CHAPTER 3: PLANNING TECHNICAL

ACTIVITIES
ENGR. JEFFREY T. LEONEN
PLANNING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

 If managing an organization is to be pursued vigorously, planning will constitute

the most important activity.
 Managers who plan are afforded with the opportunity to carefully analyze
situations which directly contributes to affecting decision-making.
 The engineer manager, regardless of his management level, will have to devote
some of his time to planning.
 The higher the management level the engineer manager is in, the more
sophisticated his planning activity becomes.
THE NATURE OF PLANNING

 There are many instances when managers are overwhelmed by various

activities which at times becloud his judgment.
 This must be expected since anybody who is confronted by several situations
happening simultaneously will lose sight of the more important concerns.
 To minimize mistakes in decision-making, planning is undertaken.
 A plan, which is the output of planning, provides a methodical way of achieving
desired results.
 In the implementation of activities, the plan serves a useful guide.
 Without the plan, some minor tasks may be afforded major attention which
may later on hinder the accomplishment of objectives.
THE NATURE OF PLANNING

Example of the difficulty of not having a plan:

The management of an engineering firm was able to identify the need to hire
additional three employees. The manager proceeded to invite applicants, screen
them and finally hired three of them. When the hiring expense report was
analyzed, it involved more than double the amount spent by other firms in hiring
the same number of people.
When inquiry was made, it was found out that the manager committed some
errors of judgment. For instance, he used an expensive advertising layout in a
newspaper when a simple message will do. Also it was found out that the
absence of a hiring plan contributed to high cost of hiring.
PLANNING DEFINED

 Various experts define planning in various ways, all of which are designed to suit
specific purpose.
 Planning, according to Nickel and others, refers to “the management function that
involves anticipating future trends and determine the best strategies and tactics to
achieve organizational objectives.”
 This definition is useful because it relates the future to what could be decided now.
 Aldag and Stearns, on the other hand, defined planning as “the selection and
sequential ordering of tasks required to achieve an organizational goal.
 This definition centers on the activity required to accomplish the goals.
PLANNING DEFINED

 The definition of Cole and Hamilton provides a better guide on how

effectively perform this vital activity.
 Planning, according to them is “deciding what will be done, who will do it,
where, when and how it will be done, and the standards to which it will be
done”.
 For our purpose, it will suffice to define planning as selecting the best course
of action so that the desired result may be achieved.
 It must be stressed that the desired result takes first priority and the course
of action chosen is the means to realize the goal.
PLANNING AT VARIOUS MANAGEMENT LEVELS

 Since engineer managers could be occupying positions in any of the

various management levels, it will be useful for them to know some
aspects of planning undertaken at the different management levels.
PLANNING AT VARIOUS MANAGEMENT LEVELS

 Planning activities undertaken at various level are as follows:

1. Top management level – strategic planning
2. Middle management level – intermediate planning
3. Lower management level – operational planning
PLANNING AT VARIOUS MANAGEMENT LEVELS

Strategic Planning
 The term strategic planning refers to the process of determining the
major goals of the organization and the policies and strategies for
obtaining and using resources to achieve those goals.
 The top management of any firm is involved in this type of planning.
 In strategic planning, the whole company is considered, specifically its
objectives and current resources.
PLANNING AT VARIOUS MANAGEMENT LEVELS

 The output of strategic planning is the strategic plan which spells out
“the decision about long-range goals and the course of action to achieve
these goals”.

 Intermediate planning refers to “the process of determining the

contribution that subunits can make with allocated resources”.
 This type of planning is under taken by middle management.
PLANNING AT VARIOUS MANAGEMENT LEVELS

 Under intermediate planning, the goals of a subunit are determined and a

plan is prepared to provide a guide to the realization of the goals.
 The intermediate plan is designed to support the strategic plan.
PLANNING AT VARIOUS MANAGEMENT LEVELS

OPERATIONAL PLANNING
 The term operational planning refers to “the process of determining how
specific tasks can best be accomplished on time with available
resources”.
 This type of planning is a responsibility of lower management.
 It must be performed in support of the strategic plan and the
intermediate plan.
THE PLANNING PROCESS

 The process of planning consists of various steps depending on the

management level that performs the planning tasks.
 Generally, however, planning involves the following:
1. Setting organizational, divisional, or unit goals
2. Developing strategies or tactics to reach those goals
3. Determining resources needed
4. Setting standard
THE PLANNING PROCESS

Setting Organizational, Divisional, or Unit Goals

 The first tasks of the engineer manager is to provide a sense of direction
to his firm(if he is the chief executive), to his division(if he heads a
division), or to his unit(if he is a supervisor).
 The setting of goals provide an answer to the said concern.
 If everybody in the firm( or division or units, as the case may be) is aware
of the goals, there is a big chance that everybody will contribute his
share in the realization of such goals.
THE PLANNING PROCESS

 Goals may be defined as the “precise statement of results sought,

quantified in time and magnitude, where possible.”
THE PLANNING PROCESS

Developing Strategies or Tactics to Reach Goals

 After determining the goals, the next task is to devise some means to
realize them.
 The ways to realize the goals are called strategies and these will be the
concern of top management.
 The middle management and lower management will adapt their own
tactics to implement their plans.