Chapter 9: Planning Work Activities

These flashcards cover key concepts of planning in management, including definitions, types of plans, goal-setting approaches, and contemporary issues in planning.

Planning

A management function that involves defining goals, establishing a strategy for achieving those goals, and developing plans to integrate and coordinate work activities.

Goals

Desired outcomes or targets that provide direction and performance evaluation criteria.

Operational Plans

Plans that encompass a particular operational area of the organization.

Strategic Plans

Plans that apply to the entire organization and establish the organization’s overall goals.

Means-ends chain

An integrated network of goals in which the accomplishment of goals at one level serves as the means for achieving the goals at the next level.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

A process of setting mutually agreed upon goals and using those goals to evaluate employee performance, involving goal specificity, participative decision making, an explicit time period, and performance feedback.

Environmental Scanning

Screening information to detect emerging trends.

Competitor Intelligence

Gathering information about competitors that allows managers to anticipate competitors’ actions.

Flexibility in Planning

The ability to modify plans in response to unexpected events or changing conditions.

Formal Planning

Intentionally outlining goals and strategies which is associated with higher profits and returns on assets.