Analysis of Information Technology's Role in M&S Business

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the role and importance of information technology (IT) in the success and failure of Marks and Spencer (M&S) Group plc. It explores how IT minimizes human effort and increases work efficiency, covering various aspects such as the use of computers, data management, and software. The report investigates the ethical and social issues associated with technology use, including data security and privacy concerns. It outlines different network technologies, like LAN and WAN, used by M&S and discusses the importance of the internet and intranet for business operations, including research, trading, and management. Furthermore, the report addresses frequently used computing terminologies, ethical issues like security and communication breakdowns, and highlights the stages of the System Development Life Cycle, offering a comprehensive overview of IT's impact on M&S's operations and strategic decisions. This report is a valuable resource for students studying business development and information technology.

ASSESSMENT

Table of Content
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
The information technology refers to as the use of technologies in order to minimize the
efforts of humans and to increase the efficiency of work done within the company. Information
technology provides different options for easing the work like use of computers, recording and
managing data in electronic form, use of different types of software and hardware and many
other such type of techniques (Acquisti, Brandimarte and Loewenstein, 2015). This is the reason
behind the increase in the popularity of information technology. The present study is based on
Marks and Spencer group plc. It is a British multinational retailer founded by Michael Marks and
Thomas Spencer in the year 1884.
The main reason for making this report is to understand the role and importance of
information technology in success or failure of business. Another reason is to understand the
social and ethical issues of using technology. Further, it will outline some various kinds of
network technologies which the company uses to improve the quality of there work and
difference between them. The another reason behind working on this report is to discuss some
importance of internet and intranet for the business. At last the report will highlight the stages of
System development life cycle.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Role of IT
In the words of Taylor, Fritsch and Liederbach, (2014), use of information technology is
very useful as the use of it helps the retail industry in reducing the workload and increasing the
efficiency and quality of work within the company. This is because of the reason that the use of
techniques minimizes the efforts of employees. For example many retail companies some
inventory management techniques. These techniques help those companies. This system helps
the company in recording inventory in electronic form and as and when the inventory reaches to
minimum level the order is automatically placed by the inventory system. So this helps in
reducing the time in calculating the inventory and when to order the inventory.
Ethical and social issues
In opinion of Pantano and Viassone, (2014), there are many ethical and social issues
which relates with the business but also impacts the society. If the company uses too much
technology then there may be possibility that there is misuse of the information and also the
competitors of that company can use this information in some negative way. But Kali,

McKenney and Sagy, (2015), argued that the companies in retail sector must use techno ethics in
order to develop some principles and strategies which it can use in order to provide training to
employees to use the latest techniques so that they can efficiently use those techniques in
minimizing their work.
Types of network technologies
In words of Volk, Stengel and Schultmann, (2014), a network technology is a system
which helps two or more devices which can communicate with each other with help of those
network. This network helps those connected devices to exchange and share data, facts and
figures and information among all the large and small information systems with one another.
Galliers and Leidner, (2014), articulates that there are many types of network technology which
companies of retail industry can use. The different types of networks are like Personal Area
Network (PAN), Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).
Importance in internet and intranet
In views of Briz - Ponce and García - Peñalvo, (2015), internet is a system which
connects the system at a global level with help of TCP and IP that transmits data with help of
different types of media. The use of internet is important for business because internet helps the
companies in communicating with other department and also with external parties. But Galegher,
Kraut and Egido, eds., (2014), argued that use of internet connects many people with each other
as compared to traditional method of communication. The use of internet is very flexible as the
employees can found many things and information on the internet.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Frequently used computing terminologies
There are many terms associated with computing. Some of them are as follows- Internet- it is referred to as a network of computers which connects and allows the
computers all over the world to communicate with each other. Web browser- these are the programs which helps the user to look and operate and
navigate between pages on world wide web (WWW). Some examples of web browser are
like Firefox, Internet explorer, Google chrome and many more related. Modem – it is a device used to transfer information and data with help of cable lines and
telephones with help of internet.

 Cloud computing- this is an internet based system wherein the information, resources,
software and hardware are shared on the demand of users (Gebre, Saroyan and
Bracewell, 2014).
Ethical and social issues associated with technology
There are many ethical and social issues associated with the use of technology which
impacts the working and operation of Marks and Spencer group plc. Some of these issues
relating to ethics and society are discussed in the adjoining points- Security of information- within Marks and Spencer group plc all the information and
data relating to employees are generally stored at cloud computing technology which is
used by management personnel of company. So the data of all the employees have a risk
of getting hacked because of the reason that cloud computing has a disadvantage of data
security. Because of this unsure of data security the employees lost their trust and belief
with Marks and Spencer. Privacy and technology concern- Marks and Spencer uses many techniques for keeping
an eye on the working of employees by checking their work like with help of checking
the browsing history of their emails and websites. With this use of information
technology Marks and Spencer undergoes an ethical issue of entering into privacy of
employee when they operate their work with help of computers and tablets at the work
place. Communication break down- by using too much technology within the business by
Marks and Spencer it can be responsible for communication break down. This is because
of the reason that because of use of technology the employees are much addicted towards
the use of social media sites rather than doing their work they prefer to surf on the
internet and to operate the social media sites at their work place. Because of this there is
less communication between the employees and their seniors and managers as they are
busy in surfing the internet and not working.
Difference between types of network
The network can be defined as a system wherein two or more or multiple devices are
connected with each other for communicating among themselves (Renko and Druzijanic, 2014).
The network connects minimum of two devices and maximum of billion devices with each other

for communicating with each other. There are many different types of networks which the
company can use to communicate with each other and with external parties as well. There are
majorly two types of network used by Marks and Spencer group plc which can be differentiated
as below-
Local Area Network (LAN) Wide Area Network (WAN)
It is a type of network which connects different
computers over a small geographical area like
in an office, school, building and many other
such type.
WAN is a type of network wherein the
network connects the computers over a large
geographical area so that they can
communicate with each other, such as over
regional or national boundaries, across
metropolitan area.
This network works at a high speed of 1000
mbps.
This type of network works with a low speed
of around 150 mbps.
The LAN uses connectivity technology such as
Token Ring, Ethernet and many such types of
techniques to connect different computers with
one another.
Here it uses technologies like MPLS, Frame
Relay, X.25 and many more different kinds of
techniques in order to connect different
computer systems.
In LAN the chances of data transmission error
are less as it deals with less number of
computers.
In case of WAN, as this network deals with
large geographical area so there are more
chances of having data transmission error
because the data is transferred over a large
area.
The cost of setting up this type of network is
low as it deals with less geographical area.
Since the network is established in such a large
geographical area so the cost of setting such
network is very high.
Growth of ICT and use of internet
ICT or Information and Communication Technologies refers to as technique which
provides access to different data and information with the help of telecommunication. This type
of technology uses various mediums like wireless network, internet, phones and communication

mediums. UK is the largest market of Information Communication Technology (ICT) all over
the world and is placed on 2 in ranking in list of ICT spending (United Kingdom- Information
Communication Technology (ICT), 2018). The ICT includes digital products and services which
includes financial technology, artificial intelligence, cloud services, audio- visual, augmented
and virtual reality, telecommunication and many more such related activities.
Use of internet
Internet is the most popular source of sharing information and gathering information from
the internet. The major use of internet for Marks and Spencer group plc is as follows-
Research- internet helps the company in doing research for anything. Like the company
can research for knowing the needs and requirements of consumers, also the company can
research for their competitors like what strategies they use and how they price their products and
many other things can be researched by the help of internet.
Trading- now- a- days even the company trades that is buys and sells their products and
services with the help of internet. The company can now do business via internet and this is more
beneficial for both the customers and for Marks and Spencer group plc.
Role of IT in management
The role of information technology is very crucial and important for all the types of
business. The role of information technology in Marks and Spencer group plc is as follows-
Manage and organize - The information technology plays an essential role in organizing
and managing the work of Marks and Spencer group plc. The use of IT helps company in
attaining efficiency in their operation and work. With help of IT every work is managed with
help of machines so it is very easy for managers to take decision and plan all the things.
Information technology provides cost effective management and organizing techniques such as
management information system, decision support system and many other such type of system.
The Information technology enables the company to measure the manner in which tasks
accompanied by employees.
Inquiry of particular problem- with the help of information technology the company can
detect problem dominant in the market and in between consumers relating that whether their
need and preferences are being satisfied by the products and services of company or not (Juaneda
- Ayensa, Mosquera and Sierra Murillo, 2016). With advancement in IT, the company has
established a system of online grievance handling wherein the consumers can share their views

and feedback after using product or service of company and also if they have any problem
regarding product or service they can share it on the website of company. With this company
Marks and Spencer group plc is able to take decisions according to the changes and feedback
given by consumers.
Generate new product and service - Marks and Spencer group plc generates new
products by the use of information technology analyses the needs and requirements of customers.
The use of Information technology helps company to make proper arrangement for collecting
information regarding need and preferences of consumers (Hsu, 2016). This is done in order to
execute the decision made after analysing the collected information and facts and figures in line
with the need prevailing among the customers.
Different stages of System Development Life Cycle
The System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) is a type of analytical tool or framework
which is used in order to develop a new system and also involves all the policies and procedures
which are used by the company in order to develop and alter a new or existing system with the
help of this method of SDLC. This model can also be referred to as a procedure or an activity
used by companies with intention of developing and creating either a hardware system or a
software system or even a combination of both hardware and software in order to meet the
requirements and expectation of consumers. This model follows a set of different stages which
are discussed as below-
Planning- it is stage where every thing is decided in advance like what steps will be
taken to develop a system, how it will be done, who will do it and many such related things are
discussed. This is the most crucial phase in SDLC because every objective and all the series of
work is defined in this stage only. For planning the person has three choices either to develop a
new system, improve the current system or leave the system.
Analysis- further the next step of SDLC is to carry on an analysis of the planned
objectives and the whole steps involved in developing the system. In this stage information is
collected, analysed and evaluated that whether the objectives are sound and achievable or not
and what are the expectation of the end user, what they need in the system and well they perform
(Hill, Betts and Gardner, 2015).
System design- after the thorough and in depth analysis of the gathered facts and the
requirements and need of consumers then the next step is to define all the elements of the system.

It means that all the components which comprises the system are analysed and checked. The
whole structure and design of system is made and analysed and compared with requirement of
consumer that is whether it satisfies those requirements or not.
Implementation- the next step is to implement the system which is designed in the above
stage. Within this stage the system designed is applied by the end user and it uses that system to
satisfy its needs and requirements (Bower, 2018).
Maintenance- this is the last step of SDLC within which time- to- time maintenance of
the prepared system is checked and reviewed properly that whether there is any problem in the
system or not.
CONCLUSION
With the study and analysis of the above report it can be summarized that information
technology plays and important and crucial role in the success of the company because it
minimizes the human efforts. Further it was outlined that there various forms of networks used
by company like LAN, MAN and many others. Further it discussed that how much important is
internet and intranet for the business. It also demonstrated some ethical and social issues related
with the business and technology. At last the report discussed the System Development Life
Cycle (SDLC) and various stages being involved in those process.

REFERENCES
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Kali, Y., McKenney, S. and Sagy, O., 2015. Teachers as designers of technology enhanced
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Online

United Kingdom- Information Communication Technology (ICT). 2018. [ONLINE]. Available
through:<https://www.export.gov/article?id=United-Kingdom-Infornation-
Communication-Technology-ICT>