OVERVIEW OF PLANNING

WILLIAM DEYNE C. ALEJANDRO MPA

PA 218
Management Planning and Control
Planning

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t and order to visualize
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Planning
Informal Planning nothing is written
down
involves defining the
organization’s goals, little or no sharing of
establishing an goals
overall strategy, and
developing a general and lacking in
comprehensive set of continuity
plans to integrate
and coordinate
organizational work Formal Planning written

Defines specific
goals

Specific action programs

exist to achieve goals
  is the process of deciding in
advance what is to be done,
where, how and by whom it
is to be done.
PLANNING

as a process, it involves anticipation of future
course of events and deciding the best course
of action.
 basically, a process of “thinking before doing”.

 is the selection from among alternatives for

future courses of action for the enterprise as a
whole and each department within it.
(Koontz & O’Donell)
 a blueprint specifying the resource
PLAN allocations, schedules, and other
actions necessary for attaining goals

a desired future state that the

GOALS
organization attempts to realize.
 External
Levels of Goals / Plans Message
Legitimacy for
Investors,
Customers,
Mission Suppliers,
Statement community

-------------------------
Strategic Goals / Plans
Top Management Internal Message
Legitimacy ,
(organization as a motivation,
whole) Resource
allocation,
Tactical Goals / Plans Guides,
Middle Management Rationale
(major divisions, functions) standards

Operational Goals / Plans

Lower Management
(departments, individuals)
 TRADITIONAL GOAL SETTING

We need to improve the

company’s performance
Top
I want to see the significant Management
improvement in this division’s Objective
profits
Division Manager’s
Objective
Increase profits regardless
of the means
Department Manager’s
Objective
Don’t worry about
quality; just work fast.

Individual Employee’s Objective

 NATURE OF PLANNING

(a) Primary Function It precedes all other management function

All other functions of management largely

depends upon planning.

It sets all other functions into action.

 NATURE OF PLANNING
(b) Pervasiveness of Planning Managers at all level of organization perform
the planning function.

The nature and scope of planning may differ of

various levels of management.

 Top Management looks after Strategic

Planning.
 Middle Management are concerned with
Administrative Planning.
 Lower Management are concerned with
Operational planning.
 NATURE OF PLANNING

(c) Focus on Objectives It identifies the actions that would lead to the
desired objectives quickly and economically.

Planning cannot be thought of without

objectives.

(d) Future Oriented It decides in the present what is to be done in

future.

It is based on forecasting.

Planning is forward looking in nature.

 NATURE OF PLANNING

(e) Selective Process In order to achieve a set of objectives, there are

a number of alternatives, which are available to
an organization.

Planning is essentially a process of choosing

among alternatives.

It is concerned with decision-making relating to

What is to be done

How it is to be done

When it is t be done

By whom it is to be done
 NATURE OF PLANNING

(f) Intellectual Process Planning is a mental process, which involves

creative thinking and imagination

Managers have to consider various courses of

action, go in details the pros and cons of every
courses of action and then finally decide which
course of action may suit them best.

It is not a mere guesswork but involves rational

thinking.

It requires mental ability to THINK before

ACTING.
 NATURE OF PLANNING

(g) Continuous Process Planning is a continuous and never ending

process of a manager in an organization.

The manager plans on the basis of some

assumption, which may not come true in the
future.

It has to go on modifying, revising, and

adjusting plans in the light of changing
environment.

A manager cannot plan once for all.

 NATURE OF PLANNING

(h) Increase Efficiency Planning aims to increase the efficiency of the

organization at all levels.

The guiding principle of a good plan is the

maximum output and profit at the minimum
cost.

In planning, the manager evaluates the

alternative on the basis of efficiency.
 SIGNIFICANCE & PURPOSE OF PLANNING
(a) Minimizes uncertainty The future is generally uncertain and
things are likely to change with the
passage of time.

Planning helps minimize uncertainties as

it anticipates future events.

(b) Emphasis on objectives The first step in planning is to fix the

objectives

When the objectives are clearly fixed,

the execution of plans will be facilitated
towards the objectives.
 SIGNIFICANCE & PURPOSE OF PLANNING

(c) Promotes coordination

Planning helps to promote the coordinated
effort on account of pre-determined goals.

(d) Facilitates Control Unplanned actions cannot be controlled.

Control is nothing but making sure that

activities conform to the plans..

(e) Improves competitive Strength

Planning enables an enterprise to

discover new opportunities, which give
it a competitive edge.
 SIGNIFICANCE & PURPOSE OF PLANNING

(f) Economical Operation It helps in proper utilization of resources

and elimination of unnecessary activities.

(g) Encourages Innovation Many new ideas come to the mind of a

manager when planning. This creates an
innovative and foresighted attitude among
the managers.

(h) Tackling complexities of modern business

Planning helps in getting a clear idea about

what is to be done, when it is to done,
where it is to be done and how it is to be
done.
 LIMITATIONS OF PLANNING

(a) Costly Process Time, energy and money are involved in

gathering of facts and testing of various
alternatives.

(b) Rigidity Planning restricts the individual’s freedom,

initiative and desire for creativity as it strictly
adheres to pre-determined-policies and
programmes.

(c) Limited Scope Limited in the case of organizations with rapid

changing situations.
 LIMITATIONS OF PLANNING
(d) Influence of External Factors The effectiveness of planning is sometimes
limited because of the social, political,
economical and technological factors which
are beyond the control of the planners.

(e) Non-availability Data Planning needs reliable facts and figures.

Planning loses its value unless reliable
information is available.

(f) People’s Resistance Planners often feel frustrated in instituting

new plans, because of the inability of people to
accept them.
 REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD PLAN
(a) Clear Objective  The statement of objectives should be clear,
concise, definite and accurate.
 It should not be coloured by bias resulting
from emphasis on personal objectives.

(b) Proper Understanding  A good plan is one which is well understood

by those who have to execute it.
 It must be based on sound assumptions and
sound reasoning.

(c) Flexible  The management should be able to change

an exiting plan because of change in
environment without undue extra cost or
delay so that activities keep moving
towards the established goals.
 A good plan should be flexible to
accommodate future uncertainties.
 REQUIREMENTS OF A GOOD PLAN


(d) Stable 
The basic principle of plan should not be
discarded or modified because of changes
in external factors such as population
trends, technological developments, or
unemployment.

(e) Comprehensive  Plan Should integrate the various

administrative plans so that the whole
organization operates at peak efficiency.

(f) Economical  A plan is said to be good, if it is as

economical as possible, depending upon the
resources available with the organization.
 MYTHS ABOUT PLANNING

(1) Who needs a Plan?

Planning is a MUST.

Schedule and Budget is as

important as breathing

Documenting Plan is
extremely important

We cannot have the complete

plan in our head
 MYTHS ABOUT PLANNING

(2) Planning is such an hassle

Who has the time?

The longer it takes, the better

it is.

Planning ensures to have a clear enough

idea of what and why we are doing.

If anything goes wrong, without a plan its

very difficult to identify the root cause.
 MYTHS ABOUT PLANNING

(3) Plan is only useful for getting funded.

A well drafted plan is important in the

fund seeking process

Plans help primarily to ensure that the

ideas are documented in a structured
format. It acts as a starting point to the
overall journey.

Plans help in getting strategic alliances,

collaborators, advisors and future team
members.
 MYTHS ABOUT PLANNING

(4) Planning is restrictive. It takes away the flexibility.

A plan is a strategic overview of the

transition from ideas to implementation.

Plans are based on assumptions and

perceived reality.

Plan is a flexible bible.

Without a plan, it is very difficult to

understand what is going on.
 MYTHS ABOUT PLANNING

(5) Planning should not have a budget.

Try and learn from the errors and get

professional advise.

Always set aside a budget to seek

professional support.

Anything that is worth doing costs money.

Thank You
for
listening