CONTENTS:

Introduction
1. Definition of planning and by others authors
2. Characteristic or features of planning
3. Planning processing
4. Types of planning
5. Characteristics of effective planning
6. Benefits or importance of planning
7. Barriers to planning
8. Criticisms of planning
Conclusion
references
INTRODUCTION
Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders
map out their vision for their organization’s growth and how they
are going to get there. In this assignment, we will guide you
through the strategic planning process, types of plans,
characteristics of planning including why it is important, the
barriers and criticisms of planning , and the steps to get you from
beginning to end. The process includes establishing the sequence
in which those goals should be realized so the organization can
reach its stated vision. The purpose of this presentation briefing is
to provide an overview of the steps used in strategic planning.

KEYWORDS
Plan: it is a framework as regards the list of steps to be followed
with proper timing, sequence and resources to be used so as
achieve the desired objective. In simple words to plan means to
create a design for the future. It is the end result of the planning
process.
Strategy: it is an action that managers take to attain one or more
of the organisation’s goals. Or the path an organisation takes
towards the attainment of its goals.
1. Definition of Planning

Planning deals with chalking out

a future course of action and
deciding in advance the most
appropriate course of action for
the achievement of pre-
determined goals.
Planning involves setting up
objectives and deciding in
advance the appropriate course
of action to achieve these
objectives. Determination of the
future course of action can be
long term or short term.
Definition by other Authors

According to Koontz and O’Donnell, “planning is deciding in

advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it and who is to
do it. It bridges the gap from where we are and where we want
to be”.
Mary Cushing Niles says that, “planning is the conscious
process of selecting and developing the best course of action to
accomplish an objective ”.
According to George R. Terry, “Planning is the selecting and
relating of facts and the making and using of assumptions
regarding the future in the visualisation and formulation of
purposed activities believed necessary to achieve desired
results ”.
2. CHARACTERISTICS OR FEATURES OF PLANNING

a) Goal oriented: planning will be meaningless if there are no goals to be achieved in the
end. Hence planning is a goal oriented process which involves defining the objectives
of the organisation for achieving them timely and effectively. A sound planning process
can help in prioritising the objectives and achieving them easily.
b) Primary function of management: Planning is the primary or first function to be
performed by every manager. No other function can be executed by the manager
without performing planning function. It lays the foundation for the process of
management.
c) Planning is pervasive in nature: This means that all the levels and departments of
organisations require planning so it is not limited to just one level or department of the
concern
d) Mental Exercise: Planning is more about thinking than doing. It requires rational and
methodical thinking (intelligent, imagination, foresight, deep analysis and ability to
judge and decide).Further it also requires the ability to take a peep into the future with
precision or anticipate future events.
e) Continuous process: plans are developed for certain periods and when the period is
about to end, a fresh plan is developed for the new term keeping in mind the
environmental conditions, present situations and the objective to be achieved in the
future, hence it is a never ending activity.
f) It involves decision making: In planning, various alternative courses of actions are
developed and the best plan is selected out of the available options. It involves a
complete examination and evaluation of each alternatives and then picking the most
suitable course of action.
g) Futuristic: Planning is a future oriented activity. It involves thinking before hand and
preparing for the future. Its aim is to determine the future events correctly and meet
them effectively. It involves gathering relevant information and then selecting a course
of action but it is based on the past experiences and current situations of the concern.
PLANNING PROCESS
Planning is the first primary function of management that precedes all
other functions. The planning function involves the decision of what to
do and how it is to be done? So managers focus a lot of their attention
on planning and the planning process. Let us take a look at the eight
important steps of the planning process.
1) Recognizing Need for Action: An important part of the planning
process is to be aware of the business opportunities in the firm’s
external environment as well as within the firm. Once such
opportunities get : recognized the managers can recognize the
actions that need to be taken to realize them.
2) Setting Objectives; This is the second and perhaps the most
important step of the planning process. Here we establish the
objectives for the whole organization and also individual
departments. Organizational objectives provide a general direction,
objectives of departments will be more planned and detailed.
Objectives can be long term and short term as well. They indicate
the end result the company wishes to achieve. So objectives will
percolate down from the managers and will also guide and push
the employees in the correct direction.
3) Developing Premises: Planning is always done keeping the
future in mind, however, the future is always uncertain. So in the
function of management certain assumptions will have to be made.
These assumptions are the premises. Such assumptions are made
in the form of forecasts, existing plans, past policies, etc. These
planning premises are also of two types , internal and external.
External assumptions deal with factors such as political
environment, social environment, the advancement of technology,
competition, government policies, etc. Internal assumptions deal
with policies, availability of resources, quality of management, etc.
5) Examining Alternate Course of Action:
The next step of the planning process is to
evaluate and closely examine each of the
alternative plans. Every option will go
through an examination where all there pros
and cons will be weighed. The alternative
plans need to be evaluated in light of the
organizational objectives.
6) Selecting the Alternative: Finally, we
reach the decision making stage of the
planning process. Now the best and most
feasible plan will be chosen to be
implemented. The ideal plan is the most
profitable one with the least amount of
negative consequences and is also adaptable
to dynamic situations.
7) Formulating Supporting Plan: Once you
have chosen the plan to be implemented,
managers will have to come up with one or
more supporting plans. These secondary
plans help with the implementation of the
main plan.
8) Implementation of the Plan: This is when
all the other functions of management come
TYPES OF PLANNING
Plans can be described by their breadth, time frame, specificity,
and frequency of use.
 Breadth: strategic & operational plans. Strategic plans,
Operational planning involves making plans for the business's
immediate future. Lower management, such as unit supervisors
and foremen, create operational plans. These plans cover short
periods starting in the present and spanning between one week
to one year. Operational plans are the most specific,
explaining how to complete tasks efficiently. They keep
businesses running smoothly. Operational plans are plans that
specify details on how overall objectives are to be achieved.
 Time frame: short-term & long-term plans. Short-term plans
are plans that cover one year or less and Long-term plans are
those that extend beyond three years.
 Specificity: specific & directional plans. Specific plans are
those that are clearly defined and leave no room for
interpretation and Directional plans are flexible plans that set
out general guidelines.
 Frequency; Single-use plans & standing plans, single-use
plans cover a specific operation or process that is an outlier to
normal operations. In all likelihood, a single-use plan will never
need to be repeated and will simply cover the content involved
in one circumstance. Standing plans are based on the
operations that must be repeated indefinitely within a business
or corporation. Standing plans govern the processes that occur
 CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE PLANS.

The effective planning defines the correct actions to achieve the

organizational goals. It helps in efficient utilization of available resources. The
realistic planning helps in achieving the organizational goals in most
competitive way. Hence go on and plan to achieve the goals you have set.
The four qualities that effective plans should have are :
The first quality an effective plan should have is unity. Unity is described as
the state of being united or together. It is important that an effective plan
has unity.
Continuity is when the limit of a function approaching a point from either
direction is equal to the evaluation of the function at that point.
Accuracy is when a measured value is very close to the target value.
Planning is an essential way that programs move forward in a changing and
uncertain environment
Flexible planning means you are able to have a high level project plan in
place, but also know how to adjust it, monitor it for risks and challenges,
and improve when needed.
 IMPORTANCE OR BENEFITS OF PLANNING

Planning reduces uncertainty and indicates what everyone is expected to

accomplish. People are more likely to work toward a goal they know and
understand. Plans set performance standards. Planning defines desired
outcomes as well as mileposts to define progress Importance of Planning
planning gives you the needed direction.
uncertainties are reduced.
it helps in making sound decisions.
planning gives you total control of your life.
planning helps you live a happier life.

Why is planning important in management?

Planning reduces the risks of uncertainty: Planning helps an organization to
cope with an uncertain future. It helps management to anticipate the future
and prepare for the risks by making necessary provisions to meet the
unexpected turn of events.
 4. BARRIERS TO
PLANNING
Identifying Barriers to planning. Various barriers can inhibit successful
planning .In order for plans to be effective and to yield the desired
results, managers must identify any potential barriers that can inhibit
successful planning are as follows:
1) Inadequate Planning: Managers are not born with the ability to
plan. Some managers are not successful planners because the lack
the background, education and /or ability .Other may have never been
taught how to plan. When two managers take time to plan they may
how to conduct planning as a process
2) Lack of commitment: This development of a plan is hard work; it is
much easier for a manager to claim that he or she doesn’t have time
to work through the required planning process than to actually devote
the time to developing a plan. Another possibility reason is lack of
commitment can be fear of failure. As a reasons may choose to do
little or nothing to help in the planning process.
 CRITICISMS OF PLANNING
1. Lack of reliable information: Planning always is based upon facts,
assumptions and information. The success of planning depends on these
information. When these are accurate the success of planning is
remarkable, conversely in the case of erroneous and non-reliable
information, planning itself planning itself becomes questionable. Thus,
before considering any information, its accuracy and reliability should be
verified by management as it may lead to far reaching consequences and in
worst case can make the whole planning process a big fail
2. Lack of Managerial Ability: Planning is an intellectual process requiring
professional attitude, managerial ability and farsightedness. Success of
planning depends upon these traits of management. Many a times, lack of
managerial ability may result in selection of impractical alternative, making
incorrect assumptions, investing pointless time and effort to irrelevant
activities etc. But then also managers are also human beings and may not
always possess all such qualities, also they are prone to making mistakes.
In such situation planning process and its success becomes debatable.
 CONCLUSION
Strategic planning is an organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy
and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward
common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, assess and adjust the
organization’s direction in response to a changing environment. There are many different frameworks and
methodologies for strategic planning and management. While there are no absolute rules regarding the
right framework, most follow a similar pattern and have common attributes.
The strategic planning process is where a company formulates various strategies that evaluate the
goals and objectives of a company, and the means to achieve those goals and objectives. It guarantees
that a corporation's internal and external analysis is conducted to build a long-term vision, and strategy
that serves as a basis for implementing and evaluating a strategic planning process. After a strategic plan
has been made, a company should formulate a strategic planning process model, which helps it take
the strategic plan, and put it into action to achieve the company's goals.
Strategic planning helps you clearly define your company’s long-term objectives and maps how your
short-term goals and work will help you achieve them. This, in turn, gives you a clear sense of where your
organization is going and allows you to ensure your teams are working on projects that make the most
impact. Think of it this way if your goals and objectives are your destination on a map, your strategic plan
is your navigation system.
 REFENCES:
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functions, 2º edition. Mac Graw-hill series in management. London, new York, Toronto,
McGraw-Hill book company, 1959, XII p.718 p., 54/6 ).
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York: Human Sciences Press, 1982).
• John P. Lewis, ed., Strengthening the Poor: What Have We Learned? (New Brunswick,
Transaction Books, 1988).
• Peter Oakley, Projects with People: The Practice of Participation in Rural Development
(Geneva: International Labour Office, 1991).
• Samuel Paul, Strategic Management of Development Programmes: Guidelines for Action
(Geneva: International Labour Office, 1983).
• Dennis A. Rondinelli, ed., Planning Development Projects (Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden,
Hutchinson and Ross, 1977).
• Peter H. Rossi and Howard E. Freeman, Evaluation: A Systematic Approach (Newbury Park,
CA: Sage, 1989).
• Edward A. Suchman, Evaluation Research (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1967).