Management Responsibilities UOW IACT418/918 Spring 2001 Bob Brown

A Business within a Business The telecommunications department has the same responsibilities and functions as the parent organisation There are many phases that a telecommunications groups goes through

Group phases Operations phase Group tolerated as a group of “mechanics” installing and moving phones and modems Information utility phase The value of communication is recognised. Telecommunications and data are viewed like electrical power Coordinated business resource Full potential of the group is recognised

Operations Phase Concerned with providing reliable phone, fax, modem services within the firm Central planning is rare

Operations Phase Responsibilities for communications is scattered amongst several people and budgets Data and voice communications is generally separate People take it for granted that phones will work – very little strategy required

The Internal Utility Telecommunications is a technical function Attention focused on providing facilities as needed and on controlling costs Largely reactive strategies

The Internal Utility Costs controlled by tracking and charging them out Recognition that integrated voice and data communications could be integrated and reduce management overheads Complex to plan, implement, operate and advance

The Coordinated Business Resource Management enlightenment Top level has to recognise that telecommunications is not just an internal utility or an expensive subset of admin Part of the business’ infrastructure E-business is an extreme example of this Technology has to be as stable as a utility before you can use it in non-utilitarian ways

Functions of the Telecommunications Department Design and Implementation of new facilities and services Network operations and technical support Administrative support Moves, adds and changes Preparing and publishing the telephone directory Registering users Training users Maintaining procedures Telephone operators

Responsibilites Basic responsibilities of general management can be applied Staffing Organising Planning Directing Controlling Most companies have gotten along without considering the management skills and functions in the telecommunications department

Organising The grouping of people to accomplish the mission of the department Large companies - many specialists Smaller companies - generalists Structure may depend on the maturity of the organisation

Organising As the company becomes more dependant on its telecommunications capability the telecommunications department usually becomes larger and more structured Considerations Overlap with other functional units Tasks of employees vs. contractors/vendors

Three Levels of Planning Operational Day-to-day operations of the organisation and its resource usage Tactical Longer timespan Particular attention paid to resource acquisition for future operations Strategic Charter the direction of the organisation

Directing Ensuring that the mission and plans of the telecommunications organisation are executed on a timely and accurate basis Specify the mission Ensure everyone understands it Set specific goals for each group/individual

Controlling Ensuring that performance is taking place according to the plans Financial controls  Expenses – budget on fiscal year for expenses  Capital – plan for money spent on assets  Cost – invoices, new purchases  Chargeback – internal billing for services Quality control  Standards of performance, agreed to by user Response times, availability of services etc.