PLANNING According to Harvard University Professor Daniel Gilbert (2006), the human species greatest and most unique

ability is TO IMAGINE AND ANTICIPATE OBJECTS AND EPISODES THAT DO NOT CURRENTLY EXIST. Planning, the first of four functions in the management process, involves setting goals and deciding how to achieve them. Planning helps you: 1. check your progress, 2. coordinate activities, 3. think ahead, and 4. cope with uncertainty Planning refers to the process of deciding what to do and how to do it. Planning occurs at many levels: from day-to-day decisions made by individuals and families, to complex decisions made by businesses and governments.

Planning is coping with uncertainty by formulating future courses of action to achieve specified results. Planning is a process that involves: defining organizations goals, establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals, and developing a comprehensive set of plans to integrate and coordinate organizational work.

Its concerned with both ends (whats to be done) and the means (how its to be done). (Robins and Coulter, 2004) Planning is an art as well as a science. It requires judgment, sensitivity and creativity. Planning often deals with in-between issues. Planning is a noble but underappreciated profession. Informal planning Nothing is written down, and there is little or no sharing of goals with others in the organization A type of planning done in small businesses where owner-manager has a vision of where he or she wants the business to go and how to get there

General and lacks continuity

Formal planning Specific goals covering a period of years are defined Goals are written down and shared with organization members Specific action programs exist for the achievement of these goals Managers clearly define the path they want to take to get the organization and the various work units from where they are to where they want to be

PURPOSES OF PLANNING (Robins and Coulter, 2004) Planning gives direction Planning reduces the impact of change Planning minimizes waste and redundancy Planning sets the standards used in controlling

PLANNING SKILLS AND PERSPECTIVES Planners are professional worriers Planners are responsible for considering multiple perspectives Planners learn to appreciate complexity, and search for deeper meanings and underlying causes. Planners are passionate about compromise Planners apply integrated analysis, so individual, short-term decisions are consistent with multiple, long-term goals.

HOW DO MANAGERS PLAN? Planning is often called the primary management function because it establishes the basis for all the other functions that managers perform. IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF PLANNING Goals Are desired outcomes for individuals, groups, and entire organizations Are objectives Provide the direction for all management decisions and form the criterion against which actual work accomplishments can be measured Often called the foundation of planning Goals Objectives Very short statement; with few words; broader in Longer, more descriptive statement; narrow scope Goals Plans

Covers long time period Directly relates to mission statement

Covers short time period (usually a year or less) Indirectly relates to mission statement

Plans Are documents that outline how goals are going to be met and that typically describe resource allocations, schedules and other necessary actions to accomplish goals

As the managers plan, theyre developing both goals and plans. TYPES OF GOALS 1. Financial and Strategic Goals 2. Real and Stated Goals 3. Strategic, Tactical, and Operational Goals Financial goals - Are related to the financial performance of the organization Strategic goals - Are related to other areas of organizations performance Stated goals - Official statements of what an organization says and what it wants its various stakeholders to believe, its goals are. Real goals - Those goals that an organization actually pursues Goals are arranged in a hierarchy known as a means-end chain because in the chain of management (operational, tactical, strategic) the accomplishment of low-level goals is the means leading to the accomplishment of high-level goals or ends. Strategic goals - Set by and for top management and focus on objectives for the organization as a whole. Tactical goals - Set by and for middle managers and focus on the actions needed to achieve strategic goals. Operational goals - Set by and for first-line managers and are concerned with short-term matters associated with realizing tactical goals. APPROACHES IN ESTABLISHING GOALS 1. Traditional Goal Setting 2. Management by Objectives Traditional Goal Setting Goals are set at the top and broken down into sub goals for each level of the organization

Assumes that top managers know whats best because they see the big picture Goals are established and passed down to each succeeding level of the organization serve to direct and guide, and in some ways, constrain some individual employees work behaviours

Traditional Goal Setting Employees work efforts at the various levels and in various work areas are geared to meet the goals that have been assigned in their areas of responsibility

Challenges: Ambiguous goals that have to be made more specific lose clarity and unity as they make their way down from the top of the organization to lower levels.

Management by Objectives First suggested by Peter Drucker in 1954 MBO has spread largely because of the appeal of its emphasis on converting general objectives into specific ones for all members of an organization.

Management by Objectives Specific performance goals are jointly determined by employees and their managers, progress toward accomplishing these goals is periodically reviewed, and rewards are allocated on the basis of this progress Goals are used not only to control but to motivate employees as well

ELEMENTS OF MBO goal specificity participative decision making explicit time period performance feedback

MBO STEPS: SUMMARIZED (1) managers and employees jointly set objectives for the employee, (2) managers develop action plans, (3) managers and employees periodically review the employees performance, and (4) the manager makes a performance appraisal and rewards the employee according to results. CHARACTERISTICS OF A WELL- DESIGNED GOALS Written in terms of outcomes rather than actions

Measurable and quantifiable Clear as to a time frame Challenging yet attainable Written down Communicated to all necessary organizational members

Goal: to utilize the nursing process in the management of patient care. Objectives: 1. To assess patients condition physically, socially and psychologically. 2. To identify patients needs and problems. 3. To plan appropriate nursing care to meet patients needs. 4. To implement plan of care. 5. To evaluate nursing care. Plans Are documents that outline how goals are going to be met and that typically describe resource allocations, schedules and other necessary actions to accomplish goals

TYPES OF PLANS 1. Breadth Strategic Operational 2. Time frame Long term Short term 3. Specificity Directional Specific 4. Frequency of Use Single use Standing

Strategic Plans - Plans that apply to the entire organization, establish the organizations overall goals, and seek to position the organization in terms of its environment Operational Plans - Plans that specify the details of how the overall goals are to be achieved Long term plans - Plans with a time frame beyond three years Short term plans - Plans covering one year or less

Single use plans - A one-time plan specifically designed to meet the needs of a unique situation Standing Plan - Ongoing plans that provide guidance for activities performed repeatedly

DEVELOPING PLANS - Process of developing plans is influenced by three contingency factors and by the planning approach. Three Contingency Factors that Affect Planning: 1. Level in the organization 2. Degree of environmental uncertainty 3. Length of future commitments

Degree of environmental uncertainty When environmental uncertainty is high, plans should be flexible. Approaches to deal with Environmental Uncertainty and Complexity In high velocity environments, in order to cope with the exponentially increasing complexity of the surroundings entrepreneurs create shortcuts in their thinking. Two possible simplifications are relying on: routine practices and applying intuition in the decision-making process.

Commitment Concept Commitment concept means that plans should extend far enough to meet those commitments made when the plans should be developed. Planning for too long or for too short a time period is inefficient and ineffective.

PLANNING PRINCIPLES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. COMPREHENSIVE EFFICIENT INCLUSIVE INTEGRATED LOGICAL TRANSPARENT

PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABILITY Sustainability- comprehensive strategic planning that considers long-term and indirect impacts SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES Economic 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Social 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Equity Human Health Education Community Quality of Life Public Participation Affordability Resource Efficiency Cost Internalization Employment and business activity Productivity Tax Burden

Environmental 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Pollution Prevention Climate Protection Biodiversity Precautionary action Habitat Prevention Aesthetics

Components 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Principles Vision Problem Goals Objectives Targets or standards

PLANNING FRAMEWORK Components 1. Performance Indicators 2. Plans

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Options Policies Strategies Programs Tasks Scope Evaluation Criteria (Impacts)

PLANNING PROCESS Generic Planning Process 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Establish Basic Planning Framework (scope, stakeholders, schedules) Invite stakeholder input to share ideas and concerns Create vision, goal or problem statement Develop lists of possible options Evaluate and prioritize options Create a plan identifying who does what, when and how Gather baseline data Implement policies and programs Evaluate program Revise plan as appropriate

PLANNING AND THE CONTROL CYCLE