Information technology assignment: IT/IS Strategy in Organizations

Question

Task: Write a reflective journal on computer architecture assignment analysing the theoretical concepts captured from the weekly material.

Answer

Introduction
According to the research on information technology assignment, in the current scenario, 'technology' advancement is one of the most crucial parts among most of the industry from 'private' to 'public', 'NGOs' and 'government', and 'commerce' and business sector. All of these industries have become heavily dependable on 'IT'/ 'IS' strategies in enhancing their management, 'technology' security, 'acquisition' of various businesses, and setting up organizations. The 'Information Technology' has opened a door to many organizations to mitigate potential errors, identify risks, reduce 'costs', and 'globalize' the business processes. It has also enhanced an efficient communication process among different sectors. The implementation of 'IT' has enabled the organizations to directly interact with consumers from different parts of the world, and provide 'user-centric' services.

a. Background of ‘IT’/ ‘IS’ Strategy Usage
The initial concept of ‘Information Technology’ was to disseminate ‘data’ by using computers. The word ‘information’ in ‘IT’ came from the written ‘data’ dissemination using technology. Some of the popular areas of using ‘IT’ in the current time are ‘content’ management software for websites, ‘software’ management for achieving ‘organizational’ goals, effective communication process, and various business activities. The reason behind using ‘IT’/ ‘IS’ strategies is to enhance the ‘efficiency’ and increase ‘productivity’ in various organizations.

b. Outline of current report on information technology assignment
The current information technology assignmentwill present an understanding of the implementation and usage of 'Information Technology'. It is divided into three parts – the concept of 'IT'/ 'IS', its critical analysis of different industries, and theoretical evidence on its functions and importance. The analysis on information technology assignment will provide the reasons behind the organizations being dependent on 'IT'/ 'IS', and its positive and negative impact. Key Concepts of ‘IT’/ ‘IS’ Strategies

a. Organizational Importance
It is evident in the information technology assignment that various companies have been benefitted from using and implementing 'Information Technology' widely. The 'Big Tech' organizations, "Amazon", "Facebook", "Microsoft", "Apple" and "Google" have changed the perspective of business, communication, project, technology, and application with the help of 'Information Technology'. Businesses can easily achieve both domestic and international consumers with ‘e-commerce’ strategy. In the ‘education’ sector “Khan Academy” is famous for providing online ‘classes’ as a ‘global classroom’ worldwide (Post, 2020). Various news providers, such as "BBC", "CNN", "The Guardian", "The New York Times", and etceterahave transformed their roles on the digital platform to reach a large number of people. In the current scenario, various companies are using 'Information Technology' to create applications, 'outsource' services and plans, use 'cloud' computing to store data, engage with a wide range of customers and 'globalize' the brand identity.

b. Beneficial Factors
The beneficial factors of ‘Information Technology’/ ‘Information Systems’ is long and effective. The initial evolution in 'Information Technology' has started from the popularization of 'email', 'voice-mail', 'video call', etcetera which was time and cost-efficient to many organizations. It had mitigated the gaps in 'globalization' and helped in expanding various businesses to have international networks and consumers. In 'modern' marketing, 'Information Technology' enhanced various digital and networking platforms to increase more customers, revenue, and networks (Astuti). The various beneficial factors of ‘Information Technology’ are mentioned in the following section of information technology assignment,

• Efficiency and Agility – The implementation of 'Information Technology' provides efficiency to the business practices and processes. The 'IT' strategies help the industries to enhance agility from its features and functions in achieving ‘organizational’ goals.
• ‘Data’ and ‘Knowledge’ Sharing –‘Information Technology’ has helped in managing the ‘data’ analysis and sharing process smooth and easy. The organizations can easily transfer important information covering any distance within a small amount of time. It is also efficient in sharing ‘knowledge’ to a broader spectrum to make various business processes robustly.
• ‘Automation’ –One of the most vital factors noted in the information technology assignment that the 'manufacturing' and 'supply-chain' industry have achieved through 'Information Technology' is its 'automation' feature. It has reduced human interference and potential errors significantly.
• ‘Globalization’ – The most 'innovative' factor that the 'Information Technology' has presented in the 'globalization' among the various industries. The 'IT' features have enabled the organizations to conduct business and network internationally in a time and cost-effective manner. It helps the organizations to spread their identity to a wide range of audiences and increase their revenue.

c. The impact of the Negative and Positive Usage of 'IT'/ 'IS' Strategy
There are a significant number of negative impacts on the implementation of 'Information Technology'/ 'Information Systems' in various businesses. Some of them mentioned in this segment of information technology assignment are – wide dependency on 'Information Technology', decreasing 'interpersonal' communication, 'cybercrimes', and re-organized processes (Chrisos, 2020). The lack of proper 'interpersonal' communication can make the management do their business processes online without conducting any effective meeting or 'group' call. It resulted in internal gaps in an organization, which cannot be detected by 'automated' systems. The increasing dependency on 'Information Technology' makes various industries vulnerable to face 'data' breaching, 'cybercrimes', difficulties in using various techniques, and the gap between 'knowledge' dissemination skills. However, the evolution and implementation of 'Information Technology' have been started from the acquisition of its beneficial factors. The impact of 'Information Technology' in developing the 'e-commerce' market and business is to enhance the organization's productivity and revenue. The 'IT' strategies influence the entities to adopt new techniques and provide plans for more efficient business processes. Herein information technology assignment, another vital impact of 'Information Technology' is 'Enterprise Resource Planning' (ERP) that helps in developing the 'e-commerce' business process significantly (Ibrahim & Jebur, 2019). The positive impact of ‘Information Technology’ in different industries and sectors is to increase the performance standard and rate, expand the identity and business spectrum, reduce excessive costs, provides efficiency, and sustainable business process.

Critical Analysis of 'IT'/ 'IS' Strategies on Various Organizations
a. ‘Public’ and ‘Private’ Industry
The readings used to develop this information technology assignment signify that the effective usage of ‘Information Technology’ at the ‘public’ industries is trying to enhance their 'management' functions by completing and providing services/products timely. It will also help in providing accurate details and information during the 'decision-making' process and talking accountability. The 'banking' sector is overly dependent on the 'Information Technology' in performing their regular activities. The implementation of 'Information Systems' provides efficiency in performing 'accounting' activities and has been praised by various industries (Bansah, 2018). However, the current business environment and threats of 'cybercrimes' increased the chances of receiving unauthorized 'data', weak 'internal' security, updating difficulties in banking 'software', and 'information' breaching. The lack of system update and the 'data' back-up process can make the 'Information Technology' an 'inevitable' threat to the 'public' industries. On the other hand, it is also clear on this information technology assignment that the ‘private’ industries are more advanced and protected themselves in implementing and using ‘Information Technology’ in performing their tasks. The ‘private’ sectorhas successfully adapted the “SMAC” technology (‘social’, ‘mobile’, ‘analytics’, and ‘cloud’ computing), which brings them to achieve 'digitalization' and sustainability in the business 'innovation'(Legner, et al., 2017). The 'digitalization' becomes one of the most vital aspects for the management in acquiring overwhelming opportunities and 'technology' advancement. The large organizations are implementing the 'digitalization' factor to expand their 'acquisition' activities from the domestic to the international environment. The enhancement in implementing 'Information Technology' in gaining knowledge for understanding the consumer’s demand can help the organization in providing ‘user-centric’ services. The 'private' sector is capable of 'reorganizing' their business strategies and processes to make it sustainable.

b. NGOs and Government Industry
It is seen in the information technology assignment that the NGOs ('non-profit organizations') are expanding their existence and reach with the help of 'Information Technology' in making valuable connections worldwide. The appropriate usage of 'Information Technology' enables the NGOs to acquire desired 'organizational' culture, technology, and processes apart from the various approach of 'human' dimensions(Zbuchea, et al., 2019). The studies related to the 'Information Technology' usage at the NGOs have pointed out that the 'human' dimension that helps in disseminating 'knowledge’ is capable of using 'Information Technology' strategies to share it with the international filed with appropriate exposure. NGOs are primarily looking forward to engaging in various domestic and international activities to increase their identity to a significant number of audiences. It will help the NGOs to get exposure in their charitable and well-being works, and attract the potential philanthropists worldwide. ‘Information Technology’ is the most cost-effective way to achieve goals within a short amount of time.

The 'government' sector is lacking its advancement in implementing the 'Information Technology' appropriately with the best 'sophistication' and critical detail. It makes the new leaders from 'IT-led' companies define and conduct billion dollars projects with proper resources and development. However, the 'Information and Communication Technology' (ICT) becomes common in local, state-level, and international governments. It makes a strong impact on the 'productivity' and progress of the government's activities. Many countries have successfully achieved implementing 'Information Technology' in providing 'e-government' services to their communities to take action efficiently (Putra, et al., 2018). The increasing 'digital' advancement and usage makes the government engages with 'Information Technology' in conducting an important discussion with international affairs, disseminating information to the citizen efficiently, and sustain the political activities.

c. ‘Commerce’ Sector
The research conducted on this information technology assignment illustrates that the ‘commerce’ industry/sector is one of the most vital areas of the country’s economy. Primarily, the 'Information Technology' has flourished the 'e-commerce' trend in conducting the business, transaction, and provides services through a full internet-led infrastructure. In the present scenario as portrayed in the segments of information technology assignment, the application of 'Information Technology' has expanded its boundary in enhancing the 'supply-chain' industry, online business, and marketing processes and make a business transaction with the international market. 'Information Technology' plays a vital role in emerging the business economy through ‘e-commerce’ in various developing countries and provides capabilities to conduct international ‘trading’ (Khan, 2016). It brings the competency nature among various businesses to reorganize their business structure according to the customer’s demand with the help of ‘IT’ strategies.

On the other hand, 'Information Technology' brings potential businesses to conduct 'online' advertisements and expanding their presence in different industries and nations to grab the attention of a significant number of people. The 'Information Technology' has revamped the 'manufacturing industry' to get fully 'automation', and make the process within lesser time and manual effort. The 'Information System' has generated value for the industries to sustain their economy. The influence of 'Information Technology' enhances the capability and performance quality of the businesses (Chae, et al., 2018). The ‘automated’ function is the most crucial factor in adopting ‘Information Systems’ and acquiring better ‘performance’ rather than controlling the business processes.

Evidence-based Analysis of 'IT'/ 'IS' Strategies: Literature Review
Various organizations are currently emphasizing on securing 'Information Technology' usage to conduct 'innovative' business strategies. 'Innovation' is the most crucial part of an organization that is dependable in adopting 'new service' development. The intervention of 'Information Technology' is capable of increasing the 'innovation' rate in an organization. It enhances the organizations to use advanced technologies and appropriate alignment with 'innovative' strategies. The main issue identified in this information technology assignment derives from the lack of proper infrastructure and architecture for adapting 'Information Technology'. Both the 'Information Technology' and strategic 'alignment' are important in the successful implementation of new 'service' to increase the organization's performance standard and fulfill customer demand (Kitsios & Kamariotou, 2016). The 'SMEs' is facing external competition in the contemporary market over their existence. The implementation of 'IT'/ 'IS' services and strategies will help them in gaining a significant number of reaches within a small amount of time and cost-effectively. 'Information Technology' provides a complete 'end-to-end' solution with a 'ready-to-use' structure to the various 'small' businesses. In the 21st century, the organizations are changing their business processes with the effective usage of ‘web’ services, transformed ‘telecommunication’ process and 'digitalization' for promoting the brand to a larger section of the audience. The 'SMEs' are determined towards investing a hefty amount of budget in acquiring benefits from the 'Information Technology' regarding rearranging of business processes and 'data' analysis (Ramaswamy, 2019).

It has been analyzed in the information technology assignment that the implementation of ‘Information Technology’ and its strategies has the power of influencing the ‘profit’ structure and ‘market’ value of various firms. Most of the firms are having the perspective of judging the ‘Information Technology’ as an objective of dominant ‘strategy’ provider that directly related to the ‘cost’ reduction, increase in the revenue, and efficiency in achieving ‘organizational’ goals (Mithas & Rust, 2016). The implementation of 'Information Technology' can generate profit for the firms and emphasizes on making large investments. It is said herein information technology assignment that the low budget in 'IT'/ 'IS' implementation can choose either revenue enhancement or reducing 'cost'. But the firms that invest a decent amount in acquiring 'IT' strategies should aim for both. The understanding of ‘Information Technology’ alignment in different organizations is still a problem in acquiring knowledge on identifying the underlying ‘scopes’ and appropriate activity for making beneficial alignment. However, it is also analyzed that all potential alignment 'models' are not efficient for expressing a strong 'theoretical' ground. The 'Information Technology' only provides a 'static' view of various alignment 'models', which leads the organizations to not be sure about its beneficial factors in improving the alignments. Although it is no doubt that the 'Information Technology' helps in providing 'scopes' and promotes alignments in 'IT' communication in business, 'analytics', 'IT' initiatives and skills (Luftman, et al., 2017).

As evident in the information technology assignment, from the past three decades, it is considered that the ‘Information Technology’ provides alignment to the business to create an appropriate ‘organizational’ frame to conduct businesses with ‘IT’ strategies. It resulted in the emergence of IT-based 'Digital Business Strategies' (DBS) to enhance the knowledge of 'innovation' and competency in performance. The implementation of 'Information Technology' in the business processes provides 'inevitable' transformation. However, this current 'paradigmatic' shift has also pointed towards various challenges and assumptions to make appropriate strategies (Kahre, et al., 2017).

As per the investigation oninformation technology assignment, 'Big Data' analytics is one of the most vital parts in the 'Information Technology' strategies. Various organizations (both 'technical' and 'non-technical') are focusing on developing the 'Big Data' analytics and its capability to enhance the performance of the organization. The ‘hierarchal’ model in the ‘Big Data Analytics Capability’ (BDAC) model showcases three parameters to enhance an organizational performance – 'management', 'talent', and 'technology'. In these parameters, 'Information Technology' provides knowledge to the technical aspects, business strategies, and alignment (Akter, et al., 2016).

Before the researchers began their study on understanding the effects of ‘Information Systems’, they have pointed out the vital contribution of ‘Information Technology’ in achieving ‘innovation’ and ‘outsourcing’ strategies to become more critical at the business processes. The ‘outsourcing’ of ideas and strategies become easier with the help of ‘IT’ infrastructure from the competitors, customers, various ‘knowledge’ sources, consultants, and academics. All these sources are critical to the successful ‘innovation’ of the organization. The external ‘knowledge’ sources and ‘Information Technology’ are two of the most influential factors in adsorbing and enhancing an organization’s performance (Trantopoulos, et al., 2017). It directly makes a positive impact on the 'financial' gain and performance improvement.

Conclusion
The argument behind implementing 'IT'/ 'IS' has successfully discussed from the various theoretical evidences within this information technology assignment. The evidence provided in the above context ofinformation technology assignmentshowcased that the organizations are implementing 'Information Technology' to increase their current productivity, conduct effective planning, efficient business processes, and uninterrupted growth. Many 'SMEs' are become more dependable on 'IT' strategies because it is cost-effective and needs much less effort. 'IT' helps the organizations to achieve international recognition and a broad range of consumers. However, more advanced and complex technology comes with a lot of threats. The complete dependency on 'IT' strategies can make an organization vulnerable in front of 'data' breaching and 'cybercrimes'. It is important to understand the values and secure functions of 'IT' to avoid any risks and achieve maximum efficiency. ?

References
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