Seminar journal of 6 lectures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Seminar journal of 6 lectures - Essay Example Whereas this set up might work on a departmental level owing to the different nature and function of each department, the problem arises when the various functional groups have to interact with each other and work as a whole, which is inadvertent in an organization (Logan 2007). One obvious reason is the difference in the framework of each department’s operating systems and structure (Logan 2007). Customer information is often duplicated so that every department has a copy in order to avoid any unnecessary interactions between various frameworks (Logan 2007). This can cause various problems, such as erroneous data entry, records, and an overall mismatch in the production of the company, resulting in the loss of revenue (Logan 2007). The solution is, therefore, an integrated set up with a uniform framework of operating system that can be accessed by any department and used according to their own needs (Logan 2007). This is called ERP software system. ... The most important feature is the ability of the company to view the client in a single view by using this system rather than in fragmented views of the various departments (Logan 2007). However, the implementation of this system can be very costly and time consuming, especially if the company is large scale and multinational (Logan 2007). It also requires skilled personnel who need to be trained first (Logan 2007). Also, to update the information and to carry out constant monitoring of the system, increased workforce with increased number of hours is required (Logan 2007). Sometimes , the results might also not be successful due to many reasons, such as too much customization of the products, and a decreased emphasis on education and re-organizing the business and staff (Logan 2007). However, it remains a lucrative business, with SAP leading the provision of ERP in the industry (Logan 2007). Another useful way in which Information Technology can be made use of in the business sector is that of employing it to reduce the carbon footprint of the companies (Bannister 2010). Around fifty percent of the carbon emitted in the UK comes from the businesses alone (Bannister 2010). This means that if the business sector works out a way to reduce the carbon emission, it can have a great and positive impact on the overall climate of the country and of the world (Bannister 2010). For this purpose, Information Technology can be beneficial in two ways: direct and indirect. To understand how important it is to try and reduce the carbon footprint, it should be noted that O2 UK produces 400k tones of CO2 every year, HSBC produces 800k tones, and Tesco produces 4.1million tones of CO2 every year (Bannister 2010). In a case study involving Tesco, it