ATMC Semester 1 2019 - ICT710 Westfield Case: Ethics & Practice

This report provides an analysis of the Westfield case study, focusing on the company's use of digital disruption and its ethical implications. It explores the IT governance framework, specifically the COBIT framework, and its application to Westfield's business practices. The report discusses the ethical considerations arising from the implementation of IT, including the development of complex situations and threats to privacy. It also highlights the competitive advantages achieved by Westfield through its IT initiatives. The analysis concludes with recommendations for Westfield to improve its IT governance and ethical practices. Desklib offers a wealth of similar case studies and solved assignments to aid students in their academic pursuits.

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ICT Professional Practice & Ethics 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Company Description......................................................................................................................1
IT and Ethics Governance Framework............................................................................................3
COBIT Framework......................................................................................................................3
Ethical Implication of Change.........................................................................................................4
Competitive Advantage Achieved...................................................................................................6
Recommendations............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The objective of the paper is the outline the details about the company Westfield. Information
technology plays the lead role in helping organizations to grow and succeed in the external
environment. Digital innovation helps organizations in disrupting the business process and
growing by using technology present in the market. In order to implement disruption in the
business, it is important to implement them ethically so as to effectively succeed without
attracting penalties from the market. The below mentioned report highlights information about
the Westfield case along with the IT governance related frameworks present in the environment.
The given case elaborates the use of digital disruption along with its positive and negative impact
in the business and the competitive advantage received. Ethical implications for the Westfield in
order to implement disruption in the organization are discussed below.
Company Description
The business Westfield commercial is a real estate company that also operate the shopping
centres as well. The business is an undertaking ownership, development, asset management,
designs and property management business in the external market. The portfolio of the company
includes Westfield shopping centres in US and Europe and the group has also worked as world’s
largest shopping centre portfolios in various countries with the purpose of investment. The
company has looked after total 103 shopping centres across Brazil, Australia, Croatia, Italy, UK
and New Zealand. The company was developed many places in the worldwide market, the first
place that was developed by Westfield Group was termed Westfield Place in Blacktown in the
year 1959 (Westfield 2019). The name of the company is called from the west location where the
company is related that is west Sydney and the word field came into the name because it was
located in the subdivided farmland.
Further, the name of the company appeared in the list of ASX in the year 1960; afterwards, the
company expanded its business in the time frame of one year. Analysing the case about the
company Westfield, it should be noted that the company is Australia’s searchable mall that is
featured with 100000 products online. Entrance of the group on online market gave prosperity to
the company to grow and compete as well. Further, it should be noted that the company

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Westfield Australia make use of digital disruption in the company to grow and succeed in the
external environment (Bloomberg 2019). The company believed that most customers are now
shifting towards the online platform for shopping which is reducing the efficiency of the malls to
initiate sales in the business environment. Resulting in which, implementation and use of digital
technology will successfully help the company excel in the market. The company has
successfully formed huge buildings and qualitative shopping malls but the changing behaviour of
the customers present in the market is eliminating their efficiency to grow. Most of the shoppers
also believe that when they can purchase same kind of product online while sitting at their home
then why to go for physical shopping.
Due of changing behaviour of the customers in the market, the profitability of the company
Westfield Australia reduced. Availability of technical connectivity in the business environment
eliminated the process of physical shopping and gave access to online shopping as well.
Considering that, the company understood the importance of technology in the business
environment and aimed to implement it in the company as well. Thus, resulting in which,
Westfield group also started looking for opportunities to implement digital disruption in the
business. This process helped the company to connect with digital shoppers and provide them
product along with good shopping experience as well. It should also be noted that the Westfield
labs were created in the year 2012 so as to leverage the retail ecosystem by using innovative,
social and mobile digital marketing opportunities in the business environment. The labs also
protected the interest of digital shoppers and provided them delightful shopping experience in the
physical market.
Alongside with this, the company also initiated Westfield learnings that included the process of
learning new and innovative technology present in the competitive external environment while
developing digitally enabled innovation as well. Digital disruptive technology makes the
shoppers to increase their level of satisfaction by purchasing products digitally. The company has
introduced click and collect hubs, digital storefront, frictionless car parking, digital in-centre
signage, mobile food service apps and searchable mall web platform in the business environment
to provide them suitable assistance while shopping and increase the level of services as well.
However, it should be noted that digital technology comes with its own pros and cons so
implementation of such activities in Westfield business has its own ethical implication.

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IT and Ethics Governance Framework
COBIT Framework
COBIT refers to Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology. This framework is
created by the ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) in order to maintain
IT governance and management process in an organization. This framework is developed to help
the manager to initiate effective IT governance and ethical activities in the business environment.
This system allows in bridging the crucial gap between the technical issues, control requirement
of business associated with risks as well (Ismail 2018). This framework is thoroughly recognized
as the guidelines that can be applied in any kind of business for the purpose of maintain IT
governance activities in the business. This type of framework ensures control, quality and
reliability of information system of the business. This framework includes four different process
that are planning and organization, delivering and support, acquiring and implementation and
lastly monitoring and evaluation. These are the four most important activities that help the
business to effectively create link between the activities and conduct ethical business functions
as well (Pereira, Ferreira, and Amaral 2017). This framework governs all these functions so as to
develop right type of IT activities for the business. Further, it should be noted that there are five
elements of the COBIT framework that helps the business in IT governance practices. These
components are discussed below:
 The first element is framework; this framework helps in organizing the IT governance
activities of the company and initiating best practices for the process and domain. This
framework also links the IT activities of the company with the physical and core process
of the business (Prado, et. al., 2016).
 Process description: This system is a reference model that provides a common language
to the people in an organization. This process includes building, planning, running and
controlling the IT activities. This gives a way to the people to communicate with each
and talk with the concerned department regarding the issue.
 Control objective: This system provides a comprehensive list of the requirements that has
been analysed as an effective IT business control tool by the management. This
framework provides ease to the management as they do not need to search for anything,

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instead the framework provides all the detail and crucial IT related information to the
business (Camillo, and Camillo 2019).
 Maturity Models: This framework access the maturity along with capability of every
process at the time of analyse the gaps present in the system.
 Management Guidelines: This framework also helps in assigning the responsibilities to
the people in a better way. This system measures the performance, agree on common
objective and illustrate better interrelation with the people present in the other process as
well (Mason 2017).
Further the guideline principles of this framework are discussed below:
 Covering the IT activities of the enterprise from end to end
 Development and application of single integrated framework
 Ensuring that a holistic approach is followed in the business decision making process
 Meeting the needs of the stakeholders
 Differentiating the governance from the management
The above mentioned are the benefits that the framework provide to the business. With the use of
this framework, new emerging companies like Westfield can easily maintain their IT practices in
the business environment.
Ethical Implication of Change
Below mentioned is the list of ethical implication attained by the company Westfield in case of
implementing IT practices in the business:
 Development of Complex Situations: As the company Westfield Australia is new in the
IT industry due to which they do not have enough knowledge about the practices and
prevalence of the activities in the industry. Resulting to which, whenever a difficult
situation arises, the company face difficulty in managing it and resolving the solution as
well. Lack of IT experience with the employees makes it difficult for the management to
implement an activity effectively in the business (Martin 2015). The process of digital
disruption require the management to effectively operate the IT activities concerning
several other issues as well because wrongful implementation of IT can cause damage to

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the other on going activities of the company. Thus, it should be noted that the company
might face difficulty in the business environment because of complexity in the issues.
The company would require efficient workforce along with appropriate practices to
develop disruption activities in the business (Hajli, and Lin 2016). Lack of these can
cause issue and with the occurrence of such issue the company might get stuck in
initiating IT effectiveness in the market.
 Threat of Privacy: threat of privacy is the biggest issue that is related to the
implementation of IT practices in the business environment. By using digital technology,
the company tend to share more than required information about the customers and their
interest due to which they might face problem of privacy issue in the environment. The
company also shares and store the price sensitive information about the business on the
website or cloud which can be hacked any day by an unethical hacker for attaining
benefits from the information (Zhang, and Wen 2017). Thus, it should be noted that the
threat of privacy increases with the increasing level of IT activities in the business. Also,
it should be noted that the company Westfield has recently started developing the IT
activities in the environment to fight against digital competition. So, the company might
use the customer information to attract them which can create privacy issue for the
customer if more than required information is used and shared (Johnson 2015). However,
it should be noted that it is important for the company to make use of personal data of the
customers so as to get insights of the customer’s interest. Thus, it is important for the
organization to know what information to use and where to stop and keep the interest of
the customers intact in the business environment (Martin 2015).
 Elimination of High Degree of Competition: This is a positive ethical implication of the
usage of IT practice in the business environment. The company aimed to use IT activities
in the business process so as to eliminate the interest of the customers in online shopping
and indulge them in shopping through the mall only. Thus, it should be noted that with
the development of IT activities in the business, the interest of the customers will get
shifted towards the company due to which they will purchase the products from
Westfield in the target market (Stanton, Sinnott-Armstrong, and Huettel 2017).

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Competitive Advantage Achieved
Advanced in innovation can be comprehended as a standout amongst the most ideal ways for the
companies to improve their exhibition and prevail in the business condition. In the given instance
of Westfield Australia Organization, the business likewise successfully used to increase
competence in the market. These advantages are discussed below:
Ingress in the IT field at first helped the association to pull in a wide base of clients present in the
objective market. Prior to utilization of IT, the organization used to develop physical
advancement and promoting systems in the market conditions to develop and pull in the clients
as well. However, with the development of ICT, the organization has begun drawing in a more
extensive target base. This sort of movement encourages the organization to pull in clients past
their limits to purchase products from the mall (Laudon, and Laudon 2016).
Further, it ought to be noticed that the advanced digital innovation technology provides help to
people to purchase products at optimum rates in the market. This kind of innovation does not
prerequisite colossal investment cost for its obtainment rather, the organization can effectively
use it with a sufficient total of reserves available with them. Resourceful and income friendly IT
procedures help the organization to put the abundance entirety into various other departments in
order to expand the satisfaction of clients in the objective market and accomplish larger amount
of benefits too (Elbeltagi, and Agag 2016).
With the utilization of ICT in the business, the organization additionally gains the preferred
position against rivalry in the business condition. This innovation encourages the business to deal
with both online just as disconnected stages in the business showcase. Coming about to which,
they gain the favorable position to draw in more clients in the objective market. At first the
organization began confronting the issue of pulling in individuals to shop from the shopping
center in light of the fact that the vast majority of the clients were engaged with shopping on the
web because of which the fitness of the business was diminished. Further, with the rise of ICT in
the business, the organization Westfield Australia gets the bit of leeway to dispose of rivalry and
pull in individuals through online medium also (Avgerou, and Walsham 2017).
Innovation causes the organization Westfield to pull in more ability in the business condition and
in the meantime increment the skill of the organization through promoting exercises too. ICT

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helped the organization to draw in individuals and impress their business exercises on the online
stage as it were. The organization utilizes successful showcasing efforts to draw in light of a
legitimate concern for clients in the objective market and increment the gainfulness of the
business also (Schwalbe 2015).
Therefore, along these lines, the organization Westfield Australia achieves upper hand in the
objective market utilizing enhanced data innovation rehearses in the business.
Recommendations
Below mentioned are few recommendations that should be provided to the company Westfield
so as to increase its competence in the market:
Development of Cyber security practices: The Company should understand the importance of IT
practices in the business implement them accordingly. Use of cyber security aspects will help the
business to eliminate the problem of privacy from the business and keep the IT functions intact.
This process will also increase the satisfaction level of the customers in the target market. The
company should make use of effective IT software and framework to develop the business. The
software will protect price sensitive information about the company and the customers as well.
The company should also hire IT team so as to successfully develop the framework in the
business environment (Hair, et. al., 2015). The IT team will resolve the issues wherever the
management faces difficulty, they will also initiate smooth functioning of the business.
Use of COBIT and ACS code of ethics framework: The Company should effective use COBIT
framework to save them from attracting penalties in the legal market. This system will
successfully develop framework as discussed above to create a map for the IT practices in the
business. The ACS code of ethics will help the business to acknowledge the facts and aspects
that the business and the IT professional need to follow and the COBIT framework will act as a
IT governance framework for the business (Jorfi, Nor, and Najjar 2017).
Feedback: it is important for the business to attain feedback after implementing any changes so
as to attain the impression of the customers regarding the change implemented in the business.
The feedbacks will provide details about the satisfaction level of the customers along with the IT
related issues that they are facing in the business. This system will help the organization to

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analyse the facts that are reducing the satisfaction of the customers and rectify them accordingly.
The company should further work on the basis of the feedback so as to increase its competence
in the environment (Anaya, Dulaimi, and Abdallah 2015).
Conclusion
Thus, concluding the above mentioned statements, the fact should be noted that the paper
elaborated information about the activities of the company Westfield Australia. Earlier, the
company was initiating physical sales of the product from the mall. However, emergence of
online selling and e-commerce activities reduced the interest of the customers in the business
industry. Resulting in which, the company Westfield Australia aimed to develop the IT practices
in the business so as to attract the interest of the customers and remain competent as well. The
report involves information about the IT governance framework for the business. The COBIT
framework will successfully help the organization to grow and develop right type of activities for
the business to implement IT practices and attain success out of it. Further, ethical issues and
competitive advantage received to the company are discussed in the paper. Lastly,
recommendation is provided with the help of which the business can successfully increase its
competence in the target market.

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