Planning

Planning can be defined as “ thinking in advance what is to be done , when is to be

done , how’s to be done and by whom it should be done.”Planning bridges the gap
between where we are and where we want to reach .

NATURE OF PLANNING:
1. Goal Oriented :Its of no use unless it contributes in positive way to the achievement
of desired goals.

2. Intellectual and Rational process: Managers require to apply their

imagination,creativity and their analytical skills to tackle problematic situation. They
also requires foresight and sound judgement .

3.Primary Function :Initial activity in management process and thus precedes all other
functions.

4.Integrated Process :Plans made at different levels are interpendent and interrelated
.Plans constitute hierarchy in the organization .Plans must be in tandem with corp
objectives.

5.Involves Choice : Essentially a decision making process that involves selection of

suitable course of action. Only the best among the alternatives to be selected. Thus
plans are decisions made after evaluating alternative course of action.

6.All pervasive : Extends troughout the organizations. Essential aspect at all executives
level . Scope extent and nature nature of planning tend to vary at different levels of
management.

7.Forward Looking :Concerned with anticipating the future.Accurate forecasting is

essential for planning.

8.Perpetual Process:Goes on as long as organization exits .Plans are changed or

modified but are never abandoned.

SIGNIFICANCEOF PLANNING
1.Focus attention on objectives: Helps organization to device means to achieve
objectives .Prevents managers from being distracted from by less significant activities.
2.Offsets, Uncertainity and Risk : As plans are based on forecast which may go wrong
due to PESTEL environment and therefore contingent planning is required to reduce
risk.
3.Provides sense of direction :Absence of planning makes it difficult for managers to
have direction.
4.Provides Guidelines for Decision Making :It involve finding out alternatives and
comparing them to select appropriate action.
5.Ensures Better Coordination :Well developed organization plan unify
interdepartmental activities so that they work together to achieve objectives of
organization.
6.Facilitates Control :Function of control is to ensure that activities being carried out
conform to the plans that have been developed.
7.Encourages Innvotation and Creativity :By involving employees, the process of
planning encourages healthy work atmosphere. Encourage to device new ways of doing
things.
8.Facilitates Delegation:Well established plans act as guide to subordinates, thus
eliminating the need for constant guidance by managers.

Planning is a process which determines in advance what to done, how to done and when
to done. It consists of selecting the enterprise objectives, policies, programmes,
procedures.

STEPS INVOLVED IN PLANNING

1) Identification of goals- Plans are formulated to achieve certain objectives. Therefore,

the first step in the planning process is to identify the goals of the organization. The
objective fixed must clearly indicate what is to be achieved where action should take
place and who is to perform it and when it is to be accomplished. For example, quantity
standards, cost target and quality specification are measurable objective.

2) Develop planning premises- Planning is done for future which is uncertain.

Therefore, certain assumptions are made about the future environment. These
assumptions are known as planning premises. Planning premises lay down the boundary
or limitation within which plans are to be implemented, in order to develop good
planning premises, it is necessary to collect dada on the current status of the organization
and to forecast future changes

3) Determine alternative courses of action- generally there are alternative ways of

achieving the same goal. For example in order to increase sales, an enterprise may launch
advertise campaign reduce prices or improve the quality of products. Therefore
alternative courses action should be determine

4) Evaluate the alternative- once alternative courses of action have been determined,
they must be evaluated. It can be evaluated against the criteria of cost, risk, benefit and
organization facilities. The strong and week point of every points of every alternative
should be analyzed carefully.

5) Select course of action-The most appropriate alternative is selected as the plan. This
is the point of decision where a plan is adopted for accomplishment identified goals.

6) Formulate derivative plans- the final step in planning process is to develop sub-
plans. In order to give effect to and support the basic plan, several sub plans are required.
Once the choice is made and the master plan is adopted functional and tactical plans and
action programs are decided. The breakdown of the master plan into departmental and
sectional plans provides a realistic picture of the action to be taken in future.

7) Review (please elaborate)