to protect the resources.
FINDINGS
From the above discussion, it is found that Information Technology is a revolutionary
technology advancement for the businesses. There are various methods through which IT helps
in decision making, marketing, growth and expansion of the business. However, Marriott should
practice different security software such as Avast Antivirus, Norton Antivirus, etc. which can
safeguard the transactions and data of the respective hotel organisation (Taylor, Fritsch and
Liederbach, 2014). Similarly, there are various types of networks which can be implemented by
Marriott International to full fill the requirement of the customers which also helps in gaining
competitive advantage. However, Metropolitan Area Network is the best solution for providing
network or Wi-Fi facilities to complete hotel. Whereas, Wide area network also known as WAN
can facilitate in connecting all the hotel properties of Marriott International together.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Information Technology plays a very
important role in success of a company by facilitating its growth, decision making and services
enhancements. Similarly, IT helps in improving the performance of the company by managing
their data and informations. Addition to this, there are various factors which the organisation
needs to avoid in order to manage ethical and social issues in running the businesses. Apart from
this, there are various types of networking technologies which are suitable for meeting different
needs of the company.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bloom, N., Sadun, R. and Van Reenen, J., 2014. The distinct effects of information technology
and communication technology on firm organization. Management Science. 60(12).
pp.2859-2885.
Eason, K. D., 2014. Information technology and organisational change. CRC Press.
Gattorna, J., 2017. Introduction. In Strategic supply chain alignment (pp. 15-21). Routledge.
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.
Ricci, F., Rokach, L. and Shapira, B., 2015. Recommender systems: introduction and challenges.
In Recommender systems handbook (pp. 1-34). Springer, Boston, MA.
Silverstone, R., 2017. Introduction. In Media, technology and everyday life in Europe (pp. 19-
36). Routledge.
Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J. and Liederbach, J., 2014. Digital crime and digital terrorism.
Prentice Hall Press.
Voogt, J., and et. al., 2017, March. The International Handbook of Information Technology in
Primary and Secondary Education: Part 2. In Society for Information Technology &
Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1082-1085). Association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Xiang, Z., Magnini, V. P. and Fesenmaier, D. R., 2015. Information technology and consumer
behavior in travel and tourism: Insights from travel planning using the internet. Journal
of Retailing and Consumer Services. 22. pp.244-249.
Online
LAN WAN PAN MAN: Learn the Differences Between These Network Types, 2018. [Online].
Available through: <https://www.techopedia.com/2/29090/networks/lanwanman-an-
overview-of-network-types>.