Chapter 8 Foundations of Planning

planning

involves defining the organization's goals, establishing strategies for achieving those goals, and developing plans to integrate and coordinate work activities.

operational plans

plans that encompass a particular operational area of the organization *narrow

So why should managers plan?

* planning provides direction * planning reduces uncertainty * planning minimizes waste and redundancy *planning establishes the goals or standards used in controlling.

popular ways to describe organizational plans

*breadth (strategic vs. operational) *time frame (short term vs. long term) *specificity (directional vs. specific) *frequency of use (single use vs. standing) exhibit 8-1 shows plans aren't independent

classification of company goals/stated goals

-financial goals are related to the finical performance of the organization.(i.e. McDonald's pg.206) -strategic goals are related to all other areas of an organization's performance. (i.e. Bloomberg L.P. "world's most influential news.."pg.206)

goals (objectives)

are desired outcomes or targets. *guide management decisions *form the criterion against which work results are measured.

plans

are documents that outline how goals are going to be met. plans include but aren't limited to: *resource allocations *schedules *other necessary actions to accomplish the goals

management by objectives (MBO)

a process of setting mutually agreed-upon goals and using those goals to evaluate employee performance. 4 elements of MBO: *goal specificity *participative decision making *an explicit time period *performance feedback MBO uses goals to motivate; The appeal is that it focuses on employees working to accomplish goals they've had a hand in setting. exhibit 8-3 lists the steps in a typical MBO program.

Strategic plans

are plans that apply to the entire organization and establish the organization's overall goals. *broad

stated goals

official statements of what an organization says, and what it wants its stakeholders to believe, its goals are. s.g. can be found in: *an organization's charter *annual report *public relations announcements *in public statements made by managers however, s.g. are often conflicting & influenced by what various stakeholders think organizations should do.

real goals

those goals an organization actually pursues, as defined by the actions of its members

environmental scanning

which involves screening information to detect emerging trends. *helps improve a managers analysis of the external environment. (e.i.by up close and personal view from the customers perspective. pg.214)