An Introduction to Information Technology in the Context of Sainsbury

This report provides an introduction to Information Technology, focusing on its application within a business context, using Sainsbury's as a case study. The report begins with a literature review establishing the importance of IT in modern business operations. It then delves into different types of software, including accounting, database, billing, website building, and payment transaction software, highlighting their roles in streamlining processes and enhancing customer experience. The report further addresses the growing significance of ethical and social issues in the digital world, such as personal privacy, copyrights, trade secrets, communication breakdown, and cyberbullying, emphasizing their importance for businesses. The impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), specifically the Internet and Intranet, on business efficiency and customer responsiveness is also discussed. The report concludes by summarizing the role of IT in helping managers oversee business operations effectively, stressing the need for organizations to adapt to technological advancements to stay competitive and meet customer needs. The report emphasizes the critical role IT plays in various business functions, including marketing and communication, and the importance of addressing ethical and social considerations.

Introduction to
Information
Technology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
Literature review ........................................................................................................................1
Discuss different types of software that could be used by businesses........................................2
Ethical and social issues are increasingly becoming important in the digital world. Identify
and discuss the importance of them to run businesses,...............................................................3
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) makes a business more efficient and
effective in responding to customer needs. Discuss the impact of Internet and Intranet on
businesses....................................................................................................................................5
Discuss the role of IT in helping managers to manage businesses.............................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The information technology is defined as the use of the computers, storage, networking,
and the other devices, infrastructure and processes in order to create, process, store and secure
and exchange all the forms of the stored data within the business organisation. The It sector plays
a major role within the business operations and workforce. The It department of the company
ensures of the various activities and in order to connect and function properly. It is very
important for the business organisations to consider the information technology to gather the
market information in the most effective and efficient way. This report is based on the Sainsbury
company which is the second largest chain of supermarket. The company is situated in United
Kingdom. (Akhmedov and et. al., 2020).This report will include discussion on various topic such
as different types of software, importance of social and ethical issues in digital world, the impact
of internet and intranet and at last role if IT in helping managers.
MAIN BODY
Literature review
According to Khalaf, 2020, In formation technology is the most important for the
companies to take into consideration. It is identified that the use of the various software can help
the business organisation to function on the various aspect in a effective and efficient manner.
The information technology plays a major role in the supermarket or the retail industry. As
every industry and organisation requires the use of the various platforms in order to improve the
services as the computer software can help the organisation in maintain the task from the
different level. As the world is changing and there is adoption of the technology within the
company. As the development of the various software and the applications within the etchnology
helps the organisation in analysing and different aspect of customers and employees. The
software and the use of the information technology helps the employees to reduce the work
pressure. It is very essential to maintain the privacy and the data of the customers in order to eb
effective and efficient. There are several issues which are related to the information and
communication technology which need to be considered by the company. The information
technology plays a major role in developing of the business organisation.
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Discuss different types of software that could be used by businesses.
The term software is defined as the collection or set of various instructions which guides
a computer system what need to be performed. This comprises of the entire set of programs,
procedures and outlines associated with the operations of a computer system. There are different
types of software which can be used by the business organisation which are discussed below;
 Accounting software- This is defined as a computer program which helps in
bookkeepers and accounts in recording the and analysing the financial transactions of a
business organisation. This is the type of a software which helps the organisation in
keeping the record of the sale and it depends of the product or service of the company.
This is the type of a software which allows the storing of the numerous amount of data
without having the physical space for the company. The accounting software helps the
business organisation in managing the accounts rather than manual processes in an
effective and efficient way. (Alfalah, 2018)
 Database software- This is the type of a software program which is used by the business
organisations for creating, editing and maintaining the database files and records. This
software helps the business enterprises to store the data in a structured form. This is the
software which is similar to database management software which is important for the
organisations.
 Billing software- As in the retail sector it is very important for the business organisation
to use such type of a software . This is the type of a software which helps the business
organisation in identifying the product according to their size and the type. As there are
several products which have different prices. The billing software helps in tracking the
barcode and scan the product and the amount can be calculated automagically. This is the
type of of a software which is auto generated.(Benitez, Llorens and Braojos, 2018)
 Website building software- As it is identified that if the website of the company is well
designed it will help the organisation in order to attract customers in effective and
efficient manner. The giftware are used by the organisation in order to build the website
and its proper functioning which can help the customers to have a good experience while
online shopping. It is very important for the company to adopt such software which can
help the company to attract customers in designing the website in attractive way.
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 Payment transaction software- This is the type of a software which helps the business
organisation in making a fast translations in the payment to the customers. This is the
type of a software which helps the organisation in making a flexibility while making
payment for the purchase of the products. There are several technology which can be
used by the organisation as the world is changing and technology is developing day by
day. This can help the company to reduce the workload can make a quick and fast
delivery of the products and services.
From the above discussed various and different types of software it is identified that the
Sainsbury need to adopt the different billing software in order to make a fast billing and the
customer do not have to stand in qua for longer time. The various billing software can help the
organisation in making the fast process it is very important for the organisation to use such
software in order to attract customers with having a good experience within the offline stores.
This helps the company in maintaining the transactions smoothly. (Clarkson, 2019)
Ethical and social issues are increasingly becoming important in the digital world. Identify and
discuss the importance of them to run businesses,
It is analysed that the ethical and social issues are becoming the matter of concern within
the information technology. It is very important for the companies to be aware of the issues in
order to run a business in an effective and efficient manner. As in the digital world there are
various issues which need to consider for the smooth functioning. The information technology
can include the various risk and there are issues. The managers ned to be aware of the
importance of the ethical and social issues to run a business organisation is discussed below:
Ethical issues- This is related to the specific components which is used in the formation
technology and in aspect of the growing digital world there are various ethical issues which need
to consider by the business organisation which are discussed below:
 Personal privacy- as it is analysed and identified that the companies maintains the
information of the customers with them in order to gain the competitive advantage and
analyse the perspective of consumers. It is very important for the Sainsbury to maintain
the privacy not to share the information to other which can harm the consumers. As in
respect of the various software and the maintaining big data requires to connect the
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various software with each other. There is the risk of the leak of the private information
to third party. It is very challenging for the IT and society to maintain the privacy and
integrity with the useful formation. It is very essential for the company to be aware of the
issues which can be arises which need to be consider by the company can take necessary
precautions. (de Mattos, Kissimoto and Laurindo, 2018)
 Copyrights- it is identified that the information security specialises are to be familiar
with the important concept of the copyright law. This is works as a powerful and the legal
tool which helps in preventing various computer software. The other companies can
misuse the data and the various information for the company which need to be taken into
account. This need to be considered by the Sainsbury in order to prevent their website
and the material from its competitors. This is the ethical issues which is very important or
the business organisation.
 Trade secrets- This is also defined as the the important ethical issues which is related to
the digital world and the information technology. The trade secrets secures something of
value or the usefulness. This is the law which helps in preventing the private aspects and
ideas of the business organisation. This is the broad computer range which need to be
adopted by the Sainsbury in order to protect its trade from its competitors.
Social issues- This is the important for the business organisation in order to understand what
need to be taken into consideration for the welfare of the society and the people living. There are
various social issues in the digital world which need to be considered by the organisation and
they are discussed below:
 Communication breakdown- It is very important for the company to maintain the
communication by the use of the various sources which can help the enterprise to analyse
the issues related to the communication breakdown within the customers. This is the
matter of issues which is important for Sainsbury to take into the account.
 Cuber bullying- The information technology and the use of the internet sources have
also allowed people to attract over the social and the such platforms which is the biggest
issues for the organisations and the people livi9ng in society. It is very important for the
Sainbury to know the impact of such issues and maintain the security which cannot lead
to such situations.
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From the above social and ethical issues it is identified that these issues are very
important for the business organisation to take into the account in order to practise the various
tools in order to complete the various activities. It is very important to understand the various
ethical and social issues to manage the variety of activities.(Li and Chan, 2019)
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) makes a business more efficient and
effective in responding to customer needs. Discuss the impact of Internet and Intranet on
businesses.
Information and communication technology helps the business organisation in being
more effective and efficient in responding to the needs and desir4es of the customers. It is very
important that the companies adopt the use of the technology in identifying the necessity of the
organisation in order to meet their demands. The information and communication technology
plays a vital role in performing the different business functions effectively. This is defined as
handling the communication processes such as broadcast media, telecommunication,
transmission system etc. the impact of the internet and intranet is been discussed below;'
Internet- There are several impact of the internet source within the business organisation which
helps in communicating with the customers. Some of them are discussed below;
 the business organisation have the marketing opportunities through the internet and the
technology which helps the company to promote and communicate about the brand to its
customers. This is the most important impact of the internet over the Sainsbury where the
company can find different ways to connect with the people and meet their requirements.
The use of the social media and the digital platforms can help the organisation to
communicate of the brand with customers. (Wang, Sigerson and Cheng, 2019)
 The company has a opportunity to expand its business over the online platforms. The
Sainsbury has the impact in its online website where the company can meet the customer
expectations by the use of the technology and the use of the various software's and
development. It is the main source of the internet through which the company can focus
ion developing the busie4nss across the world by the online serving of the products and
services.(Luthra and et. al., 2018)
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Intranet-- There are several other impact of intranet over the business organisation. This is
defined as where the intranet helps the employees to communicate and increase the productivity
within the workplace in the business organisation.
 This helps the business organisation to improve the productivity and perform better with
the various functions which need to be performed by the company in order to
communicate with the different departments.
 This helps the business organisation to find people in a easy way. The intranet helps the
business organisation to find customers and be more attentive in finding the various way.
It is very important to understand the impact of the informations and communication
technology which helps in improving the performance of the employees.
 The intranet impact the organisation in the performance and increase in the productivity
of employees to communicate within the workplace in defective and efficient way.
(McGee, 2018)
Discuss the role of IT in helping managers to manage businesses.
IT plays an important role in the success of any business. It helps in spreading the horizon of the
company and aligns with various resources and makes them function in a structured manner. It
helps a manger in various aspects and these aspects are discussed below.
 Management of Inventory – It is the responsibility of a manager to have adequate supply
of inventory so that company do not face any interruption at the time of high demand. It
helps the manager in managing the inventory along with providing the factual figure that
the company should have in order to not face the shortage of inventory.
 Keeping of records -It helps the manager in keeping all the records such as keeping up of
invoices of payments and debtors. It will help at the time of auditing of company in order
to safeguard from the penalty in case of absence of any invoice. (Procopiuck, 2018)
 Helps in taking decisions – It enables the manager to take essential decision at the time of
complexities. In that case, it becomes difficult for a manager to opt which option so that it
can benefit the company. So it is very beneficial at taking decisions as it analyse all the
possible outcomes and then select the appropriate in order to promote growth of the
company.
 Efficiency – As compare to human efforts, technology enables the manager in doing
faster and in accurate way. The main aim of opting the technology is to make work faster
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and cheaper. There is a high probability of error if the work is done by human. So if the
work done by machine and technology it becomes easier for the company. It is the
cheapest method of maintaining and keeping data. It reduces the chance of error that may
be seen in human efforts.(Sirisomboonsuk and et. al., 2018)
 Gives insights – It helps the manager in providing the insights that will help nin
understanding the customer behaviour and purchasing pattern. Once the company
understands the buying pattern, then it becomes easy for the company to introduce the
product that can fulfil the consumer needs. These insights can also be used in comparing
the actual data with the previous data that will indicate the performance as how well the
company have used its resources.
 Facilitate productivity – There are various softwares that helps the company in measuring
the performance of its employees and by assessing the results it enables the manager to
take corrective measures that will be beneficial in improving the overall productivity of
the employees and organisation. If the company is having skilled employees, then it
could lead to kore productivity of the company that will lead it to the attainment of the
objectives.
 Inviting customers – With the help of digital marketing technology, it helps the
co0mpany in attracting customers from all over the world and it is the cheapest method
that every company is opting and slowly it is emerging in whole world and the traditional
method is declining. This helps the manager in reducing its cost and it can lead to higher
profitability. (Toyama, 2018)
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that information technology is defined as the
use of the various technical tools in order to perform the various functions within the department
of the business enterprise. There are various information technology software which can be used
by the companies in order to increase the productivity. It is very important for the business
organisation to adopt the such software for the better performance within the organisation. There
are various ethical and social issues related to the information technology. It is important for the
Sainsbury to consider the right use of the information technology and maintain the various
ethical code of conducts. There is the wide impact of the internet and intranet over the business
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organisation. It is very important that the information technology and its uses are used in the
right manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Akhmedov and et. al., 2020. Trends in the use of the pedagogical cluster to improve the quality
of information technology lessons. Экономика и социум, (12), pp.802-804.
Alfalah, S.F., 2018. Perceptions toward adopting virtual reality as a teaching aid in information
technology. Education and Information Technologies, 23(6), pp.2633-2653.
Benitez, J., Llorens, J. and Braojos, J., 2018. How information technology influences opportunity
exploration and exploitation firm’s capabilities. Information & Management, 55(4),
pp.508-523.
Clarkson, A., 2019. Toward Effective Strategic Analysis: New Applications of Information
Technology: New Applications Of Information Technology. Routledge.
de Mattos, C.A., Kissimoto, K.O. and Laurindo, F.J.B., 2018. The role of information technology
for building virtual environments to integrate crowdsourcing mechanisms into the
open innovation process. Technological forecasting and social change, 129, pp.143-
153.
Li, T.C. and Chan, Y.E., 2019. Dynamic information technology capability: Concept definition
and framework development. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(4),
p.101575.
Luthra and et. al., 2018. Evaluating the drivers to information and communication technology for
effective sustainability initiatives in supply chains. International Journal of
Information Technology & Decision Making, 17(01), pp.311-338.
McGee, K., 2018. The influence of gender, and race/ethnicity on advancement in information
technology (IT). Information and Organization, 28(1), pp.1-36.
Procopiuck, M., 2018. Information technology and time of judgment in specialized courts: What
is the impact of changing from physical to electronic processing?. Government
Information Quarterly, 35(3), pp.491-501.
Sheldon, M.D., 2019. A primer for information technology general control considerations on a
private and permissioned blockchain audit. Current Issues in Auditing, 13(1), pp.A15-
A29.
Sirisomboonsuk and et. al., 2018. Relationships between project governance and information
technology governance and their impact on project performance. International
journal of project management, 36(2), pp.287-300.
Toyama, K., 2018. From needs to aspirations in information technology for
development. Information Technology for Development, 24(1), pp.15-36.
Wang, H.Y., Sigerson, L. and Cheng, C., 2019. Digital nativity and information technology
addiction: Age cohort versus individual difference approaches. Computers in Human
Behavior, 90, pp.1-9.
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