Role of IT in Sainsbury: A Study on the Use of Information Technology in a Retail Company

This report explores the role of information technology in Sainsbury, the second largest supermarket chain in London. It discusses the importance of IT in business operations, ethical and social issues, different network technologies, the significance of social media, and the system development life cycle.

REPORT

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.............................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Information technology is the current trend which all the business needs to adapt to if
they want to be in the competition (Lloyd, 2020). This is majorly because of the fact that the
information technology is that department of the company which is related to the collecting,
storing, retrieval and analysis of the data which is relevant for the growth and development of the
business. The present study is based on the company Sainsbury which is the second largest chain
of the supermarket and retail stored in London UK.
This company was founded in the year 1869 by John James Sainsbury and it deals in
various different product and services like food product, groceries, supermarket, hyper market,
forecourt shop, convenience stores and many other different types of product and service. The
present report will outline the role of IT within the company in the business along with the
ethical and social issues relating to running the business. Also the report will focus over the
different types of networking technologies and the importance of the social media. In the end the
system development life cycle stages will be discussed with reference to company.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Role of IT
In the words of Baller, Dutta and Lanvin (2016) the IT department of the company plays
a major role in the success or the failure of the company. This is majorly pertaining to the fact
that when it comes to technology there are much advancement and updating in the technology
which is being used within the business. All these records of the technology and its advancement
is recorded and analysed by the IT department of the company. Hence, the IT department plays a
crucial role in the analysing of the latest technology and the success or failure of the company is
also dependent over the use of technology only. This is majorly pertaining to the fact that if the
company uses the latest and relevant technology then the company will be successful and if the
company will not be using the latest techniques then the company will become obsolete in the
operations.
But in the views of Theis and Wong (2017) the IT department plays a crucial role in the
success of the company and this is because of the reason that if the company will not be using
the latest methods and techniques then the company will be successful in its working. With
respect to the retail industry there are daily different types of technological advancement on

frequent basis. It is very essential for the company to have a continuous research over these
changes in the technology. These changes need to be adapted by the company so that they can
always succeed in running and operating the business in good and effective manner. Also, this
technology is used in doing the market research as well for the trend of consumer prevailing in
the market. This is majorly because of the fact that there is much different software which helps
company in analysing the trends going on currently in the market. Also, it can use the social
media technology to take the feedback from the consumer in order to access the fact that whether
the consumer likes the product and services of companies or not.
Ethical and social issues in business
As per the thinking of Aasheim, Li and Williams, (2019) for the success of the business
the most important thing is to work in ethical and morally correct manner. This is certainly
because of the fact that when it comes to ethical working then the company need to work in
totally correct and trustworthy manner and need not to use any misleading or fraudulent
practices. The major ethical issue being faced by companies in the retail sector is the use of
social media for the marketing and promotion of the goods and services. This is majorly
pertaining to the fact that in order to face the competition the companies may sometime use the
social media in negative manner and this can affect the goodwill and brand image of the
company to a great extent.
Also, Brooks and Pomerantz (2017) criticizes this fact and states that another major
ethical issue being faced by the retail companies at large is the discrimination which is prevalent
at the workplace. This is majorly because of the fact that in the working environment there are
some or the other people who are bias and treat the other employees in differentiating manner.
Thus, this is an unethical practice which can reduce the market share and the goodwill of the
company to a great extent.
Different types of network technologies
There are many different types of technologies in form of network which can be helpful
for the companies in communicating in the organization itself. As per the thinking of Felix,
Rauschnabel and Hinsch (2017) the network technology is a system of technology which is being
implemented within the business and this assist the company in communicating with one
another. The major network technology being used in retail sector is personal area network that
is PAN. Under this network there is wireless modem and computer or two phones and printer.

This connection connects the one person in single building with another person. The other major
network technology being used by the retail industry is the Campus area network that is CAN.
Under this method the networks are like in universities that are at large scale and this connects
the whole organization with that of a single network. In addition to this another major type of
network technology is the Virtual Private network that is VPN. Under this method the company
extends to a private network over the internet which can be accessed by only those people who
are having access to it. The VPN allow its user to receive and send the data across all the devices
which are connected with this particular network and who have access to this network.
In the views of Keegan and Rowley (2017) the major different between the networks
technologies is generally on the basis of the size and scope of the network types. This is majorly
because of the fact that the purpose of the entire network is generally same that is sharing the
information from one person to another and helping the people within the company to
communicate with one another. The major difference between the LAN and CAN is that the
local area network is much smaller as compared to the CAN because the LAN includes only the
local people that is who are in the same building.
But on the other hand Mikhaylov, Petaejaejaervi and Haenninen, (2016) argues that the
CAN is a type of network which includes the connection of the network across the whole
building or the campus of the workplace that is the whole area where the company is operating.
The major difference between the LAN and VPN is that in the LAN any person working at the
desk connected can use it but in case of VPN only that person who is having the user name and
password to access the network. Also, the major difference between the CAN and the VPN is
that the VPN is a larger network as compared to the other network. This is majorly pertaining to
the fact that CAN is for one area where it is installed but the VPN is a network which can be
accessed from any place only the requirement is of the user name and login credentials.
Importance of social media
As per the thinking of Noreen, Bounceur and Clavier, (2017) the social media is a mix of
different types of websites and application which help the user in interacting and sharing with
other people their feeling and views with help of mobile and other electronic gadgets. In this
highly competitive world the social media is very helpful in the business as this is the latest and
much faster method of marketing the good and services. Also, the other major reason for the use
of the social media is that this is also a tool of communication for the company. This is because

of the fact that the current world is global and any country can trade with any other country and
for this the social media is very helpful. This is because of the fact the business can easily
communicate with the other company even if they are not at same place. In form of marketing as
well the social media is very helpful as this a more fast and cost effective method of promoting
the product and services in the highly competitive and global market. This is majorly pertaining
to the fact that the social media is the latest trend within which the maximum of the population is
involved. Thus, if the company uses this social media marketing then this will reach to a wider
consumer range and his will increase the consumers for the companies in the retail sector.
System development life cycle
System development life cycle is the series of six main phases that is used to create a
hardware system only. Therefore, it is a software system which is a combination of both to meet
or exceed the customer’s expectation. These phases are as mention below:
Planning: In accordance with Alsaad, Mohamad and Ismail (2017) the planning phase is one of
the most crucial step in order to successfully develop a system because it will assist to determine
the problem which a company trying to solve. For that, a company have to define a problem and
objective, or study the ability through proposing alternative solutions to meet the client’s
requirements, then planning to make a product better in market. Thus, by analysing the data,
company have three choices such that develop a system, improve existing system or leave and
focus on new (System Development Life- cycle, 2020).
Analysis: Next stage in which the team members consider the requirement of a project and
determine the needs of end users. Also, Raluca and Cristina (2018) stated that by conducting a
feasibility study for a project, company take a better decision and communicate the best results to
their team members. This will assist to proceed towards further stage.

Design: It is a good understanding of customer’s requirement which describe necessary
specifications, features and operations that will further satisfy all the functional requirement of
the project. It is examine by Saeed and Memon (2018) that a general design is done through pen
and paper in order to determine how the system will look like and how it functions. But make
sure that there is in-depth designing that assist to meet all functional and technical requirements
logically and technically
Implementation: If company reach to this stage, it means it have a good understanding of
system requirement and specifications. So in the system development life cycle, while
introducing new software, the actual code is written here and it is installed in proper manner so
that it will help the company to meet the define aim and objectives (Lemke, 2018). This stage
takes long time to implement and also depend upon the complexity of a system as well as
solution it presents.
Testing and Integration: Before introducing the system into different department, company
have to test the system and also analyse its output as well as behaviour. Sari (2018) stated that
testing is becoming most important in order to make sure that it meet the customer requirement
and have proper knowledge of coding, hardware configuration and designing. Also, it is
performed by a real users or a team of specialized personnel in order to make sure that it generate
proper results.
Maintenance: It is the last stage which clarify that end –users can fire tune system and it is the
best system develop by the firm in order to boost the performance as well as add the new
capabilities, that will further help to meet the additional end requirements (Putri, 2017). Not only
this, it also help to provide the latest updates for certain components to ensure that it meet the
define right standards or not.
Throughout all the stages, company have to maintain proper communication level within
each department and also by building the system in short iterations, a firm make sure to meet the
customer’s requirement before implementing new system into a firm.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
In Sainsbury, the role of IT is very important because it provides an opportunity to
determine the specific data and then it provide a journey for business planning as well. In the
same way, company uses IT system in its inventory management, online sales which clearly
reflect that IT helps a business to smoothening its business operations and meet the define aim

and objectives in better manner (Mason and Chakrabarti, 2017). On the other side, quoted firm is
also looking to installed online machine for payment acceptance, which clearly shows that
company keep trying to comply with advance technology in order to meet the customer’s
requirement.
However, it is critically evaluated that Sainsbury failed in the use of IT system in its
company it is because the firm did not have specialized IT team who solve IT problems and there
is no back-up plan that assist to solve any issue (Dee and et.al., 2019). This, affect the business
brand reputation and if company keep using out-dated software, then it also affect the system in
negative manner as well.
Sainsbury also faces some ethical and social issues within its premises that may also
affect the business reputation and increases the retaining power of an employees year by year.
Though company never discriminate the people on the basis of caste, gender and religion, but
generally most of the top company faces the same issue that affect the brand reputation. Further,
Sainsbury also make sure that it provide all the essential equipment to their health workers with
regards to health and safety of their employees which is fall under the category of ethics. As
company uses social media marketing tools, in which it faces the issue of negative comments
that affect the success of a company in negative manner (Alsaad, Mohamad and Ismail, 2017).
Therefore, providing wrong information related to any product affect the business and its brand
image in adverse manner. In addition to this, it also creates negative impression upon the
customers and it is not possible to manage again. That is why, it is a duty of a company to make
sure whatever company posted with regards to marketing, ensure that it provide correct details to
their customers which in turn leads to customer satisfaction.
As, Sainsbury has a brand image at international level and that is why, it make sure that
there will be no ethical and social issues that may affect the image in negative manner. Also, it
protected its upgraded new software so that hackers will not use the personal information
through a system and as a result, company breach any data protection act, that cause negative
impression in front of customers as well as employees (vom Brocke, Zelt and Schmiedel, 2016).
From the analysis it was clear that the use of network technologies is very helpful for the
company in communicating with one another within the company. Thus, for this purpose
Sainsbury is using the Virtual Private Network that is VPN. This is being used by the company
because of the fact that this type of network is the one which is made with help of the internet.

This network connects the user of the regional offices to even the company which are privately
working or where the employees can use the services from any of the place. For this the people
just need to have the user and login credential and then they can have access to the network
provided by the company. The major advantage of this for the company is that this fosters the
communication and working of the company as all the network are clear and good. But the major
disadvantage of this for the company is that if there is any fault in the system then the whole
working will be stopped or hampered.
Also, from the above analysis it was discussed that the social media is also very helpful
for Sainsbury in managing the business in effective and profitable manner. This is majorly
pertaining to the fact that the social media is helpful in communicating with any person sitting at
anywhere in the world (Wang and Lu, 2019). Also, this social media is used by Sainsbury in
marketing of the goods and services as well. This is majorly due to the fact that this is very cheap
source of marketing as compared to the other sources and methods of marketing. This is majorly
pertaining to the fact that under this method the company has to just make their official pages
over these social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and many others. After creating the pages
the company will post the advertisement and other details relating to the goods and services
which it provides for the company and post it on these social media websites. The major
advantage of using this social media for Sainsbury is that this has a wider reach of consumer and
covers a large market share. But the disadvantage is that the company need to provide training
and knowledge to the employees on how to use the social media networks in effective and
efficient manner.
CONCLUSION
In the end it is concluded the IT department has a crucial role in the working and success
of the company. This is because the major responsibility of this department is to identify the
latest technology and if relevant then implement in the working of the company. The present
report outlined that role of IT in success and failure of operation of company. Also, it outlined
the different ethical issues faced by company like social media, discrimination and others. It also
discussed about the different network technology used by company which are like VPN, CAN
and many others. Further it discussed the role of social media in communication and in
marketing of goods and services. In the end the system development life cycle was discussed
which has various stages like planning, analysis, implementation and many others.

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Online
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