Introduction About Planning

International About Planning

Planning is the selection and relating of facts and making /using of
assumptions regarding the future in the visualization and formalization of
proposed activities believed necessary to achieve desired result. ( George
Terry)

• Planning may be broadly defined as a concept of executive action that
embodies the skills of anticipating , influencing and controlling the nature
and direction of change. ( Dalton McFarland)

• Koontz and Weihrich – Planning involves selecting missions and objectives
and the actions to achieve them.

• Richard Steers – Planning is the process by which managers define goals
and take necessary steps to ensure these goals are achieved

NATURE OF PLANNING

Rational approach – It is intended to fill the gap between

(a) Actual status – current status and
(b) Desired status – expected performance

• An open system approach – Organization is an open system . It takes
inputs from the environment , processes these ,and exports outputs to
environment. Therefore while adopting open system approach in planning
managers have to take into account the dynamic features of the
environment which depends on PESTEL factors.

FOUR KEY PRINCIPLES OF PLANNING

Principle of limiting factor – In choosing among alternatives , the more
accurately individuals recognize and allow for factors that are limiting or
critical to the attainment of the desired goal, the more easily and accurately
can they select the most favorable alternative.

• The commitment principle – Logical planning should cover a period of time in
the future necessary to foresee as well as possible , through a series of actions
, the fulfillment of commitments involved in a decision made today.

• Principle of flexibility – Building flexibility into plans will lessen the danger of
losses incurred through unexpected events, but the cost of flexibility should be
weighed against its advantages.

• Principle of Navigational change – The more that planning commit individuals
to a future path, the more important it is to check on events and expectations
periodically and redraw plans as necessary to maintain a course toward a
desired goal.
( Flexibility and Navigational changes are aimed at contingency approach to
planning)

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES OF PLANNING

Advantages of Planning–
• It gives direction to managers and non managers alike.
• Planning can reduce the impact of change.
• It minimizes waste and redundancy.
• Planning establishes objectives or standards that facilitate control.

• Disadvantages of Planning-
• Planning may create rigidity.
• Plans can’t be developed for a dynamic environment.
• Formal plans can’t replace intuition and creativity.
• Planning focuses managers’ attention on today’s competition, not on
tomorrow’s survival.

Importance of planning

Minimizes uncertainty-The future is generally uncertain and things are likely to change with the passage of time. Planning helps in minimizing the uncertainties of the future as it anticipates future events.

  Emphasis on objectives- The first step in planning is to fix the objectives. When the objectives are clearly fixed, the execution of plans will be facilitated towards these objectives.

Facilitates control- Planning and control are inseparable in the sense that unplanned actions cannot be controlled. Control is nothing but making sure that activities conform to the plans.

Improves competitive strength– Planning enables an enterprise to discover new opportunities, which give it a competitive edge.

Economical operation.- Since planning involves a lot of mental exercise, it helps in proper utilization of resources and elimination of unnecessary activities. This, in turn, leads to economy in operation

Encourages innovation- Planning is basically the deciding function of management. Many new ideas come to the mind of a manager when he is planning This creates an innovative and foresighted attitude among the managers.

Tackling complexities Of modern business- With modern business becoming more and more complex, planning helps in getting a clear idea about what is to be done, when it is to be done, where it is to be done and how it is to be done

Promotes coordination.- Planning helps to promote the coordinated effort on account of predetermined goals.

For Reading about-SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES–Click here

For Reading about-International business environment; some basic terms-Click here