Information Technology Application in Sainsbury's Business

This report provides an overview of the role of Information Technology (IT) in business, focusing on Sainsbury's as a case study. It discusses the various classifications of computers used by businesses, including supercomputers, mainframes, minicomputers, and microcomputers, and their respective applications. The report highlights the ethical and social issues associated with technology use, such as data privacy, misinformation, online aggression, and communication collapse. It also examines how IT, particularly through the use of the internet and intranet, helps businesses like Sainsbury's efficiently respond to customer needs and optimize operations. Furthermore, the report emphasizes the role of IT in assisting managers in making data-driven decisions and improving overall business management. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a range of study tools and solved assignments for students.

Introduction to Information
Technology

Abstract
Present technological era has made is mandatory for businesses to adopt information technology in
all of its operations. Although use of technology is very capital intensive, however the benefits it
provides are unmatched. Businesses make use of information technology to store, retrieve and
process a lot of information in a very short period. Its necessary to understand for any business what
kind of hardware it requires to optimize the business operations. The social and ethical issues
involved with the use of modern technology have to be identified in order to form effective policies
to be able to deal with them. Business mangers no longer have to rely upon their arbitrary senses
rather they can act and make decisions based on quantifiable data to gain new insights and gain a
competitive advantage.

Table of Contents
Abstract.................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction:.........................................................................................................................................4
Literature Review.................................................................................................................................4
Classifications of computer that could be used by businesses....................................................4
Importance of ethical and social issues in running bushinesses. ...............................................5
(ICT) role in business for efficiently and effectively responding to customer needs. And the
difference between Internet and Intranet.....................................................................................7
Role of IT in helping managers to manage businesses...............................................................8
Analysis and discussion:.......................................................................................................................8
Types of computers used by Sainsbury.......................................................................................8
Ethical and social Practices in Sainsbury...................................................................................9
Intranet,Internet and Information technology uses in Sainsbury:.............................................10
Role of IT in assisting mangers at Sainsbury............................................................................10
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................12

Introduction:
Information technology connotes using computer system or other apparatus for accessing
information. Technology today has become indispensable for every sphere of personal and business
activities. Through the use of IT businesses are able to store, retrieve, approach or engage data at
very high speeds. The report below gives an account of various classification of computer systems
such as Supercomputers, Mainframes, minicomputer and microcomputer. Further the various issues
involved with the use of technology are discussed. The report further divulges the assortment of
ways through which managers of business can exploit IT for diversifying and accelerating revenue
stream. The retail business chosen for this report is Sainsbury which was founded in 1869 by James
Sainsbury. The companies headquarters are located at London United Kingdom.
Literature Review
To be able to harness the power of competitive economics businesses today have to rely upon
making use of information technology. Prominence of IT to reduce input costs whilst amping up
and diversifying revenues stream has been on the rise in recent years.
Classifications of computer that could be used by businesses.
According to Yuefan Deng computer could be classified into:
Supercomputers: These are top of the line in terms of speed, power and cost. The physical size of
these machines are huge in conjunction with incredibly fast capacity to store and process
information. These machines are ideal for computing multiple task as it has multiple processing
units working in conjunction with each other.(Gorobets, Soukov, and Bogdanov, 2018) The design
of the supercomputer can vary according to the purpose it aims to serve. The supercomputers have
very specific parts to handle very specific operations. They are used by researchers to simulate
complex phenomenon such as nuclear weapon detonation, aerodynamics of air planes, For
predicting weather and natural calamities etc.
Mainframe computers: These are less expensive than supercomputers, require less space, and
provide less computing power. However they are still more powerful than regular personal
computers. They can accommodate thousands of users at the same time. These computers can
enduringly solve complex equations at a very high rate. The advantage over supercomputer is that
they can run multiple threads on the processor at the same time, whereas supercomputer excel in
running a single thread at very fast rate. (Rashidova,and Rashidova, 2019)These computer are used
by enterprises such as the banking sector for Atm's, public sector for safely running railway network

etc.
Minicomputer: These computers utilize more than one processor and are designed to accommodate
multiple users or machines. These are more expensive than personal computers and have larger size
than them but are relatively smaller than mainframe and supercomputer and similarly can handle
less operation than mainframes and process it at a slower rate. (Adamuthe, and Thampi, 2019)These
can perform multiple operations and run multiple threads to process. These can support nearly one
hundred users. These computers are used in banking sector for accounting operations , for bookings,
in higher institutions of education.
Micro computers:
These are the computer typically used at homes and small businesses. Due to the design of
microprocessors which are very reasonably prized it became possible for people to own computers.
These computers are designed to not be bulky and occupy very little space. They run on a single
processors and have limited capacity to store, these computers process information at very slow rate
and are only capable of running less than ten threads for processing. They accommodate a single
user at a time however they can run multiple tasks depending on the power of the processor.
Examples include, phones, I pad, laptops, personal computers etc. These can be connected together
via internet. Common application include collecting data, entertainment,education etc.
Importance of ethical and social issues in running bushinesses.
Ethical issues:
According to George Walter Reynolds there are these ethical and social issues involved with the use
of technology:
Use of Personal Information:
Privacy and ethical use of information acquired by the businesses through their websites and other
sources remains one of the top concerns in today's dynamic tech based world. The information
which is entered by people in order to use the various platform of social media such as images and
personal information on Facebook, Payment related details while purchasing online. The
information provided to these websites if not used ethically could prove to be destructive to
individuals and institution alike. Not only financial and personal harm could be caused to an
individual by breach of their privacy. The information could be misappropriated to bringing down
democratic institutions, For instance the firm Cambridge Analytica used Facebook to gather the
which way the voters are leaning in America and then supplied them with concocted and
incriminating information about democratic candidates to give republican party an edge in the
election.(Choi and Sung,2018). Data is the new oil, information regarding customers help the
businesses to know the needs and preferences of people so that they can full fill them. Moreover

huge swathes of data could help business in generating novel insights into its operation to optimize
them for earning maximum revenue. However it is essential that these businesses don't violate the
privacy of individuals which is why many countries around the world are pondering over policies to
make sure that the user has complete control over the data.
Lack of reliable information:
Anyone on the internet could assassinate the character of a person, and that information could be
circulated and held to be true. As when most people consume information from the internet they are
not looking to verify the veracity of the claims made. The arduous fact checking procedure adopted
by news agencies is absent from the information disseminated on the internet. Also the rapid
advances in technology of making fake videos has meant a person could be made to do or say things
which they have never said or done. The person behind the whole fact concoction can't be held
responsible due to lack of jurisdiction and animality provided by the internet.
No Supervision and lack of Obligation
Companies are very inter dependent for using different software ,technologies and platforms which
makes it extremely tough to fix responsibility on a single company. Moreover different companies
are registered in different jurisdiction ad operate according to different laws. There is no global
policy regarding the use of information technology. Which makes the breaches and criminal acts go
unpunished.(Barsky, 2019)
Social concerns:
Online aggression: internet has made it possible for people to be aggressive whilst escaping any
kind of responsibility. Due to internet there has been a rise in cases related to cyber bullying. The
reach of anti social elements has been extended. These bad elements of society can target any
person across the globe and escape responsibility due to them being anonymous on the internet and
residing in another locality which may not have the laws against such activities. Cyber bullying
affect children the most and cause emotional damage due to which they feel fearful. Moreover the
criminal elements of the society can dupe people of their hard earned money using internet as a
medium. Fraudulent acts committed over the internet have been on constant rise so much so that
even governments can't escape them, for instance hackers had taken control nuclear plant facility in
US and demanded money for rescinding control over the facility.(Cockayne,2021)
Communication Collapse: It very counter intuitive to regard information tech as being the reason
for collapse of communication amongst people in a society. As its the the use of information tech
which keeps people in touch with other people across the globe. However one needs to account for
the closeness and trust based communication which was the norm in the society before the advent of

information tech. People confided in their loved ones and family which strengthened their bonds
and built characters. Whereas in preset time that bond is replaced by wanting attention and likes by
total strangers with whom an individual shares no emotional bond.(Kharbanda, Madaan, and Bhatia,
2021)
(ICT) role in business for efficiently and effectively responding to customer needs. And the
difference between Internet and Intranet.
According to Norzah Mohd Suki Info tech connotes storage, engagement, and modification of data
on computer systems. However in present time Info tech had many implications for businesses ,
they use is to collect huge sets of data to process that information and make data driven decisions
for determining the course of business. In the context of meeting the needs of the customer ICT
helps in following ways:
 Data sets of customers could be created to retrieve their specific information and handle
their queries. The Online bots which work on artificial intelligence codes can provide
accurate information to lot of customers at the same time. The use of these bots in
conjunction with human representatives could save the business a lot of money spent on
hiring and training the customer service representatives. From the perspective of the
customer it can save their precious time by not having to hold on the line while a human
representative gets available to talk to them. They can get their quires addressed swiftly and
accurately by the AI.
 Operations of business can be optimised for efficiency by knowing the various requirements
a business has such as infrastructure, cash flow and logistics to find out what equation works
best. Whether to maintain large inventories of products because there is likely to be
corresponding jump in demand. The company needs to track various informations regarding
sales, costs incurred, and revenue generation to identify what areas need to be improved
upon.
Internet use for business.
Internet provides swathes of business opportunity for Enterprises such as networking capability, To
retrieve information, communicating,marketing commodities and service, conducting online sales,
logistical arrangements, interaction with various stakeholders and authorities. The control over
internet is decentralised.(Abela, 2021)
Intranet use for business.

Intranet is used to full fill the communicative necessity of a company. It also keeps a provision for
securing space for storage and engagement of data. The company owns this network and the
exchanges which takes place on this network are limited to company members only. For instance a
company can test function of websites on the intranet before putting it up on the internet.(Gallini,
and Makoveichuk, 2019,)
Role of IT in helping managers to manage businesses.
According to Shane Information technology assist managers to coordinate operations, exercise
effective control, take quantifiable data based decisions and in communicating. Info tech has been
monumentally successful in aiding managers to make sound data driven business decisions. They
no longer have to rely on their gut feeling rather managers can know with certainty what impact
their decisions are going to have on the future course of business. This connotes minimization of
risks for the business and effective containment while mitigating the fallout of crisis. Due to the
communicative and information systems in use by the business managers can make and modify
impactful strategies. Info tech assists in analysing particular data and planning the course of
business in accordance with trends and other datasets. (Ezzaouia, and Bulchand-Gidumal, 2020)IT
can provide businesses with certain weapons in their arsenal which can help in overcoming hurdles
and undertake expansionary measures.
Digitally advertising has become indispensable tool for managers , as it helps in targeting
particular customers which are most likely to buy the commodity or service and extensively
increases the reach of marketing to the entire globe. Further they can monitor the performance of
different strategies to see what works and what doesn't and the reasons for certain strategies not
working thereby reducing the cost of customer acquisition. The modern way of doing business is
incredibly optimized so companies use a method of ordering the inventory they need by using Just
in time method, this means they don't have to waste money upon expensive overhead cost and
warehousing costs. This also implies the companies can anticipate demand decrease or increase and
take necessary steps accordingly for supply related operations.(Kaur, J., and, et. al., 2022)
Analysis and discussion:
Types of computers used by Sainsbury
At sainsbury micro computers are used for running operations with relation to calculating cash
flow from various sources, Such as linking various point of sale systems, running complex
operations used to decipher, store and process consumer data, retrieval and processing of various

reports related to market conditions to determine what to supply at what time. Moreover the
personal computers in form of tablets, laptops, smartphones are utilized to meet the day to day
business operation requirements. Such as accounting, communicating, logging information etc.
Ethical and social Practices in Sainsbury
Ethical Practices:
Personal Information concerns:
Sainsbury maintains high ethical standards while using the personal information of people that it
acquires such as credit card information. Moreover the enterprise invests very heavily in regular
intervals to shore up its hardware and software capability to ward off any potential attack on its
servers. This ensures the repository of data kept by the company isn't misappropriated by attackers.
Reliability:
The company uses strenuous checks so that the information shared on its platform is true. The
products sold on the platform are verified and go through various quality checks to be able to get
listed. The company refrains from sharing any information on various social media whose claim
they can't verify.
Responsible use:
Sainsbury uses class leading third party payment processing platform and uses lead cyber security
providers to ensure that culture of responsibility is inculcated among its workers. Moreover the
company has taken various measures to ensure that outside scrutiny of operations takes place to
enhance. If any such breach of information takes place they have a policy of immediately informing
all the stakeholders so that they can take appropriate action to mitigate the fallout of any crisis.
Social practices in sainsbury
To tackle online aggression the company has adopted strict no tolerance policy against individuals
who engage in bullying or slandering the character of any person with untrue information.
Moreover the employees are encouraged to speak up and report any instances of abuse or
misbehaviour that they may have suffered online.
The company uses inventive ideas and employee engagement programs through which the
employees can socialize in a better way. This allows the employees to maintain close connection
with their team members and other departments which also helps productivity as conflict is
minimised. The professional structure of conversation is not overly emphasised and informal way of
communication is often encouraged.

Intranet,Internet and Information technology uses in Sainsbury:
The company makes use of information technology extensively in its operations, The company uses
artificial intelligence chatbots in conjunction with human representatives to provide solutions to
customers. Further the supply chain is expedited by ordering the products for which the company
anticipates the demand through the use of big data analytics. Moreover the company uses specific
softwares such as Qmetreix and LS nav to handle its day to day operations.( Kautish,and Sharma,
2018)
In terms of Internet uses Sainsbury uses it all spheres such as communicating with various
stakeholders to selling through online on Internet. The company uses internet extensively to keep
watch over logistics aspect of the business operations. As far as Intranet is concerned Sainsbury
uses it to circulate mail internally, and for the employees to be able to access various reports on the
network since it is secure as the ownership lies with the company itself. In addition to try out new
features on its website the features are first put up on its own intranet servers.
Role of IT in assisting mangers at Sainsbury
Mangers at Sainsbury use information technology in variety of ways such as making
communications easier. The retail business depends on being able to sufficiently predict the demand
by consumers. Mangers are able to determine the performance of various commodities based on
how they well they are selling in real time and get rid of underperforming commodities to better use
the shelf space available.(Ferreira, M.J.,and, et. al., 2020)
Saisnbury uses big data analytic to find association between products to gather what product
people are likely to buy with other products, For instance people are likely to order cheese with
bread so they arrange the shelves accordingly. Mangers use information technology to target
specific advertisements to consumers based on the available data to effectively and efficiently
marketing commodities it has to offer. Managers also track performance of employees working at
the company. For optimization of business operation various software are used to cut down cost and
improve productivity. Accounting operations are entirely dependent upon the various software.
Conclusion
Information technology entails exploiting computer systems and other apparatus for making the
work easier and faster, it involves storing, retrieval and transmission of information. Today
businesses rely on making use of computer systems and software in every aspect of business. IT

has become paramount in satiating the most important stakeholder to any business which are its
customers. To be Successful enterprises have to choose what kind of computer harware they require
to meet their needs. They have to know the social and ethical issues involved to frame effective
policies. The report above discusses the above in the context of Sainsbury. Further the report above
discusses how the enterprise make use of IT to take care of its customers and ways in which
mangers at Sainsbury use IT to make better decisions.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals:
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sector (Bachelor's thesis, University of Malta).
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social media. Telematics and informatics, 35(8), pp.2289-2298.
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through a service-thinking approach. European Sport Management Quarterly, 21(1), pp.1-
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technology in the hotel industry. An analysis in a developing country. Tourism
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Kaur, J., and, et. al., 2022. Impact of Internets of Things (IOT) in retail sector. Materials Today:
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Kautish, P. and Sharma, R., 2018. Consumer values, fashion consciousness and behavioural
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