W14025530
IT Management for Business
EE0400BNN01: Introduction to Data and Information
Tutor: Morgan Harvey
In this report I will be writing about the use of data and information within an organisation. The organisation I have chosen to write about is Marks and Spencer, a food, clothing and banking company which is based in the UK. In this report I will describe different types of data and information and how Marks and Spencer use them. I will also identify different methods for retrieving and analysing different types of information and write about the legal and security implications of handling and managing information and data.
There are two different types of data, qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative …show more content…
The first way in which Marks and Spencer uses data is to find out which products they should sell. When a customer purchases something from Marks and Spencer a record will be kept and stored. This happens for every product that they sell. This data will be stored on a sales database and someone working for Marks and Spencer will look through this information. After studying the data of products that have been sold, they will know which products are selling well and which are not. For example, if they look at the data and see that an item of clothing is not selling very well, they may choose to stop selling it or make changes to it in hope that it will sell more. The changes they could make include reducing its price and moving its place in the store so customers will be more likely to see …show more content…
In order for a business to succeed it must manage its own financial data. The owners of Marks and Spencer must review its financial data and decide if changes are needed anywhere in the business. For example, if the company is making losses in a particular store they must look into the reason that it is making losses and make changes.
Organisations must consider the legal implications of holding certain information. The main legal implication that must be considered is the Data Protection Act 1998. The Data Protection Act 1998 states that organisations may only process information if permission is given by the person of whom the data concerns, and that the person must be allowed to view the data that the company holds on them at any time. It states that personal data can only be obtained for lawful purposes, and that only relevant personal data should be collected. Personal data should be kept up to date when necessary, and not kept longer than is necessary. Also, Personal data must not be transferred to anywhere outside the European Economic Area unless the place in question has an adequate level of protection for the data. Marks and Spencer must abide by the laws of this