Organizational Management Ch. 5

Planning is one the four functions of management. (3)

-First of the four functions of management. -When done well, it sets the stage for the others. -Planning: setting goals and objectives and determining how to best accomplish them.

5.3 What Are Some Useful Planning Tools Techniques. (6)

-Forecasting tries to predict the future. -Contingency planning creates backup plans for when things go wrong. -Scenario planning crafts plans for alternative future conditions. -Benchmarking identifies best practices used by others. -Participatory planning improves implementation capacities. -Goal setting helps align plans and activities throughout an organization.

Planning is the process of setting objectives and identifying how to achieve them. (Different orientations)

-5 steps in the planning process 1. Define your objectives. 2.Determine where you currently stand in reaching the objectives. 3. Develop premises regarding future conditions and generate alternative scenarios. 4. Make a plan 5. Implement the plan and evaluate results. -Action oriented: results driven sense of direction. -Priority oriented: the most important things get first attention. -Advantage oriented: ensuring all resources are used to best advantage. -Change oriented: anticipating problems and opportunities so they can be best dealt with.

Benchmarking identifies best practices used by others. (3)

-Benchmarking: a planning technique that makes use of external comparisons to better evaluate current performance. -Helps avoid complacency trap. -Searches for best practices, both inside and outside the organization, among competitors and non competitors alike.

Budgets are plans that commit resources to activities. (2)

-Budget: a plan that commits resources to activities, programs, or projects. Allocates scarce resources among multiple and competing uses. -Zero based budget: approaches each budget period as if it were brand new. No guarantees exist for any funding. (Deals with rollover and increasing budgets.)

Contingency planning creates backup plans for when things go wrong. (3)

-Contingency planning: identifies alternative courses of action that can be implemented to meet the needs of changing circumstances. -A good contingency plan will contain trigger points. -Can't stop a crisis, but can limit the damage.

Goal setting helps align plans and activities throughout an organization. (4)

-For goals and objectives to be effective they must be good ones. -Should push us to achieve substantial things, not trivial ones. -Stretch planning: planning goals and objectives that we have to work really hard and stretch for. -5 guidelines for creating good goals: 1.Specific. 2. Timely. 3. Measurable. 4. Challenging. 5. Attainable.

Forecasting tries to predict the future. (4)

-Forecasting: the process of predicting what will happen in the future. -There is qualitative forecasting, and quantitative forecasting. -Forecasts are planning aids not substitutes, and should be used with caution. -They rely on human judgement and are open to error.

5.2 What Types of Plans Do Managers Use? (4)

-Managers use short-range and long-range plans. -Managers use strategic and operational plans. -Organizational policies and procedures are plans. -Budgets are plans that commit resources to activities.

Planning improves coordination and control. (3)

-Organizations consist of many people and subsystems doing many different things at the same time. Their accomplishments must add together meaningfully if the organization is going to be successful. -Planning links people together in a hierarchy of objectives. (means-ends chains.) -Good planning sets the stage for controlling, which makes plans more likely to succeed.

Participatory planning improves implementation capacities. (1)

-Participatory planning: includes in all steps of the process the people whose ideas and inputs can benefit the plans and whose support is needed for implementation.

Planning improves focus and action orientation. (3)

-Planning can improve focus and flexibility. -Planning helps us avoid the complacency trap, and being lulled into inaction by successes or failures of the moment. -Planing keeps us looking toward the future.

5.1 How and Why Do Managers Use the Planning Process? (5)

-Planning is one of the four functions of management. -Planning is the process of setting objectives and identifying how to achieve them. -Planning improves focus and action orientation. -Planning improves coordination and control. -Planning improves time management.

Organizational policies and procedures are plans. (2)

-Policies: broad guidelines for making decisions and taking action in specific circumstances. -Procedures: describe specific actions to take in specific situations. define specific action to enforce policies.

Scenario planning crafts plans for alternative future conditions. (2)

-Scenario planning: identifies several alternative future scenarios. Managers then make plans to deal with each so they will be better prepared for whatever occurs. -Forces really think far ahead.

Planning improves time management. (2)

-Set priorities for what really needs to get done. -stick to your plan, and priorities.

Managers use short-range and long-range plans. (4)

-Short-range plans: covers a year or less. -Long-range plans: look ahead three or more years into the future. -In internet time, where businesses are continually changing and updating plans. -Very few people have the capacity to think long term. (one in several million can handle a 20 year time frame.)

Managers use strategic and operational plans. (3)

-Strategic plans: longer term broad plans and comprehensive directions for an organization. Builds framework for allocating resources most effectively. -Operational plans: (tactical plans.) developed to implement strategic plans. shorter term, step by step means for putting strategies into action. -Functional plans: form of operational plan. shows how individual parts of the business will contribute to the overall strategy.