The document discusses planning as a management process. It defines planning as thinking about and organizing activities to achieve goals. The key steps in the planning process are: 1) Establishing goals and identifying resources needed 2) Creating tasks to achieve goals and prioritizing them 3) Developing timelines, assigning responsibilities, and establishing evaluation methods 4) Identifying alternative courses of action if the plan is not on track Planning is an intellectual process that pervades all management activities. It is a continuous and perpetual process that must be revised as circumstances change. Effective planning is crucial for organizational success.

1. MANAGEMENT PROCESS
H Ramasubramanian
Planning

2. Planning
Definition: Types of plans:
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3. Planning
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4. Planning - Definition
Planning (also called forethought) is the process of thinking about and organising the
activities required to achieve a desired goal.
Steps in planning process:
Establish Goals
• The first step of the management planning process is to identify specific company goals.
• This portion of the planning process should include a detailed overview of each goal,
including the reason for its selection and the anticipated outcomes of goal-related
projects.
• Where possible, objectives should be described in quantitative or qualitative terms. An
example of a goal is to raise profits by 25 % over a 12-month period.
Identify Resources
• Each goal should have financial and human resources projections associated with its
completion.
• For example, a management plan may identify how many sales people it will require and
how much it will cost to meet the goal of increasing sales by 25 %.
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5. Planning - Definition
Establish Goal-Related Tasks
• Each goal should have tasks or projects associated with its achievement.
• For example, if a goal is to raise profits by 25 %, a manager will need to outline the tasks
required to meet that objective.
• Examples of tasks might include increasing the sales staff or developing advanced sales
training techniques.
Prioritise Goals and Tasks
• Prioritising goals and tasks is about ordering objectives in terms of their importance.
• The tasks deemed most important will theoretically be approached and completed first.
• The prioritising process may also reflect steps necessary in completing a task or
achieving a goal.
• For example, if a goal is to increase sales by 25 % and an associated task is to increase
sales staff, the company will need to complete the steps toward achieving that objective
in chronological order.
Create Assignments and Timelines
• As the company prioritises projects, it must establish timelines for completing associated
tasks and assign individuals to complete them.
• This portion of the management planning process should consider the abilities of staff
members and the time necessary to realistically complete assignments.
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6. Planning - Definition
• For example, the sales manager in this scenario may be given monthly earning quotas to
stay on track for the goal of increasing sales by 25 %.
Establish Evaluation Methods
• A management planning process should include a strategy for evaluating the progress
toward goal completion throughout an established time period.
• One way to do this is through requesting a monthly progress report from department
heads.
Identify Alternative Courses of Action
• Even the best-laid plans can sometimes be thrown off track by unanticipated events.
• A management plan should include a contingency plan if certain aspects of the master
plan prove to be unattainable.
• Alternative courses of action can be incorporated into each segment of the planning
process, or for the plan in its entirety.
Intellectual Process:
• Planning is an intellectual process of thinking in advance.
• It is a process of deciding the future on the series of events to follow. Planning is a
process where a number of steps are to be taken to decide the future course of action.
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7. Planning - Definition
• Managers or executives have to consider various courses of action, achieve the desired
or set goal.
• Go in details of the pros and cons of every course of action and then finally decide what
courses of action may suit them best.
Primary function:
• Planning precedes other function in the management process.
• Certainly, setting of goals to be achieved and lines of action to be followed precedes the
organisation, direction, supervision and control.
• No doubt, planning precedes other functions of management.
• It is primary requisite before other management functions step in.
• But all functions are inter-connected.
• It is mixed in all managerial functions.
• But there too gets the precedence.
• Planning thus gets primary everywhere.
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8. Planning - Definition
All pervasive: (Present throughout)
• Planning pervades management activities.
• From primary of planning follows pervasiveness of planning.
• It is the function of every managerial personnel.
• The character, nature and scope of planning may change fro personnel to personnel.
• But, the planning as an action remains intact.
• Plans cannot make an enterprise successful. Action is required.
• Planning seeks to achieve a consistent, coordinated structure of operations focused on
desired goals / trends.
• Without plans, action must become merely activity producing nothing but chaos.
Perpetual process: (continuous)
• Planning is a continuous process and a never ending activity of a manger.
• It is based upon some assumptions which may or may not come true in the future.
• Managers has to go on modifying, revising and adjusting plans in the light of changing
circumstances.
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9. Planning - Definition
Role, Significance, Importance & Advantages:
• Organisation without planning – sailboat without rudder.
• Subject to the winds of organisational change.
• Without planning, business becomes random in nature and decisions become
meaningless and adhoc choices.
• Planning is the foundation of most successful actions of any enterprise.
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10. Planning - Definition
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11. Planning - Definition
Steps involved in planning:
• The planning process is valid for one organisation and for one plan.
• May not be valid for other organisation or for all types of plans.
• Various factors that go into planning process may differ from organisation to oeganisation
or from plan to plan in the same organisation.
• Major steps involved.
1. Establish objectives:
– Primary step in planning process.
– What is to be done
– When to be done
– How to do
– What is priority activity
– To align with policies, procedures, budget
– Objective must be understandable, rational and doable to make planning effective.
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12. Planning - Definition
2. Establishment of planning premises:
– Assumption about the future and expected situation.
– Internal premises are internal variables that affect planning.
• Policies
• Resources
• Budget
• Timing
– External premises are variables outside the organisation
• Political
• Social
• Technological
• Competition
• Government rules / policies
• Market condition.
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13. Planning - Definition
3. Determining alternative courses:
– Determine and evaluate alternative actions.
– No occasions without alternatives.
– Worthy and meaningful
– It is imperative that alternative plans must be developed before deciding upon the
exact plan.
4. Evaluation of alternatives:
– Study their strong and weak points
– Give weightage to various factors involved.
• More cash flow
• Least risk
• Long term business
• Competition pressure
– Decision to be taken on an alternate.
5. Selection of course of action:
– It is the point of decision making
– Deciding upon the plan to be adopted to meet objectives.
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14. Planning - Definition
6. Formulating derivative plans:
– Gives effect and support basic plan.
– Ex: Run a flight from Chennai – Patna
• Staffing
• Operation
• Fuel
• Maintenance
• Stores purchase
– Each manager and department need to contribute to prepare the master plan on the
basis of derived plans.
7. Establishing sequence of activities:
– After basic and derivative plans are prepared for the activities, timing plan to be
made.
– Timing is essential.
– Gives practical shape and concrete form to the project.
– Starting and finishing time is fixed.
– Bad timing and sequence result in project failure.
– Who will do, what they will do, when they will do.
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15. Planning - Definition
8. Feed-back or follow-up actions:
– Planning alone is not sufficient.
– To see whether actions are taken as per plan.
– If not, what is the cause, how to resolve and keep going.
– Whether the plan is working for that project and that situation.
– If conditions have changed, plan becomes outdated and require change.
– Regular follow-up / review required for effective implementation.
• The plan should be communicated to all connected in the project.
• Objective and course of action should be clearly defined.
• No ambiguity.
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16. Planning - Definition
Types of planning:
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17. Planning - Definition
Types of planning:
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18. Planning - Definition
Types of planning:
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