Introduction to Information Technology Report: Business and Society

This report provides a detailed analysis of Information Technology (IT) and its impact on businesses. It begins by classifying different types of computers, including microcomputers, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and supercomputers, providing examples for each. The report then explores the advantages and challenges of IT for businesses, using Mark and Spencer as a case study, highlighting benefits such as increased efficiency and competitive advantage, while also addressing challenges like data privacy and the need for IT experts. Furthermore, the report delves into ethical and social issues, such as accounting practices, social media usage, harassment, and technology-related concerns, and their impact on organizations. Finally, it examines the growth and impact of the internet on businesses, offering a comprehensive overview of IT's multifaceted role in the modern business landscape.

Introduction to
information
technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Classification of computers with examples.................................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Impact of IT for a business with advantages and challenges.......................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................6
Ethical and social issues and their impact on an organisation.....................................................6
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
Growth and impact of internet on businesses..............................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Information and technology uses computer systems, internet, smartphones, artificial intelligence
and many other advanced systems to facilitate working of a business. In the era of stiff
competition between companies, there are various companies which are using information and
technology at a major glance to gain competitive advantage (Kaddoura, 2020). In this report
different types of computer systems are explained with examples. This project includes impact of
IT for a business with various advantages and challenges. This report also includes ethical and
social issues and their impact on a business along with growth and impact of internet. To better
understand role of IT, example of Mark and Spencer is taken into consideration, it is a global
multinational company in retail sector. The company was established in 1884, it deals in selling
of home products, clothing and electronic items worldwide.
TASK 1
Classification of computers with examples
According to use and purpose of usage, there are different type of computers available for
the users in this information and technology. It totally depends on the perspective of a user,
which type of computer is to be used. There are generally four types of computers available
to the users which are mentioned below with examples:
Microcomputers- These types of computer systems were used most in 20th century and they
were considered as most common type of computers in early time. Even in the recent times,
these type of computer systems are used in a wide manner to perform various operations. The
best example of microcomputers is Altair 8800, which was launched in 1975. The different types
of microcomputers are:
 Desktop Computers- These are a major type of microcomputers which are preferred by
users at home or offices for small purpose of work (Clemons, and et. al., 2017). These
type of microcomputers are very small in size and includes very small amount of memory
and processing speed.
 Laptop computers- Laptop computers are most important innovation in the field of
information and technology. They are portable computers; it means a person can easily
take them to different places. It is a major advantage to user, that work can be done with

the help of laptop at any particular place. Laptop computers are easy to carry as they are
light weight and they can be also easily charged with the help of electricity.
Minicomputers- These are also known as mid-range computers; these can be used by
various users at a particular moment of time. There are supermini computers which performs
heavy tasks with maximum efficiency. The minicomputers generally lie in the middle
segment of the computing system. The usage of minicomputers is considered as one of the
most efficient technique in computer systems which requires less amount of electricity. The
examples of mini computers are: Honeywell200 and TI-990.
Mainframe computers- The mainframe computers are known by their capability to handle a
huge amount of operations in data handling. These computers are even capable of performing
quick operations even with the load of bulk data. Mainframe computers are generally used in
banks, government organisations and in large corporations. Example of mainframe
computers are IBM z Series and Hewlett-Packard manufactured system which is known as
Nonstop.
Supercomputers- The supercomputers are intelligent computers which are used by
professional organisations in order to perform heavy tasks and operations. Usage of
supercomputers is useful for an organisation in activities like weather forecasting, fluid
dynamics, nuclear operations and complex scientific calculations. These computers are
highly advanced in operating and take a few seconds in major calculations. Summit and
Sierra which are used in National Laboratory of USA are major examples of supercomputers.
TASK 2
Impact of IT for a business with advantages and challenges
IT sector is upgrading day by day, with the information and technology most of the businesses at
the marketplace are gaining competitive advantage. If a business is not using information and
technology in its operations, then it is hard for a company to survive at the marketplace due to
stiff competition (Howell, 2018). Information and technology is contributing to a business day
by day in various aspects, it is making a business dynamic and flexible. The various advantages
of IT for Mark and Spencer are:

 Effectiveness and efficiency- Due to the deployment of IT operations in the field
and operations, it is possible for the company to gain effectiveness. The tools of IT
also benefits a company by increasing the efficiency of company in the modern
world. The efficiency in operations of Mark and Spencer, eventually leads to
maximise customer satisfaction and revenue generation.
 Competitive advantage- In the global market, there are various retail companies
which are giving a tough competition to Mark and Spencer. The competitive
advantage is achieved by the company by deployment of various information and
technology operations. The company also has integrated software system which is
beneficial in management of all business operations. This is a major advantage of
using information and technology in its operations, by the help of competitive
advantage, Mark and Spencer has become a giant retailer in the global market.
 Management applications- Mark and Spencer has also developed various software,
that actually facilitate its top level management to manage various employees. The
management information system in today’s business world is considered as one of
the most important technological business tool (Smith, 2018).The application of
management information system is used widely by Mark and Spencer in order to
manage different departments.
 Facilitates strategic management- The information and technology play an
important role in supporting business by facilitating in planning and formulation of
strategies. There are different IT solutions available for the businesses at the
marketplace which provides strategic solutions to different businesses (Kung,
2019).With the help of strategic management, Mark and Spencer leads the
marketplace and achieve its long and short term organisational goals.
 Business development- By the usage of information and technology in the
operations of Mark and Spencer, the company facilitate its overall development. The
business development is essential in today’s market place as it is very much essential
for a business to gain enhancement in a short span of time. With the immense
support of information and technology, the business development is facilitated the
most.
The challenges which are faced by Mark and Spence in IT operations are following:

 Data privacy- It is important for Mark and Spencer to protect privacy of its
customers, it is one of the major challenge for the company. Data privacy should be
maintained in order to gain trust and interest of customers in a business. This is one
of the major challenge in the information and technology world. Every company at
the marketplace evaluates a data policy for its customers, in order to comply with
rules and regulations imposed by the government.
 Costly implementation- In the operations of information and technology it is
essential for Mark and Spencer to incur a huge amount of money. Deployment of
expensive computer systems and software demands heavy costs, also their
maintenance requires heavy costs (Venne, 2018). It becomes compulsory for Mark
and Spencer to deploy optimum operations in its functioning in order to facilitate its
operations and functioning.
 Requires IT experts- Professional IT experts are always required in a business to
handle its IT operations. It is nearly impossible for a business to use information and
technology without hiring IT experts. Mark and Spencer is trying hard to deploy
various IT professionals in order to perform its technological operations all over the
world.
 Software threats- This is one of the most of crucial challenge in the field of
information and technology for major companies. There are various software threats
like virus, malware, cyber-attacks that can put a business into a situation which is
very dangerous (Brooks, 2017). These attacks can even make all data corrupt for a
business, the data which is related to customers is very crucial for Mark and Spencer.
However, the company always tries hard to achieve maximum security in its IT
operations to overcome this challenge.
TASK 3
Ethical and social issues and their impact on an organisation
Ethical issues
There are various ethical issues which arise at Mark and Spencer in its global operations, the
company always try to minimise ethical issues in its functioning. Ethical issues affect the overall
performance of the business entity as well as causes a major harm to human resources of

company. Ethical issues which arise in a business also impact on goodwill of a business at the
market place (Torten, 2018). The business must ensure that it is working with maximum
efficiency at the marketplace. Mark and Spencer always try to deal with various ethical issues by
deployment of professional management in its operations. The various ethical which arise at
Mark and Spencer are following:
 Accounting- Accounting is termed as the backbone of all financial transactions in a
business as it records all financial transactions. In a business accounting operations
should be performed by an honest person, unethical practices should not be performed in
the accounting records as it leads to financial loss in a business.
 Social media- The role of social media is increasing with the spread of internet in this
world. A business generally faces several unethical issues which arise due to the
influence of social media. Employees in a business sometimes perform unethical
practices with the use of social media. In order to avoid these types of unethical issues in
a business, the company should keep an eye on its social media operations.
 Harassment and Discrimination- As Mark and Spencer is a giant multinational
company, it is important for the company to maintain a healthy working environment. At
the workplace several times harassment and discrimination related to women employees
can happen. This can ruin current functioning and culture of the business as harassment is
considered as crime. The conflicts which arise at Mark and Spencer should be solved
immediately by human resource management of company in order to avoid harassment
and discrimination.
 Health and safety- It should be the utmost priority of Mark and Spencer to maintain
health and safety of the employees. The company should maintain a healthy working
environment at the workplace to maintain its major operations at global level. There
should be ethical responsibility of human resource management of Mark and Spencer to
maintain all its operations with utmost safety and security.
 Technology related issues- In the era of information and technology, there are several
technological issues which can harm privacy of customers and business. In order to
protect security and data of a business, Mark and Spencer should deploy several IT
experts (Vanpoucke, 2017). The company should perform regular audit in its technology
related operations in order to gain efficiency in its operations.

Social issues
Social issues also arise at Mark and Spencer as it conducts its operations at the global
marketplace. The importance of social issues is vital for the company as it generally impacts the
societal operations of the company as well as impacts on the customer functioning (Ratwani,
2019). It is important for Mark and Spencer to keep an eye on various social issues to make sure
that it is giving maximum satisfaction to the society. The various social issues which are faced
by Mark and Spencer are:
 Labour unions- Labour unions are present in a business at a major glance, the strikes
and demands of labour union are very hard to handle for a company. There are various
demands of labour which are hard for Mark and Spencer to fulfil. The labour unions
sometimes stop the operations and functioning of a business, it is the responsibility of
management to satisfy all the major demands and needs of its employees.
 Political factors- Influence of political factors impact a business in various manner, the
political factors such as Brexit has impacted functioning of Mark and Spencer in many
different ways. The company should tackle various political factors in order to avoid
several loses that may arise due to political factor’s influence.
 Discrimination in employment practices- Due to practice of nepotism in a business,
there can be discrimination in the employment practices. Discrimination can lead to
conflict in an organisation, overall the conflicts impacts functioning of a business. The
practice of discrimination can harm the performance of employees; it can also lead to
decrease revenue of a business. In order to avoid discrimination practices at the
workplace, human resource management of Mark and Spencer should manage its
employees with utmost care. It is also responsibility of management of Mark and Spencer
to resolve various conflicts that arise in the company on regular basis.
TASK 4
Growth and impact of internet on businesses
Growth of internet
Earlier before 1990s, most of the businesses were running on the basis of traditional methods that
is without the use of information and technology. After 1990s, advancement in the sector of IT
came into existence with the spread of internet. Many different e-commerce companies entered

the market with full fledge operations, this gave a tough competition to other companies which
were operating with traditional methods (Mauerhoefer, 2017). The growth of internet then
pushed other multinational and domestic companies at the marketplace which revolutionised the
market. After the spread of internet at the marketplace, many companies tried to gain
advancement at the marketplace with the use of information and technology. Now as per the
current situation, several multinational companies along with Mark and Spencer are using
internet in their operations in order to gain customer attraction. According to the latest trends at
the global marketplace, it is essential for a business to deploy internet and technology in its
operations. Growth of internet can be also observed by calculation of internet speed, earlier the
speed of internet was very low, nowadays with the deployment of optical fibre cables, there is
major increase in internet speed. The era of internet has created a major revolution in the
business world, as a result today it is hard for a company to perform its operations without using
internet. It can be assumed that with the growth of internet and technology, it will be possible to
connect the whole world to the business world in near future. As per the current statistics and
data over 4.6 Billion people use social media, this is a huge number that is why most of the
businesses use social media in order to advertise for products. Mark and Spencer is also impacted
by growth of internet in the information and technology era. Mark and Spencer is using internet
since decades to perform marketing and promotion of the company’s products at the global
market place.
Impact of internet on businesses
In the era of information and technology, there are various companies which are involved in the
operations which are related to internet (Toyama, 2018). The influence of internet is huge on
Mark and Spencer as the company operate in the worldwide market with the use of internet in
maximum operations. Without the use of internet in the operations of the company, it will be
hard for the company to survive at the marketplace. The impact of internet on Mark and Spencer
is explained below:
 Data synchronisation- Mark and Spencer performs its data synchronisation with the
help of information and technology. As the company handles large number of
customers at the marketplace, it is important for the company to facilitate data
synchronisation. With the help of synchronisation of data, Mark and Spencer deals
with large number of people at the global marketplace. The data synchronisation

activities are performed by various IT experts at Mark and Spencer to develop
approach of company worldwide.
 Fast operations- Internet in the business world helps companies to perform various
operations at marketplace with less consumption of time. Mark and Spencer earlier
used traditional methods in its operations, now the company focuses on internet
operations in order to do marketing and promotions of its products. With the use of
internet, it is possible for the company to perform respective tasks in a quick manner.
 Time and cost saving- In the traditional methods of internet and technology, it was
hard for Mark and Spencer to save time in the distribution of its products. With the
use of internet, it is now possible for the company to save time in the distribution
process as well as save the cost of production. Internet facilitates the saving of
production cost and time which eventually leads to maximise revenue generation for
the company (Hendon, 2017). The time and cost saving aspect of internet is the
major advantage of internet for a business which also helps increasing the efficiency.
 Accuracy- Internet has supported accuracy of transactions which are occurred online
in a business. Accuracy is achieved with the help of internet, this the major impact of
internet on a business. It is important for a business to include internet as it provides
security of financial transactions as well as it also maintains accuracy in them.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it can be concluded that spread of internet all over the world has
created an IT revolution all across the globe. In order to compete in the market, most of the
businesses are trying to apply maximum operations of IT. Information and technology helps
a business in its growth as well as it helps in the overall development of business. The above
stated report concludes that a business has to deploy optimum information and technology in
its functioning to save cost and timings. This report also concludes that information and
technology helps in data visualisation and synchronisation which helps a business to define
its target customers. This report concludes that it is the ethical responsibility of a business to
perform all its operations related to information and technology with maximum security to
attract large number of customers.

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