WHAT IS PLANNING?

Planning is the systematic process of establishing a need and then working out the best way to meet the
need, within a strategic framework that enables you to identify priorities and determines your
operational principles. Planning means thinking about the future so that you can do something about it
now. This doesn’t necessarily mean that everything will go according to plan. It probably won’t. But if
you have planned properly, your ability to adjust, without compromising your overall purpose, will be
that much greater.

How do Managers Plan

1. Defining goals and objectives determining where you stand to set goals and objectives

2. Developing premise regarding future condition

3. Analyzing and choosing action alternative

4. Implementing the plan

5. Evaluating results and taking corrections

Basic Steps in Management Planning Process

We should always mark in our mind that an effective management planning process includes the
evaluation of long – term objectives of an organization.

Definition of Term: Management Planning is a scheme of evaluating the organization’s goal and
formulating reliable, realistic and detailed plan of actions to meet its goal.

Creating management plan considers both short and long – term organization’s strategies. Basic
steps on formulation includes road mapping which outlines each task that needs to be accomplish to
meet the overall aims.

1. Establishing the organization’s goal

- this first step requires the overview of each goal, including the reason for its selection
and the foreseen outcomes of goal – related projects. Possible organization’s objectives are
recount in quantitative or qualitative manner.
Example: The goal of the company is to increase profits by 25 % on the half of the year.

2. Identify Resources
- each goal must include financial and human resource projections upon its completion.
Example: A management plan may identify the number of possible sales people and how will
it cost to meet the goal of increasing he sales to 25 %.

3. Establish – goal related Tasks

 - Each goal should have tasks and projects aligned to its achievement.
Example: if the goal is to raise the profit by 25% then the manager is required to outline the
needed action to meet the objective such as increasing the number of sale staffs and
developing an advance sales training strategy.

4. Prioritize Goals and Tasks

- prioritizing goals and task simple means arranging objectives in accordance to their
importance in the organization. The most import task should be prioritized in theoretical
manner. This process also oversees the stages or steps essential for goals achievement.
Example: If the objective is to increase sales by 25% and at the same time increase the number
of sale staff then the organization should fulfill the task in chronological manner.

5. Crate assignments and Timelines

- As organizations prioritizes projects, then it must establish timelines to smoothly
complete a task given and allocate a specific person on that given task. Well, this portion of
planning should look for the ability and capability of staff to complete a given tasks.
Example: The sales manager of a company is given a monthly earning quota to stay on track
for the goal of profit maximization such increasing sales to 25%.

6. Establish Evaluation Method

- management planning process should establish an approach for evaluation of the
progress regarding the completion of goal in a given time period. One way to do so, is
requesting monthly progress and accomplishments from department heads.

7. Identify Alternative Courses of Action

- Best laid plans can sometimes fail or ruin the whole foreseen objectives due to
unexpected events. So, a management plan should include contingency plan or the alternative
one if the main plan is unattainable or failed to carry out on achieving goals.

Benefits of Planning

In today’s environment planning is beneficial in achieving goals and faced the

uncertainty of a constantly changing environment.

Some of the benefits include the following:

1. Planning provides a guide for action. Plans can direct everyone’s actions toward desired
outcomes. When actions are coordinated and focused on specific outcomes, they are much
more effective.
2. Planning improves resource utilization. Resources are always scarce in organizations, and
managers need to make sure the resources they have are used effectively. Planning helps
managers determine where resources are most needed so they can be allocated where they
will provide the most benefit.
3. Plans provide motivation and commitment. People are not motivated when they do not
have clear goals and do not know what is expected of them. Planning reduces uncertainty
and indicates what everyone is expected to accomplish. People are more likely to work
toward a goal they know and understand.
4. Plans set performance standards. Planning defines desired outcomes as well as mileposts to
define progress. These provide a standard for assessing when things are progressing and
when they need correction.
5. Planning allows flexibility. Through the goal-setting process, managers identify key resources
in the organization as well as critical factors outside the organization that need to be
monitored. When changes occur, managers are more likely to detect them and know how to
deploy resources to respond.

Planning can classify on different bases which are discussed below:

Strategic and Functional Planning.

In strategic or corporate planning, the top management determines the general objectives of
the enterprise and the steps necessary to accomplish them in the light of resources currently
available and likely to be available in the future. Functional planning, on the other hand, is
planning that covers functional areas like production, marketing, finance, and purchasing.
(Middle level).

Long-range and short-range planning.

Long-range planning sets the long-term goals of the enterprise and then proceeds to formulate
specific plans for attaining these goals. It involves an attempt to anticipate, analyze, and make
decisions about basic problems and issues which have significance reaching well beyond the
present operating horizon of the enterprise.
Short-range planning, on the other hand, is concerned with the determination of short-term
activities. To accomplish long-term objectives. Short-range planning relates to a relatively short
period and has to be consistent with the long-range plans. Operational plans are generally
related to short periods.

Administrative and Operational Planning.

Administrative planning is finishing by the middle-level management which provides the
foundation for operative plans. Operative planning, on the other hand, is finishing by the lower-
level managers to put the administrative plans into action.