STRATEGIC PLANNING IN LARGE COMPANIES

A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED (NITEL) ENUGU ZONAL HEADQUARTERS

EGBOGU, CHINELO SALOME.

ABSTRACT

Planning has evolved an indispensable weapon to address the increasing competition for telecommunication services, nationally and internationally. While competition has always existed among telecommunication industries is because of the fungibility of their product and the homogeneity of their services.

The various issues involved in the effective planning of the telecommunication industries in Nigeria are the main focus of this research. Planning in the telecommunication industries has below the restore confidence, creates convenience and has also made communication easier for customers or subscribers.

Telecommunication industries in Nigeria are facing some problems, which Linder sound planning in the industry. These problems are both internal and external. While those internal problems can be manipulated the external problems posed by the external environment cannot probably be controlled.

The research on strategic planning in large companies highlighted the reasons for poor planning in most companies prominent among which include:

The inability of the management of the company to see planning as embedded in all areas of the achievement of the objectives set for the company. Also the inability of the management to make every staff of the industry planning oriented among every other factors.

To achieve the goal of this study, therefore, questionnaires were printed and distributed and the feedback received. Interviews were also conducted and personal observation was equal made. The results were encouraging as both senior and junior staff responded positively, except for issues that some of the staff felt would amount to disclosure of their company’s affairs. Data, both primary and secondary were utilized for paper analysis.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The chapter gives background information to the subject matter of the study – strategic planning in large companies and also gives clear items in the statement of the problems, objectives of the study, significance of the study, scope of the study, methodology, limitation of the study and scheme of the chapter.

1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

For a plan to be out of date after one week of initiating it, is very easy as a result of the changing nature of business. But the process which initiated the plan, don’t go out of data easily, when carefully convinced and controlled. Planning consists essentially of deceiving in advance, what you want to do and how you are going to do it. It involves making deliberate preparation in the present based on empirical and analyze data of the and present state of affairs to ensure that within available resources and those can be made available goals are pursed and realized through clearly mapped out actions.

Furthermore, Osuagwu (1998) stressed that planning is an inescapable part of all human activity and can be defined as the establishment of objectives, and the formulation, evaluation and selection of the policies, strategic, tactics, and action required to achieve these objectives.

Ezegbe (1991) believes that planning is a continuity administrative and managerial activity. He sees planning as a service to decision making in that provides support and analysis in the process of selecting objectives and policies, which allowing for rational consideration of administrations action in implanting policies.

David (1986) asserts that manager perform five basic activities planning, organizing, motivating, staffing, and controlling. Although planning is commonly the most neglected task of a manager’s job. The only certain thing about future of an organization is change, and planning is the essential bridge between the present and the future. Planning is the cerner stone of effective strategy for formulation. It is also essential for successful strategy implementation and strategy evaluation, because organizing motivating, staffing and controlling activities are dependent upon good planning.

Just as planning, many definitions have been given to strategy. Oxford dictionary defined strategy as skill in managing any affair. Titles (1963) defined strategy as the set of goals and major policies of an organization. While Onwuchekwa (1993:55) quoted chandler (1962) defining “strategy as the determination the basic long-term goals and objectives in an enterprises and the adoption of the action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out the goals. A strategy creates unique directions for the organization in terms of its many objectives and it guides the development of the resources used to move the organization towards those objectives.

In fact, strategy planning as taylor and Hawkins (1972. 380) defined is the determination and implementation of cooperate business strategy. In the views of stoner (1982) strategic planning is the process of selecting an organizations goals determining the policies and strategic programmes necessary to achieve specific objectives emirates to the goals; and establishing the method necessary to assure that the policies and strategic programmes are implemented. Strategic planning is of great importance to a business organization because it hopes to define its aims, which gives it the direction to go and purpose. Due to this, an organization improves it functioning and becomes more responsive to the dynamic changes in the business environment.

The strategic planning process can be thought of as a narrowing process. The process beings with identification and recognition of the philosophy and mission of organizations. Jackson and Mathis (1991):49) believe that the first step addresses the most fundamental questions about an organization.                        

vWhy does the organization exist?

vWhat unique contribution does it make?

vWhat are the underlying values and motivation key managers and owners?

Therefore, strategic decisions involve the determination of board direction and the development of comprehension plans to attain those objectives. The formulation of strategy and goals is often, considered the exclusive role of top management.

At this point, it is important that we look into the strategic planning positions of the Nigerian telecommunications (NITEL) headquarters, Enugu. NITEL as everybody knows operates mainly in the area of communication. The exchange of information between one person to another or form one place to another. This is done a short or long distance by the use of cables cum telephones,