Planning refers to the process of deciding in advance the objectives that are to be achieved during a given period, in which the alternative courses of action are being formulated to achieve them, and the best course of action is selected. For instance, a trader decides to increase the trade.
Various alternatives such as price cuts, advertising, better customer service, etc., are inspected to achieve this objective and choose the most appropriate course of action. Planning is a fundamental piece of management.
Thus, it becomes necessary for learners to know of it to gain practical knowledge on the topic. Now let us focus on a few importance of planning that must be remembered for case studies help, which is as follows:
- Focuses Attention On Objectives: The goals are clear and specific with the help of planning since the goals or objectives to be achieved are decided before any plan is drawn. The purposes so decided guide deciding what actions are to be taken.
- Makes Activities Meaningful: Actions become meaningful as soon as the goals are clearly stated. Managers and employees have proper knowledge about the activities that are related to the purposes of the organization. The actions and relationships between different activities are understandable to the managers.
- Brings Order in Place of Chaos: Planning helps in keeping the organization on the right path. Planning makes the thought and action clear and specific. Planning provides directions for action by stating in advance how the work has to be done.
- Reduces Uncertainty Risks: Since a business enterprise operates in an uncertain environment, it must face several hazards. The future events can be predicted with the help of planning to prepare itself to meet the unforeseen circumstances. Managers can identify potential dangers and take the required steps to overcome them with the help of planning. For instance, we can get an idea of future demand if we forecast the population growth.
- Facilitates Decision-Making: Targets are set down under planning. Managers can assess a better course of action and choose the best alternative for the organization with the help of these targets, due to which random actions and hasty results can be avoided.
Now let us discuss a few steps of planning that are to be kept in mind, which would offer projects help to the fresher business trainees. The steps are as follows:
Setting Objectives
The first step of planning is describing and defining the objectives of the organization, which are to be achieved by it in the course of its functioning. Some research paper writings from professional business coaches help to better understand the objectives.
The organization’s primary goals should be clear and specific, and they should be split into sectional, departmental, and individual objectives. The directions of efforts are indicated through dreams. The purposes give detailed guidelines for many decisions related to scheduling of work, allocation of resources, nature of actions, etc.
1. Developing the Planning Premises: After the objectives are achieved, the next step is establishing the beliefs or assumptions relating to the future. Planning premises refers to the boundaries within which the plan will be carried out. If we forecast the future conditions which are likely to affect the pursuit of objectives, the planning premises can be established. Forecast helps us to derive certain assumptions about the conditions that are expected in the future.
2. Identifying Alternative Courses of Action: As soon as the objectives are decided, and the planning premises are established, it becomes mandatory to locate the alternative methods of action that the organization will require to achieve the determined goals. It becomes compulsory to collect and analyze all relevant information to identify all possible alternatives. For developing an alternative course of action, the data so collected will serve as the base. The information that is to be used to discover options must be reliable and up to date. It would be more convenient to confine to the alternatives that are promising, strategic, or directly related to the situation at hand, rather than trying to analyze every choice. This is known as the principle of the limiting factor.
3. Evaluating Alternatives & Choosing the Best Alternatives: The different types of alternatives are compared and considered according to their expected costs and benefits. The common factors such as expected return, goals to be achieved, the risk involved, planning premises, etc., are to be focused on while judging the alternative courses of action. After the scientific evaluation of different objectives is completed, the best alternative among all is selected. This step includes weighing the pros and cons of each option. The positive and negative of each proposal must be evaluated.
4. Formulating Derivative Plans: The detailed or derivative plans refer to the procedures, programs, budgets, policies, rules, schedules, etc. For example, when a company decides to develop a new product, plans concerning the procurement of funds, training of personnel, product design, purchase of materials, advertising for the product, etc., are to be focused on. The plan should be formulated within a stipulated time and in proper sequence.
5. Securing Co-Operation: All the organization members’ whole-hearted collaboration and understanding are necessary to implement the plans successfully. To make the employees understand what is proposed and why methods must be communicated and explained in detail. We can receive some relevant ideas and suggestions from the employees after we have communicated plans to workers.
6. Follow-up Actions: To ensure their effectiveness and relevance, practical plans are reviewed at periodic intervals. After implementing the strategies, specific facts are known to us that we’re not even thinking of earlier. The goals must be revised in the light of the changing environment and these facts whenever required. When the plans are continuously revised, the management can draw up further plans based on the experience gained while implementing the previous projects.
Therefore, this was all one needed to keep in mind to get skilled knowledge on planning in management.
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