Features of Planning, Focuses on Objectives Primary function Pervasive Continuous Futuristic Decision Making Mental Exercise, Importance of Planning, Provides Direction Reduces Risk of Uncertainty Reduces Overlapping and Wasteful Activities Promotes Innovative Idea,Facilities Decision Making,Establishes Standards for Contrlling, Limitation of Planning, Creates Rigidity Does not work in dynamic Environment Reduces Creativity Involves Huge Cost Time Consuming Does not Gurantee Sucess Planning Process, Setting Objective, Developing Premises, Indentifying Alternative course of Action, Evaluating Alternative Course, Selecting an alternative, Implementing the Plan, Follow up Action

1. Planning
Planning: - Planning is deciding in advancing whatis to be done. It involves the
selection of objectives, policies, procedures & programmes from among
alternatives.”
Features of Planning
1. Focuses onAchieving Objectives:- Planning is goal oriented process
which helps in defining objectives and preparation of necessary action
plans to achieve goals. Thus planning is focused on clarifying whatis to
be done and how is that to be done.
2. Primary Function:- Every management starts with planning. All other
function like organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are based on
planning. It precedes the execution of all other managerial functions and
allows managers to organise, staff, direct and control the activities in a
better way so as to achieve organisationalgoals.
3. Pervasive:- Planning is not only the function of top management or any
particular department. Planning is required at all levels of management
and in all departments of an organisation. However, thescope and
nature of planning is different at differentlevels and in different
departments.
Features
of
Planning
Focuses
on
Objective
s
Primary
function
Pervasive
Continou
s
Futuristic
Decision
Making
Mental
Exercise

2. 4. Continuous:- Planning process begins with the establishment of an
organisation and continues as long as the enterpriseis in existence. Itis
to be performed in all situations and at all levels of work. Planning is
done for a specific time period and when that time period is about to get
over, the need arises to formulate another plan for new period.
5. Futuristic:- Planning is always for future and never for the past. It
involves peeping into the future, analysing sameand preparing plan for
it accordingly. Itis forward looking function based on forecasting in
which are plans are drawn after anticipating futureevents.
6. DecisionMaking:- Planning is essentially a process of making choice
fromamong various alternatives. There will be no need for planning if
there is only one courseof action. Hence, need for extent of planning
depends on the availability of alternatives.
7. Mental Exercise:- Planning is an intellectual activity requiring
application of the mind, imagination and sound judgement. Itis a
thinking function rather than a doing function as it determines the
action to be taken. Moreover, planning requires logical and systematic
thinking based on analysis of facts and forecasts.
Importance of Planning
1. Provides Direction:- Planning is a function that helps managers to
decide in advanceas to do and how to do that. Thus, planning provides
Provides Direction
Reduces Risk of Uncertainty
Reduces Overlapping and
Wasteful Activities
Promotes Innovative Ideas
Facilities Decision Making
Establishes Standards for
Contrlling

3. direction for action. Planning lays down the objective of the organisation
very clearly so that they act as a guide for deciding. What action should
be taken and in what direction.
2. Reduces Risks of Uncertainty:- Planning function enables a manager to
look forward and anticipated changes. By deciding in advance about how
a particular task is to be done, planning helps him in dealing with
unexpected changes and uncertain events. They can identify potential
dangers and take timely steps to overcomethem.
3. Reduces Overlapping andWasteful Activities:- On the basis of
planning, activities of different departments and individuals are
coordinated. By stating the objectives clearly, planning ensures smooth
functioning of a business withoutany confusion and misunderstanding.
Italso helps in minimising the useless activities of the organisation.
4. Promotes Innovative Ideas:- Planning is considered to be the most
challenging function of the management as it guides all future actions
and promotes growth and prosperity of the business. Under planning,
new ideas take the shape of concrete plans.
5. Facilitates DecisionMaking:- Planning involves looking ahead and
deciding on the best alternatives from among various alternative course
of action. The manager, after analysing every alternative, selected the
best proposition.
6. Establishes Standards for Controlling:- Plans providethe standard/
targets againstwhich actual performances compared. Deviations of
actual results from the standards indicate that corrective actions are
needed. Control is always exercised in the light of planning.

4. Limitationof Planning
1. Planning Creates Rigidity:- In an organisation, a well-defined plan is
drawn to achieve some specified goals within a specified period of time.
These plans lay down the future courseof action and it is not possible
for the managers to change them. Managers need to be given some
flexibility to be able to cope up with the changing circumstances.
2. Planning does not Work in a Dynamic Environment:- The environment
in which a business exists is very dynamic. The various forces of business
environmentlike social, economic, political, technological and legal
keeps on changing and the organisations haveto adapt themselves to
these changes.
3. Planning Reduces Creativity:- Usually in an organisation, planning
function is performed by the top management and the rest of the
members are required to implement these plans. As a result, middle
management and other members are neither allowed to deviate from
plans nor are they granted authority to act on their own. Hence, most
initiative and creativity in them gets reduces.
4. Planning Involves Huge Costs:- Hugecost is involved in the formation of
plans. This costis in term of money, time and effort. A lot of money and
effort arespent on boardroommeetings, discussions with experts and
preliminary investigations to find out the effectiveness of the plan.
Creates
Rigidity
Does not work in
dynamic
Environment
Reduces
Creativity
Involves
Huge Cost
Time
Consuming
Does not
Gurantee
Sucess

5. Moreover some time the cost incurred in formulating plans turns out to
be higher than the benefits actually received from these plans.
5. Planning is a Time Consuming Process:- Some time a lot of time is taken
in formulating the plans, as a result of which very less time is left to
implement these plans. Planning is a lengthy process and hence, it could
causedelay in action. Lot of time is consumed in collection and analysis
of data and choice of alternative etc. thus, planning is not useful when
on the spot decision or faster decision making is required.
6. Planning does not Guarantee Success:- An organisation is successful
only when plans are efficiently drawn and implemented. A plan must be
converted into worthwhileactions otherwise it becomes meaningless.
Generally, it is seen that managers arein the habit of depending on
previously tried and tested successfulplans. Butthis assumption
sometimes never works and may actually lead to failure instead of
success.
Planning Process
1. Setting Objective:- The firstand the foremost step in the process of
planning is to set the objectives which may be set for the whole
organisation & for each individual department in an organisation. These
objectives clearly lay down what that organisation wants to achieve.
Setting Objective
Developing Premises
Indentifying Alternative course of Action
Evaluating Alternative Course
Selecting an alternative
Implementing the Plan
Follow up Action

6. They give direction to the functioning to the functioning of all
departments and the employees of the organisation.
2. Developing Premises:- Planning is always donefor the future which is
very uncertain. Thus the managers have to make certain assumptions
about the future. These assumptions aretermed as premises. Planning
premises are assumptions relating to future conditions and events which
are likely to havean effect on achievement of goals.
3. Identifying Alternative Course of Action:- Itinvolves identifying the
various alternative courseof action. There are many alternatives to
achieve the objectives and the manager mustknow all the way to reach
the objectives.
 by expanding the existing capacity
 by taking over someother business enterprises
 by producing new products
 By enhancing exports to existing/ new markets.
4. Evaluating Alternative Course:- This step involves deep evaluation of
various alternative courseof action in light of the various objectives to
be achieved. The positive and the negative aspects of each alternative or
proposalare evaluated.
5. Selecting anAlternative:- This step involves the selection and adoption
of the best plan. The best plan should be the most profitable, realistic
and with least negative aspects. All the plans are not subjected to
mathematical analysis. Thus in many case the experience, judgement,
intuition and subjectivity of the managers help in selecting the most
profitable and realistic alternative.
6. Implementing the Plan:- Under this step, the best selected plan is put
into action. The plans are communicated be managers to all the
employees very clearly to motivate them and hence to derive their
support. They are made to understand the scopeand benefits of various
plans.
7. Follow up Action:- Under this step, it is monitored as to whether the
plans are being implemented correctly and whether the activities are
being performed according to the agreed schedule. The plans review
periodically to ensure their relevance and effectiveness.