Week 7 (Ch.9 Foundations of Planning)

Planning

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

Planning and Performance

Provides direction, reduces uncertainty, minimizes waste and redundancy, establishes goals or standards.

Formal Planning

Higher profits and returns on assets; other positive financial results.

Goals

Desired outcomes or targets, providing direction and performance evaluation.

Plans

Documents that outline how goals are met, how resources are to be allocated and establish activity schedules.

Stated Goals

Statement from the organization themselves on what the stakeholders should believe the goals are.

Real Goals

Goal of an organization actually pursues by the actions of the members.

Strategic Plans

Apply to the entire organization, establish the organization's overall goals, seek to position the organization in terms of its environment, cover extended periods of time.

Operational Plans

Specify on how the goals are to be achieved, covers a short time period.

Long-Term Plans

Extending beyond three years.

Short-Term Plans

Of one year or less.

Specific Plans

Clearly defined and no room for interpretation.

Directional Plans

Plans are flexible and sets out a general guideline.

Single-use Plan

One time plan that is designed to meet the needs of a unique situation.

Standing Plan

A plan that provides guidance for activities repeatedly.

Static Plans

Plans are made under the condition that the business environment will remain unchanged.

Scenario Plans

Plans that are made involving the future and how the company will respond.

Objectives

Desired outcomes for individuals, groups, or organizations; also called goals.

Traditional Objective Setting

Objectives are set at the top and then broken down into subgoals for each level of an organization.

Management By Objectives

Specific performance objectives are jointly determined by subordinates and their superiors, progress toward objectives is periodically reviewed, and rewards are allocated on the basis of this progress.

Cascading Objectives

Organization's overall objectives are translated into specific objectives for each level.

SMART Objectives

Specific, Measurable and quantifiable, Attainable (Challenging but possible), Relevant or Realistic, Time Frame.

Current Issues in Planning

Environmental Scanning: Screening information to detect trends and to create a set of scenarios.

Competitor Intelligence

Gathering information on competitors to allow managers to anticipate their actions rather than reacting.