Planning

 Planning is the process of thinking about the activities required

to achieve a desired goal.
 is the fundamental management function, which involves
deciding beforehand, what is to be done, when is it to be done,
how it is to be done and who is going to do it.
Definition  It is the first and foremost activity to achieve the desired
results. It involves the creation and maintenance of a plan, such
as psychological aspects that require conceptual skills.
 Is a process to develop a strategy to achieve desired objectives,
to solve problems, and to facilitate action"
  Facilitates Accomplishment of Objectives: Planning aims to
facilitate the attainment of objectives. It focuses its attention on
the objectives of the organization.
 Ensures Economy in Operations: Since planning emphasizes
efficient operation and consistency, it minimizes costs and

Characteristics gains economic operation.

of Planning  Precedes Control: Control involves those activities which are

carried out to force events to conform to plans.
 Provides for Future Contingency: Planning is required because
the future is uncertain. Planning enables the management to
look into the future and discover a suitable alternative course of
action
  Facilitates Optimum Utilization of Resources: Various resources
that are relevant to an organization name, funds, physical
resources, manpower, technological know-how, etc., are by and
large inadequate due to demand from competing organizations
and have alternative uses.
 Pre-requisites for other Managerial Functions: The purposes of
planning are to provide a conceptual and concrete basis for

Characteristics initiating and undertaking other managerial functions like

staffing, organizing, directing, and control.
of Planning  All Pervasive Function: Planning is a function of managers at all
levels through the scope, nature, and extent of planning differs
from one enterprise to another and from one level to another.
 Coordinates the Activities: Coordination is an important factor
for the smooth functioning of an organization.
 Provides for the Delegation of Authority: Planning provides for
the delegation of authority to subordinates.
 Advantages:
 creates a unity of purpose for the organization, since the objectives are formally
expressed and the methods and procedures to obtain these objectives are clearly
defined
 proper planning helps in the process of motivation
 reduces the elements of risk and uncertainty, since accurate forecast of the future

Advantages and
is an integral part of effective planning
 proper planning results in effective utilization of organizational resources

Disadvantages  improves the competitive strength of the company

of Planning  formal planning forces managers to understand and evaluate all variables that
influence events
Disadvantages:
 1. planning is expensive and time-consuming
 2. planning itself can be a hindrance to innovation
 3. planning can sometimes be very frustrating because it requires an extremely
detailed, careful, and analytical thought process
  t helps managers to improve future performance, by establishing
objectives and selecting a course of action, for the benefit of the
organization.
 It minimizes risk and uncertainty, by looking ahead into the
future.
 It facilitates the coordination of activities. Thus, reduces
Importance of overlapping among activities and eliminates unproductive work.

Planning  It states in advance, what should be done in future, so it provides

direction for action.
 It uncovers and identifies future opportunities and threats.
 It sets out standards for controlling. It compares actual
performance with the standard performance and efforts are made
to correct the same.
 Analyzing Opportunities

Setting Objectives

Developing Promises

Steps Identifying Alternatives

involved in Evaluating Alternatives

Planning Selecting an Alternatives

Implementing action plan

Reviewing