Reading: The Planning Function

Business Management for Every Enterprise

Unit 2

The Planning Function

Planning

Planning includes all the activities that lead to the definition of objectives and to the determination of appropriate courses of action to achieve those objectives

Planning involves defining the organization’s goals, establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals and developing plans for organizational work activities

It’s concerned with both ends (what needs to be done) and means (how its to be done)

They determine resource allocation (distribution), timetables and other necessary actions to accomplish the goals

Planning

It is the beginning of the process of management

Intellectual process – think before acting

Decision making is the integral part of planning

Continuous process

Flexible

All pervasive function – applicable across the different levels of management

Planning

Minimizes risk and uncertainty

Leads to success

Facilitates control

Trains all levels of management

Planning

Have a clear time frame for completing objectives

This includes having detailed goals and objectives concerning quality, primary markets, rollout schedule, etc.

Have an ongoing meaning and applications for an organization.

Types of Planning

Strategic Planning
- Comprehensive, long term and relatively general
- Focus on broad, enduring issues for ensuring a firm’s  effectiveness over a long period of time
- States the organization’s mission and may describe a set of goals  to move a company into future

Operational Planning
- Focused, short term and specific
- Translates the broad concepts of the strategic plan into clear numbers, specific steps and measurable objectives for the short term
- Requires efficient, cost effective application of resources to solving problems and meeting objectives

Tactical Planning
- Falls between strategic and operational planning
- More specific than strategic planning
- Deal with more issues of efficiency than with long term effectiveness