PLANNING

UNIT 3 – QUARTER 2
 NATURE OF
TYPES OF PLANS
PLANNING

PLANNING AT
PLANNING
DIFFERENT

Objectives LEVELS IN THE

FIRM
TOOLS AND
TECHNIQUES

DECISION
MAKING

Presentation Title
2
PLANNING
❑ Planning is the process of thinking
before doing.
❑ Planning is the most basic of all
managerial functions. It is the process
by which managers establish goal,
define methods and think of strategies
by which these goals are to be attained.
❑ It is also considered as a conceptual
framework of management.

3
According to Weihrich and Koontz,
"Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the
actions to achieve them; it requires decision making, which is
choosing from among future alternative course of action."
According to Newman,
"Planning is deciding in advance, what to is to be done; that is a
plan is a projected course of action." So planning is thinking
ahead as to the future course of action. It is also acceptable to
say that planning is the process of thinking before doing.
According to Henry Fayol,
He defines planning as "deciding the best alternatives among
others to perform different managerial operations to achieve the
pre-determined goals."
Management has to plan for a long-range and short-range future
direction by looking ahead into the future, by estimating and
evaluating the future behavior of the environment.

Plans have two basic components; Goals and Action plans.

Goals represents an end statement, the targets, and
results that managers hope to achieve. While the
Action plans, represent the means by which an
organization goes ahead to attain its goals.
 Planning is not an easy
task; it involves intellectual
PLANNING thinking and mental activity
to be able to plan
effectively.
Nature of Planning:
❑ Planning is goal oriented. A manager cannot do planning unless the goal
is specified.
❑ Every step specifies an action plan to be able to attain the desire goal.
❑ Planning is futuristic in nature. Planning means looking ahead.
❑ Planning exists in all managerial activities; it is the primary function of
managers at all levels.
❑ Planning is not a guess word; it is based on facts and information.
❑ Planning is flexible; it is dynamic in a process capable of adjustments by
the need and requirement of the situation.
 Types of Plans
Planning is a part of management concerned with
creating procedures, rules and guidelines for achieving a
stated objective. Planning is carried out, and managers
need to create broad objectives and mission statements
as well. Below are the three key types of plans are
employed within an organizational framework:
Types of Plans:
1. STRATEGIC PLAN (What)
Definition: High-level overview encompassing the entire business, including vision, mission,
corporate objectives, and values.
Timeframe: Typically spans two, three, five, or ten years, guiding long-term decisions.
Components:
Vision: Envisions the future state of the organization, defining where it aims to be in the
coming years.
Mission: Provides a realistic overview of the company's aims and ambitions, answering the
question of why the company exists and what it aims to achieve.
Values: Defines the principles and ideals that inspire the organization and shape its
reputation. How do you want to inspire the world? How do you want to be
known?
Managers at every level will turn to the strategic plan to guide their decisions. It will also
influence the culture within an organization and how it interacts with customers.
Thus, the strategic plan must be forward looking and flexible. This answer the question "what"
Types of Plans:
2. TACTICAL PLAN (How)
Definition: The tactical plan outlines the specific tactics and actions the
organization will employ to achieve the goals set in the strategic plan.

Timeframe: Short-term, typically less than one year, breaking down broader
mission statements into smaller, actionable tasks.

Focus: Specifies deadlines, timetables, budgets, resources, and assigns

responsibilities.

Answers the question "how" by detailing the practical steps and methods to
accomplish strategic goals.
Types of Plans:
3. OPERATIONAL PLAN
Definition: The operational plan describes the day to day running of the
company. The operational plan charts out a roadmap to achieve the tactical
goals within the timeframe. This plan is highly specific with an emphasis on
short-term objectives. Creating the operational plan is the responsibility of the
low-level managers and supervisors. An operational plan can be either single
use or ongoing:
• Single Use Plans - created or events/activities with a single occurrence,
such as sales rally, marketing campaign, and recruitment drive, etc. Single
use plans tend to be highly specific.
• Ongoing Plans - These plans can be used in multiple settings on an
ongoing basis. It could be a policy, set of rules or procedures. Ongoing
plans can be changed or repeated as required.
Planning at Different
Levels in the Firm
An organization can have many
different managers, across different
levels, positions, levels of authority
and hierarchy. In any organization,
managers are on top of their
subordinates.
They carry our plans through the
support of their staffs. Here we will
discuss planning at different levels
in the firm.

12
Planning at Different
Levels in the Firm
Most organizations have three
management levels:
• Top-level managers
• Middle-level managers
• Low-level managers
These managers perform different
tasks by their level of authority in
the organization hierarchy. In many
organizations, the number of
managers in every level resembles a
pyramid. 13
1. Top-Level Managers:
❑ Top-level managers are the chairperson, board of director, president, CEO (Chief
Executive Officer), CFO (Chief Financial Officer), COO (Chief Operational Officer),
Vice-president and Corporate head. These managers are responsible for
controlling and overseeing the entire organization.
❑ They play a significant role in the mobilization of outside resources. Top-level
managers have a great deal of managerial experience, most of them have an
advanced degree such as Masters in Business Administration, others have been
groomed and trained, moved up from the ranks and are part of the succession
planning for high potential management trainees.
❑ Top managers do not direct the day-to-day activities of the firm, rather they set
goal, leads the entire company to achieve the goals set. The goals, mission, vision
of the firm is apparently set to the entire firm as a guide in achieving the set goal.
14
2. Middle-level Managers:
Middle-level managers, or middle managers are those in the level below top managers.
Titles: General Manager, Regional Manager, Division Manager, Plant Manager. Middle
managers are responsible for carrying out the goals set by top management. They do so
by setting goals for their departments and other business units. Middle managers
motivate and assist first-line managers to achieve business objectives. Middle managers
may communicate upward, by offering suggestions and feedback to top executives.
Because middle managers are more involved in the day-to-day working of a company,
they may provide valuable information to top managers to help improve the
organization's bottom line. Middle managers execute organizational plans in
conformance with the company policies and objectives. They define and discuss
information from top management to lower management and motivates guides low-level
managers towards better performance. In planning, they implement effective group
intergroup work and information systems. They monitor group-level performance
indicators, diagnose and resolve problems within and among work groups. They design
and implement reward systems. 15
3. Lower-level Managers:
❑ Lower-level managers also called first-line managers or supervisors. These managers
have job titles such as Office Manager, Department Manager, Store Manager,
Supervisor. These managers focus on controlling and directing. They are responsible
for the daily management of line workers or the employees. Although lower-level
managers do not set goals for the organization, they have an unyielding influence on
the company.
❑ These are the managers that most employees interact with on a daily basis if the
managers performance is poor; employees may also perform poorly.
❑ Lower-level managers cascade the goals among their subordinate to be carried out
specifically. It is at this level of management wherein daily activities is being
supervised and monitored, ensuring the quality of work and production is being done,
and evaluation is implementend.

16
 Planning Tools and
Techniques
There are planning tools extensively
used by various entities, including
organizations, schools, and
businesses. For the purpose of this
discussion, we will focus on three
commonly used tools namely,
Brainstorming, Fishbone Diagrams,
and the Gantt Charts.
17
1. BRAINSTORMING
Usually the first crucial creative stage of the project management and
planning process. It is a powerful technique that draws out ideas from a
group of people. It creates new ideas, solves problems, motivates and
develops teams. Brainstorming motivates because it involves a member of
a team in bigger management issues and it gets the team working together.
However, bear in mind that brainstorming is not just merely a random
activity. It needs to be structure and must follow brainstorming rules. In
brainstorming, everyone must be able to see the total picture of the whole
scenario so that each will have a substantial contribution of ideas.
Brainstorming places, a significant burden on the facilitator who manage
the process, there may be a challenge on the involvement and sensitivities
of the individual participant.
 BRAINSTORMING PROCESS(DBCAPAC)
Define and Agree on Objective: Clearly outline the purpose and goal of the
brainstorming session.

Brainstorm Ideas: Generate ideas and suggestions within an agreed time limit.

Categories/Condense/Combine/Refine: Organize and refine ideas through

categorization and condensation.

Assess and Analyze: Evaluate the effects or potential results of the generated
ideas.
Prioritize Options/Rank List: Determine the importance and relevance of each
idea, creating a ranked list.

Agree on Action and Timeframe: Establish specific actions based on the

prioritized ideas and set a timeframe.

Control, Monitor, and Follow-Up: Implement control measures, monitor

progress, and conduct follow-up sessions as needed.
 FISHBONE DIAGRAMS
Fishbone Diagrams are also called "cause
and effect diagrams" and Ishikawa
diagrams, named after Kaoru Ishikawa
(1915-1989), a Japanese professor who
specializes in industrial quality
management and engineering who
devised the technique in the 1960s.
Visually represent factors contributing to
a result or problem, featuring a central
spine and main bones identifying
categories; widely used in quality
management and business process
improvement, they serve as effective
planning tools for mapping operations,
though their complexity increases in
specialized management areas.
 GANTT CHARTS
Gantt charts are extremely useful project
management tools. It is named after the US
engineer and consultant Henry Gantt (1861-
1919) who devised the technique in the 1910s.
Gantt charts are excellent models for
scheduling and budgeting, and for reporting
presenting and communicating project plans.
You can construct a Gantt chart using MS
Excel or a similar spreadsheet. Every activity
has a separate line. Create a timeline for the
duration of the project. You can use color
coding for some other activities. Gantt charts
are probably the most flexible and useful
project management tools at the planning
stage and for large complex projects.
 DECISION MAKING
Management is decision making. The job of a manager is to come up with a sound
decision based on the facts, tools, information, data, experience, the knowledge that he
is equipped. In the book "Practice of Management' P.P. Drucker observes that "Whatever
a manager does, he does through making decision." The word decides means to come to
conclusion or resolution as to what one is expected to do at some later time. According
to Manely H. Jones, " it is a solution selected after examining several alternatives chose
because the decider foresees that the course of action he chooses will do more than the
others to further his goals and will be accompanied by the fewest possible objectionable
consequences." The decision therefore is a choice, however, the conclusion or the said
choice is not just based on intuition and one person's idea, in management it should be
based on gathered facts. One of the competencies that a manager should have is the
ability to make a sound decision. Thus decision-making is the core of managerial
activities in an organization.
 DECISION MAKING
❑Management is decision making. The job of a manager is to come up with a sound
decision based on the facts, tools, information, data, experience, the knowledge that
he is equipped.
❑In the book "Practice of Management' P.P. Drucker observes that "Whatever a manager
does, he does through making decision." The word decides means to come to
conclusion or resolution as to what one is expected to do at some later time. According
to Manely H. Jones, " it is a solution selected after examining several alternatives chose
because the decider foresees that the course of action he chooses will do more than
the others to further his goals and will be accompanied by the fewest possible
objectionable consequences."
❑The decision therefore is a choice, however, the conclusion or the said choice is not
just based on intuition and one person's idea, in management it should be based on
gathered facts. One of the competencies that a manager should have is the ability to
make a sound decision. Thus decision-making is the core of managerial activities in an
organization.
 STEPS IN DECISION MAKING
1. Identify the problems - realizing what is there to make decisions for
is important. Decisions are not made arbitrarily; they result from an
attempt to address a specific prob-lem, need or opportunity.
2. Seek information - What is the potential cause of the problem?
Managers must seek out information to clarify options once the
problem had been identified.
3. Brainstorm solutions - list out potential solutions.
4. Choose an alternative - managers weigh the pros and cons of each
potential solution, seek additional information if needed and select the
option they feel has the best chance to succeed at the least cost.
5. Implement plan - there is no more time to guess second yourself
once you put your decision into action. Get all your employees and
bring your decision into action.
6. Evaluate outcomes - even the most experienced business owners,
can learn from their mistakes. Always monitor the result of your
strategic decisions. Be ready to adapt your plan as necessary or to
switch to another potential solution if the chosen one does not work as
you expected. 24
Thank you