Planning
PLANNING
- It is the essential management function that includes the formulation of one
or more detailed plans to attain an ideal balance of needs or demands with
the available resources.
- (it’s likewise referred to as forethought) it is the method of thinking about
and organizing activities necessary to attain the desired goal.
- is a primary function of management that defines and outlines the structure
to be followed by the business
and PLANNING
- is identifying in advance, what to do, who is to do, how to do, and when to
do
- links the gap between where we are and where we want to go
- gives target and allocates resources in an organized manner
- serves as a standard for control
- is a mental process and intellectual exercise
- can be long-term and short-term
- could be strategic, tactical, and operational
TYPES OF PLAN AT DIFFERENT LEVELS
● STRATEGIC PLANS
● TACTICAL PLANS
● OPERATIONAL PLANS
● CONTINGENCY PLANS
Strategic Plan
- is a process in which an organization's leaders define their vision for the
future and identify their organization's goals and objectives
- a high-level overview of the organization
- long term plan (typically 5 years)
- forward looking
Tactical Plans
- support tactical plans by converting them into specific plans significant to
a distinct area of the organization
- tactics used to achieve the strategy
- short-term plan (typically 1 year or less)
- includes specific goals , budget, and resources
Operational Plans
- take a seat at the lowest of the totem pole; they are the plans created by
frontline or low-level managers
- a practical document which outlines the key activities and targets an
organization will undertake during a period of time, usually one year.
Contingency Plans
- permit a manager to be flexible and change-savvy by presenting an alternative
course of action, which may be applied if an original plan fails to provide the
predicted result.
- also known colloquially as Plan B, is a plan devised for an outcome other
than in the usual (expected) plan
PARTS OF PLAN:
● Objectives or Goals – objectives are the prime parts of the plans in the
definition, we have stated that planning involves the determination of
desired future events.
● Mission – It is the purpose or reason for the existence of an organization.
● Long-Range or Short-Range Objectives – Long-range objectives
generally go beyond the current fiscal year of the organization. Then
short-range objectives can be set to help achieve the long-range
objectives.
● Program – It is the actual course of action intended to bring out the
desired objective. To improve the quality level of a product, a company
may institute a quality awareness program.
● Policies – These are the basic guidelines of action. They indicated what is
permitted and not permitted.
● Procedures – procedures are a series of related steps expressed in
chronological order for a specific purpose.
● Rules – rules require specific and definite actions for a given situation.
These are very specific actions to be taken with respect to a situation.
● Budget – a plan stated in financial terms is called a budget. It is an
estimate of income and expenditures for a future period.
● Philosophy – the values and beliefs an organization holds as the guiding
light is the company’s philosophy.
● Strategy – it is the method of shaping a company’s future and involves
determining an organization’s long-run direction.
OTHER TYPES OF PLAN:
● Standing plans – serve as guidelines for the action of management. It
brings consistency to the operations. E.g., A bank granting loans for house
construction.
● Long-range plans – strategic plans of the organization take time to
achieve it. Assumptions must be made about uncontrollable and
controllable variables.
● Single-use plans – designed for a specific purpose/period.E.g., Budget
● Intermediate plans – follow once the long-range plans are formulated.
Made for the realization of long-range goals and covers 1-3 year period
● Short-range plans – provide guidelines for day to day activities; covers up
to a year.
● Marketing plans – the objective of increasing their present market
structure and developing new products, are converted into operational
plans.
● Production plans – focus on producing the desired amount of goods
demanded at the market. Involves routing (path for the flow of production),
scheduling(time table), and dispatching signals flow of time and delays.
● Tactical plans – deal with the determination of short-term-specific
utilization of an organization’s resources in achieving strategic goals.
● Functional plans – plans can also be classified based on functions. The
most commonly encountered types are sales and marketing, personnel,
and production plans.
