Unit 1 business at Work How ICT is used within the Organisation

Intranet – The Intranet is also known as a company wide network which is operated in same way as the Internet but is a method of facilitating internal communication making use of ICT.  This makes it possible to share information such as databases, employee schedules and stock files around the business. Through use of an Intranet, internal communications tools would be available such as:

• Internal Email.
• Notice Boards.
• Forums for research, information sharing and general discussion.

The use of such a system should improve efficiency by ensuring information is as current as possible and available immediately.  Sainsbury’s have their own intranet site so as information can be passed to employees, suppliers and employers.  This type of internal communication would be considered to be considered to be a downward method of communication as people such as the chief executive, Justin King, would post must of the information up on this site.  This also could be informal or informal communication as it is information to show to the workforce of Sainsbury’s.  An example of it being an informal method of communication could be information stating they are launching a new product onto the market which may not be true.  This would also be an open forma of communication as it is letting the whole workforce of Sainsbury’s to view this site.

Internal Phone Systems – This is another method of internal communication within the business using ICT.  Sainsbury’s have two types of an internal phone system.  One is normal phones connected to the phone lines which can make internal calls and also outside calls and the other type are ‘mobile’ phones which are carried but al the managers within Sainsbury’s.  These phones are also connected to an outside line also.  Using the phones connected to the phones lines; people within the organisation of Sainsbury’s can call those managers with the mobile phone.  All these phones have different numbers.  This type of communication could also be used to communicate informal or formal communication as it is word of mouth contact.  There is no upward or downward communication methods used here.  Anyone within the workplace can use the internal phone system at any time to get in contact with any member of staff.  Internal phone system would be restricted information as it is a discussion between two people on the phone.  This would be a great way to communicate private information as nobody else can receive it.

EPOS – Electronic point of sale may seem strange as a form internal communication within the business but within Sainsbury’s it is a method they always use.  When signing on to your checkout you must enter your user name and your password.  When this has been done then sometimes a message or messages appear on the screen of your till such as “Have you any holiday to be taken to date?”  Or “Bakery items are not scanning properly!”  I think this is a very smart way of communicating with employees.  All this is done in the main office of the store using the main server computer which generated this information to any EPOS screen in the store.  This would be classed as a formal method of communication.  Downward communication is taking place here as the information being received is coming from higher levels of management.  No information can be sent through the till back to the main server.  This type of communication would be restricted as it is only possible to view this information by signing on to your till with a unique user name and password.

Tannoy – This is probably the most well known method of communication within Sainsbury’s workplace.  A tannoy system is set at the customer service desk.  This is where any colleague can make announcements through a microphone so as the whole workforce and customers can hear.  This is controlled by holding a button in while you speak through the microphone.  Both colleague and customer announcements are made through this machine.  Formal communication would be used through this method as information is truthful about a product etc.  This method of communication would not be classed as either upward or downward communication as anyone within the workplace can use this method.  This would be classified as open communication as all employees throughout the store can hear this information.

Impact of ICT upon Internal Communications

There are many types of stakeholders which are affected by different methods of internal communications.  I am going to name different stakeholders and describe how these internal methods of communication have affected them positively and negatively.

Firstly I am going to take the customer and discuss the positive and negative points about internal methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positives effects of internal communications using ICT for Customers:

• Tannoy – This would be a positive point for customers as if they are shopping in Sainsbury’s they would be able to hear a customer announcement over the tannoy to tell them to report to the customer service desk r if there are offers on goods in store.

• Internal Phone System – This would also be a positive point for customers because if a customer rang Sainsbury’s to enquire about something  then they would be able to be put through to the appropriate person who will be able to assist them in their enquiry.

The following are the negative effects internal methods of communication have on customers:

• Intranet – Customers will not have access to Sainsbury’s Intranet site and so will not be open to be informed of anything that goes on within the organisation such as if they were going into to bankruptcy.

• In Store Notice Board – Again customers will not have access to this information.  This is usually where information such as the ‘mystery shopper’ results is put.  Customers will therefore not be able to view how well Sainsbury’s did in this test.

Secondly I am going to take the employee and discuss the positive and negative points about internal methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positive affects that the internal methods of communication have on the Employee:

• Email – Employees will have their own email address especially for Sainsbury’s and so will be able to communicate with their work place at any time.  They can email questions, queries or suggestions to higher management in hope of a reply from them.

• Notice Boards – Notice boards are the best method of communication within the work place for employees as all of them have access to a notice board.  Al information that everyone in the workplace needs to know is put up on the notice board for all to see.  This way employee’s can see how well the business is doing at any point or can be informed of when holiday sheets have to be brought back into work before a certain date.

• Intranet – Employees of Sainsbury’s also have access to the Sainsbury’s Intranet site at any time and can view information for example sent from the Chief Executive to all employees on different topics.  Also materials from the site may help employees become more motivated in their work and gain job satisfaction such information on bonuses or special employee discount.

• Internal Phone Systems – Employees have the benefit of being able to get in contact with any member of staff within the workplace without having to go look for them.  This gets work done faster within the workplace and everyone can contact anyone within the workplace at any time.

• EPOS – As I said earlier n the assignment once employees sign on to their till then sometimes messages would appear telling them important information such as to book their holidays now.  This is a great way o communicating with staff in the workplace instead of just having notice boards.  This shows how shows a very different way of communicating using ICT.

• Tannoy – This has the major benefit that employees can be contacted anytime in the workplace as the system is connected to ever part of the  workplace o ensure every member of staff hears.  Employees can contact or they can be contacted at any time in the workplace.

The following are the negative effects internal methods of communication have on employees:

• EPOS – Employees have to be trained on how to use this method ICT in the workplace.  This will have its training costs.  Employee may also suffer from eye strain from spending log periods of time looking at their tills screen.

• Tannoy – Again employees have to be trained on this system which will also lead to training costs.  Also the system may breakdown and communication would be lost without the Tannoy.

Thirdly I am going to take the managers and discuss the positive and negative points about internal methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positive affects that the internal methods of communication have on the Managers:

• Email – This is basically the same as the employee’s benefits of email.  Managers will have their own email address especially for Sainsbury’s and so will be able to communicate with their work place at any time.  They can email questions, queries or suggestions to higher management in hope of a reply from them.

• Notice Boards – Managers within Sainsbury’s either are given information or have the information to put up on notice boards. Some of this information may even be new to them.  They will also have access to the notice board at any given time.

• Intranet – Again it is the same for the managers as it is for employees for benefits of the Sainsbury’s Intranet site. Managers of Sainsbury’s also have access to the Sainsbury’s Intranet site at any time and can view information for example sent from the Chief Executive to all managers on different topics.  Also materials from the site may help managers become more motivated in their work and gain job satisfaction such information on bonuses or special discount within the store.

• Internal Phone System - Managers have the benefit of being able to get in contact with any member of staff within the workplace without having to go look for them.  This gets work done faster within the workplace and everyone can contact anyone within the workplace at any time.

• EPOS – Managers are very rarely on the checkouts but when they do they have the same benefits as employees.  When they sign on they can be given messages through the system to their till.  However it is usually managers who input these messages and so they already know they will receive information when they sign on.

• Tannoy – Yet again the mangers have the same advantages as he employees for this method of communication.  Managers have the benefit f contacting anyone or themselves being contacted at any time within the workplace.

The following are the negative effects internal methods of communication have on managers:

• EPOS – Training costs are the major drawback here for EPOS.  Everyone in the workforce has to be trained on EPOS including all management.  It would be less expensive if only the customer service assistants were trained on the EPOS.  Again health and safety is an issue.  I f a member of management is at an EPOS for a long period of time looking at the screen they may strain their eyes.

• Tannoy - Again management have to be trained on this system which will also lead to training costs. Another drawback for this method is that if the system breaks down communication will decrease immensely.

Fourthly I am going to take the Shareholders and discuss the positive and negative points about internal methods of communication using ICT for them.

The following are the positive affects that the internal methods of communication have on the Shareholders:

• Intranet – Shareholder have the opportunity to be able to look up any information on the Sainsbury’s intranet site.  This means they can check the share price and dividends at any given time.

• Internal Phone System – Shareholders are like customers here.  When they ring up Sainsbury’s store and are enquiring about information they need them the person who answers the phone will be able to put them through to who would be able to most help them.  

The following are the negative effects internal methods of communication have on shareholders:

• Email – Shareholders do not have access to the internal emailing system of Sainsbury’s.

• Notice Boards – Shareholders also do not have access to internal notice boards within the work place and will not be knowledgeable of most information that employees receive.

• EPOS – Shareholders can not receive communication through the EPOS either.  This is strictly for till operators.  

• Tannoy – Tannoy has the same effect on shareholders as it does customers.  If a shareholder was shopping in Sainsbury’s and an  announcement was to be made about staff, that would have nothing to do with them as they do not take part in the day to day running of the store.  They would be considered customers.

Now I am going to take the Suppliers and discuss the positive and negative points about internal methods of communication using ICT for them.

The following are the positive affects that the internal methods of communication have on the Suppliers:

• Email – Suppliers would be able to receive emails from Sainsbury’s with information on what stock Sainsbury’s needed.  This saves the supplier of having to use the phone which costs more money than email.  This could also make deliveries from suppliers be more efficient.

• Intranet – Suppliers will have access to Sainsbury’s intranet site and they will be able to view stock levels so as they know how good or bad things are selling in the market place.  This way suppliers will have the information to know whether or not o increase stock amount or decrease stock amount.

• Internal Phone System – Again if suppliers wanted to enquire about information they would be able to be put through to the appropriate person who would be able to assist them with their enquiry.  For example if the supplier rang Sainsbury’s to enquire about purchasing or distribution they would be put through the purchasing and distribution department.

• EPOS – This is the main communicator with the supplier.  Once a product is scanned through the EPOS the details of that product are sent straight to the supplier to inform them that a certain product may be needed by Sainsbury’s.

The following are the negative effects internal methods of communication have on suppliers:

• Notice boards – Again suppliers have not got access to the internal notice boards within the work place of Sainsbury’s.  

• Tannoy – Again the only time a supplier would hear the tannoy system used in Sainsbury’s would be if he was shopping as a customer.  He would not be seen as a member of staff of Sainsbury’s.

External Methods of Communication Using ICT

External communication is communication that takes place outside the business.  Sainsbury’s need to communicate with a range of stakeholders including customers, suppliers and shareholders.  A range of external methods of communication using ICT can be employed to communicate with these groups.  These communications perform a number of different functions which are:

• Public Relations Functions which is concerned with the image of the organisation.

• Informative Function to provide different categories with essential information.

• Day to day trading function which transacts the businesses daily commercial relationships.

• Transparency function is where outsiders can see that the organisation is carrying out their business in a true and fair way.

Now I am going to show different types of external methods of communication using ICT below and describe what they are.

• Telephone – This is probably the most well known form of communication.  It is the most frequently used form of communication within Sainsbury’s as it has the great benefit that it is fast and allows people to converse.  For Sainsbury’s a phone call may be the first contact with an outsider so a good impression must be made.  If a bad impression is made it may be hard to correct.  

• Internet (Website) – This external method of communication holds the most information on Sainsbury’s.  Below is a copy of Sainsbury’s homepage of their website.  Websites have been growing and developing over the years.  They have become very popular with large organisations such as Sainsbury’s and display an awful lot of information for the viewing public.

• Facsimiles (Faxes) – This another form of external communication using ICT that has experienced massive expansion over recent years and that is capable of sending both written and visual information.  Fax machines send information over telephone lines.  Sainsbury’s would send information to head office such as sales figures or possibly accounting sheets at the end of the year.

• Email – People nowadays would call his an alternative to writing a letter.  Sainsbury’s use email widely.  Email is done using the computer.  An internet connection needs to be established before you can actually send an email and you must have an account with an email programme such as Hotmail.  Sainsbury’s find this method much faster than sending ordinary mail through the post.  This method is more environmentally friendly as it does not use paper or pen.

• Videoconferencing – This method allows staff from Sainsbury’s to meet via cameras and provides all the normal advantages of a meeting.  Videoconferencing has improved out of all recognition as a result of the development of digital systems.  This makes meetings with people who are geographically separated possible.  Large board meetings in Sainsbury’s which involve all management throughout the UK to come together could be done using this method of communication.

• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) –  This is a method used to keep all Sainsbury’s stock up to date with the Just in Time scheme which is a scheme that makes sure that when stock levels are low a delivery of the new goods are sent before the old ones run out.  Sainsbury’s are part of a company called GlobalNetExchange along with many other companies.  EDI basically allows Sainsbury’s to pay suppliers electronically without the need for invoices and cheques, thus dramatically reducing time, paperwork and costs.

Impact of ICT upon the External Communications

There are many types of stakeholders which are affected by different methods of external communications.  I am going to name different stakeholders and describe how these internal methods of communication have affected them positively and negatively.

Firstly I am going to take the customer and discuss the positive and negative points about external methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positives effects of external communications using ICT for Customers:

• Internet – Customers can now shop online on Sainsbury’s website which means they do not have to leave the comfort of their home to go shopping.  Sainsbury’s also having a lot of information to communicate which the customer may find useful.  Such as financial information so they can see how ell the business is doing.

• Telephone – The customer can ring Sainsbury’s up if they have an enquiry to make and can speak to anyone form any department through Sainsbury’s internal phone system.

• Fax – Fax is another advantage to the customer as they can ask to have information faxed to them about Sainsbury’s.  They can also fax Sainsbury’s to ask for the information they require.

• Email – Once again this is similar to the two above.  Again if the customer has an enquiry to make they can email Sainsbury’s to ask for assistance or to answer their questions.

• EDI – Not so much for the communication but customers can guarantee that the goods will be on the shelves while Sainsbury’s use this method of communication to order goods in and pay for them.

Now I am going to give the negative points for the customer and external methods of communication using ICT:

• Internet – If the customer is shopping online they have to enter their credit card details but by doing this ‘hackers’ may be able to retrieve their card details.

• Email – If a customer sends an email to Sainsbury’s enquiring about something it is possible that they will not receive a reply.  It is much better to use the phone as the customer can talk to the person there and then.

• Videoconferencing – This is a negative point for the customer as they do not have the chance to be included in a meeting where videoconferencing is being used in the workplace.

• EDI - This also has a negative side for the customer as they do no have the chance to use this method of communication as it is within the workplace and can only be accessed by staff at Sainsbury’s.

Secondly I am going to take the employee and discuss the positive and negative points about external methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positives effects of external communications using ICT for Employees:

• Internet – They have the advantage of being able to view the company’s annual report online an other financial statements so they can learn from this whether or no they are in a good position in this job.

• Telephone – If an employee was sick and was unable to turn up to work they would be able to call in sick using the phone.  This way they would be able to talk to their department manager over the phone by customer service connecting them through Sainsbury’s internal phone system.

• Fax – If an employee’s details had not been added to Sainsbury’s system then the employee would be able to fax their details through to Sainsbury’s so as their personal details could e added to the system.

• Email –This is another way for an employee to get in contact with their workplace.  Email could be used if an employee wanted to ask for confidential files as the email would only be coming to them and no one else would be able to view these files.

• Videoconferencing – For example employee would have the chance to communicate with other Sainsbury’s store across the UK using this method of communication.

• EDI – This would be an advantage to an employee as it is a new skill they are gaining of communicating.  They would use this to ordering new goods from suppliers.

Now I am going to give the negative points for the employee and external methods of communication using ICT:

• Internet – Not as much information would be stored on this site as there would be on the Sainsbury’s intranet site. Therefore the employee would not be able to receive as much information from this site as the Intranet site.

• Email – Once again if an employee emailed their workplace for information they may no receive a reply.

• Videoconferencing – The negative point for this method for an employee would be that the employee would have to be trained therefore leading to training costs for Sainsbury’s.

• EDI – Once again there would be training costs for this method of communication also taking time of the employee.

Thirdly I am going to take the Managers and discuss the positive and negative points about external methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positives effects of external communications using ICT for Managers:

• Internet - Managers have access to a limited amount of information on the businesses website.

• Telephone – For example managers would use the phone if they needed an employee to come into work on short notice.  This would be the fastest and easiest way to do so.

• Fax – Management can receive faxes from anyone.  For example if a customer had asked for a copy of the annual report of Sainsbury’s could fax them the annual report.

• Email – On the website of Sainsbury’s there is an email address for any queries that customers have.  Management would then email the customer back with the appropriate information.

• Videoconferencing – This gives management the opportunity to include them in a new way of communicating with people in a totally different geographical location.

• EDI – This is another skill that management can learn.  This will improve the amount of goods that Sainsbury’s will receive from the suppliers.

Now I am going to give the negative points for the manager and external methods of communication using ICT:

• Internet – Again this is the same as the employee.  There is less information on the public website but more on the Sainsbury’s intranet website.  The intranet website is much better for the manager and anyone who works within Sainsbury’s.

• Email – Emails may not be replied to by whoever management send them.  Important information may be needed for the business that is supposed to come through email and may not be received.

• Videoconferencing – Again management will need trained on this method of communication causing training costs for the business.  Also the system could breakdown in the middle of an important meeting losing all information that was transferred between the businesses.

• EDI – EDI is another communication that needs training and will have training costs.  This also could breakdown for management and could cause a lack of goods coming into the store.

Thirdly I am going to take the Shareholders and discuss the positive and negative points about external methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positives effects of external communications using ICT for Shareholders:

• Internet – Shareholders are able to check their share price at any given time on the Sainsbury’s public website.

• Telephone – Sainsbury’s are able to get in contact with their shareholders at any time using this method if anything goes wrong in the business.

• Email – Shareholders are able to email Sainsbury’s to enquire about dividends or share price at any time.

Now I am going to give the negative points for the shareholder and external methods of communication using ICT:

• Internet – Shareholders will be able to receive more information form the Sainsbury’s intranet site than the public site.  This is because the intranet site will store more important information as it is an internal source of communication.

• Email – Again if shareholders were to enquire about dividends through email they may not receive any information back.  This is not a very reliable source of communication.

Thirdly I am going to take the Suppliers and discuss the positive and negative points about external methods of communication using ICT.

The following are the positives effects of external communications using ICT for Suppliers:

• Telephone – Suppliers are able to get in touch with Sainsbury’s at any time for the purpose of distributing goods and gain information on what has to be delivered at what time.

• Fax – Forms that need to be signed can be sent to Sainsbury’s through fax from the supplier.  This will speed up the process rather than sending through post.

• Email – The supplier can email Sainsbury’s details about stock and deliveries and what time deliveries will be arriving at.

• EDI – This speeds up the process massively for the supplier as all the information on stock will come automatically.  This will lead to the goods being delivered ‘Just In Time’ to Sainsbury’s

Now I am going to give the negative points for the supplier and external methods of communication using ICT:

• Internet – The supplier does not get information from the internet on stock levels so the internet is of no help to them.

• Videoconferencing – The Supplier does not take part in the method of videoconferencing so do not have the opportunity to learn w skills of communication.