Planning

Essay text:

Introduction • Strategy is the action that allows realization of long-term vision and goals • Planning is a process that attempts to coordinate the deployment of resources over time • Planning horizon is a key differentiation between strategic, tactical, and operational planning Role of Network Services in Strategic Planning • For some organizations, network technology will be central to the core mission • Network equipment or services company • Common carrier or ISP • Organization focusing on network-based deliver of products and services • For some organizations, network technology will be a utility service • The number of organizations for which networking is strategic is increasing Corporate strategic planning was popularized in the 1960s • Outgrowth of Frederick Taylor's Scientific Management • The goal is to find the one best strategy • Profession of strategic planner assumes that planning can be coordinated independent of content • Assumes that the thorough analysis of hard data leads to insights • The planning process is highly structured Classical strategic planning has not been as successful as originally envisioned • It ignores the central role of vision • It is too analytical and formalized • The structured process often results in the exclusion of important players • It is based on principles of statistical forecasting that are often unreliable • It is based on "hard" data and ignores "soft" data that is difficult to quantify • strategic planning, strategic thinking, and strategy making are not synonymous Information Technology Planning: Is it strategic? • IT is increasingly a key competitive differentiator • IT touches everyone within an organization in some fashion (i...