planning: its importance

1. PLANNING
• Planning in organizations both the organizational process of creating and maintaining a plan; and
the psychological process of thinking about the activities required to create a desired goal on some
scale.
• As such, it is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior. This thought process is essential to
the creation and refinement of a plan, or integration of it with other plans, that is, it combines
forecasting of developments with the preparation of scenarios of how to react to them.
• The term is also used to describe the formal procedures used in such an endeavor, such as the
creation of documents diagrams, or meetings to discuss the important issues to be addressed, the
objectives to be met, and the strategy to be followed.
Types of plans
Single use plans/Standing plans
Long term plans/short term plans
Strategic Plans/Operational Plans/Tactical Plans
Mission/Vision/Goals/Objectives/policies/procedures/rules/budgets
PURPOSE OF PLANNING
• It serves the following three critical functions: Helps management to clarify, focus, and research
their businesses or project's development and prospects.
• Provides a considered and logical framework within which a business can develop and pursue
business strategies over the next three to five years.
• Offers a benchmark against which actual performance can be measured and reviewed.
IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING
• A plan can play a vital role in helping to avoid mistakes or recognize hidden opportunities.
Preparing a satisfactory plan of the organization is essential. The planning process enables
management to understand more clearly what they want to achieve, and how and when they can
do it.
• A well-prepared business plan demonstrates that the managers know the business and that they
have thought through its development in terms of products, management, finances, and most
importantly, markets and competition.
• Planning helps in forecasting the future, makes the future visible to some extent. It bridges
between where we are and where we want to go. Planning is looking ahead.
Decision Making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the selection of
a course of action among several alternatives. Every decision making process produces a final choice.[1]
The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.
Good decision making is an essential skill for career success generally, and effective leadership
particularly. If you can learn to make timely and well-considered decisions, then you can often lead your
team to spectacular and well-deserved success. However, if you make poor decisions, your team risks
failure and your time as a leader will, most likely, be brutally short.