Chapter 1
Information Technology in a Business Environment
BUSINESS AND INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
 Business organizations rely on
computers to perform their daily
operations and transactions.
Multinational corporations, the
government, non-government
organizations (NG0s), local
businesses, and even small
businesses such as stores and shops
use computers and IT to support
their business activities.
 Therefore, in this modern world, it
is essential for a business
organization to integrate IT in their
daily business activities.
Business Organization as a System
 Any type of business organization,
whether multinational or local and
large, medium, or small, can be
viewed as a system because it
consists of various parts that work
collaboratively to attain a certain
goal.
 The main goal of many
organizations is to provide added
value to their clients and customers.
In government agencies, for
example, delivering added value
means a government agency or
organization provides useful and
quality service to citizens that is
more than the worth of the
resources used for rendering such
service.
Business Concepts
 The word "business" is
traditionally defined as the
exchange of products.
 Business is an enterprise or activity
with the intention to make profits.
 The term business refers to an
organization or enterprising entity
engaged in commercial, industrial,
or professional activities.
 Business also refers to the efforts
and activities undertaken by
individuals to produce and sell
goods and services for profit.
Objectives of Business
A business may have different
goals depending on its financial standing,
products, industry, etc. However, generally,
we can categorize business objectives in
four different ways.
1. Economic Objectives
2. Human Objectives
3. Organic Objectives
4. Social Objectives
Types of Business
A business may be of different
types, but generally, we can categorize
business into four widespread types.
Four categories
1. Manufacturing - the manufacturer
or producer produces one or more
products and then sells them to the
end consumer to earn profits.
2. Merchandizing - a type of
business in which the
seller/business sells tangible
products to the
customers/consumers.
3. Services - a type of business where
the seller offers intangible goods to
other businesses or consumers.
4. Hybrid - are those businesses
where an organization practices
two or more business types at the
same time.

Types of Business
 Sole proprietorships - owned and
operated by a single person.
 Partnerships - a business
relationship between two or more
people who together conduct
business.
 Corporations - a business in which
a group of people acts as a single
entity.
 Limited liability companies
(LLCs) - A limited liability
company combines the pass-
through taxation benefits of a
partnership with the limited
liability benefits of a corporation.
 Limited Partnership - defined as
having limited partners and a
general partner, which has
unlimited liability.
 Co-op - a legal business structure
that is owned and governed by, and
functions for, the benefit of those
who use its services. Cooperatives
are owned by those who work for
it, are served by it, or both.
 Non-Profit - a group organized for
purposes other than generating
profit and in which no part of the
organization's income is distributed
to its members, directors, or
officers.
Business Size
 Micro
 Small Businesses
 Mid-Sized Enterprises
 Large Businesses
Data vs. Information
Data are facts that are collected,
recorded, stored, and processed by a system.
Insufficient for decision making.
Types of Data
 Alphanumeric Data
 Image Data
 Audio Data
 Video Data
Information is data that have been
organized and processed to provide meaning
and improve decision- making.
Turning data into information is a
process, or a set of logically related
tasks performed to achieve a
defined outcome.
The process of defining
relationships among data to create
useful information requires
knowledge, which is the awareness
and understanding of a set of
information and the ways in which
that information can be made useful
to support a specific task or reach a
decision.
Information Technology and Its
Discipline
 IT is the study, design
development, application,
implementation, support or
management of Computer-Based
Information System (CBIS),
particularly software application
and computer hardware (Laudon
and Laudon, 2009).
 IT is the application of technology
to solve business or organizational
problems on a broad scale.
 IT compromises a wide range of
hardware and software solutions
that support organizations and
evaluate data that help them
accomplish their targets.
 It also describes technology-based
workflow processes that enhance
the proficiency of an organization
to provide services that produce
profits.
  IT is defined as the study and
application of computers, network,
and telecommunications that store,
manipulate, retrieve, manage, and
send information.
 IT includes a combination of
software and hardware resources
that are used together to perform
various functions that people need
in their everyday life.
1.2 BUSINESS IN THE INFORMATION
ERA
 Most businesses established in the
Information Era mostly depend on
the use of advanced technologies.
 It is a fact that people currently live
in the Information Era, commonly
known as the Digital Age.
 Information Era is described as
enormous and incredible, where
huge amounts of information can
be shared around the world in just
one click of a finger.
Business Environment in the Information
Age
 The Information Age enables
businesses to compete in a
marketplace that is complex,
global, and customer focused.
Business Environment in the
Information Age
 The Information Age enables
businesses to compete in a
marketplace that is complex,
global, and customer focused.
 A business can be easily
established but difficult to sustain.
For a business to be successful in a
greater market, it must take the
challenge and be aware of the
various factors of the modern
business environment.
 The business environment is
considered the most fundamental
aspects of any business. It presents
both threats and opportunities for a
business.
The following are some businesses that are
popular in the Digital Age:
1. Call Centers.
 A call center agent refers to a
person who handles incoming or
outgoing customer calls for a
certain business. He/she might
handle technical support issues,
customer complaints, and account
inquiries.
2. Banking (Online Banking and
Mobile Banking).
 Online banking is one of the many
business banking services that
banks offer. It is popularly known
as Internet banking.
 On the other hand, mobile banking
allows an account holder to
perform many online transactions
through an app using mobile
phones (smart phones) instead of a
desktop computer.
1.3 THE CHANGING ROLE OF IT IN
BUSINESS
 IT is about telecommunication
networks; all kinds of hardware
such as computers, routers,
memory, cables, servers, and
printers; and all types of software
including both systems and
applications such as operating
systems, productivity tools, office
application tools, data management
tools, and social and mobile
applications.
 IT has replaced the traditional or
conventional methods of business
activities with modern and
innovative technological tools.
Productivity
 Technological tools and
applications such as computer -
aided design (CAD), office
application tools (word processors,
spreadsheets, and presentation
software), programming software,
database technology, and the like,
improve business productivity.
Monitoring
 IT tools are used for monitoring
purposes in various areas of
business organizations. The main
reason for this is to ensure that all
resources are being utilized
efficiently.
Business performance management
 Developed as monitoring method
that most businesses use to achieve
their goals.
Role of Information Technology in Other
Fields
Technology is no longer about
luxury; instead, it has become a necessity.
Technology has become very popular in
various fields such as education,
manufacturing, communication, and
banking. Industries use technology mainly to
improve their services and increase their
productivity.
Education
IT plays a vital role in providing
quality education to students. Nowadays,
technology is a staple part of most
classrooms. For example, in experiential
learning, students use simulates their
learning activities.
The following are some examples of
emerging educational technologies:
 Glogster EDU. Students can use
this tool to present their research
creatively. It allows students to
create unique projects or research
presentations.
 Mentimeter. This is a website
specifically designed to support
teaching and learning in schools,
colleges, and universities. This
website increases the participation
of students in the classroom. It
allows teachers to prepare practice
exercise questions online and ask
students to answer virtually.
 Electronic Learning Organizer.
This is a cloud-based technology
that helps language teachers
produce activities for their students
in the form of digital learning
objects.
 Constant Therapy. This is a
mobile app-based educational
technology for students with
special needs. It provides
personalized therapy for students
with disorders in communication,
learning, language, and others. It
also allows educators to monitor
students' progress
Learning Management System
Learning management systems
(LMSs) address this drawback. These
systems are powerful online applications
containing designed and developed courses
for students. Course contents can be
uploaded anytime in LMSs.
Health
IT also plays a significant role in
the field of medicine. For example, a patient
record management system (PRMS), which
is designed to record all transactions made
by patients, are common nowadays in
hospitals. Medical doctors take pictures of
patients' body parts to detect illnesses or
disorders using machines like the
computerized axial tomography (CAT) or
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Information Technology Career
Opportunities
1. Help Desk Technical Jobs:
Technician must be knowledgeable
about computer system and have
good customer service skills.
2. Technical Support Analyst Jobs:
Technical support analyst are
considered professionals who
assist staff within an organization
and support non- IT computer
users.
3. Business Intelligence Analyst
Jobs: Business intelligence analyst
are computer science graduate who
use computer software programs to
 go through big data and trace
specific information to formulate
reports and create presentations by
considering the company’s level of
efficiency and its departments
advancements over a selected
timeline.

Trends in Information Technology

Development

The Adaptability of the Internet of Things

(loT) - loT is a system of interconnected
computing devices, mechanical and digital
machines, objects, animals, or people. It has
the ability to transport data over a network
without requiring human-to-human or
human-to-computer interaction.

Development of Web Applications

These are web applications that are
composed of web pages or websites similar
to traditional and most mobile application,
program that is stored on a remote server
and delivered over the Internet through a
browser interface.

The Brainpower of Artificial intelligence

(Al) is the simulation of human
intelligence processes by machines,
particularly computer systems. These
processes include learning, reasoning, and
self- correction. Specific applications of Al
include expert systems, speech recognition,
and machine.