Planning in Management

Summary:

Planning stands as a cornerstone among the five fundamental functions of management, embodying the essence of charting an organization’s course towards its desired future state. Within the constellation of management activities—planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling—planning emerges as the nucleus from which all other actions radiate.

At its core, planning involves discerning the destination an organization aspires to reach and orchestrating the means to traverse that path. This process commences with the establishment of goals—envisioned outcomes that the organization endeavors to achieve. Complementing these aspirations, plans take form as comprehensive blueprints, detailing the allocation of resources, timelines, tasks, and actions needed to translate those goals into reality.

The hierarchical structure of goals and plans mirrors the organizational structure. A formal mission provides the bedrock, delineating the organization’s fundamental purpose for both internal and external audiences. Strategic plans, hewed by top-level managers, delineate the overall direction and overarching objectives. Tactical goals and plans, overseen by middle managers, elucidate responsibilities and quantitative measures within divisions. Operational plans, guiding individual departments and employees, refine the specific actions required for goal attainment.

An array of planning types facilitates the choreography of progress. Strategic plans, akin to master symphonies, orchestrate the allocation of resources and endeavors necessary to attain long-term goals. Tactical plans dissect these grand compositions into sectional harmonies, allocating responsibilities and metrics. Meanwhile, operational plans serve as meticulous score sheets, detailing the minutiae of daily activities. Long-range, intermediate, and short-range plans extend the temporal horizon, while specific, directional, single-use, and standing plans cater to diverse needs.

Excerpt:

Planning in Management

Planning

Overview of goals and plans

• One of the primary responsibilities of managers is to decide where the organization should go in the future and how to get it there.
• Of the five management functions planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling- planning is considered the most fundamental. Everything else stems from planning.

Goal– is a desired future state that the organization attempt to realize.

Plan– is a blueprint for goal achievement and specifies the necessary resource allocations, schedules, tasks and other actions.