PLANNING : MEANING, FEATURES,AND PROCESS

•     # 5 PLANNING PART 1
PRINCIPLE OF MANAGEMENT/BUSINESS STUDY/MPOB

•     DR SHASHI AGGARWAL

•     MEANING AND DEFINITION

1.       PLANNING IS THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS OF MGMT. IT IS CONCERNED WITH THE DETERMINATION OF FUTURE COURSE OF ACTION IN ADVANCE TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULTS. IT IS CONCERNED WITH THINKING BEFORE DOING AND DECIDING IN ADVANCE WHAT IS TO BE DONE, HOW IS IT TO BE DONE, WHEN IS IT TO BE DONE AND WHO IS TO DO IT.

2.       “PLANNING IS THE THINKING PROCESS, THE ORGANIZED FORESIGHT, THE VISION BASED ON FACT AND EXPERIENCE THAT IS REQUIRED FOR INTELLIGENT ACTION.

3.       IS A DETAILED PROGRAMME DETERMINING THE COURSE OF ACTION?

4.       RIGHTLY SAID: WELL PLAN IS HALF DONE.

5.       PLANNING OS PREPARING  SEQUENCE OF ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN TO ACHIEVE SOME GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION

6.       A PLAN IS JUST LIKE A MAP,FOLLOWING A PLAN,ONE CAN ALWAYS SEE HOW MUCH PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS

•     DEFINITION OF PLANNING

•     PLANNING IS THE SELECTING AND RATING OF FACTS AND MAKING AND USING OF ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING THE FUTURE IN VISUALIZATION AND FORMULATION OF PROPOSED ACTIVITIES BELIEVED NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE THE DESIRED GOALS. BY GEORGE TERRY

•     LOUIS A ALLEN,” MANAGEMENT PLANNING INVOLVES THE DEVELOPMENT OF FORECAST, OBJECTIVES, POLICIES, PROGRAMMES, PROCEDURES, SCHEDULES AND BUDGETS.

•     PLANNING IS :

1.       MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION OF MANAGEMENT

2.       TRIES TO FORESEE THE FUTURE AND MAKE PLANS

3.       ENSURE MAXIMUM UTILIZATION OF RESOURCES

•     NATURE ( FEATURES) OF PLANNING

1.       INTELLECTUAL PROCESS:-PROCESS OF THINKING IN ADVANCE FUTURE ACTIVITIES ON THE SERIES OF ACTIVITIES TO FOLLOW. PLANNING IS PROCESS WHERE A NUMBER OF STEPS ARE TO BE TAKEN TO DECIDE THE FUTURE COURSE OF ACTION.

2.       CONTRIBUTES TO OBJECTIVES:-A PURPOSEFUL, INTELLIGENT, SOUND AND EFFECTIVE PLANNING PROCESS KNOWS HOW AND WHEN TO TACKLE PROBLEM, IT CONTRIBUTES POSITIVELY IN ATTAINING THE OBJECTIVES OF THE BUSINESS.

3.       PRIMARY FUNCTION OF MANAGEMENT: PLANNING PRECEDES ALL OTHER FUNCTIONS IN THE MGMT. PROCESS.IT IS PRIMARY REQUISITE BEFORE OTHER MANAGERIAL FUNCTION STEP IN.

4.       A CONTINUOUS PROCESS:-NEVER ENDING ACTIVITY OF A MANAGER IN AN ORGANIZATION. PLANNING IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS AND THERE IS NO END TO IT. IT INVOLVES CONTINUOUS COLLECTION, EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF DATA AND SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION AND SELECTION OF THE BEST ALTERNATIVE.

5.       PLANNING PERVADES MANAGERIAL ACTIVITIES:-PLANNING IS REQUIRED AT EVERY LEVEL WITH IN THE ORGANIZATION.STRATEGIC PLANNING IS THE TASK OF TOP MANAGEMENT WHILE OPERATIONAL PLANNING IS DONE AT THE LOWER LEVEL. THE CHARACTER, NATURE AND SCOPE OF PLANNING MAY CHANGE FROM PERSONNEL TO PERSONNEL BUT THE PLANNING AS AN ACTION REMAINS INTACT.

6.       PERVASIVENESS OF PLANNING: - PLANNING IS A FUNCTION WHICH EXIST IN ALL LEVELS OF MANAGERIAL HIERARCHY. STARTING FROM THE HEAD OF THE ORGANIZATION TO THE LAST LINE WORKER, PLANNING IS IMPORTANT.

7.       FUTURE ORIENTATION: PLANNING IS FUTURE ORIENTED. IT IS THE PROCESS WHICH LOOKS AHEAD OR THINK A HEAD AND MAKING PROVISIONS TO DEAL WITH FUTURE.

8.       INFORMATION BASE:-INFORMATION IS THE BASE OF PLANNING, WITHOUT INFORMATION, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DO PLANNING.

9.       RATIONALITYY:-OUTCOME OF MENTAL PROCESS AND BASED ON REASON RATHER THAN EMOTIONS. PLANNING DECISIONS ARE MADE WITH THE PROPER ANALYSIS OF THEIR CONSEQUENCES.

10.    LIMITING FACTOR: A PLANNER SHOULD CONSIDER LIMITING FACTORS LIKE MONEY, MANPOWER, MATERIALS AND MARKET BEFORE TAKING UP PLANNING.

11.    COORDINATION: IS ESSENTIAL FOR HARMONIOUS WORKING OF THE ORGANIZATION.PLANNING COORDINATES THE WHAT, WHO, HOW AND WHY AND WHERE OF PLANNING.

•     THE SIX P’S OF PLANNING

1.       PURPOSE: - THE FIRST REQUIREMENT OF THE PLANNING IS THE PURPOSE. THE PURPOSE SHOULD BE CLEAR AND UNDERSTANDABLE, THE REASON FOR THE EXISTENCE OF ORGANIZATION MUST BE STATED.

2.       PHILOSOPHY:-IT STATES THE BELIEF AS TO HOW THE ORGANIZATION’S PURPOSE IS TO BE ACHIEVED.

3.       PROMISE:-ASSESSMENT OF THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE ORGANIZATION BASED ON THE KNOWLEDGE AND ASSUMPTIONS OF THE ENVIRONMENT. WITH THE HELP OF BUSINESS FORECASTING AND OTHER METHODS SOME CONCLUSIONS ARE DRAWN FOR THE FUTURE.

4.       POLICIES: - POLICIES ARE THE GENERAL STATEMENTS FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE PERSONNEL. THEY ARE THE GUIDELINES AND CONSTRAINS WHICH AID IN MANAGEMENT THINKING AND ACTION LIKE PRODUCTION POLICY, MARKETING POLICY ETC. THESE POLICIES FORM A BASIS FOR MANAGERIAL ACTIONS.

5.       PLANS:-THESE ARE THE OBJECTIVES AND ACTION STATEMENTS. PLANS GUIDE HOW THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO SET AND ACHIEVED.

6.       PRIORITIES: - AN ORGANIZATION MUST FIX GOAL PRIORITIES, THE RESOURCES ARE LIMITED AND THESE ARE TO BE ALLOCATED AS PER THE PRIORITIES SET.

•     PLANNING PROCESS

1.       RECOGNIZING THE NEED FOR ACTION:-AWARENESS OF THE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY AND THE NEED FOR TAKING ACTION. PRESENT AND FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES ARE STUDIED. PRO AND CON IS ANALYZED BEFORE TAKING ANY ACTION,

2.       LAYING DOWN THE OBJECTIVES:-OBJECTIVES ARE THE GOALS WHICH THE MANAGEMENT WANTS TO ACHIEVE. THE OBJECTIVES ARE THE END PRODUCTS AND ALL ENERGIES ARE DIVERTED TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS. RIGHT FORMULATION OF THE OBJECTIVE IS MUST.

3.       GATHERING NECESSARY INFORMATION: - BEFORE ACTUAL PLANNING, RELEVANT FACTS AND FIGURES ARE COLLECTED. ALL INFORMATION RELATING TO THE OPERATIONS OF THE BUSINESS SHOULD BE COLLECTED IN DETAIL

4.       RECOGNIZING BARRIER TO PLANNING:-SHOULD IDENTIFY BARRIERS IN PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANNING. IDENTIFICATION OF BARRIERS HELPS IN FRAMING REALISTIC OBJECTIVES.

5.       DETERMINING PLANNING PREMISES:-PLANNING IS ALWAYS FOR UNCERTAIN FUTURE. BUT STILL ASSUMPTIONS WILL HAVE TO BE MADE FOR FORMULATING PLANS. WHEN WE FORECAST WHAT ASSUMPTIONS WE MADE FOR FUTURE EVENTS

6.       DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVES COURSES OF ACTION:-DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE PLANS OF ACTION AS THERE ARE NUMBER OF WAYS OF DOING THE THINGS. THE PLANNER SHOULD CONSIDER MAXIMUM POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES.

7.       SELECTION OF THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION:-AFTER GENERATING DIFFERENT COURSE OF ACTIONS THE NEXT STEP WILL BE TO MAKE EVALUATION OF THOSE COURSE OF ACTIONS. THE EVALUATION OF VARIOUS ACTION PATTERN IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE SELECTION OF BEST ALTERNATIVE.

8.       DETERMINATION OF SECONDARY PLANS: - NUMBER OF SUPPORTIVE PLANS ARE REQUIRES. SECONDARY PLANS ARE MEANT FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PRINCIPAL PLAN.

9.       IMPLEMENTATION OF PLANS: - SHOULD BE PUT INTO ACTION SO THAT THE BUSINESS OBJECTIVES SHOULD BE ACHIEVED.

10.    FEEDBACK:-MANAGERS RECEIVE INFORMATION REGARDING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PLAN IMPLEMENTATION. PLANS MUST BE CONTINUOUSLY REVIEWED ACCORDING TO CHANGING ENVIRONMENT.

•     THE NEED OF PLANNING

•     FIRST STEP IN THE MANAGEMENT

•     THE INCREASING COMPLEXITIES OF THE BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES, INCREASING MARKETING COMPETITION, CHANGING CUSTOMER PREFERENCES HAVE NECESSITATED PROPER PLANNING :

1.       ESSENTIAL FOR MODERN BUSINESS

2.       RELATED TO PERFORMANCE : PLANNING HELPS IN FORMULATING GOALS FOR EACH FUNCTION AND THE ORGANIZATION WHICH HAVE FORMAL PLANNING HAVE PERFORMED BETTER

3.       FOCUS ON OBJECTIVES :- IS ON SETTING OBJECTIVES AND PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR REACHING THEM

4.       PROPER ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES

5.       PLANNING CAN BE USED TO DEVISE A MECHANISM OF CONTROL. THESE CAN BE QUANTITATIVE TARGETS AND THEIR COMPARISON WITH ACTUAL PERFORMANCE CAN BRING TO NOTICE ANY DEVIATION.

6.       HELPFUL IN DECISION MAKING

7.       GOOD PLANNING HELP IN UTILIZING AVAILABLE RESOURCES IN BETS POSSIBLE WAYS.