Impact of the Internet on Organisations (Edexcel IGCSE Ict)

Positive impact of the Internet on organisations

Spec point — 3.4.1

Positive impact of the Internet on

organisations

What are the positive impacts of the internet on organisations?

• The positive impacts of the internet on organisations are:

  • Improved communication
  • Access to global markets
  • Access to global workforce
  • How information is managed and used

Improved communication

• The internet has made it possible for organisations to communicate with its customers easily and in real time

• Examples of how organisations can communicate with its customers include:

  • Websites
  • Email
  • Instant messaging
  • Social media

Access to global markets

• The internet means organisations can advertise and sell to customers in countries around the world

• Organisations have easier access to manufacturers and can communicate more efficiently with them

• They can sell products online and reduce costs on:

  • Overheads (rent, utilities and staff)
  • Packaging
  • Postal charges

Access to global workforce

• With the internet, organisations can now find and hire the best talent for the job, regardless of location
• Organisations can be more selective, they are not limited to employees within travelling distance of a place of work
• They can select employees from different time zones and utilise different skills
• Organisations may be able to reduce costs, for example, wages in some countries may be lower

How information is managed and used

• Organisations use big data collected from smartphones, online applications, social media and payments systems to find patterns of behaviour
• This allows organisations to improve the customer experience and improve process efficiency

Negative impact of the Internet on organisations

Spec point — 3.4.2

Negative impact of the Internet on

organisations

What are the negative impacts of the internet on organisations?

• The negative impacts of the internet on organisations are:

  • Security issues
  • Greater competition

Security issues

• Many organisations store private and valuable data that needs to kept secure

• Traditionally, data would be kept in a secure central location using physical safety measures such as:

  • Walls
  • Locks
  • Alarms
  • Security guards

• The internet now means employees are able to access secure data working remotely

• Typically this is achieved in three ways:

  • VPN(link here) - remotely access organisations data on servers
  • Transfer a copy of organisations data to home via external storage or email
  • Storing organisations data on someone else's server (cloud)

• Data being accessed remotely means it is more vulnerable to threats such as:

Greater competition

• The internet means organisations have greater competition for products and services
• Traditionally, organisations were only in competition with other organisations in their local area or country
• The internet means consumers can buy from organisations globally, this extra competition can drive down prices
• Some organisations and entire industries have been put at risk because of this, some examples include:

Worked Example Describe two positive impacts of the Internet on organisations

[4]

Answer

Two descriptions such as:

• Improved communication/collaboration [1] through the use of email/messaging services / hosted applications/storage [1]
• Increased access to international markets/workforce [1] due to the global reach of the web / opportunities for more flexible working [1]
• Improvements in access to customer information [1] through analysis of big data [1]
• Make use of transactional data [1] to carry out targeted marketing [1]
• Maintains workforce productivity [1] if workforce is unable to attend the workplace [1]