PLANNING

Manita Dalal
Tutor
College of Nursing, AIIMS
• Administration is the organization and direction of
human and material resources to achieve desired
goals
– Administration in nursing results in output of patients
health through input of personal and material resources
used in an orderly process of nursing services.
• There are many functions associated with nursing
administration which helps to accomplish its goals.
• The foremost and one of the most important
function is Planning
 CONCEPTS OF PLANNING:
• First and foremost element in administration.
• Preparing a blueprint.
• In this decisions are made about what needs to
be done, how and when it has to be done.
• It helps to conceive and achieve results in an
atmosphere and spirit of true democratic
situation.
• Planning is a mental process
– decision making and forecasting.
• It is future oriented and ensures desirable &
probable outcomes.
• In nursing, planning helps to ensure that
patients receive the nursing services they want
and need and that these services are delivered
by satisfying the nursing workers.
 DEFINITION:
According to
• Urvick “planning is mental predisposition to do
things in orderly way, to think before acting and
to act in the lights of facts rather than guesses. “
• Millet – “ Planning is a process of determining
the objectives of administrative effort and
devising the means calculated to achieve them.”
 CONTD...

• Certo S.C. (2003)- “ Planning is the

systematic development of action programs
aimed at reaching agreed business objectives by
the process of analyzing, evaluating and
selecting among the opportunities which are
foreseen.”
 IMPORTANCE OF
PLANNING
 Framework for giving direction to different
functions within the organization
 An integral part for other administrative
functions
 Help focus attention on the objectives or goals
of the organization and their achievement.
 It leads to economy in operation through the
selection of the best possible course of action.
 IMPORTANCE......
 Determines appropriateness and feasibility
of actions in terms of cost effectiveness and
quality control.
 It avoids arbitrary decisions and eliminates
chance of uncertainty
 Provides flexibility and makes provision for
future growth and development
CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANNING
1. Goal-oriented.
 To achieve desired objective of business.
 Identifies the action that would lead to

desired goals quickly & economically.

 Provides sense of direction to various

activities.
Contd...
2. Planning is looking ahead.
 Future oriented.
 It requires peeping in future,

analyzing it and predicting it.

 Based on forecasting.
 It is a mental predisposition for

things to happen in future.

3. Planning is an intellectual process.
 A mental exercise involving creative thinking,

sound judgement and imagination.

 Not a mere guesswork but a rational thinking.
 A manager can prepare sound plans only if he

has sound judgement, foresight and

imagination.
4. Planning involves choice & decision
making.
 Involves choice among various alternatives.
 decision making is an integral part of

planning.
 A manager is surrounded by no. of

alternatives. He has to pick the best

depending upon requirements & resources of
the enterprises.
5. Primacy of Planning.
 Basic or fundamental function of management.
 Lays foundation for other functions
 It serves as guide for – “OSDCoRB”
 All the functions are performed within the

framework of plans laid out.

6. Planning is a Continuous
Process.
 A never ending function due to the
dynamic business environment.
 Plans are also prepared for specific
period of time and are reviewed in
the light of new requirements and
changing conditions.
 Planning never comes into end till
the enterprise exists.
 Issues, problems may keep
cropping up
 7. Planning is all Pervasive.
 It is required at all levels of management and in

all departments of enterprise.

 But the scope differ from one level to another.

 Top level planning- organization as a whole

 Middle level -more specific in departmental plans
 Lower level plans- implementation of the same.

EG: Hospital
8. Planning is designed for efficiency, economy
and accuracy.

 Efficiency of plan is measured by its contribution to the

objectives as economically as possible.
 Accomplishing objectives at the minimum possible cost.
 It avoids wastage of resources and ensures adequate
and optimum utilization of resources.
 Planning must lead to saving of- time, effort and
money.
 Proper utilization of man, money, materials, methods
and machines.
9. Planning is Flexible.
Since planning is for future which is
unpredictable, must provide enough room
to cope with the changes in demand,
competition, govt. policies etc.
Revise and update original plan to make it
more practical on change of circumstances.
10. Co-ordination:
Co-ordinates the what, who,
how, where and why of
planning
Without co-ordination- we
cannot have united efforts.

11. Limiting factors:

A planner must recognize the
limiting factors (Money,
manpower etc.)
Formulate plans in the light of
these factors.
TYPES OF PLANNING
Planning may be classified in different ways as,

1. Directional planning :
 It is often called policy planning and is
concerned with the broad general direction
of the programme.
 Eg:state level planning at directorate or
secretarial of states or union.(centre).
2. Administrative planning :
 It is concerned with the overall implementation
of the policies developed
 With the mobilization and coordination of the
personnel and material available in the
administrative unit for the effectuation of the
service.
 Eg:Medical superintendent of major hospital are
responsible for administrative planning.
PLANNING AT DIFFERENT
LEVEL
All the different level of management should
have plans that work together to accomplish
organisation’s purpose.
All managers plan basically in same way but
the kinds of plans they develop and amount
of time they spend are different.
Top level managers :
• Longer time planning
• Development of mission of organizational units,
objectives and policies.
• Strategic planning

Middle level managers

• On translating broad objectives to more specific
goals for work unit
• Tactical plans

First level managers

• Day to day plans
• Scheduling work hours, dedicating what work will be
done by whom, and developing structures
• Operational plans.

managers should develop contingency

plans if their original plans fails.
 Contingency planning:
• Plan that Identify alternative courses of action
• To be implemented if the original plan proves
inadequate because of changing circumstances.
• Intelligent and successful management is
always ready for constant pursuit of adaptation,
flexibility and mastery of changing conditions.
COMPONENTS OF PLANNING
Objectives:
• Basic plans which determine goals or
end results of the projected action of
an enterprise.
• The foundation upon which structure
of plan can be built.
Programme :
Programmes are necessary for both
repetitive (routine planning)and non-
repetitive (creative planning) course of
action.
COMPONENTS....
Policies:
• written statements or oral understanding.
• Realization of objectives is made easy with the
help of policies, policies provide standing
solutions to problem.
Procedures :
Procedures indicate the specific manner in which
a certain activity is to be performed.
Budget :
Budgets are statements of expected results in
numerical items. i.e rupees, man hours, product
units etc.
 PLANNING CYCLE
1 Analyse and
8. Reanalysis 2 . Formulation of
understand operational goals
and
the system and objectives
understanding
of the system

3.Establishment of
7. Evaluation planning premises
and setting realistic
targets for the plan

6. Follow up to 4 . S ec
u
the proposed
5. Plan
partic ring
authentication, ipatio
course of action linking the plan n:
with the plan at the
near higher level
and
implementation
.
PLANNING CYCLE........
1. Analyse and understand the system:
Administrator or manager needs to
understand the system where she is
working , need to know their
subordinates,higher authorities and
clients.
PLANNING CYCLE........
2. Formulation of operational goals
and objectives:
Objectives set the pattern of the
proposed course of action.
As a guide for action the objectives
must be specific informative and clear
enough to indicate what is to be done.
3. Establishment of planning premises:
• “Premises refers to the factor in the environment
that affect the achievement of goals.” They are
assumptions about the future of understanding of
the expected situation
 Once the objectives are clear there is need to
assess the resources available to reach the
goals.
 The staff strength and other capabilities have to
be taken into account. Forecasts and trend
analysis provide information required in planning.
4. Securing participation:
• For the effective implementation -the
subordinate participation has been
found to be extremely essential.
• Plans must be communicated for
increasing their understanding and
for enlisting their cooperation in
proper implementation of plan.
5. Plan authentication and linking the plan to
the near higher level and Implementation:
Plan should be linked with higher level planning.
Here special attention needs to be given to the
use of strategy.
• Strategy means a set of decisions taken to
achieve the objectives. It has a significant
contribution towards the implementation or
execution of a plan.
•
Strategy dictates some adjustments
and adaptation of the plan in
accordance with the changing
situation or events. So it should be
flexible enough to adjust to
changes
6. Follow up to the proposed course of
action:
Since all the pertinent facts are not
available in most planning activities
• As Some guess work is inevitable, there
should be a prior provision for the following
up of the proposed program when it is put
into action.
• Regular feedback -both the way of the
written records and report and by direct
observation. This is called control or
monitoring.
7. Evaluation:
• Evaluation is measuring what has
been done against what had been
planned to do.
• Any deviation have to be explained
and necessary action has to be
initiated to correct deviations.
8. Reanalysis and understanding of
the system:
• Taking an overview of the plan of
work and visualize that what has
been achieved.
• This helps understanding of the
system and proceed with the
second cycle of planning process.
 A. Standing use plans-
• Are those that are used on a continuous basis to achieve
consistently repeated objectives.
• Standing plans take the form of:
– Policies
– Procedures

– Rules
 Policies:
• A standing plan that furnishes broad guidelines for
channeling management thinking toward taking action
consistent with reaching organizational objectives.
• It provides guidelines for behavior.
• Policies are also instruments of delegation that alert
subordinates to their obligations.
• Effective policy statements are clear, understandable,
stable overtime, and communicated to everyone involved.
 Procedures:
• A standing plan that outlines a series of related actions that
must be taken to accomplish a particular task.
• It is an explicit set of actions, often sequential in nature,
required to achieve a well defined result.
• Formal procedures provide specific and detailed instructions for
the execution of plans.
• Good procedures provide a sequence of actions that once
completed fulfill specific objectives, reinforce policies and help
employees achieve results efficiently and safely.
 Rule:
A standing plan that designates specific requires
action.
• It indicates what an organization member
should or should not do
• allows no room for interpretation.
• It is a statement that tends to restrict actions or
prescribe
 B. Single use plans
-are those that are used once to achieve unique
objectives or objectives that are seldom repeated.
They are communicated through:
1. Programs
2. Budget
3. Schedule
Programs:
• A single use plan designed to carry out a special
project within an organization.
• It comprises multiple activities orchestrated to
achieve one important objective.
Budget:
• A single use financial plan that covers a specified length
of time.
• It describes in numerical terms resources allocated to
organizational activities.
• By budgeting, managers identify resources such as
money, material and human resource. It also
communicates performance expectations.
Schedule:
• A commitment of resources and labor to tasks with
specific time frames.
 SKILLS NEEDED IN
PLANNING:
• Decision making
• Creativity
 1.DECISION MAKING:
• Decision making is a complex, congrutive process often
defined as choosing a particular course of action.
• Problem solving is a part of decision making.
• It is a systematic process that focus on analyzing a
difficult situation, problem solving always involves a
decision making step.
• It is the heart of all administrative and managerial
functions.
 DECISION MAKING.....
• Decision making may be defined as the process of
choosing between alternatives to achieve a goal.
To advance an institutional goals-
• the nurse manager’s decision must be timely,
based on clinical reality, consonant with personnel
and material resources and communicate.d
• It should motivate the subordinates who will
implement the decision.
 2. CREATIVITY:
Creativity can be defined as the process of
becoming sensitive to the problem
deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing
elements, disharmonies and so on; identifying
the difficulty, searching for solutions about
deficiencies, testing them and finally
communicating the results( Torrance 1965)
 2. CREATIVITY:
• An element of the decision making process.
• The generation of possible strategies is a major
step of in planning decisions.
• Creative thinking can produce solutions that
are not first apparent but are practical and
effective.
ADVANTAGES OF PLANNING
1)Offsets future uncertainity and change
2)Tackles increasing complexities
3)Improved coordination
4)Better control
5)Proper utilization of resources
6)Facilitates unity of action
7)Improves compititive spirit,adaptability
8)Guides decision making.
9) Efficiency of other managerial functions.
 DISADVANTAGES OF
PLANNING
1. It depends up on facts and information , reliable
information is not possible.
2. Planning may lead to internal inflexibilities and
procedural rigidities.
3. It is a time consuming and expensive process.
4. People’s resistance to accept the plan
5. Failures of planners.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY:
• Finer Herman, “Administration and the nursing
services” The Mac Millian company, NewYork
1959, 214-222
• Urwick.L, The elements of administration”
Harper & Row Publishers, New York, 26- 34
• Maheshwari, Public administration,23rd edition,
1999, Lakshmi Narain Agarwal, Agra, 179- 183
• Marriner Ann, “ Guide to nursing management”
4th edition, Mosby Publication USA, 1992 page
no. 3-
• Rowland Howard, “Nursing administration
handbook” 2nd edition, Aspen system
corporation USA ,1985 page 24-29
• Baswanthappa BT, “Nursing Administration”,
Jaypee publications. New delhi, 2nd edition,
2009, 119-140
• Roussel Linda. “Management and leadership
for nursing administrators” 5th edition, Jones
and Bartlett publications. Boston,2010 page
no. 303-329
THANK YOU...