INTRODUCTION
Information technology has transformed the entire world. It has provided a platform to connect with each other and share any type of information. The major benefit of IT is on businesses who are able to expand their operations in different countries (Pekkola and Päivärinta, 2017). it has played a significant role in improving performance as well as product quality. Companies are highly using different technological tools in perform operations. this report will describe the role of IT in business, its advantage, disadvantages, etc. also, it will throw light on challenges faced by business due to use of IT. Tesco is globally expanded and operates in retail sector. It provides variety of products such as books, clothing, etc. it is also having website through which people can buy goods.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Information technology is a common word that is used in today’s world. It is because technology has become an integral part of human life as well business. It is playing a vital role in growth and development of business. As said by Ota and Plews, 2015 every small or large organization is using different IT tools in their operations. also, they are having their own website through which products and services are provided.
Role of IT in business
Every business performs several types of operations and is having different departments. Each one performs different types of functions that contribute in attaining targets. Also, they have to communicate and share information with each other so that strategies are implemented. According to Goldin and Katz, 2018, IT has been a major critical factor in success of business. It has created a platform through which goods and services can be produced, sold, etc. moreover, software and applications are used in storing, managing, etc. large set of data and information. This has supported in developing effective strategies and taking decisions. Furthermore, IT has enabled in analyzing change in market trends or taste of people by taking their feedback. it is useful in solving customer problems in real time. now, business is focused on using digital marketing to promote their products and services.
Advantage of IT
The integration of IT with operations has made it easy in managing activities. Now every task is performed with help of technological tools. It is said by Kaushal and Blumenthal, 2014 that AI has played a vital role. With help of AI production is done in easier way. It has benefited in increasing efficiency of production unit. Due to this product quality has been improved and maintained. it has supported in driving innovation and developing new products. In similar way, the use of mobile technology is useful in sharing information instantly. With help of social media business is able to develop relations across globe.
Disadvantages of IT
As elucidated by MaranguniÄ"¡ and GraniÄ"¡, 2015 IT has benefited business in many ways, but there are some disadvantages as well. The use of advance technological tools has resulted in increase in expenses of business. In order to maintain and install them huge funds are required. Alongside this, there has been high rise in frauds related to cyber attacks. It has enforced business to install high security software and applications. Thus, it has also created a burden on them. In the view of Brown and Duguid, 2017, due to frequent technological advancements many small companies are not able to survive in market for long term. Besides this, people want high quality products at cheap rate. it has reduced the profit margin of companies.
Challenges
According to Schaltegger, Burritt and Petersen, 2017, there are several challenges which is faced by business with use of IT. first is infrastructure management that has allowed business to set up and maintain their own IT infra. Thus, the complex structure of IT restricts business to design it. another challenge faced is improper skills possessed by employees. In order to manage and handle IT operations companies are not having skilled and experienced professionals. They lack skills leading to ineffective maintenance. IT security and privacy are major issue faced (Top 10 challenges faced by business. 2017). Companies are not able to maintain their privacy of confidential data. Business has suffered huge losses due to data leakage. They are also involved in legal controversies. Therefore, many businesses prefer to use traditional concept. Students don't have to worry about Assignment Help Price as we provide the best services at cheap price.
Network technologies
As said by Tate and et.al., 2015 a network allows business to share data and information between information system. This helps in sending and receiving data from one place to another. There are different types of network technologies which is ben used by business. It has helped them
There are many types of network such as LAN, WAN, MAN, etc. each of them is having benefits and challenges. They are as follows :-
- LAN- the benefit is it is easy to set up LAN network due to its flexibility. Also, cost required is low as compared to another network. The challenge faced is network troubleshooting makes the connection slow.
- WAN- it covers almost geographical distance that allows to share data in wide area. Challenge is due to its long range there is high risk of malware, ransomware and spam.
- MAN- it required fewer resources as compared to WAN. This saves implementation cost. Challenge is there is high risk of cyber attacks
In a research conducted by Pekkola and Päivärinta, 2017, it is said that there are certain ethics which must be followed while using technology. For this business formulate some policies and procedures and execute them. The ethics are related to protecting of data of stakeholders. Moreover, it is necessary that privacy is maintained so that data is not misused or share with others. But there are some challenges in this as well. They are as follow:-
- Inconsistency in technology- due to constant innovation in technology, it is difficult for business to cope up with them. They are not making efforts to update systems to protect data, instead they are using third parties.
- High cost required – this is major reason in which a business requires huge cost to install security measures. Due to increase in expenses business are not upgrading their system to secure data.
- Cyber attacks – There has been rise in cyber attacks due to insufficient availability of resources. This has led to misuse of information of people. It has restricted people to provide right info to companies.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Tesco belongs to retail sector and operates globally. IT has played a significant role in company. With hep of it they are able to expand in different countries. Tesco uses information system to store, access, manage, etc. data (Goldin and Katz, 2018). This is because the company customer base is very large and it produces many goods. Along side this, they have to develop strategies to according to market conditions. It uses IS described below :-
Transaction processing system (TPS)- this is used by Tesco to insert, delete, etc. daily transactions. It is used to store data of goods, customer, bill, etc. then, data is analyzed to obtain results on profit and loss. Its advantage is it handles operations in easier way. Through this, services and products can be sold to consumer easily. But its disadvantage it requires combination of software and hardware, so this leds to security problems.
Management information system (MIS)- it helps in coordinating, controlling, managing, etc. of activities by management. Tesco use it to take precise decisions and managing activities. It is useful in better controlling of tasks. The pros of MIS is it helps in making coordination better between departments. Manager can make decision in given time. its cons is they require huge funds to maintain and implement. Also, it provides only quantitative data not quality data.
Decision support system (DSS)- this IS is used by top management of Tesco to take proper and effective decisions. With of it strategies are formulated and plans are developed. It enables manager to assign roles, generate budget, etc. (Ota and Plews, 2015) its advantage it enhances effectiveness of company operations. Disadvantage of DSS is they are designed for specific needs. Thus, it requires a lot of time and cost to design them.
Ethics and social issues – it is been evaluated that Tesco is facing some social issues related to use of IT tools. This has impacted on their brand image.
Networks -Tesco uses WAN and MAN to share data and information. The pros and cons are given below :-
WAN-
pros - its advantage is multiple connections of LAN and MAN makes it easy to create a global connection.
- The scope of activities is not limited.
Cons- Cost of implementation is very expensive
- Due to its low bandwidth connection can be lost easily
Challenges - due to its long range there is high risk of malware, ransomware and spam.
MAN
pros - information can be disseminated more widely and rapidly a it covers a large area.
- It offers centralised management of data and files
Cons -difficult to manage such as large network (Tate and et.al., 2015)
- It requires more cable connection to connect from one place to another
- Difficult to secure and protect network from hackers
Challenge - there is high risk of cyber attacks
FINDINGS
From above it can be found that various network and IS is helping Tesco to grow. With use of it management is able to develop strategies and implement in proper way. Also, by analyzing data company is able to take quick decisions. TPS has allowed manager to analyze financial data at their own level and make changes in plans. They are able to determine cost of product to set price. Along with it, TPS provides sales of each store and product. With this, it becomes easy to make changes in stock and identify demand of particular product in that market. It has helped in predicting sales for specific time period. The use of MIS in Tesco different level has enabled managers to coordinate and control activities. It has provided a tool to communicate at top and bottom level. now, measures are taken quickly to improve task with taking instant decision. The use of DSS has supported Tesco top management. By analyzing data and information of markets strategies are formulated. It has benefited in product development to satisfy needs of people. Through this, company has attracted a lot of people and developed a large customer base. This is the reason for success of Tesco in retail industry.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from report that IT is playing a vital role in business. without using technology, it has become difficult to do business in today’s frequently changing business environment. the main advantage of using IT is it has created vast number of opportunities to expand in different markets. Tesco uses IS in different departments. It has benefited them to store data in proper way. moreover, company is able to manage their operations and attaining goals and objectives in time frame. Tesco uses WAN and MAN network to connect and share data. they have installed high security measures to protect and secure data.
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