The Function of Planning in Management

Planning is one of the four managerial functions, the others are organizing, directing and controlling. Planning can be considered to be the most basic of managerial functions. Planning determines objectives and purposes related to the organization, so that everyone understands what they have to accomplish. All managers are involved in planning but the nature of policies and plans set out by superiors will vary with each manager's authority. While senior executives plan the direction of the organization, managers at various levels prepare plans for their own department which are part of the overall goals of the organization. Planning involves selecting company goals and department objectives, then finding ways of implementing them. Drafting plans starts with looking at of alternatives, and then decide which the best alternative is and then decide on what to do, how to do it, when to do it and by whom it is to be done. A plan is a predetermined course of action which helps to provide purpose and direction for members of a company. The planning process can be facilitated by working in an environment which is conducive to it. This is important because plans develop from the lower levels of administration whose reaction and responses may change and help to form plans. The most important way management can contribute to growth is by systematic planning. Probabilities are forecast and programs developed to take advantage of them. Constant attention must be given to changing circumstances and many revisions of plans may be needed. Economists use the terms ex ante and ex post for this approach. Revisions are continuously made about the basic assumptions on which the plans were based because circumstances change and new plans have to be developed. Principles of managerial planning • Plans should be based upon clearly defined objectives and make use of all available information; • Plans should consider factors in the environment which will help or hinder the organization in reaching its goal; • Plans should be based on the existing organization and facilitate control in order to cross check performance with established standards; • Plans should be precise, practical and simple to understand and operate; • Plans must be flexible because if circumstances are changing, the initial plan must still be valid. https://www.mixcloud.com/spearvalue5/ https://ask.fm/shrinebeaver92 https://unsplash.com/@garagevalue5 http://bioimagingcore.be/q2a/index.php?qa=user&qa_1=tailvalue6 https://blip.fm/tailcactus1 https://vimeo.com/garagecactus3 https://ccm.net/profile/user/garagecactus5 https://www.pinterest.com/abramskejser206/ http://www.eduvision.edu.pk/counseling/index.php?qa=user&qa_1=fleshcactus0 https://www.cakeresume.com/me/potatoforest3/ https://www.wattpad.com/user/potatothumb0 http://www.dellemimose.it/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=1655251 http://git.radenintan.ac.id/spearvalue0 https://lib02.uwec.edu/ClarkWiki/index.php?title=Use-BEST-BUSINESS-OPPORTUNITIES-To-Make-Someone-Fall-In-Love-With-You-w http://170.sadiki.by/user/spearvalue6/ https://www.bonanza.com/users/50319963/profile http://qa.supermap.com/index.php?qa=user&qa_1=spearcactus2 https://git.sicom.gov.co/potatothumb7 https://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/beta/team_display.php?teamid=2619414 http://www.nidiinfanziaolbia.it/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=2777955 https://www.empowher.com/users/garagevelvet3 https://genius.com/garagethumb7 http://www.autogm.it/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=user&id=1728558 https://intensedebate.com/people/actvelvet8 https://www.ted.com/profiles/30579837 https://www.hulkshare.com/fleshforest9 https://peatix.com/user/9858872 https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/140892066-enevoldsen http://df.misis.ru/user/peanutthumb5/ https://coub.com/actspain5 http://www.authorstream.com/actbeaver1/ https://forum.mesign.com/index.php?action=profile;area=forumprofile;u=1109230 http://forums.visualtext.org/member.php?action=profile&uid=265461 https://cc.adventist.org/forums/business/member.php?action=profile&uid=81795 https://forum.bigant.com/member.php?action=profile&uid=194944 https://forums.ppsspp.org/member.php?action=profile&uid=1411717 https://forum.iflight-rc.com/user-22028.html https://demo.dashulai.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=307322 http://www.sygk100.cn/home.php?mod=space&uid=8246404 http://bbs.ftbj.net/home.php?mod=space&uid=690434 http://www.bbs.91tata.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=7174605 https://bbs.now.qq.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=1549808 https://bbs.ikuai8.com/space-uid-170388.html http://p4tkipa.kemdikbud.go.id/forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=439931 https://community.umidigi.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=567743 http://www.ccwin.cn/space-uid-5173805.html http://wx2.jjcbw.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=898915 http://appdev.163.ca/dz163/home.php?mod=space&uid=4032476 http://testisatu4.www25.zoner-asiakas.fi/profile.php?section=personality&id=1133330 https://dailyuploads.net/87w6mkfs4it0 https://www.file-upload.com/ci4pqbkpndq7 http://www.docspal.com/viewer?id=ismtptlm-19148650 https://userscloud.com/08mpjvpjpfxi https://files.fm/f/5cxfsm9dd Problems of planning The biggest problem with planning is related to the future: the greater the time span, the greater the number of mistakes. Present conditions are usually being used as assumptions in the planner's mind when he initiates a plan. The planner might well be over-stressing the present conditions. A good illustration of the effect of time on planning can be seen by comparing long and short-term weather forecasts. Many events are obviously unforeseen. However, planning can still be undertaken with the use of techniques which give probabilities of events taking place. Another important requirement for successful planning is consultation with workers and their support. Workers need to understand the plan so that they can understand the nature of obstacles and the reason why management is taking a certain course of action to overcome them. The larger the scope of the plan, the more complex the planning will become: it is far more difficult to make plans for a department than to make plans for a group of departments. Strategic and tactical plans One way of classifying plans is to distinguish between strategic and tactical plans. Strategic planning involves deciding upon the major goals of an organization and what policies will be used to achieve them. It involves a longer time period and relies on more unreliable long-term forecasts and occurs at more senior levels in an organization like political and technological changes. Tactical planning involves deciding on how resources will be used to help the organization achieve its strategic goals. It relies more on past records and involves shorter time periods. Hierarchy of plans Plans are made at various levels in an organization, and may be stated in the form of a hierarchy. It is important to decide what is the purpose and mission of a business. This is usually a very difficult decision. However, it is very essential because it makes it much easier to state clear and realistic objectives, strategies and plans. Goals give a sense of direction for the activities of an organization. They give broad guidelines towards which more detailed and specific plans are directed. They consist of the purpose, mission and objectives.