Q.Running the whole of a business — including inventory, accounts, supplier dealings and customer service — with the help of information technology, and not just the buying and selling part, is best described as:

The question describes the wide use of IT across all business activities, not only trading.

The key word is that it covers all activities — inventory, accounts, service — not merely buying and selling.

E-business (electronic business) is the carrying on of any business activity with the help of computers, software and the internet — trading, inventory management, accounting, supplier communication and customer service alike. This exactly matches the description in the question, which stresses that the whole business (not just one part) is run with IT.

Option-by-option analysis:

• (a) E-commerce is only the buying and selling (trading) part of business done electronically — narrower than what the question describes.
• (b) E-business is correct — it is the wide idea covering all business activities done with IT.
• (c) E-Governance is the government's use of IT to deliver public services, not a business activity.
• (d) E-learning is the use of IT to deliver education and training, unrelated to running a business.

Confusing e-business with e-commerce. Remember: e-commerce is only the trading (buy/sell) part, while e-business is the wider whole. All e-commerce is e-business, but not all e-business is e-commerce.