Managerial Planning

By
Ratnam Srivastava
10MBA02
What is Planning ?
Planning in organizations and public policy is both the organizational process
of creating and maintaining a plan; and the psychological process of thinking
about the activities required to create a desired goal on some scale. As such, it
is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior. This thought process is
essential to the creation and refinement of a plan, or integration of it with other
plans, that is, it combines forecasting of developments with the preparation of
scenarios of how to react to them. An important, albeit often ignored aspect of
planning, is the relationship it holds with forecasting. Forecasting can be
described as predicting what the future will look like, whereas planning predicts
what the future should look like.
What should a Plan be?
A plan should be a realistic view of the expectations. Depending upon the
activities, a plan can be long range, intermediate range or short range. It is the
framework within which it must operate. For management seeking external
support, the plan is the most important document and key to growth.
Preparation of a comprehensive plan will not guarantee success, but lack of a
sound plan will almost certainly ensure failure.

Planning can be summarized in 3 easy steps:

1. Choosing a destination,
2. Valuating alternative routes,
3. Deciding the specific course of your plan.
Importance of the Planning
process
A plan can play a vital role in helping to avoid mistakes or recognize hidden
opportunities. Preparing a satisfactory plan of the organization is essential. The
planning know the business and that they have thought through its development
in terms of products, management, finances, and most importantly, markets and
competition.

Planning helps in forecasting the future, makes the future visible to some extent.
It bridges between where we are and where we want to go. Planning is looking
ahead.
Planning Process
1. Identifying Opportunities

2. Establishing Objectives

3. Planning Area

4. Identifying Alternatives

5. Evaluating Alternatives

6. Implementing Plans
Types of Planning
1. Corporate and functional Planning

2. Strategic Planning

3. Long Term / Short Term Planning

4. Proactive and Reactive Planning

5. Formal and Informal Planning

Dimensions of Planning
1. Coverage of Activities

2. Importance of Contents

3. Time Period involved

4. Approach adopted

5. Degree of Formalization
Planning to Effective Planning
1. Problem of rapid change

2. Internal Problems
• Psychological problems
• Policy and procedural problems
• Capital Investment

3. External problems
• Political Climate
• Technological changes
• Trade unions

4. Time and cost factors

How to make Planning Effective
1. Linked to Long Term Objectives

2. Direction for Action

3. Consistent

4. Feasible

5. Simplicity

6. Flexible
Thank You