IT For Business - Impact Of IT Business - Actual Business Examples - Assessment Answer

IT For Business Assignment

Case Scenario

You are to research an actual business examples and the impact of IT on that business.

Assignment Task

1. Does business need an IT?
2. Why IT is important for business survival?
3. What is it required to apply IT in business? (Cost, planning, designing, equipment, installation, training, etc…?
4. How does business use IT? (Internally such as staffs, employees, and externally such as customers, suppliers)
5. What benefits and advantages does IT bring into business? (Revenue, flexibility, reduces cost, etc)
6. What type of risk does IT bring into business? (security, privacy, confidentiality)
7. How can business maintain and monitor IT?

Examples: https://www.icarehealth.com.au/blog/category/success-stories/

https://delimiter.com.au/2014/04/14/android-enterprise-three-aussie-examples-samsung/

Introduction

The tourism industry is mainly associated with recreational services in restaurants, hotels and even during trips. The tourism industry has grown to become a major industry in the economy of the world. This has been brought about by changes in social practices, political cooperation and even the development of technology including infrastructure and communication. This report will be evaluating the use of information technology in the tourism industry and its impacts. We will also look at the various reasons why a business needs information technology and the factors that are considered while creating information technology in the industry. Information technology involves the use and application of mobiles and computers to store, retrieve, distribute and access information especially in business. The tourism industry needs information technology for various operations and practices within the industry.

Importance of IT for the survival of a business

Technology and information technology are crucial for the operations of any industry. The reasons why IT is important are:

It enhances social contact between people. This is where people are able to exchange useful and important ideas. People get the information they need on services and products of a particular industry or any organization (Archer & Yuan, 2000). Through this, people are able to make decisions on where they can get the products depending on their preferences.

Information technology also ensures contact within organizations and industries. Different departments within the organizations are able to coordinate their activities in cooperation. Similar industries can also share ideas on how to develop and manage the industries (Fleron, 1997). Some institutions are able to coordinate meetings online. This helps to reduce costs where workers may be required to travel to attend meetings.

It enables businesses to advertise and market their products online. Many people have access to the internet hence this provide a large market for products. When an institution markets its products properly it is able to determine where to distribute its products. It is also able to determine the price of its products by accessing the demand online. Through the use of information technology people are able to order products and services they may need from a certain organization. The organizations can also deliver the products ordered to specific places depending on the demand of their customers.

Business organizations are also able to plan their production strategies by use of information technology. An organization does this by accessing their websites to find out the number of people who are interested in their products (Archer & Yuan, 2000). When people are many an organization may decide to increase its production but if they are few it may decide to reduce its production. An institution can also conduct its sales by use of computers to access its websites. The institution can determine the demand of their products and sell it to the specific people who need it.

Factors Considered in Creation of IT

The productivity and performance is increased by many factors with technology being one of the major factors. The same way introducing and accepting a new technology is faced with many challenges so is information. Due to this the adoption of information technology in tourism is determined by many factors which are:

Cost

The amount of capital or money involved in information technology is a major factor to be considered. The industry should ensure that it is able to meet the needed costs (Hill &Scudder, 2002). These involve the costs in training and installation of the computers within the premises.

Plan

Before an industry can install computers within its premises, it should ensure that it was within the objectives in the business plan. This is because failure to follow the plan may result to great shortcomings within the industry.

Equipment availability

Computers need other substitute equipment to be useful within the industry. An industry should ensure that things like electricity, tables to place the computers and a source of network are available. Without these the computers will not be effective in any way within the industry (Fleron, 1997). These are complementary for operating computers.

Skill

The industry should ensure that their staffs are well skilled and trained to meet the needs of operating the computers. This will instill the necessary knowledge among the staff to operate the computers.

Activities

The activity in which the industry is involved is a major factor that the industry should consider (Fleron, 1997). If an industry is not involved in activities that may require computers then acquiring the computers is not necessary.

The use of IT in the tourism industry

The tourism industry uses technology and information technology to coordinate a variety of activities in their different departments. The uses are:

Airlines are able to provide services to consumers through the use of computers. This is where the company locates the appropriate routes and identifies affordable fares for their customers. They do this by logging into the necessary websites and retrieving the information for their customers. The information is then stored in the company’s database for customers to access. Passengers can also be listed in the company’s website according their destination before being issued with tickets manually.

Tour operators also use computers to communicate with their partners including accommodation and transport principals (Buhalis & Costa, 2006). They also use the computers to inform their customers on their requirements. Through this communication they are able to solve future problems that may arise.

The computers are also used by the destination management in the tourism industry. They have access to a variety of needs and services required by the tourism industry and customers destinations. When they have access to these issues they are able to address them immediately and appropriately using computers.

The hospitality department is able to link the operations of a hotel to one another to make them easier. Some frequent customers are also able to book certain hotels using computers (Buhalis & Costa, 2006). They can also distribute computers in their rooms for customer use. This may act as a way of attracting customers to their hotels. Computers may also be used the staff or employees of the industry for communication. This is whereby they are used to pass important information among the people working in the industry (Buhalis & Costa, 2006). This reduces the time that may be wasted in movement so as to pass the information.

The industry may also use computers to market and advertise their services in the social media. For example a hotel may advertise and market its services to people. The industry can also display its wildlife, cultural practices and other things that may attract tourists in the social media.

The Benefits and Risks of using IT in Tourism

The benefits of using information technology in the tourism industry are:

The industry is able to reach new and even potential customers within a short time. This increases the sale for their products hence high profitability. The new customers can also influence their friends the same services that they are using hence increased market. The increase in customers increases the sales hence high revenues for the industry.

The use of computers also reduces the cost of employing new personnel (Hanna, 1994). This is because some of the activities that were carried out by people can now be performed by computers.

The industry is also able to advertise and market its services and products to many countries. This is because computers can disseminate information to many people easily and within a short period of time.

The industry is also able to upgrade its systems according to the needs of customers. This is where they easily access the internet and get information on the preferences and specifications of customers (Buhalis & Costa, 2006). When they have this information they are able to upgrade their services and products to meet the required standards.

However the use of information may involve certain risks. These risks are mainly faced by the customers unlike the industry itself. These risks include:

The information in the website may be exaggerated. This is where the industry may post that it offers services that it does not offer (ILO, 2010). This exposes the customer to poor services unexpectedly. The industry may also be exposed to the risk of unhealthy competition. For example in the case of hotels, many hotels may advertise their services very appealingly and attractively hence attracting more customers.

Monitoring and Maintenance of IT in the Tourism Industry

To monitor something refers to regularly checking it progress or development .Information technology in an industry should be upgraded and updated regularly according to modern systems (Pender & Sharpe, 2005). The computers should also be checked regularly to ensure they are in good conditions. In case of anything the computers should be repaired to avoid major damage in future.

Conclusion

From the study above, it is evident that information technology is very crucial for any business organization or industry. Industries should update and upgrade their systems to fit to the modern changes in technology. This is to ensure that good customer and industry relations are retained.

Information technology is generally used by businesses to maintain contact within the business. It is also used to determine the production plan of a business .In the tourism industry information technology is used in various departments. These departments include hospitality, destination technology and the touring area. It is used to facilitate various activities like booking of hotels and determining the routes and fares for customers. We have also found that there are certain risks that involve the use of information technology in tourism. As tourism industry uses information technology it should put these risks into consideration.