Business and employment

The coverage of business and employment should address the IT systems that exist as well as the ethical issues and social impacts that arise from the increased use of information technologies for both employers and employees. Students should be aware of the range of different business environments, ranging from a traditional (offline) business to businesses that are exclusively online.

Banks (inc. ATM), EFT, Hotels, Supermarkets & Travel agencies

Banking: Digital payment systems

Wine and Dine Without Pulling Out Your Wallet - Or Your Phone

describes an app system that can automatically charge a customer's credit card in a restaurant.

Another example of a digital currency that is frequently in the news is BitCoin.

This PCPro article succinctly explains what BitCoin is and how it works.

Part of the 2013 ITGS case study also covers digital and mobile payment systems.

Hotels

Hotels, much like travel agencies have introduced online booking to their websites, in an attempt to make it easier for information on what rooms have been booked and what rooms are available, have to be updated instantly, so as to prevent customers to book hotel reservations. Hotel reservation systems use online processing when dealing with information being input and output. Online processing shares it similarities with real-time processing as the databases which contain two different people from booking the same room. A feature that distinguishes online processing from real time is that, in online processing there exists a cooperation between processes in the way that, for example, the process which attempts to book room 1450 must wait for the process that checks if room 1450 is available. Another system used by hotels to help management is the use of databases to store customer details such as: name, address, credit card nº, money spent at hotel, duration of stay. The information on the database is usually processed instantly (real time), for example when adding the price of the room services to the total the customer needs to pay when he checks out.

Example of a Customer Check In window used in a hotel database:

Supermarkets

Supermarkets make extensive use of IT to plan and run their operations. Bar codes have been used for many years to identify products and manage prices and stock levels, allowing staff to easily change prices without relabeling them. However bar codes only identify products and not individual items. In the US, Walmart has started to place RFID tags on individual items in some clothing lines.

Supermarkets have implemented several IT systems into how they deal with things such as storing and organizing their products and the methods of payment. Some of the systems include the use of databases to store data on the products and their availability. Bar code readers are another device that has been made due to the development in supermarket systems, this device allows for cashiers to scan the item and therefore automatically updating the database, without any manual work having to be done. There have also been developments in the method of payment, the system used in a supermarket when you purchase an item is called Electronic Fund Transfer at Point-of-Sale (EFTPOS).

EFTPOS

1- The customer gives the cashier the bank card

2- The cashier runs card through scan reader and enters value of purchase

3- The store's system connects to the bank's and sends a message

4- The bank uses the account number to access the information and check the balance

5- The bank then sends either a confirmation or rejection message to the store

6- The cashier confirms the purchase and sends an EFT message to the bank

7- The bank then subtracts the purchase value from the person's account and adds it to the store's account

8- The cashier returns the card along with a receipt.

Download and try out the spreadsheet simulation of EFTPOS in action

Track & Trace (Computer Shopper - June 2013) How do supermarkets track our purchases? What do they do with the information? Is any of this a problem for us?

Travel Agencies

Travel agencies have been almost completely replaced by online reservation systems nowadays which give customers the capability of booking their flight tickets online through the internet. This facilitates the reservation procedure as the customer does not need to go to a travel agency in order to reserve his ticket; this saves fuel, energy, prevents possible car accidents and saves the customer some money. Reservation systems also allow customers to buy packages when traveling, a common example of this is renting cars at the airport or also buying an hotel room along with the flight.

This is good for the customer as it makes the reservation process much easier, although it is impossible for them to reserve without a computer and an internet connection. For the travel agencies on the other hand they will not receive many customers but it could also mean that companies no longer need travel agencies and this could save them money.

How the Internet of 'things' is turning cities into living organisms - If city systems are able to react to information in the cloud, a city could be a "virtual nervous system" that immediately responds to environmental conditions like rainstorm.

Business (Traditional)

Business (Online)

Business (Transportation)

Reference:

IB ITGS Guide

https://sites.google.com/site/mrstevensonstechclassroom/home/strand-2-applications-to-specific-scenarios/2-1-business-employment/traditional-businesses