PLANNING

TECHNICAL
ACTIVITIES

 NATURE OF
PLANNING

 To minimize mistakes in decision- making, planning
is undertaken.
Plan- output of planning. It provides a
methodical way of achieving desired results. In
the implementation of activities, it serves as a
useful guide.
 Without the plan, some minor tasks may be afforded
major attention which may hinder the
accomplishment of objectives.
 DEFINITION

 According to Nickels’:
“the management function that involves anticipating
future trends and determining the best strategies and
tactics to achieve organizational objectives.”
 According to Aldag and Stearns:
“the selection and sequential ordering of tasks required
to achieve an organizational goal.”
 DEFINITION

 According to Cole and Hamilton:
“deciding what will be done, who will do it, when and
how it will be done, and the standards to which it will be
done.”
 By these definitions, it will suffice to define planning
as selecting the best course of action so that the
desired result may be achieved.
desired result--- first priority
course of action--- means to realize the
goal
Planning at various levels of management:


Top level management--- strategic planning
Middle level management --- intermediate
planning
Low level management--- operational
planning
 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 whole organization is considered, specifically its
objectives and current resources.
OUTPUT: Strategic plan
 Intermediate planning

 Refers to the process of determining the
contributions that subunits can make with allocated
resources.
 The goals of a subunit are determined and a plan is
prepared to provide a guide to the realization of the
goals.
 Designed to support the strategic plan.
 Operational planning

 The process of determining how specific task can
best be accomplished on time with available
resources.
 It must be performed in support of the strategic plan
and the intermediate plan. This type of planning is a
responsibility of lower management.
 PLANNING PROCESS

 Setting organizational, divisional unit goals .
 Developing strategies or tactics to reach those goals.
 Determining resources needed.
 Setting standards.
 Setting organizational,
divisional
 goals:
 First task on an engineer is to provide a sense of
direction to his firm, to his unit or to his division.
 Goals- precise statement of results sought,
quantified in time and magnitude, where possible.
Developing strategies or
tactics:

 The ways to realize the goals are called strategies.
 Strategy – a course of action aimed at ensuring that
the organization will achieve it’s
objectives.
 Tactic – is a short-term action taken by the
management to adjust to negative internal or
external influences. They are formulated and
implemented in support of the firm’s strategies.
 Determining resources
needed

 The quality and quantity of resources needed must be
correctly determined.
 Too much resources in terms of either quality or
quantity will be wasteful.
 Too little will mean loss of opportunities for
maximizing income.
 To satisfy strategic requirements, a general statement
of needed resources will suffice. The specific
requirements will be determined by the different units
of the company.
 Setting Standards

 Standard – a quantitative or qualitative measuring
device designed to help monitor the
performances of people, capital goods, or
services.
 TYPES OF PLANS

 Functional area plans
 Plans with time horizon
 Plans according to frequency use
Types of functional area
plans:

 Marketing plan- written document or blueprint for
implementing and controlling an
organization’s marketing activities
related to a particular marketing strategy.
 Production plan- written document that states the
quantity of output a company must
produce in broad terms and by
product family.
Types of functional area
plans:

 Financial plan – a document that summarizes the
current financial situation of the
firm, analyzes financial needs, and
recommends a direction for financial
activities.
 Human resource management plan – a document
that indicates the human resource needs
of a company detailed in terms of
quantity and quality and based on the
requirements of the company’s strategic plan.
Plans with time horizon

 Short – range plans – plans intended to cover a
period off less than one year. First – line
supervisors are mostly concerned with
these plans.
 Long – range plans – plans covering a time span of
more than one year. Undertaken by
middle and top management.
 Types of operational
plan

 Two classifications:
1. Standing plans – plans that are used again
and again, and they focus on
managerial situations that recur
repeatedly. Policy, rules and procedures.
2. Single – use plans – plans that specifically
developed to implement
courses of action that are relatively
unique and are unlikely to be repeated.
 Classifications of
Standing
 plan:
 Policies – are broad guidelines to aid managers at
every level in making decisions about
recurring situations or function.
 Procedures – plans that describe the exact series of
actions to be taken in a given situation.
 Rules – statements that either require or forbid a
certain action.
 Classifications of
Single – 
Use plans:
 Budgets – according to Weston and Brigham, is a “
plan which sets forth the projected
expenditure for a certain activity and
explains where the required funds will come
from.
 Programs – designed to coordinate a large set of
activities.
 Project – usually limited in scope than a program
and is sometimes prepared to support a
program.
 PARTS OF THE VARIOUS
FUNCTIONAL AREA PLANS:

 The contents of the Marketing plan
 The contents of the Production plan
 The contents of the Financial plan
 Contents of the Human Resource plan
 The contents of the
Marketing
 plan
William Cohen maintains that the ff. must be
included in the marketing plan:
 The Executive Summary – presents an overall
view of the marketing project and its
potential.
 Table of Contents
 Situational Analysis and Target Market
 The contents of the
Marketing
 plan
 Marketing Objectives and Goals
 Marketing Strategies
 Marketing tactics
 Schedules and Budgets
 Financial Data and Control
 The contents of the
Production
 plan
 The amount of capacity the company must have
 How many employees are required
 How much material must be purchased
 The contents of the
Financial
 plan
 An analysis of the firm’s current financial condition
as indicated by an analysis of the most recent
statements
 A sales forecast
 The capital budget
 The cash budget
 A set of pro forms for projected financial statements
 The external financing plan
 Contents of the Human
Resource
 plan
 Personnel requirements of the company
 Plans for recruitment and selection
 Training plan
 Retirement plan
 PARTS OF THE
STRATEGIC
 PLAN
 Company or corporate mission – refers to the
“strategic statement that identifies why an
organization exists, it’s philosophy of
management, and its purpose as distinguished from
the other similar organizations in terms off product,
services, and markets.”
 Objectives or goals
 Strategies
 MAKING PLAN
EFFECTIVE

 Planning may be made successful if the ff. are
observed:
1. recognize the planning barriers
2. use of aids to planning
 MAKING PLAN
EFFECTIVE

 The planning barriers, according to Plunkett and Attner
are as follows:
1. manager’s inability to plan
2. improper planning process
3. lack of commitment to the planning process
4. improper information
5. focusing on the present at the expense of the
future
6. too much reliance on the planning department
7. concentrating on only the controllable variables.
 MAKING PLAN
EFFECTIVE

 Aids to planning that may be used are:
1. Gather as much information as possible
2. develop multiple sources of information
3. Involve others in the planning process.