Roles of Planning in Management

Features of planning

Planning is goal-oriented

                               

The goals established should general acceptance otherwise individual efforts and energies will go misguided and misdirected

Planning identifies the action that would lead to desired goals quickly and economically

It provides sense of direction to various activities

Planning is looking ahead

                Planning di done for future

                It requires peeping (glancing/looking) in future, analyzing it, and predicting it

Thus planning is based on forecasting

                It is a synthesis of forecast

Planning is an intellectual process

Planning is a mental exercise involving creative thinking sound judgment and imagination

                It is not a mere guesswork but a rotational thinking

                Planning is always based on goals, facts and considered estimates

Planning involves choice & decision making

                Planning essentially involves choice among various alternatives

                Thus decision making is an integral part of planning

Planning is the primary function of management/ primacy of planning

                Planning lays foundation for other functions of management

It serves as a guide for organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling

All the functions of management are performed within the framework of plans laid out

Therefore, planning is the basic or fundamental function of management

Planning is a continuous process

                Planning is a never ending function due to the dynamic business environment

Plans are also prepared for specific period of time and at the end of that period, plans are subjected to revaluation and review in the light of new requirement and changing conditions

Planning never comes into end till the enterprise exists issues, problems may keep cropping up and they have to be tackled by planning effectively

Planning is all pervasive (universal)

                It is required at all level of management and in all departments of enterprise

The top level may be more concerned about planning the organization as a whole whereas the middle level may be more specific in departmental plans and the lower level plans implementation of the same

Planning is designed for efficiency

                Planning leads to accomplishment of objectives at the minimum possible cost

It avoids wastage of resources and ensures adequate and optimum utilization of resources

                A plan is worthless or useless if it does not value the cost incurred on it

Therefore planning must lead to saving of time, effort, and money

Planning leads to proper utilization of men, money, materials, methods, and machine

Planning is flexible

                Planning is done for the future

Under changed circumstances, the original plan of action must be revised and updated to make it practical

Objectives of planning:

Planning facilities management by objectives

                Planning begins with determinations of objectives

It highlights the purposes for which various activities are to be undertaken

In fact, it makes objectives more clear and specific

Planning brings order and rationality into the organization

Planning minimizes uncertainties

                Business is full of uncertainties

There are risks of various types due to uncertainties

Planning helps in reducing uncertainties of future as it involves anticipation of future

Although future cannot be predicted with cent percent accuracy but planning helps management to anticipate future and prepare for risks by necessary provision to meet unexpected turn of events

Planning facilitates co-ordination

                Planning revolves around organizational goals

All activities are directed toward common goals

There is an integrated effort throughout the enterprise in various departments and groups

It avoids duplication of efforts. In other words, it leads to better co-ordination

It helps in finding out problems of work performance and aims at rectifying the same

Planning improves employee’s moral

                Planning creates an atmosphere of order and discipline in organization

Employees know in advance what is expected of them and therefore conformity can be achieved easily

Planning creates a healthy attitude towards work environment which helps in boosting (increasing) employees moral and efficiency

Planning helps in achieving economies

Effective planning secures economy since it leads to orderly allocation of resources to various operations

It also facilitates optimum utilizations of resources which brings economy is operations

Is also avoids wastage of resources by selecting most appropriate use that will contribute to the objective of enterprise.

Planning facilitates controlling

                Planning facilitates existence of certain planned goals and standard of performance

It provides basis of controlling

Planning provides pre-determined goals against which actual performance is compared

Planning provides competitive edge

Planning provides competitive edge to the enterprise over the others which do not have effective planning this is because of the fact that planning may involve changing in work methods, quality, quantity designs, extension of work, redefining of goals etc.

Planning leads to best utilization of possible resources, improves quality of production and thus the competitive strength of the enterprise is improved

Planning encourages innovations

In the process of planning managers have the opportunities of suggesting ways and means of improving performance

Planning is basically a decision making function which involves creative thinking and imagination that ultimately leads to innovation of methods operations for growth and prosperity of enterprise

Disadvantages of planning:

Internal Limitations

There are several limitations of planning. Some of them are inherit (overcome) in the process of planning like rigidity and other arise due to shortcoming of the techniques of planning and in the planners themselves.

Rigidity:

Planning has tendency to make administration inflexible

Planning implies prior determination of policies, procedures and programs and a strict adherence to them in all circumstances

There is no scope for individual freedom

The development of employees is highly doubted because of which management might have faced lot of difficulties in future

Planning therefore introduces inelasticity and discourages individual initiative end experimentation

Misdirected planning

Planning may be used to serve individual interests rather than the interest of the enterprise

Attempts can be made to influence setting of objectives, formulation of plans and programs to suit one’s own requirement rather than that of whole organization

Machinery of planning can never be freed of bias. Every planner has his own likes, dislikes, preferences, attitudes and interests which is reflected in planning

Time consuming

Planning is a time consuming process because it involves collection of information, its analysis, and interpretation thereof. This entire process takes a lot of time specially where there are a number of alternatives available

Planning is not suitable during emergency or crisis when quick decisions are required

Probability in planning

Planning is based on forecasts which are mere estimates about future

These estimates may prove to be inexact due to the uncertainty of future

Any change in the anticipated situation may render plans ineffective

False sense of security

Elaborate planning may create a false sense of security to the effect that everything is taken for granted

Managers assume that as long as they work as per plans, it is satisfactory

Therefore they fail to take up timely actions and an opportunity is lost

Employees are more concerned about fulfillment of plan performance rather than any kind of change

Expensive

Collection, analysis and evaluation of different information, facts and alternatives involves a lot of expense in terms of time, effort and money

External limitations of planning

Political climate: change of government from congress to some other political party, etc.

Labor Union: strikes, lockouts, agitations

Technological changes: modern techniques and equipment’s, computerization

Natural calamities: earth quakes and floods

Changes in demand and prices: change in fashion, change in tastes, change in income level, demand falls, price falls etc.