Management Report on Technological Obsolescence at Woolworths

This report identifies the problem of technological obsolescence at Woolworths, a major Australian supermarket chain, and explores its causes, including outdated accounting software and data storage systems. The report details the negative impacts on data security, operational efficiency, and competitiveness. Several alternatives are discussed, such as upgrading accounting software, enhancing cloud storage, and improving data security systems. The report recommends a plan involving management meetings, expert consultations, and a phased implementation process to ensure effective integration of new technologies. The ultimate goal is to enhance Woolworths' operational activities and future technological growth, ensuring the company remains competitive and secure. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

MANAGEMENT
Table of content
Introduction
Identify the problems
Discuss the cause/s of the problems
Determine the organization systems affected
Discuss alternatives
Recommendations by outlining the plan, intervention and implementation process for the
solution
Conclusion
Reflective writing
References

Introduction
Wordsworth is a Australia based Supermarket chain company and is known as a Supermarket
giant with humongous amount of sales unit and financial stability. In this assessment there will
be discussion over the problem which exists in the company and father discussion over the same
will be undertaken. The causes and the impact of the problem will be discussed to check the
magnitude of the existing problem after which there will be discussion over the possible
solutions and its implementation plan. In this way there will be effective change which will be
brought for the future benefit of the company and for the mitigation of the existing problem.
Identify the problems
As Woolworths is a big company it has to make up an effective technological base in order to
make sure that, its operation is efficient and fast true effective technological help. The company
carries out various types of activities like banking, accounting, recording, data storing and
monitoring processes through the help of technological means. As the technology today is
advancing in a very fast manner it is very hard for a company like Wordsworth to be effective
and technologically advanced in the current days but as the company has efficient financial
backup and financial stability the company will have to change the technological aspects within
the company for better service rendering of the customers (Douglas, 2017). Recently it has been
noticed that the company has faced technological slowness or downturn which is due to the old
technological processes with the company used for carrying out its operational activities. The
operational activities and the backup activities of the companies have slowed down and security
of data has also been a concern for the company due to its technological excellence in the current
technological and modern day. The company also follows buying and selling of products and
services through online portals and websites hence the need of technological advancement within
the company is very necessary. Being technologically inefficient the company will not be able to
thrive in such a big competitive supermarket industry because in order to survive in the modern
technological world it is very important for a company like Woolworths to effectively render
services without having an technologically advanced system. In the near future the need of
technological systems and advanced technology is immense for a company to operate in an
evident form hence the need of technological advancement will be the highest priority for any
type of farm running in any type of market or industry (Metcalfe, 2018). Woolworths being
Page 2 of 9

Supermarket giant will lead to have effective technological backup and Systems which will help
the company in rendering high quality service to their customers in an accurate and efficient
manner. In the current stage the company lacks effective Technology which makes the
technology present within the firm obsolete in nature and this will further affect different aspects
and operations of the firm in an evident manner. Hence it is very important for the company to
identify such problems and to mitigate such issues before it is too late for the company and so
that the company is able to advance and in a very appropriate manner.
Discuss the cause/s of the problems
The reason behind the technological obsolescence in WoolsworthCompany is their old
technology which they use in their organisation.The use of old technology by the company is
creating a risk factor for both the company and their consumers. The company uses old
accounting software system which is outdated now. Using those outdated software is harmful as
the malwares will destroy the entire data of the company (Kwak and Kim, 2015). The other
companies nowadays se advance technology for their safety and security and this creates a
challenge for the company. With the company the customers also want upgraded security system
so that they can rely on the company without any casualties. The other companies can assure
their customers about their privacy and security with the advance technology but Woolsworth
with the use of old technologies also losing the trust of their consumers. By using the outdated
technologies the company’s is inaccurate to deliver its objectives and the process also became
slow. Since the company is using outdated software and technologies it is also lagging behind in
the competitions with the others companies (Obeng and Bao, 2016). For example nowadays
cloud storage is used for storing large amount of data which is used by other companies like
Wesfarmers, Tesla etc. The Woolsworth is using the old data storage software which is too old to
store huge amount of information regarding the company. So the main reason behind the causes
of technological obsolescence is using of outdated software and technologies which can be only
fixed if Woolsworth replace some hi-tech technology with the outdated technologies.
Determine the organization systems affected .
The technological obsolescence creates a lot of problems in the company. Use of old
technologies is harmful for the security systems of the company. The old technologies do not
have any advance features to prevent security risk factors. The outdated technology cannot save
Page 3 of 9

data for a long period of time and the virus can destroy the company’s personal information
(Wandera, 2015). Another risk of outdated system is when people uses net banking then the
information can be hacked by any ethical hacker who can transact the total amount of the
consumer’s account into their accounts. With the use of latest technologies other companies are
becoming more popular and holding a secure place in the market. In short it can be said that
other companies are earning more profit and trust from their customers with the proper
implementation of latest accounting software and advance security system technologies. The
Woolsworth on the other hand is losing their market value because of using their outdated
accounting and data storage software and also security system. The profitability of the company
also reduces because of technological obsolescence. Cybercrimes have also increased in these
days and to prevent them proper security system is required and also proper and advanced
technologies (Adu and Ngulube, 2017). The Woolsworthcompany can use better security system
to prevent any major loss for the company. The proper use of technologies can save many things
and improper use of technologies can lead to serious issues like the way Woolsworth is facing
casualties regarding technological obsolescence.
Discuss alternatives
As the company is suffering from the problem of technological obsolesce it is important to
consider that technological advancement is the change which the company should bring for the
benefits in future. There are various alternatives that can be used by the company as a solution to
mitigate the current problem and to bring out the better side of the company for its better
operation.
Now for technological advancement one of the alternative for the company is that the company
should upgrade and advance its accounting software through which the company conduct its
Accounting activities. Accounting activities will be made efficient through the introduction of
new and Advanced Accounting software’s as they will be more efficient in rendering accounting
records and the records which will be made will be more specific and clear to adhere by the
management. As the accounting software will be upgraded the accounting speed and accuracy
will increase which will effectively helps the management of the company in reviewing the
accounting records of the firm and to make further financial decisions in an effective manner
(Levinthal, 2017).
Page 4 of 9

For the purpose of data storage, system the company will have to upgrade its cloud storage
system which will enhance its data storage processes in an effective manner. The cloud storage
system should be fast and big in nature having big space will help the company in storing huge
amount of data which is the company will need in future.. Having and fast and accessible data
storage system will help the company in accessing data from anywhere and anytime at a very fast
pace. Hence developing the cloud storage system for data storage will be an ideal alternative for
the company which will help in technological advancement of the firm (Calel and
Dechezlepretre, 2016).
Lastly upgrading the data security system of the company for the security of its confidential data
is also an evident way through which the company can get technologically advanced. Through
upgrading to a technologically advanced data security system the company will have to face
lower data security risk which will operationally advance the company benefiting its future
operational activities (Goldin and Katz, 2018).
Recommendations by outlining the plan, intervention and implementation
process for the solution
The plan for implementing the above stated alternatives will be very simple the management of
the company will hold a meeting discussing about the shortcomings of current technology in the
company has outlining the technological obsolescence is a company currently holds. The
objectives of the plan will be to upgrade the accounting system, data storage system and data
security system within the company as your better performance in operational activities of the
firm. The company will have effective discussion with the technological experts within the form
to know the best technological systems for the above stated operations and will try and discuss
about the possible advancement visa company will get to the implementation of said system
within the organization (Goddard, Thwaites and Gibbs, 2018). It is to be noted that through the
use of effective system the company will try and implement all of the system to check out which
of the following will shoot the companies operation and which will not. after the test is done on
different samples of Technologies the technological experts will create and report deciding
which of the software and Systems to use for the company. After the report is received by the
experts of the firm The management will decide and implement the set systems within the
company. After the implementation the experts will look after every system in software which
Page 5 of 9

has been newly lamented within the company to check out whether there are any errors within
the system and to make sure that the new systems are efficiently suitable to the firm's operational
activities. In this way the company will be able to effectively implement its new changes and
will be able to help the company technological in grow in the future of its operation (Roy and
Sarkar, 2016).
Conclusion
From the above research it has been concluded that Woolsworth Company uses outdated
technologies which has become technological obsolescence. The usage of outdated technologies
created a lot of risks factor for the company relating to security and etc. The company can
eradicate these problems if they use advance technologies which are used nowadays. With the
help of advance technologies the company can secure their security system. Even many
customers have lost faith from the company since they are not able to assure them regarding
security management. The company has to take some major steps regarding these kinds of issues
for which they are suffering from operational incompetence.
Page 6 of 9

Reflective writing
This assignment is based on my experience which I gained with the help of a lot of research
While doing research on change management I have learned about the principles of change and
also understood that change is something which we all need in order to get better in the near
future. Through the assignment its has become very clear that there are some changes which are
to be brought by the Woolsworth management which will increase there viability of operational
activities and make the following more efficient. The problem that I identified was that the
company is using outdated technologies which can cause slowdown of its activities in technical
term this situation of the company can e referred to as Technological Obsolesce. Hence, the
solution is to upgrade the existing technology which will help the firm to mitigate such problem
and will help in better operations of the firm in the near future.
I also understood the meaning of self-awareness and self-management while reading on change
management. The change can help not only people but also organisations who were using old
methods and technologies for the betterment of their institutions but now they are left behind so
they want to change their rules and regulations of their institutions because the world has
changed and became advanced in field of technologies, education, business etc.
Page 7 of 9

References
Adu, K.K. and Ngulube, P., 2017. Key threats and challenges to the preservation of digital
records of public institutions in Ghana. Information, Communication & Society, 20(8), pp.1127-
1145.
Calel, R. and Dechezlepretre, A., 2016. Environmental policy and directed technological change:
evidence from the European carbon market. Review of economics and statistics, 98(1), pp.173-
191.
Douglas, M., 2017. Disrupted justice: How technological change is expanding open justice.
Precedent (Sydney, NSW), (139), p.10.
Goddard, J., Thwaites, A. and Gibbs, D., 2018. The regional dimension to technological change
in Great Britain. In Technological change, industrial restructuring and regional development
(pp. 140-156). Routledge.
Goldin, C. and Katz, L.F., 2018. The race between education and technology. In Inequality in the
21st Century (pp. 49-54). Routledge.
Kwak, M. and Kim, H., 2015. Assessing Time-Varying Advantages of Remanufacturing: A
Model for Products With Physical and Technological Obsolescence. In DS 80-4 Proceedings of
the 20th International Conference on Engineering Design (ICED 15) Vol 4: Design for X,
Design to X, Milan, Italy, 27-30.07. 15.
Levinthal, D., 2017. Ralph Gomory Best Industry Studies Paper Award First Runner-up: The
Song Remains the Same? Technological Change and Strategic Positioning in the Recorded
Music Industry. Strategy Science, 2(3), pp.ii-ii.
Metcalfe, S. ed., 2018. Evolutionary theories of economic and technological change: present
status and future prospects(Vol. 44). Routledge.
Obeng, G.K. and Bao, H.P., 2016. Integrating technological obsolesence in quantitative
forecasting of memory device failure cost.International Journal of Engineering and
Mathematical Modelling, 3(1), pp.17-26.
Roy, R. and Sarkar, M.B., 2016. Knowledge, firm boundaries, and innovation: Mitigating the
incumbent's curse during radical technological change. Strategic Management Journal, 37(5),
pp.835-854.
Page 8 of 9

Wandera, D.B., 2015. The threat of obsolescence: teaching and learning responding to
technology.
Page 9 of 9