Telecommunications Regulation, Regulatory Behavior and its Impact A Systems View

This paper examines the case of telecommunications sector regulation in New Zealand, and does so by providing a constructive illustration of the mutually informing use of systems methodologies and alternative systems representational tools as a means of building understanding of the dilemmas faced by regulators. In doing so, the paper not only seeks to provide a means of providing an appropriate decision-making platform for regulatory and industry decision makers, but also complements other work that seeks to harness the use of systems methodologies in addressing problematic situations. The paper highlights the importance of regulators distinguishing between the short-term 'local' outcomes that arise from their actions, and the systems behaviour that may be described as the unpredictable or unanticipated 'emergent' properties of the system that evolve over time.