M1 – EXPLAIN WHY AN ORGANISATION NEEDS
TO KEEP PACE WITH IT DEVELOPMENTS:
Organisations need to have a strategy for dealing with the challenges brought about
by IT developments. They will need to consider the cost, speed and quality of the
product/services provided. Continuing from the previous report, now that the owner
of Full of Beans has agreed that their system needs upgrading, they’ll need to
measure the impact that this decision will have upon the company as a whole. One
of these impacts is listing what benefits Full of Beans will receive by upgrading.
PRODUCTIVITY GAINS:
By upgrading, you will see the increased productivity gained by using advanced
machinery (computers) for automated processes (repetitive tasks that need to be
performed). One benefit of using advanced machinery is the fact that it can be
operational 24/7 (so long as it doesn’t break down). One detriment is that regular
maintenance will need to be performed in order to ensure that the equipment doesn’t
break down. It will also need to be updated with the latest tech which costs money.
COST REDUCTION:
By upgrading, you will see a reduction in costs due to the technological
advancements that Full of Beans will adopt. For example, using machinery for
automated services (as discussed above) costs less to run then it is to pay your staff.
Organisations that operate the majority of the business online benefit from cost
reductions as they do not need to pay any additional expenses that physical brick-
and-mortar shops would need to pay such as renting high street premises etc.
INCREASED PROFITABILITY:
By upgrading, you will see an increase in overall company profits as developments in
the manufacturing industry mean that the majority of products are now made by
machines rather than human workers. Although unemployment will unfortunately
rise, general productivity will dramatically increase as will the consistency of well-
made products. This will lead to higher sales and a rise in profit as a result.
EFFICIENCY:
By upgrading, you will see your organisation become more efficient as new
technologies are introduced. For example, an e-commerce website is simply
companies using the Internet as another way (alongside brick-and-mortar) to sell
their products/services to their customers, who can choose their preferred method of
shopping. Additionally, installing an EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) system can
make your business run more efficiently as they can automatically update stock etc.
1