Title: Information technology planning in manufacturing industry: an empirical study

Authors: Albert L. Harris

Addresses: Department of Decision Sciences, John A. Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina 28608, USA

Abstract: As information technology (IT) evolves from a limited perspective to the backbone of all computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) activities, it is becoming more strategic to the long term success of manufacturing organisations. This evolution makes the planning for the effective and efficient acquisition, assimilation, and utilisation of information technology especially important for manufacturing organisations. Despite the perceived importance and need for IT planning, the state of knowledge of current IT planning practices in manufacturing organisations is relatively minimal. This paper reports on a survey of IT planning practices in seventy-six manufacturing organisations. The results of the study show actual planning practices focus on short-term financial/budget and hardware acquisition planning, while the perceived need is more toward identifying the organisation|s overall needs and linking the IT plan to the organisation|s strategic plan. The paper also explores some of the benefits and inhibitors of IT planning within the manufacturing environment.

Keywords: information technology; strategic planning; IT interface; manufacturing interface; computer integrated manufacturing; CIM; manufacturing industry; IT planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.1995.062397

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 1995 Vol.8 No.1/2, pp.12 - 20

Published online: 05 Jun 2014 *

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