ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 1 REV 0

DISCUSSION ON PLANNIG & LEADING IN THE BUSINESS
WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
Student No: 77923529 Module Code: PPSM015 Unique Assignment No: 341257
Page 1
Student No: 779 23 529
Module Code: PPSM015 (ENTERPRISE
MANAGEMENT)
Assignment No: (1)
Registration Code: 01
Assignment Due Date: 14 March 2013 (Semester 1)
Unique Assignment No: 341257
Postal Address: 89 14th
Road Erand Gardens Midrand

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
Page 2
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Benefits of planning
3. The costs of planning
4. Managers goals & plans
5. The planning process
6. The implementation of plans
7. The nature of leadership
8. Leadership & management
9. The components of the leading function
10. Motivation
11. Communication
12. Conclusion
13. Bibliography

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
Page 3
Introduction
Planning in the business world
Without planning you are like a ship without a sale in the middle of the ocean where the wind
blows you in whichever direction it feels like. Planning gives direction to the organization and by
understanding the concept of planning you can provide a competitive advantage to your
organization. By scanning and analyzing the environment you are able to pick up forthcoming
threats, changes and are able to adjust your plan to prevent any delays or unexpected changes
that could cause a decline in production & loss in profits. I will be discussing the benefits of
planning, the costs of planning, manager’s goals & plans, the planning process & the
implementation of plans.
Leading in the business world
Organizations require people (Human Resources) to carry out tasks such as financial,
operational, marketing & development, logistics & Warehousing EST.
In order to manage the above mentioned important human resources managers need to perform
the managing function of leading by influencing, guiding & directing employees towards
achieving organizational goals. I will be discussing the nature of leadership, leadership &
management, the components of leading function, motivation & communication.

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
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Benefits of planning
Planning has many benefits; the more turbulent the environment the more planning is required.
No plan can be perfect. Managers plan to steer the organization towards achieving its goals
taking into consideration strengths and weaknesses. Even though managers drive their
organizations to achieve predetermined goals, the environment is not stable and can change.
Managers have to investigate, scan, review & revise their plans against various markets
accordingly in order to prevent uncertainties, delays & loss of profits.
By planning you determine where an organization is currently, where it wants to be in the future
and how it plans on getting there. This determines the direction of the organization.
Goal setting & planning is affected by changes in the environment in the future. Managers need
to continually scan the market to identify any changes that could be a risk, uncertainty or threat.
Once discovered managers will need to adjust their plans to avoid or use these risk, uncertainty
or threat to their advantage and overcome such issues.
By planning, all activities are focused in one direction, which is to achieve goals and targets
effectively & reduce risks in turn generating profits. Once all members of the organization are
aware of their goals & how to carry out their tasks, they can work towards achieving them. This
creates teamwork & co-operation.
Due to the rising complexity of organizations & the independent parts of organizations
departments, sections & teams there is a need for cohesion & integration between organizational
departments in order for a plan to work. Therefor planning ensures cohesion, intergradation &
promotes teamwork.
Managers use control to ensure that plans & goals are met efficiently & effectively. Plans are
developed, material & human resources are deployed & predetermined standards & procedures
are set in order to control theses resources.
During the planning process goals & plans are formulated at various levels, these goals & plans
later facilitate control. Without planning control cannot take place.

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
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The cost of planning
Planning has many benefits to the organization but there are also costs involved in planning,
some of the costs are discussed in brief bellow:
 In changing environments, manager’s will not deviate from set plans & this can impact
many negative costs especially when flexibility may be required in the planning process
i.e. A construction manager plans to achieve 45 Hrs of production out of an employee but
it rains & the manager did not budget (Plan) for rain suits therefore the employee cannot
work in the rain without a rain suit due to safety regulations, this entails a direct impact
on planed profit outcomes & is a loss.
 Planning is time-consuming & can cause valuable time of managers to be spent thinking
up & formulating plans & time is money.
 Formal plans can diminish the valuable use of intuition & creativity due to many
restrictions & boundaries in formal procedures.
 Planning can cause delays in making crucial decisions by means of managers focusing on
planning & evaluating opposed to strategically thinking & performing.
Managers Goals & Plans
Managers need to ask the question, where do we want this organization to be at a specific date
(This question allows managers to set goals) then managers need to decide, how they intend on
reaching those goals. These decisions are turned into plans to achieve predetermined goals.
There are several factors that determine the context in which planning takes place. These
variables set the parameters in which managers can formulate goals & plans. Managers need to
set goals and plans that are attainable & realistic in terms of the environment the organization
works in & resources the organization has to deploy i.e. a marketing company cannot expect a
50% increase in sales this year with the same material & human resources it used last year to
achieve a 10% increase. A possible 20 or 30 % can be expected depending on the sales drive.
The 5 variables that set the parameters for organizational planning are: the purpose of the
organization & the environment, the organizations mission statement, the environment & the
manager’s values & experience. I will discuss 3 of the 5 parameters bellow:

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
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1. The mission statement sets out the unique purpose that differentiates the organization
from others of its nature & guides the goal setting & planning.
2. Managers must scan the environment, identify threats & changes & use these to their
advantage when formulating plans.
3. The experience of managers affects their planning performance. The more experience a
manager has the more efficient & his plan will be.
The Planning process
The steps in the planning process include the following: establish goals, develop alternative
plans, evaluate alternative plans, select a plan, implement the plan, do reactive planning (When
changes occur in the environment)
The implementation of plans
Develop a framework for the chosen plan; obtain leadership to set the plan in motion & exercise
control to determine if activities are going according to plan. Control will identify deviation from
the plan & reactive planning will be required. This implies that manager will have to adjust goals
& plan accordingly to fit the new info of the environment
The nature of leadership
A popular definition of leadership is the ability to influence employees to work willingly towards
achieving organizational goals & objectives.
The first 2 management functions is planning & organizing, once plans are put in place &
everything is organized i.e. goals are set, resources are deployed & systems are put in place the
next step is leading. Leading is the 3rd
fundamental function of management. Managers need to
understand what motivates employees to perform and carry out tasks effectively & efficiently &
what type of environment the employee feels comfortable and motivated to work productively.
Managers need to build teams that perform a variety of tasks and understand the dynamics of
teams and know what team leadership is. Managers need to communicate the organizations
vision, mission, goals, targets, problems & other organizational issues with the team in order for
management to get buy in and support from the team. Managers also have to listen to employee’s
problems and help resolve them if possible, in order to gain full co-p operation from employees.
By leading, managers are able to fill the gap between planning & achieving goals.

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
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Leadership & Management
Leadership is not the same as management. Management consists of 4 fundamental functions &
leadership is one of them. A leader could be a normal employee and a manager could have no
leadership skills. People work as managers but lack the ability to influence others. Influencing is
the process leaders follow when communicating ideas, gaining acceptance of them & inspiring
followers to support & implement the ideas through change.
The components of the leading function
Managers need to understand & use components such as authority, power, responsibility,
delegation & accountability to execute efficient & effective leadership in the organization. I will
discuss the above mentioned components in brief bellow:
Authority is the right given to managers to command employees to carry out tasks, achieve
goals & demand action. Authority gives managers the right to attain specific outcomes from
employees using various tactics that fall within the organizations laws i.e. Managers can set
deadlines give instructions and expect results and further to this reprimand and take corrective
action to ensure that targets are met. Authority falls into various ranks i.e. I am authorized to sign
of an order for R4000.00 or less but not more, if the value falls above R4000.00 my manager will
sign of as he is authorized to sign of not more thanR500, 000.00 anything more than R500,
000.00 but less than R400, 0000.00 will be signed of buy the procurement business unit manager
who is my bosses boss and so it goes on… this indicates that authority is closely linked to
leadership in an organization. Power is the manager’s ability to influence the decisions of
employees. I have discovered that there are various powers and that leadership goes hand in hand
with power. Without power managers cannot influence employees to be productive and carry out
work. The 2 types of -powers leaders have is position power which is delegated down the chain
by top management & personal power which is given to managers by their employees. In-
between these 2 powers there are various powers which form the power continuum.

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
Page 8
Responsibility is the obligation to achieve organizational goals by performing required
activities.
Delegation is the process of assigning responsibility & authority for achieving organizational
goals.
Accountability is the evaluation of how well individuals meet their responsibility. Managers are
accountable for the success of their department or section. Managers can delegate their
responsibility but not their accountability.
Motivation
Employees impact organizational profits directly as they are responsible for production therefor
managers need to understand what motivates employees. Motivation is a crucial aspect of
leading and if not understood and practiced effectively can result in lack of interest from
employees & loss of production. Motivation is an inner desire to satisfy an unsatisfied need i.e.
the need for one to progress will motivate one to work overtime, work hard or study. It is also the
willingness of employees to achieve organizational goals. In order to motivate employee’s
managers can create an environment that encourages employees to achieve goals. Once
managers understand what motivates their employee’s behavior, they can influence the
employees work performance. In order for employee’s to perform they must possess a high level
of motivation, appropriate training knowledge & skills to perform effectively.
Communication
Communication is an essential element of leading. It is important for managers to have clear
communication with employees so that instructions are adhered to & carried out correctly.
Communication is important in terms of the relationship Mangers have with their employees, a
good relationship fosters good workmanship & clear understanding in turn creating an increase
in productivity. Instructions, ideas, goals, strategies, changes, problems est. need to be
communicated simply, clearly, inspirationally & effectively in order for the message to be
received & understood & the receiver inspired & motivated to carry out the tasks. Channels of
communication can vary depending on the environment, distance, type of information EST.
Some of the channels of communication are Verbal Communication, internet, intranet, Email,
various media EST.

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
Page 9
Conclusion
Planning
In conclusion to planning I have gathered that without knowing what the purpose of planning is
and how to go about creating a plan i.e. Setting goals, creating plans & alternative plans in case
your original plan fails, selecting the appropriate plans, implement plans & doing reactive
planning when the environment changes a business will not function efficiently and effectively
and my belief is that a business will not succeed without the proper understanding &
implementation planning.
702/567 Talk radio newsman, Chris gibbons says Toyota should have put together a plan to
avoid problems like the major problem Toyota experienced when there was a factory fault on
Toyota vehicles where the accelerator was getting stuck causing danger & Toyota had to recall
vehicles effected throughout S.A . Had a plan been put in place to manage such problems Toyota
would have not ran around like headless chickens.
(Referenced from Moerdyk C.2010 Toyota will survive in spite of PR foul-up
http://www.bizcomunity.com/Article/196/18/44538.html)
Leading
In conclusion to leading I have gathered that a manager is not necessarily a leader, in fact an
employee can be a better leader than a manager and therefore it is of high importance that
managers understand the nature of leadership & how to be effective leaders in the organization.
Managers need to lead employees towards achieving organizational goals as effectively &
efficiently as possible by means of exercising their Authority and Powers, motivating &
conveying clear, simple & understandable communication. By following these steps managers
can maintain good, clear respectable relationships with their employees and create a productive
working environment.

WORLD
Ray Lucre Pillay
Page 10
Bibliography
1. Eighth Edition Introduction to Business Management Oxford Press South Africa
2. (Referenced from Moerdyk C.2010 Toyota will survive inspite of PR foul-up
http://www.bizcomunity.com/Article/196/18/44538.html)

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