Information & Monugement W.R. King, G.

Premkumar / Key Issues in Telecommunrcations Plmmng 255

Research

Kev Issues in Telecommunications Planning:

J u

William R. King * and G. Premkumar ** Introduction

*Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business, University of
Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, PA 15260. USA ** Iowa State Unioer-
sit-v, Ames, IA 50011, USA
The merger of voice and data communication
and the use of digital transmission are having
profound effect on the technology, products, and
Telecommunications has emerged as a critical function services offered by the telecommunications in-
playing a vital role in the business strategy of the organization. dustry. The role of the telecommunication func-
The deregulation of the industry, evolution of new technolo- tion is undergoing a dramatic change in organiza-
gies. rapid growth in the telecommunications market and use
tions that recognize the need to integrate informa-
of telecommunications for competitive advantage have in-
tion and telecommunications systems and realize
creased the uncertainty in the telecommunications environ-
ment. Strategic telecommunication planning has become a the potential of telecommunications for gaining
necessity in responding effectively to this dynamic and com- competitive advantage. This has resulted in the
plex environment. A conceptual model of strategic telecom- function growing from a small staff function pro-
munications planning is proposed and, based on this model the
viding voice communication service to a critical
various planning parameters are identified. An empirical survey
of practicing telecommunications managers is carried out to
function supporting the corporate strategy of the
determine the key issues in telecommunications planning, and company [6].
the differences in planning characteristics across different Although McKenney & McFarlan [24] cate-
groups. The results of the study indicate that planning managers gorize telecommunications as an “island of infor-
mainly concentrate on factors related to “technology” and
mation”, it is becoming increasingly difficult to
LLcost” and place very little emphasis on “business” oriented
factors. The results also indicate that significant planning gap
differentiate between information systems and
exist for most of the planning items. telecommunications, A redefinition of the scope of
information systems encompassing voice, data, and
Keywords: Telecommunications planning, Strategic telecom- video communication and having the primary re-
munications planning for IS, Planning model, Planning issues.
sponsibility of providing information and infor-
Telecommunications, IS and telecommunications planning.
mation channels to all members of the organiza-
tion will provide a more cogent perspective for
restructuring the function in the organization. Such
an integrated functional structure would provide

G. Premkumar is an Assistant Profes-

sor (MIS) in the College of Business
Administration at Iowa State Univer-
sity. He holds a MBA from Indian
Institute of Management, and a B.S.
in engineering from India. Mr. Pre-
mkumar has about eight years experi-
ence in the areas of Production
Management and Management Infor-
mation Systems. He has published
many papers in the National Decision
Science Institute (DSI) conference and
International Conference on Informa-
tion Systems (ICIS). Current research interests include Deci-
North-Holland
sion Support Systems, IS Planning, Telecommunications Plan-
Information & Management 17 (1989) 255-265 ning, and End-user Computing.

0378-7206/89/$3.50 0 1989, Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. (North-Holland)

256 Research

an organization with enormous potential for tap- (e) Use of telecommunications technology to gain
ping its information resources effectively. competitive advantage [6].

These changes in the industry have made the

environment complex and dynamic requiring a
The Need for Strategic Telecommunications Plan-
strategic telecommunications planning process if
ning
the organization is to effectively employ these
resources [g].
Traditionally. in most organizations, the tele-
communications department has been primarily
dealing with services related to voice communica-
The Telecommunications Planning Model
tion. Planning was mainly concerned with annual
financial and operational planning for the mainte-
There is very little literature in the area of
nance of the telephone system. This was simple, as
telecommunications management. and hence the
there was usually a single supplier, who took care
relevant literature from information systems (IS)
of many of the planning requirements. However in
planning was used to develop a conceptual model
recent years, the telecommunications environment
of telecommunications planning. We felt justified
has changed considerably due to:
in doing so, as the two fields have similar char-
(4 Rapid advances in technology (digital trans- acteristics and the planning issues identified in the
mission, integration of data and voice com- telecommunication literature are very similar to
munication, ISDN. and use of optic fiber) those in IS planning. The model is illustrated in
[321. Figure I.
(b) Deregulation of the industry and flooding of The model has three levels ~ inputs, process,
the market with a host of new products from and outputs. The primary inputs to the planning
different suppliers [7]. process are the organizational objectives and goals;
(cl Uncertainty with respect to adoption of ISO- these provide general guidelines and directions for
OS1 standards in the industry. functional level planning. It is a vital input to the
(d) Growth in office automation. interorganiza- planning process that has been stressed by many
tional systems, distributed data processing. and IS researchers [26,14].
systems spanning across national boundaries Planning is a process of interacting with vari-
[3,41. ous agencies internal and external to the organiza-

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT= -LONG-TERM

FACTORS FACTORS PLAN

12 4
ORGANIZATIONAL
MISSION + TELECOMM W MEDIUM
OBJECTIVES PLANNING TERM
SRTRATEGIES PROCESS PLAN

I 1 T I

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Fig. 1.
Information & Management W. R. King, G. Premkumar / Key Issues rn Telecommumcalions Plunnmg 251

tion to reduce the uncertainty in the environment. Very few existing telecommunications planning
Boynton & Zmud [l] identified nine different methodologies take into account all these factors.
planning agenda based on a review of various IS Most of them are based on forecasting of demand
planning models. An analysis of the agenda reveal using trend analysis and developing a financial
that they can be broadly classified into organiza- and operational plan based on the forecast. The
tional, market, and technology categories which wide variety of choice in the market provide a rich
map onto three major planning factors of the problem space for optimization and the cost sav-
model. While business factors have gained impor- ings from such exercises can be substantial. Also,
tance in recent years with the emphasis on using there is a strong need to integrate telecommunica-
telecommunications for competitive advantage tion plans with the plans of other functions in the
[17], the rapid changes in technology have made organization. Hence, it is necessary to develop a
the assessment of technology and its impact on comprehensive methodology incorporating the re-
telecommunication and business functions an im- quirements from different constituents and taking
portant part of the planning process. Since it has into account various options available in the
to function in an organizational context, the char- market place.
acteristics of the organization influence the oper-
ation and hence are a key element in the planning
process [20]. The fourth planning factor, external Objectives and Outline of the Study
environment, is particularly relevant to telecom-
munications field, as the industry has traditionally The objectives of the study are to identify the
been regulated, with external agencies exerting “gaps” ~ input, process, and output - that may
considerable influence on the industry. exist between perceived importance of various ele-
The output from the process shown in Figure 1 ments of the telecommunications planning models
is a document highlighting the strategic choices and the actual usage of these elements.
that are derived from the planning process. The This is accomplished by operationalizing the
document is split into several levels (normally inputs, process factors, and plan features and using
three-strategic, tactical, and operational), based on a mail questionnaire to assess the perceived im-
the time horizon and scope of the plan. The portance of each element and the level of actual
contents of the three levels [5] are: use of each element in the respondent’s organiza-
(a) Long-term plan - tion. The gaps are then assessed through compari-
Objectives of the telecommunications function sons of the perceived importance and actual usage
Role of telecommunications in the organiza- of the various inputs, process elements, and out-
tion puts and hypotheses are tested regarding their
Strategies for supporting the business oper- significance.
ations
Strategies for using telecommunications to gain
competitive advantage Operation&zing the Process Elements
Technology trends and strategies for growth
Long-term strategies to deal with regulatory The operationalization of the input and output
policies factors in the model of Figure 1 is rather straight
(b) Medium-term plan - forward. However, the process elements merit
Demand estimates for different telecommuni- some consideration. These process elements re-
cations services spectively relate the the business, technology,
Project prioritization and implementation plan organizational, and environmental contexts.
Hardware and software acquisition plan
Resource mobilization plan Business Factors
Organizational structure for the function
Human resource plan Although the research literature primarily
(c) Short-term plan ~ highlights the role of IS in gaining competitive
Financial plan advantage [12,23,28], a careful analysis of most of
Project implementation plan the best known applications (e.g., American
Training and education plan Hospital Supply, American Airlines, or Citibank)
258 Research Informarion & Managrmen~

reveal that telecommunications technology was tional systems, local area networks (LAN), and
vital for the success of these applications. The two distributed data bases, make it necessary for in-
technologies should be considered in an integrated tegrating telecommunications planning with IS
manner to obtain a synergistic effect. planning. The problems of incompatibility have
Various strategies may be used to gain competi- been aggravated by changes in technology, lack of
tive advantage - product differentiation, internal standardization, and increase in the number of
cost reduction, improved accessibility to markets, suppliers and variety of products. The new tech-
spawning new businesses, and changing competi- nologies in telecommunications have created the
tive scope [30]. Telecommunications may be used potential for totally different solutions to classical
to reduce cost of internal operations by substitut- communication problems. For instance, optic fiber
ing slow and costly written communication with increases by orders of magnitude the transmission
fast and cheap electronic communication. Tele- capacity, making it possible to send large data
communications may also be used to create a bases or video images across large distances. Simi-
niche or differentiate a product from its competi- larly, there is great potential in ISDN. and organi-
tors, by providing specialized on-line data services zations which are first-movers into this area may
(e.g.. Dun & Bradstreet), by creating better access probably have substantial strategic advantage [27].
to customers through installing terminals in Thus, technology factors play a critical role in the
customer premises etc. process of determining the telecommunications
Telecommunications can alter the industry strategy.
structure and extend market boundaries, as the
technology has the capacity to change the transac-
tion costs in the market [21]. This results in firms Orgunizutional Fuctors
entering totally unrelated businesses based on the
availability of a network infrastructure. Firms have Since telecommunications planning is done in
entered banking from retailing by providing their an organizational context the characteristics of the
own ATM’s in the retail stores (e.g., Publix), or organization influence the planning process. For
travel business from financial services (e.g.. instance. data and voice communications have
American Express). necessarily to be integrated to obtain economies of
The presence of an information channel or a scale [ll]. In some organizations, data communi-
network infrastructure seems to be the key de- cations consume at least SO%, of the telecommuni-
terminant of business success in many informa- cation expense. Many organizations have consid-
tion-intensive industries. The vast potential availa- ered integrating the two functions for strategic
ble to strategically utilize telecommunications advantage and internal efficiency.
makes analysis of “business factors” a critical The telecommunications manager needs to be
element of the planning process. conversant with a broad range of technical skills
to handle both voice and data communication,
have considerable business acumen to deal with
multiple suppliers and evaluate different alterna-
The evolution of technology in the last two tives. have good communication skills to increase
decades has had considerable impact on the plan- the visibility of the function in the organization,
ning process. The major technology issues facing and have the planning skills to plan and operate in
the telecommunication manager are obsolescence, a complex and dynamic environment.
integration, and connectivity [9]. Organizations can The involvement of top management in plan-
respond effectively to obsolescence through long- ning is essential to provide direction and guide-
term forecasting of technology trends and devel- lines for planning [31]. It is also necessary to have
oping a long-term strategy for acquisition that greater user involvement, as applications such as
ensures phased growth. Another major considera- teleconferencing, voice mail, inter-organizational
tion is the integration of data, voice. and video systems etc., require substantial user input in the
communication, which may cause considerable design process.
structural changes in the management of tele- Resource constraints may force plans to be
communications. The growth of inter-organiza- abandoned [lo]. Realistic plans based on resource
Information & Managemenl W.R. King, G. Premkumar / Key Issues m Telecommunrcurrons Planning 259

constraints are better than grandiose plans that It was decided to design the study to capture
are not implementable. both the desired and actual state of planning. The
Finally, strategies for highlighting the role of respondents were asked to indicate the ideal level
telecommunications and increasing its visibility of importance for each of the eighteen planning
within the organization have to be developed to items. They were also asked to indicate the uctual
ensure easier resource mobilization. level of importance attached to each of the plan-
ning item in their organization’s current planning
Environmental Factors process. Both the measurements were made on a
five-point Likert-type scale. The difference be-
The external environment exerts considerable
tween the two states, was operationalized as a
influence on the function as the industry is regu-
measure of the “planning gap” for that item. The
lated in most countries. Although the tele-
gap could occur due to various factors such as
communication industry in the USA is deregu-
organizational policy, lack of communication,
lated, regulatory agencies still exert considerable
clarity of the role of telecommunications in the
influence. In other countries the strategies have to
organization, lack of organizational planning, in-
evolve based on policies in that country. The
appropriate organization structure, and resource
international exchange of data and information
constraints.
through a global communications network con-
The respondent also evaluated the quality of
stitutes an important element of world trade and
the output document - the telecommunications
future economic growth. However, countries exert
plan. The major features of the output plan were
considerable control over transborder flow of in-
identified from the literature and the respondents
formation [4]. This importantly affects the oper-
were asked to indicate the degree of importance
ations of multi-national corporations, who must
they attached to each of its features. They were
develop strategies and initiate multi-lateral negoti-
also asked the actual level of detail of each feature
ations with foreign governments to get over this
existing in their organization’s plan.
serious constraint and ensure a free flow of infor-
The survey was administered to 225 practicing
mation within their organization.
telecommunication managers and 63 valid re-
Various standards are evolving for products
sponses were obtained for a response rate of about
and systems. The adoption of these standards is
35%.
based on a strong interplay of different market
forces that need to be constantly monitored. It is
essential that all systems be evaluated against
Data Analysis & Results
these developing standards to avoid potential in-
compatibility.
The major characteristics of the sample are
shown in Tuble I.
Research Design Most organizations have started carrying out
long-term telecommunications planning in the last
In order to identify the major issues in tele- four years. The modal time horizon for planning is
communications planning, a field survey of tele- five years for 45% of the sample, with 27% of them
communication managers in large US corpora- above, and 28% below five years. Although 81% of
tions was undertaken. Initially a set of 24 items, the respondents plan for both voice and data
measuring the four major planning process factors communication, only about half of them did this
were identified based on a literature review. After planning as a part of the IS planning exercise.
a pilot study, a set of eighteen items were selected This either indicates that they are not aware of the
and used in the questionnaire. benefits of integration or organizational con-
During the pilot study, it was found that most straints inhibit the integration of the two planning
managers have an idealized set of planning objec- process.
tives they wish to achieve, based on their percep- Table 2 provides a brief summary of the level
tion of good planning practice. However, various of participation of various functional representa-
organizational constraints force them to settle for tives in the planning process. From the table it can
a planning process that is different from the ideal. be seen that planning is still a departmental ex-
260 Reseurch Information & Manugement

Table 1 Table 3
Sample Characteristtcs. * Key Planning Factors - Degree of Importance.

1. Industr?: giwq 1. Integration of IS planning with telecommunications plan-

Education 41.6
ning.
Manufacturing 27.0
2. Network analysis and management.
Transportation 3.2
3. Analysis of resource availability within orgamzation for
Wholesale 3.2
implementation of plan.
Banking 3.2
4. Top management involvement in the planning process.
Government I.6
5. Exploring use of telecommunications for internal cost re-
Other 14.2
duction.
2. Time horizon for plunnrng 6. Assessment of hardware and software market.
l-2 Years 12.0
334 Years 16.0
5 Yeara 45.0
> 5 Years 27.0
than four on the five-point Likert-type scale (l-un-
3. A4aturrty
of plunmg important, 5important). Some of the factors that
l-2 Years 42.0
have been responded to be important for IS plan-
3-4 Years 36.0
5 & above 22.0
ning are important here too. The first key issue is
the integration of IS planning with telecommuni-
4. It~tegratronof IS md Telecomm plannrng cations planning; a similar issue has also been
Integrated planning 45 .o
55.0
highlighted by IS professionals as a key issue in IS
Separate planning
management [2]. It seems that the merging of the
5. Scope of planning two fields on the technology front is yet to be
Voice communication only 13.0
6.0
reflected in organizational level planning.
Data communication only
Voice and data communication x1 .o A detailed analysis of the telecommunications
network using optimization models can often re-
* All data are presented in percentage.
sult in considerable cost savings. But the network
also needs to be evaluated for other criteria, such
ercise, with some participation from top manage-
as compatibility. maintainability. conformance to
ment, users, and suppliers. The strategic use of
standards, and reliability. So it is not surprising
telecommunications makes it essential for top
that. unlike the IS arena where “operations and
management and business planners to be actively
analysis” does not play so important a role, the
involved in telecommunications planning. The high
management of the network has become a critical
level of participation by suppliers can be attri-
function. This may suggest that telecommunica-
buted to past practice where the network supplier
tions has become a more integral part of day to
did much of the technical planning for the
day business operations than has the traditional
customer.
IS.
Resource constraints seem to be a major issue
Key Planning Issues
in implementation of telecommunication plans. A
The six key planning items are shown in Tuble major criterion for evaluation is their implementa-
3. All the six items had an average score of more bility [15]: grandiose plans will gather dust if the
resources required for implementation are not
Table 2 provided. A major handicap faced by the tele-
Degree of Participation in Telecommunications Planning. communications manager is that some of the be-
IIigh Medium Low None
nefits are intangible and non-financial (e.g., im-
proved response time), and difficult to cost-justify
Top management 31 25 28 16
Telecommunicationb 78 9 1 12
to top management or a project evaluation com-
User 18 35 31 16 mittee.
Staff Planners 10 23 22 45 Another important planning issue is involve-
Consultants 9 19 22 50 ment of top management in planning; this has
Suppliers 13 29 3s 22
been emphatically stressed in IS planning [31].
Common Carriers 3 25 38 34
Top management involvement ensures better di-
Information & Management W. R. King, G. Premkumar / Kq I.w~s in Telecommumcations Plannmg 261

Table 4 Analysis of Input Gap

Key Planning Factors - Extent of Actual Usage.

1. Exploring use of telecommunications for internal cost re-

The “input gap” is defined as the difference
duction. between the perceived importance and actual usage
2. Network analysis and management. of information inputs (organizational goals and
3. Analysis of resource availability for implementation of plan. objectives) in the planning process. This link has
4. Pricing structure analysis.
traditionally been weak, in spite of the emphasis
5. Assessment of technological environment.
given to it by researchers [13,33]. In IS planning, it
6. Assessment of hardware and software market.
has been found to be one of the major problems
[18]. The new role of telecommunications makes it
essential to minimize the input gap. A null hy-
pothesis was used to test its existence.

Hypothesis I. There is no difference between the

rection for planning, improved communication,
perceived degree of importance and actual use of
greater acceptance, and easier implementation.
information inputs (organizational goals and ob-
Telecommunications has a great potential for
jectives) in the planning process.
reducing the cost of internal operations and can
be used as a generic business strategy for gaining Paired t-tests were carried out to test the hypothe-
competitive advantage [29]. While the second issue sis. The hypothesis was rejected at a significance
in Table 3 identified areas for cost reduction with level of less than 0.005. This indicates that there
respect to the external environment through better may be problems in linking the organizational
network analysis and management, the fifth issue goals with the planning process. Various mecha-
deals with a systematic analysis of internal oper- nisms, such as, participation in strategic planning
ations from a business perspective to locate areas [19], use of steering committee [25]. and top
for cost reduction using telecommunications tech- management involvement [31] that have been used
nology. Assessment of the hardware and software in IS area to improve this linkage may be used in
market to ensure compatibility and planned telecommunications also.
growth is also a key issue in planning.
The six major factors that have been considered Analysis of PIunning Gap
in actual use are shown in Table 4. A careful
analysis of the factors indicate two broad themes The “Planning gap” is defined as the difference
_ cost and technology. The first four items relate between the perceived importance and actual usage
to cost management while the last two items relate of the planning factors in the planning process. A
to technology management. In the past, planning null hypothesis was formulated to test its ex-
mainly involved forecasting of demand using sim- istence.
ple trend analysis, developing annual budgets,
Hypothesis 2. There is no difference between the
justifying them based on benefits derived from
perceived degree of importance and the actual
reduced cost of internal operations, and operating
usage of the planning items in the planning pro-
within the budgetary constraints using techniques
cess.
that reduce the cost. The predominant emphasis
on cost management indicates a general continua- Paired t-tests were conducted on all the planning
tion of past practice. Since the function has been items to test this hypothesis. For all the items, the
subject to rapid changes in technology, technology null hypothesis was rejected at a significance level
planning and assessment of market are major of less than 0.005. This signifies that a planning
planning activities. Surprisingly, business factors gap actually exists and needs to be bridged through
that are extensively quoted in the literature, have better methodology.
not surfaced as important planning factors in The two issues that have the most significant
practice. Perhaps, there is a time lag between planning gap are top management involvement in
research and practice, and telecommunication planning and exploring the use of telecommunica-
planners are yet to evolve mechanisms to incorpo- tions for strategic business advantage. Considering
rate these factors in their planning process. that strategic telecommunication planning is a rel-
262 Research lnformarron & Munapwmt

atively new phenomenon, in most organizations it Analysis of Planning Across Organizutions

can be expected that the involvement will be ini-
tially low, but the potential benefits that accrue Comparative analysis of organizations who have
from detailed planning will initiate greater in- conducted long-term telecommunications plan-
volvement of top management in the planning ning with those who have not conducted it reveal
process. several interesting facts. We divided the sample
The second item, the use of telecommunication into two groups: long-term and short-term tele-
systems for strategic advantage, is a relatively new communication planners. 55% of the sample had
concept that is yet to be explored fully in organi- carried out long-term telecommunications plan-
zations. The planning gap seems to indicate that ning exercises. Grouped t-tests were carried out to
telecommunication managers understand the test the following hypothesis;
potential of using telecommunications for stra-
tegic advantage but that organizational inhibitors Hypothesis 4. The input gap between the two
prevent them from attaining the ideal state [16]. groups are equal.
Most organizations are only now realizing the
Hypothesis 5. The planning gap between the two
potential of telecommunications and it may take
groups are equal.
some time before it percolates down to the plan-
ning process. Unfortunately, lack of planning Hypothesis 6. The output gap between the two
methodologies to identify such potential appli- groups are equal.
cations is a serious handicap for planners.
Hypothesis 4 was rejected at a significance level
Analysis of Output Gap of 0.001, indicating that the planners had a better
understanding of organizational goals and objec-
The “output gap” is defined as the difference tives and integrated them in the planning process.
between the perceived importance of a particular Tuble 5 lists the factors for which hypothesis 5
feature and the extent of detail of that feature was rejected at a significance level of 0.01. It can
present in the plan. A null hypothesis was for- be seen from the table that long-term planners
mulated to test its existence. address most of the important planning issues
identified in Table 3. Planning seems to result in
Hypothesis 3. There is no difference between the
closer integration of IS planning with tele-
perceived degree of importance and actual extent
communication planning, better identification of
of detail of that feature in the output plan docu-
opportunities for using telecommunication to gain
ment,
strategic advantage, and better assessment of re-
Paired t-tests were conducted to test this hy- source availability. Some of the peripheral issues,
pothesis. It was found that for all the items the such as increasing visibility within the organiza-
null hypothesis had to be rejected at a significance tion, analysis of personal skills, and internal anal-
level of less than 0.001. ysis of strengths and weaknesses are performed

Table 5
Planning Factors - Hypothesis 5.

Planning Factor Significance

Level

1. Exploring use of telecommunication for internal cost reduction 0.008

2. Integration of information systems planning with telecommunications planning 0.001
3. Exploring use of telecommunication for strategic business advantage 0.000
4. Assessment of training needs of telecommunication personnel & users 0.001
5. Analysis of resource availability for implementation of plan 0.010
6. Network analysis and management 0.004
7. Analysis of pricing structure in networks for cost optimization 0.010
8. Increasing visibility of telecomm function in organization 0.000
9. Analysis of internal strength and weaknesses 0.000
10. Assessment of personnel skills available in-house and in market 0.006
Information & Management W.R. King G. Premkumar / Key Issues in Telecommunications Planning 263

better as the planning exercise provides a structure Conclusion

for carrying out such analysis.
We present a conceptual model for tele-
Table 6 lists the factors for which hypothesis 6
communications planning. The variables in the
was rejected at a significance level of 0.01. An
model were then analyzed in detail and various
analysis of the table indicates that telecommunica-
planning issues were highlighted. Based on this
tions planning has significant effects on features
analysis, a set of items measuring the variables of
related to the long-term plan document but has
the model were identified and formulated into a
very little effect on the medium and short term
survey. The survey was administered to practicing
plan documents.
telecommunication managers to determine the
items that are perceived to be important in plan-
Analysis of Planning Factors & Output Factors ning and their actual usage in planning: the plan
features perceived to be important and the actual
We also carried out an aggregate analysis of the level of detail of each of these features in their
planning and output factors. Based on the initial current plan document.
categorization, the eighteen planning items were Input, planning, and output gaps were defined
categorized into four major factors - business (4 as the difference between the perceived impor-
items), technology (4 items), organization (7 items), tance and actual usage of various planning inputs,
and environment (3 items). The output items were planning factors, and plan features respectively.
categorized into three major levels - long-term, The input, planning and output gap were found to
medium-term, and short-term. Null hypotheses be significant for most of the items, indicating the
were formulated to test for the difference in the necessity to refine the planning process to bridge
planning gap and output gap between long-term these gaps.
and short-term planners. The relative rankings of the planning factors
according to their degree of importance and actual
Hypothesis 7. The planning gap for the four usage revealed some interesting patterns. While
planning factors is equal for the two groups. factors that were perceived to be important in-
cluded the integration of IS planning with tele-
Hypothesis 8. The output gap for the three out-
put factors is equal for the two groups. communications planning and top management
involvement, actual factors that were considered
The planning gap between the two groups was were mainly cost or technology oriented. Little
found to be different for all the four planning business orientation was found in the planning
factors at a significance level less than 0.005, process, which is a cause for concern, especially
thereby rejecting Hypothesis 7. The output gap considering its new role in the organization.
was found to be different in the long-term plan for It was found that for all major planning factors
the two groups at a significance level of less than (i.e., Business, Technology, Organization, and En-
0.001 and insignificant for the other two levels. vironment). there was significant difference in the
This confirms the fact that short term planners planning gap between organizations which have
lack a long-term focus in their plans. carried out long-term telecommunications plan-

Table 6
Output Factors - Hypothesis 6.

Output Factor Significance

Level
1. A statement of objectives for the telecommunication function 0.000
2. An overall telecommunications network architecture 0.005
3. A forecast of technology trends and guidelines for adopting the technology 0.000
4. A forecast of the future of the telecommunications industry environment 0.010
6. Detailed implementation plan with project implementation schedules 0.007
7. Alternative strategies for achieving the objectives of the plan 0.014
264 Research It~formution & Munugement

ning and those that have not carried it out. It was I31 Cash, J.I.. and Konsynski, B.R.. “IS Redraws Competitive
Boundaries”. Hurcvrrd Business Rervewa. March-April
also found that there was significant difference in
1985, pp. 134-139.
the output gap for the long-term plan between the
[41 Chandran, K.. Phatak, A., and Sambhraiya, “Transborder
two groups. data flow: Implications for Multinational Corporations”.
This study has identified some interesting points Busirless Horixns, November-December 1987.
that are of relevance to the organizational manager [51 Cleland, D.I.. and King. W.R., S_vstem Analysr.s and Pro-
/ect Manugement (3rd Ed.), McGraw Hill, 1983.
and telecommunications practioner.
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