PLANNING - DEFINITIONS, CONCEPT, NATURE,APPROACHES,PLANNING PROCESS, TYPES

1. PLANNING
[POSDCORB]
Prepared by
Rajalakshmi.S
5th Batch of Msc.Nursing
Josco College of Nursing,
Edappon
Mavelikara,Alappuzha

2. INTRODUCTIONMeaning:- A plan is forecast for accomplishment.
Planning is the foremost function of nursing management.
Planning is the foundation of nursing management as the other
functions of nursing management., viz. organizing, staffing, directing
and controlling.
Management
Organizati
on
Staffing Directing Controlling
Planning
Management

3. CONCEPT OF PLANNING
Planning is considered as a process which involves the
determination of future course of action, i.e. why an action, what
action, how to take action, when to take action.
In order to achieve the objectives of nursing organization, planning
is the first step in the management function. As it precedes the
execution of all other managerial functions because it provides the
frame of reference for future decisions, reduces overall impact of
changes and allows nurse manager to organize, staff, direct and

4. DEFINITIONS OF PLANNING
Planning is the act or process of making plans for something
Oxford dictionary
Planning means the determination of what is to b done, how and
where it is to be done, who is to do it and how results are to be
evaluated.
James Lundy
Planning is the function of a manager, which involves the selection
from among alternatives for the enterprise as a whole and each
department within it.

5. NATURE OF PLANNING
Goal oriented
Basic to all managerial functions
Futuristic or forward looking
Involves selection of suitable course of
action
Flexible
Continuous process
Intellectual process
Planning process must allow flexibility
to meet the new challenges

6. APPROACHES TO PLANNING
Rational approach
Open system approach
Pervasiveness approach

7. Rational approach
Planning as rational approach tries to fill the gap between actual status and
desired status.
Planning is a rational approach for defining where one stands, where one
wants to go in future, and how to reach there.
Status Desired
status
Gap
Status Planning required
T1 T2
Time
Current status

8. Open system approach
 It takes inputs from the environment, processes these, and exports
outputs to environment.
The open system approach of planning indicates that the
identification of gap between current status and desired status in
future and the action required to bridge this gap is influenced by a
variety of environmental factors- economic, political –legal,
technological, socio-cultural, and competitive.
These factors are dynamic and change with the time. Therefore, while
adopting open system approach in planning, manager have to take
into account the dynamic features of the environment.

9. Pervasiveness of planning
Planning is pervasive and extends throughout the organization.
Every manager has a planning function to perform.
Manager devote more of their time to planning and work with more
vital issues than the managers of the middle and lower level do.

10. PLANNING PROCESS
Follow up and review
Communication of plans and securing cooperation
Defining various activities and preparation of action plans
Formulation of supporting plans
Selection of the best possible alternatives
Evaluation of alternatives
Identification of alternatives
Developing premises or conditions
Formulation of objective
Identification of situation

11. TYPES OF PLANNING
Time period involved
• Long term and Short term
Approach used
• Proactive and Reactive
Degree of formalization
• Formal and Informal
Importance of content matters
• Strategic and Operational
Coverage of activities
• corporate and Functional planning

12. Long term and Short term plans :
Long term planning involves more than one year period.
The planning of functional area is long term, where the environmental
factors are considered at the time of planning.
Short term planning is also known as tactile planning, usually covers
one year.
Why is the action required?
What action to be taken?
What will be the action accomplish?
What are the results of the action required?
What objectives and conditions must be meet?

13. Proactive and Reactive:
Proactive planning is the ‘planning in anticipation’. Organization that
use proactive planning use broad planning approaches, broad
environmental scanning, decentralized control, and reserve some
resources to be utilized for their future use. These organizations do
not wait for environment to change but take actions in advance of
environmental change. In India, companies like Reliance Industries,
Hindustan Lever, etc. have adopted this approach and their growth
rate has been much faster than others.
In reactive planning, organizations response comes after the
environmental changes have taken place. After the changes take
place , these organizations start planning.

14. Formal and Informal planning:
Formal planning is in the form of well structured process involving
different steps. Generally, large organizations undertake planning in
formal way in which they create separate corporate planning cell
placed at sufficiently high level in the organization. Generally such
cells are staffed by people with different backgrounds like engineers,
statisticians, MBAs, economists, etc. depending on the organizations
business.
Informal planning : As against formal planning, informal planning is
undertaken, generally, by smaller organizations. The planning
process is based on managers memory of events, institutions and gut
feelings rather than based on systematic evaluation of environmental

15. STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLANNING
STRATEGIC PLANNING :
Strategic planning and long range planning is undertaken by the top
level which involves following activities.
1. Detail analysis of strength, weakness, opportunities and threats
(SWOT) of organization both internal and external environment.
2. Developing philosophy and formulations of policies and objectives on
the basis of analysis the organization.
3. Allocation of resources on the basis of priority.
4. Evaluation of activities to increase efficiency.
5. Providing proper direction to avoid duplication of services.

16. Meaning:
 Process to establish priorities on what you will accomplish in the
future.
Nature of strategy planning
 A strategy is an overall approach and plan.
 Facilitates the good management of a process.
 It takes you outside the day to day activities of your organizations
or project.
 It provides you with the big picture of what you are doing and
where you are going.
 It gives you clarity about what you actually want to achieve and how

17. Need of strategy planning
It improves performance
Counter excessive inward and short term thinking
Solve major issues a macro level
Communicate to everyone what is most important
Characteristics of strategy planning
Address critical performance issues
Create the right balance between what the organization is capable of
doing vs. What the organization would like to do.
Cover a sufficient time period to close the performance gap
Flexible
Guide decision making at lower levels

18. Elements of strategic plan
Analysis
Choice
Implementation
Evaluation
Benefits of strategic planning
It serve as the road map to the work
It utilize the resources in best manner
It responds to environmental changes
Decreases the chances of mistakes
Provide a framework for communication
Guide
Gives a picture of employees in an organization

19. TOOLS
1. SWOT ANALYSIS
2. BALANCED SCORECARD
3. STRATEGY MAPS

20. SWOT ANALYSIS

21. BALANCED SCORECARD
The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a
strategic approach and
performance measurement
analysis tool that enables
organizations to translate a
company’s vision, mission, and
strategy into implementation.
PERSPECTIVES OF BSC
Financial
Customer
Business process
Learning and growth

23. STRATEGY MAPS
Strategy maps are diagrams that describe how an organization
creates values through connecting strategic objectives in cause and
effective relationships through the implementation of the balanced
scorecard perspective: finance, customer, business process, learning
and growth. Strategic maps are part of the balanced scorecard
framework to identify strategies for value creation.

25. OPERATIONAL PLANNING
This operational and short range planning is undertaken by middle or
supervisory level personnel. This involves
Planning for a few months to a financial year.
Planning for details budgeting, provision for short range goods and
it should be achieved within given period.
Extensional aspect of long range plan.

26. Operational plans should contain
1. Clear objectives
2. Activities to be delivered
3. Quality standards
4. Desired outcomes
5. Staffing and resource requirements
6. Implementation timetables
7. A process for monitoring progress

27. CORPORATE AND FUNCTIONALPLANNING
Corporate planning
The term corporate planning denotes planning activities at the top
levels, also known as corporate level,which cover the entire
organizational activities
The basic focus of corporate planning is to determine the long term
objectives of the organization as a whole, and then to generate plans
to achieve these objectives bearing in mind the probable change in
environment.

28. Functional planning
As against corporate planning which is integrative, functional
planning is segmental, and it is undertaken for each major function of
the organization like production/ operation, marketing, finance,
human resource/ personnel, etc.

29. REFERENCE
Jogindra Vati, Principles & Practice of Nursing Management &
Administration For BSc & MSc Nursing, Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers,
New Delhi
L M Prasad, Principles and Practice of Management, Sultan Chand & Sons
Educational Publishers, New Delhi
Deepak K, A Comprehensive text book on Nursing management, Emmess
Medical Publishers, Banglore