Task 5

1. The Importance of Information Technology in Business

- Email

     Emails can function as an effective communication for sharing basic information, such as new cafeteria prices, paper use guidelines or security precautions, for example. Sending simple messages to an entire workforce with just the click of a mouse is fast, easy, convenient and can save the company money. If saved, the email can function as proof of a message sent or received, and is easily accessible to remind the recipient of pertinent information. Many businesses use email as part of its marketing efforts to share information with prospects, customers, vendors.

- Internet

1. Communication: The internet makes communication fast and cost efficient. Businesses use internet technologies such as Skype internet and video calls, email and video conferencing to make communication virtually instant.
   
   
2. Growth: The internet plays a big role in the growth of businesses. It gives businesses an opportunity to reach a wider global audience. Promoting through the internet is also a way to increase sales and reach the desired growth level. Business can also expand by having an online division.
   
   
3. Marketing: One of the role of internet in business involves marketing and advertising. Most businesses are taking advantage of the internet to market their products and services to a global audience. The most notable internet technologies here include search engines such as Google.
   
   
4. Networking and Recruiting: Social networking websites play a role in business networking by connecting like-minded professionals. Through the internet, people have found business partners and great employees.
   
   
5. Outsourcing services:The internet has helped cut costs by outsourcing services to countries where it is cheaper to provide these services. Apart from the cost reduction through the outsourcing role of internet in business, outsourcing enables businesses to concentrate on their core services and become more efficient.
   
   
6. Online Shopping Role: One role of internet in business is the birth of ecommerce websites and online payment solutions that allow people to shop online from the comfort of their own homes.
   
   
7. New Opportunities: The internet has opened up new business opportunities and giving rise to a group of successful online business owners. This is a powerful role as anyone can now start an online business.

- Teleconference 

      Teleconferences allow offshore consultants, telecommuters and long-distance employees an opportunity for team participation. Teleconferencing can give small businesses a chance to hire corporate trainers and speakers who may otherwise be unable to make it to a face-to-face meeting at the company’s office because of geographical, scheduling or cost limitations. Regularly-scheduled teleconferences can assist in team-building for even the most far-flung staffs. The teleconference cuts out the added expenses that would normally be associated with a gathering that’s held in-person. The biggest expense, of course, is travel items such as airfare, lodging, meals and ground transportation. Smaller expenses, including room rentals and refreshments, also add up. Typically, a nominal equipment investment and a monthly fee are all you’ll spend for your entire team to talk to one another any time it’s convenient for you.

- Voice Mail

         Voicemail systems allow businesses to efficiently route phone calls -- but your customers may not see efficiency in the same way your business does. When your customer must spend time navigating your voice mail system only be told that she will receive a call back "as soon as possible," the message is sent that your employees' time is more valuable than your customers. On the other hand, voice mail systems are far cheaper than the labor necessary to ensure that all incoming calls are answered by a human being. A well-implemented voicemail system can provide benefits to the customer and the business. Customers should be provided with the option to immediately leave a message at any time, rather than wait on hold or be forced to navigate the system. This demonstrates a respect for the value of her time -- provided, of course, that their message gets to the right person regardless, and receives a prompt reply. This efficiency allows you to lower your staff expenses while maintaining customer satisfaction.

- Mobile Phone

      Using a cell phone in business allows for increased flexibility when working, which has numerous advantages. The more flexible you are, the greater the chances you can show clients your business is the one to go with. For example, if you're away from the office, clients can still communicate with you. Scheduling meetings becomes easier because you're not tied to a computer or desk. You can even conduct a teleconference via cell phone while you're on the go or traveling. Cell phones increase your ability to multitask. Any cell phones today have the capability of performing many tasks that your computer can. You can access the Internet, write emails and send documents from wherever you might find yourself. This, in turn, allows you to be on top of time-sensitive issues. For example, if a client needs a proposal as soon as possible and you have already left the office for the day, you can still upload and send the document from your cell phone.

2. What is Business Report?

     Business Report is the systematic presentation of output arising from investigation related to business or commercial affairs with a clear intention to take decision to solve for various business problems. If there is existed any recommendation on a business report, that should be effective for organizational goal.

3. Function of Business Report

- Data Collection

       Business reports document your progress and provide you with a means of comparing periods of time, project details, and your history of growth. While you may rely on a superior memory or the amount of profits you make each year to gauge your progress, the data you collect in reports can serve a number of important purposes. It can help you formulate your budget and marketing plans for the upcoming year. It also can allow you to realize which products or services are the most successful, and which markets you may have overlooked. You’ll find more reasons to consult the data you’ve collected as your business grows.

- Paper Trail

        In addition to helping you make decisions about your company and its future, reports help you build a paper trail of your past. You can keep the reports on a computer; you don’t have to collect mounds of actual paper. Reports that document sales, meetings, plans, initiatives and annual budgets are an integral part of the proprietary materials that make up your business. If you ever approach a bank for a loan or decide to sell your business, you‘ll need to produce more than your personal tax returns to support your requests or your asking price. If you’re a sole proprietor, make sure that your heirs know how to access your records and reports so they can continue the business or sell it if needed.

- Overview

          A corporation has to produce an annual report each year as part of its legal fiduciary obligations to its stockholders and the government agencies that oversee corporate businesses. Through this process, large companies have come to learn about the many benefits they can reap from producing an annual report. You can tap into those same resources if you create a summary and overview of your previous year in business. The annual report usually is a glossy report with pictures and contact information that doubles nicely as a marketing package. It is useful when making introductions to new clients or trying to build name recognition in your community. An annual report is an effective tool for providing employees, investors and clients with a complete picture of you and your business.

- Practice

         Even if you don’t report to a corporate board or have to produce documentation for a team of investors, there may come a time when you want to expand or make a substantial purchase to increase business, and you'll need to produce a financial history of your company. As a sole proprietor, you may face the time when the best way to grow means taking on a corporate label, and you’ll be required to create those reports on a regular basis. Even if you don’t rely on reports for decision making, if you incorporate reports in your daily business practices, you’ll be in the habit of writing them and will have honed your report writing until it comes naturally,

4. Kinds of Business Report

- Ordinary or Routine Report

         Ordinary reports are prepared and presented before the managing director at specific intervals or to the next authorized person in the business routine. The reports shall be submitted either daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually. This type of report contains mere statement of facts in detail without any opinion or recommendation of the reporter. The examples for routine reports are Report of Directors to the Annual General Meeting, Auditor’s Report to the Annual General Meeting, Sales Report, Production Report and the like.

- Formal Report

      Formal report is prepared in a prescribed format and presented before the competent authority in an established procedure. Reports submitted by officials or committees of constituted bodies (example: Companies, Cooperative Societies, Local Bodies etc.) are usually formal report.

- Informal Report

      Informal report is prepared in a format of the convenience of the reporter and presented directly before the required person as and when demanded. An informal report is presented as in the form of letter or memorandum. Generally, it takes the form of a person to person communication.

5. Requirement of a Good Business Report

Clearly Defined Purpose

       The purpose of a report should be clear to the reader from the beginning. The purpose should be stated in the title of the report if possible and included in the introduction. Identify whether the intent is to persuade the reader to do something. It should also be clearly noted whether past information or future predictions will be provided as evidence to support the points of the report.

Table of Contents

        A business report can vary in length from one page to a massive document containing multiple chapters. All readers may not be looking for the same information, so it’s helpful to include a table of contents for all except the briefest reports. This page includes all the main sections of the report and the page numbers where the information can be found. This allows a reader to flip right to the information he needs, without having to search through the entire report.

Easy to Understand

      A good business report should be easily understandable, so it can hold the attention of the audience. Before you begin to write, consider the audience. If it consists of people with a great deal of experience in the industry, it’s fine to use complex terminology and provide detailed information. However, if the audience doesn’t have much experience in the industry, the report must be written in simple, straightforward manner, providing definitions for any industry terminology used.

Accurate Facts

       It’s essential that facts provided in the report are accurate, as the information is used to prove points and draw conclusions. Any inaccurate facts will skew results and could cause the company to make an ill-advised business decision.

Concise Presentation

         Including filler content distracts from the point at hand and wastes the reader’s time. The report should be written in a concise manner, using a minimum amount of words to make a clear point. This is not to say that a long report cannot be effective, it simply means it’s important to avoid including unnecessary information.