Planning is the process of envisioning a desired future and determining effective ways to achieve important goals. It involves setting objectives, considering alternative approaches, and selecting the best course of action. Planning helps organizations function effectively by establishing guidance, utilizing resources efficiently, and coordinating activities. Key steps in the planning process include establishing objectives, developing assumptions about the future environment, evaluating alternatives, and selecting a plan.

1. The Nature and Purpose of Planning

3. Planning Definition : Planning is the design of a desired future and of effective ways of bringing it about. ____________________ Planning is looking ahead in order to visualize and decide a future course of action to allow to achieve a desired goal.

5. Nature of Planning 1. Planning is the most important function of management. 2. Planning has central role in linking all other managerial functions. 3. Planning is pervasive and oversees all other managerial functions.

11. Effectiveness: is the achievement of objective. Efficiency: Is the achievement of objective with least amount of resources.

15. Single Use or One Time Plan It is specifically designed to meet the needs of a unique situation and is created in response to non-programmed decisions that managers make.

16. Standing Plans Ongoing plans that provide guidance for activities repeatedly performed and are created in response to programmed decisions that managers make.

17. Non-Programmed Decision Unique decisions that require a custom-made solution.

18. Programmed Decision A repetitive decision that can be handled by a routine approach.

19. Specific Plans These plans are clearly defined and explicit and leave no room for interpretation.

20. Subject Plans These plans are limited to one particular aspect of an organization’s activates. eg. Marketing Production Recruitment Financial Manpower etc

21. Directional Plans These are flexible plans that set out general guide lines and permit considerable discretion to users.

22. Short Term Plans Plans that are formulated to cover a period of less than one year.

23. Long–Term Plans Plans that are formulated to extend upto beyond five years.

24. Operational Plans Plans that specify details on how overall objectives are to be achieved.

25. Strategic plans These plans are organization–wide, establish overall objectives and position an organization in term of its environments.

27. Objective It is a desired outcome for groups or an entire organization. Goal It is a desired out come for an individual.

29. Real Objectives Objectives that an organization actually pursues, as defined by the action of its Management.

30. Traditional Objective Setting Objectives are set at the top and then broken down into sub-objectives for each level in an organization. The top imposes its standards on every one below.

31. Principle of Planning The more thoroughly individuals charged with planning understand and agree to utilize consistent planning premises the more coordinated and realistic planning will be.

32. Components of Plans Mission Objectives Premises Policies Procedures Rules Budgets

33. Mission The purpose of an organization is called its mission.

34. Policies Guidelines that establish parameters for making decisions.

35. Premises This is the anticipated environment in which plans are expected to operate and include forecasts of the future and conditions that are likely to affect the operation in future.

36. Procedures A series of interrelated sequential steps that can be used to respond to a structured problem.

37. Rules Explicit statements that tells managers what they ought or ought not to do.

38. Structured problem It is a straightforward, familiar and easily defined problem. Non Structured problem A new problem for which information is ambiguous or incomplete.

39. Budget A budget is a numerical plan for allocating resources to specific activities. A budget is a statement of expected results expressed in numerical terms.

40. Types of Budget Revenue: A budget that projects future sales Expense: A budget that lists the primary activities by a unit and allocates amount to each Profit: A budget to determine a unit’s contribution to overall profit of an organization

41. Cash: A budget that forecasts how much an organization will have and how much it will need to meet expenses Capital Expenditure: A budget that forecasts investments in property, buildings and major equipment. Fixed: A budget that assumes a fixed level of sales or production. Variable: A budget that takes into account those cost that vary with volume of production.