Investigating Modern Technology's Role in Business Operations

This research project investigates the integration of modern technology into business operations to enhance efficiency and productivity. It begins by outlining research specifications, including aims, objectives, and factors influencing project selection, focusing on the necessity of technological advancements in a competitive business environment. The report reviews key references from journals and online sources, particularly regarding automation technology and digital applications. It details the research implementation, utilizing both primary and secondary data collection methods, such as practical observations of assembly lines and hands-on experience with social media applications. The investigation explores the use of automation in manufacturing and digital technology in business, emphasizing data recording and collation. The project concludes with an evaluation of research outcomes, employing appropriate techniques and offering recommendations for further consideration, ultimately presenting the research findings in an agreed format.

Formulating a research project on the use of modern technology in business operations
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
LO1 – Understanding the ways to formulate a research specification............................................3
AC1.1 – Formulating and recording the possible outline specifications related to the research
project...........................................................................................................................................3
AC1.2 – Identifying the factors that contribute towards the process associated with the
selection of research project.........................................................................................................4
AC1.3 – Undertaking a critical review of the key references chosen in the project....................4
AC1.4 – Research project specification related to the chosen project.........................................5
AC1.5 – Appropriate plan and procedure related to the research specification agreed on..........5
LO2 – Implementing the research project within the agreed procedures........................................6
AC2.1 – Matching the resource efficiently according to the hypothesis or Research question...6
AC2.2 – Undertaking the investigation for proposed research in accordance to the
specifications and procedures agreed...........................................................................................7
Necessity of maintaining the important parameters of operations and production..................7
Use of automation technology in manufacturing and assembling plants.................................9
Use of digital technology in business operations...................................................................10
AC2.3 – Recording and collating the relevant data at appropriate places.................................10
Data recording while witnessing the use of automation in industries....................................11
Collating of information while using digital technology.......................................................11
LO3 – Evaluation of the research outcomes..................................................................................12
AC3.1 – Using the appropriate techniques for research evaluation...........................................12
AC3.2 – Interpretation and analysis of the results in terms of the original research specification
....................................................................................................................................................13
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AC3.3 – Making necessary recommendations and providing justifications for the areas of
further consideration..................................................................................................................13
LO4 – Presenting the research outcomes.......................................................................................14
AC4.1 – Using of an agreed format and appropriate media for presenting the research
outcomes to an audience............................................................................................................14
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................16
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Introduction
In order to implement any idea or plan in the operations of any organisation, it is necessary that
proper research is done prior making some crucial move or deciding about the future Action Plan
related to the operations of that company. There are multiple steps involved in carrying out the
research before making the final decision so that every aspect could be considered before taking
the critical decision and implementing the new strategies into the already existing work culture
of the organisation. The following project has stated the different ways to formulate the
specifications related to any research where it has included the methods to represent the aims and
objectives, deliverables, hypothesis, another associated details regarding the initial phase of the
research. The factors which contribute towards the process of selection regarding the research
project have also been described with necessary examples related to the scenario. The case
scenario which has been selected for this research and formulation of the business project report
is the necessity of using modern technology in order to enhance the efficiency of any business
organisation. The different plans and procedures to produce the necessity of research
specifications have been introduced along with recording and collating the necessary and
relevant data at appropriate places. In images section of the report, the details about using
Technology for enhancing the business in terms of productivity and efficiency have been
explained along with various examples and sectors which can be influenced by introducing
modern form of Technology.
LO1 – Understanding the ways to formulate a research specification
AC1.1 – Formulating and recording the possible outline specifications related to the
research project
The business research project which has been chosen for this particular report is an issue which
is quite common in the modern business world and the solution for this issue is also getting very
popular in the modern time. According to the experts of technological background including Van
Der Aalst et al. (2016), the advancement which are being done currently in the technological
aspects all around the globe is helping many domains of operations including business to
enhance themselves in terms of efficiency and productivity. Therefore, this research will include
the different aspects related to technological advancements and the various ways in which these
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technological modernizations is helping the organisations all over the globe to produce better
results and carry out their daily operations in a better way. Following are the aims and objectives
of this business report which have been achieved in the upcoming section of this report.
 To understand the drawbacks of using traditional technology and methods of performing
business related operations
 To analyze the necessity of technological advancements in business related operations
and the possible benefits of the same
 To compare the result of using traditional methods as well as modern and technological
advanced methods of doing business
 To find out the different aspects of any business which are generally influenced by using
modern technology based applications
AC1.2 – Identifying the factors that contribute towards the process associated with
the selection of research project
There are multiple factors which have contributed towards the process through which the
selection of topic has been done for this particular research project. However, the most
prominent factor which has led to the selection of this topic for the research is the need of
technological advancements in this competitive environment of business market by the different
companies belonging to almost every domain. Matt et al. (2015) have mentioned that in order to
stay as the frontrunner of any technological process, is it necessary that the task that are involved
in any business operation are done very efficiently and in a shorter duration. In addition to this,
following are some other factors that have led to the selection of this topic.
 Constant need of upgrades and modernization in any business related activities to
enhance the overall performance in the market
 Improving the quality of products and services delivered by the manufacturers or service
providers to the customers
 Reducing the time involved in delivering any product or service to any customer by the
organisations for better outcomes and brand image
 Controlling the overall cost involved in the production of any item or service to increase
the profit margin for the company and enhance the possibility of Business expansion
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AC1.3 – Undertaking a critical review of the key references chosen in the project
The topic that has been chosen for formulating the report in this study is the overall use of
technology in many business domains to enhance the efficiency of doing work and improvise the
business operations to gain better profit margins and satisfy the customers in a better way. In
order to complete the study, proper references have been used which include sources from many
journals and article written by experts of technological sector who have practically experienced
the use of many state of the art and technological advanced machines and applications. Apart
from that, references from online video sources have also been taken to understand the way in
which an advanced technology generally works. This includes videos available at YouTube that
explain the various methods used in delivering the best possible outcomes in any assembly line
of a factory that manufactures or assembles any item. The positive aspects of using automation
technology in the Assembly line to assemble or manufacture any product has been primarily
referred and studied in the references from online video sources.
AC1.4 – Research project specification related to the chosen project
The overall research project has specifically focused on the uses and applications of Advanced
and modern technology. However, the internal details and back end structure of these
Technologies have not been included in this research. According to Fitzgerald et al. (2014), there
are many codes and programming functions that are used in developing any software which is
further used in operating the hardware programs and machines. These codes have not been
studied properly and the internal technical details of any software have not been included in this
project. Similarly, in case of the automation technology which has been considered to be used in
various operational functions related to a business, the internal details of Machines and their
operations have not been considered in the study. Bocken et al. (2014) have explicitly described
that there are many Static and moving parts inside a robotic arm which is used in automation
Technology based operation. However, those details regarding internal parts of robotic arms and
their integration with computer software have not been studied are mentioned in this research.
AC1.5 – Appropriate plan and procedure related to the research specification
agreed on
In order to achieve the specified aims and objectives for this project, a five weeks plan has been
decided to be allotted for the objectives. In the first week, the drawbacks of using traditional
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Technology will be studied by the learners along with the various traditional Technologies which
are currently in use or were used earlier by many business organisations to carry out their
respective business related activities. The second week will include the pursuing of the second
objective of this project that has been specified as to collect the data regarding technological
advancements and carry out the analysis to find out the essentiality of implementing
technologically advanced formulas in the business operations. Followed by this, the third week
will include the stating of appropriate data and comparison of the results that have been derived
from analyzing the use of modern and traditional method of doing any business. The fourth week
of the business report related activity will include the study of major areas and aspects involved
in business related operations that are influenced by technological advancements. The fifth and
final week of the project report will include the formulation of report followed by verification
and finally presenting the report. Following is the research project plan for this particular
research based business report in the form of a Gantt chart.
Activity Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5
Understand the drawbacks of using
traditional technology
Analyze the necessity of technological
advancements in business related operations
Comparing the result of using traditional
methods and modern methods
Finding the different aspects of a business
which are influenced by modern technology
Formulating the report followed by
verification and finalizing
Table 1: Gantt chart for business related activities
(Source: Created by the learner)
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LO2 – Implementing the research project within the agreed procedures
AC2.1 – Matching the resource efficiently according to the hypothesis or Research
question
In order to carry out the research related to the specified topic in the report, both primary and
secondary sources have been used according to the requirements and their respective benefits in
different ways of doing the research. As per the opinion of Ngai et al. (2015), the necessary
details regarding various Technology and its associated advancements which have been done all
over the world can be obtained by referring to online as well as offline resources like online
articles and journals from website and from the books available in the library. Therefore, this
method has been followed for the deep references of the topic. In addition to the secondary
methods of collecting the data and carrying out the research, some of the most effective primary
methods have also been used to understand the impact of technology on business operations
along with its benefits and some drawbacks. As described by Tongur and Engwall, (2014), the
practical demonstration of the usage of Technology is also very important because of the fact
that it gives an idea about the applications and its positive as well as negative aspects in a very
precise manner. Therefore, some practical demonstration like watching the functioning and
working of Machines at various work process like observing the Assembly line operations at
industries and factories have been done. Apart from that, the software based Technology has
been analyzed and tested practically by the learners by gaining the hands-on experience over the
social media based applications on Android phones.
AC2.2 – Undertaking the investigation for proposed research in accordance to the
specifications and procedures agreed
The investigation for the proposed research has included many activities and development
regarding the usage of Technology in multiple aspects of the business operations. It has included
the descriptions about areas which include the use of digital as well as other form of
technological advancements in order to improvise the capacity and efficiency of the
organisations. There are two major factors and categories of technological advancements which
have been focused on in this particular report. The first one is the digital technology which is
generally the software technology and the associated applications which are used on computers
and Smartphones. The second factor that has been focused on is the automation field which
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comprises of the hardware Technology and has mentioned the details about modern machines
which have revolutionized the way of working in business operations. Following are the details
about the investigation that has been carried out in accordance to the specifications and
procedures that have been agreed upon.
Necessity of maintaining the important parameters of operations and production
In the modern world, the business related to production of items and essential commodities have
been continuing and progressing at a very tremendous rate. In addition to this, Harmon, (2015)
has described that due to the increase in competition in the modern world; every company is
trying to perform its best on every possible parameter. The main objective of every organisation
which belongs to a particular similar domain is that we have to deliver quality products within a
specific duration without compromising in any preferable parameter according to the customers.
Moreover, the importance of customer satisfaction has been realized by the organisations in a
very perfect manner and hence these companies are trying their level best to provide satisfactory
products to the customers.
The four major constraints or parameters as per the observations made by Vasarhelyi et al.
(2018) which are considered while producing an item or delivering any product or service to the
customers are quality of service or product, quantity of the items or commodities, time involved
in completing the delivery or production of the required item, and the overall cost of the item or
services for customers. Customers generally prefer proper quantity and quality of products which
are delivered to them within the right time at a reasonable cost. The cost which is specified by
the producers or retailers of any item plays an important role in deciding whether the customers
are willing to purchase that product or not. As opined by Porter and Heppelmann, (2015), better
quality products generally have higher cost compared to those products which are of normal
quality and it depends on the customer whether to purchase the former or the latter item.
Therefore, it is important for the business people and market analysts to find out the right type of
product which need to be produced for the crowd or potential uses of those items. If a region or
particular area of business consists of economically stable people and people with strong
financial backgrounds, it is highly probable that expensive quality products will be preferred by
those people. However, as mentioned by Nair and Paulose, (2014), if the people of any location
are willing to spend fewer amounts on any product or service, there is a possibility that cheaper
quality products might be sold in a certain amount which is usually higher than normal.
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Therefore, the business organisations need to decide the right quality of product to be
manufactured and sold at the right location. Considering the time parameter, it can be said that
the customers are more likely to depend and trust on the product or organisation which can
deliver the required items in time and have a perfect delivery service. Apart from that, Frey and
Osborne, (2017) have mentioned about the quantity parameters of the manufactured items where
the customers are more likely to be inclined towards the items which are readily available in the
market and do not have any shortage. Therefore, the manufacturers also need to be careful that
necessary amount of products and services are available in the market so that the demands of the
customers could be satisfied by delivering adequate supply.
Use of automation technology in manufacturing and assembling plants
While carrying out any production or assembling in a manufacturing plant, the traditional
method of getting out the operations included a lot of human efforts. This as for the opinion of
Cho et al. (2015) involved a lot of workforce which ultimately resulted into a huge cost over the
production. Moreover, the quality of those products is not of excellent quality because of the
involvement of human and increased chances of human error. As a result of this, scientist started
developing robotic arms and other simulated and robotic operations that could carry out the
manufacturing or assembly operations in a very precise manner. Cohen and Kietzmann, (2014)
have described that due to the fixed way of working and operating in a predefined path, the
assembling or manufacturing which is done by using automation technology and Robotics
principle have become more accurate and free from any type of human error. The most
significant advantage of using automation technology or Robotics in production line is that the
operations are almost perfect without any flaw because the machine follow the specific
instructions which are said to them by the operators.
As stated by Awa et al. (2015), the modern form of automation uses input to be fed in the form
of command or data inside the computer which results into an output which comes out in the
form of a final product which is obtained after going through various stages of production line
and been operated by a robotic arm that follows the predefined commands that has been fed to it
through the computer. Therefore, this have affected the business operations tremendously in a
positive way because the time required for producing a final product using automation
technology is relatively less compared to the products which are produced by using traditional
way or human efforts. According to Singh and Hess, (2017), the Assembly line or Robotics
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instrumentation enhances the capabilities of any production line by several times compared to
the production lines that use human efforts to operate. As a result of this, the company can
deliver huge quantity of products in a shorter duration to their customer that further helps it to
gain popularity among the customers and achieve better brand value. Apart from that, using
automation in the production line also enhances the chances of getting more customers because
the reduced caused due to cut down of human resources involved in carrying out the overall
production results into delivering better quality products at lower costs.
Use of digital technology in business operations
The digital technology is getting more advanced everyday as new features are been included by
the major software Giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook along with other
software manufacturing companies that build online programs to perform several tasks including
tracking and monitoring system. As mentioned by Bocken et al. (2015), the main operations in
any business that links with software or Digital technology include integrated computing system
where commands are fed in the computer that father uses them to operate hardware systems and
machines, tracking and monitoring systems where digital technology helps in keeping a record of
any task on various parameters, and most importantly the storage system of any computer or
business related data where the confidential information is kept secured from any unauthorized
access.
Digital technology has some very unique features as they provide the users a facility with
keeping their secret documents and classified data protected from the external threats and any
other things that can prove to be harmful to the company operations. According to the opinion of
Herrera, (2015), digital technology has tremendously helped many business organisations in
terms of data recording and storing because it saves a lot of paper and carries out its work
without any scope of error. Moreover, the spreadsheet software which is Microsoft Excel has
provided features where the items could be stored in various formats like date, time and many
other necessary formats. The numbers mentioned in the system or Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
can be multiplied, added, subtracted, or subjected to go through any other required function of
operation with each other with a single click with safe a lot of time and effort which further
increases the efficiency of an organisation in terms of production capacity. Apart from that,
Ross, (2016) has stated that the implementing of digital technology in storage systems have
increased the capacity of storage because of the reduction in use of paperwork which consumes
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in lot of space and materials. The data and information can be stored in a hard drive or cloud
computing server where no physical storage is required and health a huge amount of space can
be saved just by switching to digital methods of performing business operations.
AC2.3 – Recording and collating the relevant data at appropriate places
While implementing the usage of digital as well as other forms of Technology in conducting the
business operations, proper recording and collating of data is necessary so that the benefits of
using those modern techniques of doing business can be obtained and realized. Therefore, proper
recording has been done at all the appropriate and necessary places in order to formulate a report
about the progress happened to the operation while using any technologically advanced form of
business operation method.
Data recording while witnessing the use of automation in industries
The traditional way of doing business operations were noted down carefully along with the
multiple aspects involved in it like cost investment, time taken, quality as well as quantity of the
materials that have been produced in those manufacturing and assembling plant. After doing the
guitar recording from traditional business operations method, the same activities were performed
for modern way of doing business which included automation and Robotics involved in it. As
described by Guo et al. (2015), since the automation and Robotics follow a fixed set of
instructions, any predefined task can be completed with utmost precision and without any delay
in the operations. Hence, it was observed that the materials which were produced from the
Assembly line that involved robotics and automation work better in terms of quality and every
other factor compared to those materials that was produced from manually operated and
integrated assembly line. The materials that were produced by using modern applications were
more cost effective compared to the other type of materials along with being better and more
precise in terms of shape, weight, size, and other similar necessary parameters which made them
superior to the other ways of production.
Collating of information while using digital technology
The ways of using various forms of digital technology life Computer Based online operated
software and mobile phone best Android applications were studied and the necessary information
was collected in order to find the best possible Technology for any business operations. As stated
by DaSilva and Trkman, (2014), the type of software that is to be chosen for any data recording
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