C. Planning

 

Planning, simply put, is deciding on a course of action. Therefore, planning logically precedes all other management functions. Opponents of planning frequently mention the phenomenon known as "paralysis of analysis," where planning is not followed up by actions. Proponents point out that no firing squad was ever told "ready, fire, aim!" In other words, actions without plans can be just as expensive. Of course, both sides are correct in their fundamental points, and planning is a constant balancing act of careful analysis versus taking real action.

Planning can be thought of as a hierarchy, with broad concepts as part of a mission, and very specific numbers associated with budgets. This hierarchy is given below, starting with the broad concept of a mission, and getting more specific with each term.

1.  Mission:       the basic function of an organization               
                   (or any department within it).  Also called purpose.                    
                                            

Often, the mission of an organization is obvious, but even then 
there is a need to put forth a basic philosophy of the organization.
The mission statement does just that. It answers the question of 
"why" an organization exists.  

                           
2.  Objective:     the desired outcomes (ends) of an activity.                 
    (goal)                                                                   

If a mission answers the "why" questions, the objectives specify the 
"what" questions (i.e., what do we wish to achieve?).  Goals tend to 
be more qualitative while objectives should be more quantitative and 
measurable.   Both seek to clarify the desired outcomes of an organization.                                                     

3.  Strategy:      a general course of action.  
 

Strategy tries to answer the "how" questions (i.e., how will we 
achieve our objectives?).  We will discuss strategic planning later on, 
but for now we simply say that strategic planning is plans that include 
strategies on how to achieve the plans.                        

4.  Policy:        guides to thinking in decision making  
                                         

Policies may be major or minor, but what they all have in common 
is that they are guides to thinking.  Policies must allow individual 
discretion -- in other words, you still have to think! If individual 
discretion is completely removed, what we really have is a rule 
(discussed below).  The better trained the employee, the more likely 
we can rely on policies instead of rules.    

                                           
5.  Procedure:     guide to action for implementing policies.
 

Procedure are guides to action rather than thinking.  Like policies, 
they generally must allow individual discretion, although perhaps less 
discretion than policies.                 

                                                                       
6.  Rule:          required action (or nonaction)   
                   
                    As mentioned earlier, rule allow for little or no discretion.                             
                                                                       
7.  Program:       a complex of goals, policies, procedure, rules      
                    to carry out a given course of action.              
                                                                       
8.  Budget:        "numberized" programs and plans.     
 

Generally speaking, we think of dollars as the "numbers" in budgets. 
However, later on we will se that budgets are possible in non-monetary
measures.                  

 

There are some timeless principles of planning that are given below.

9.  Commitment:    Planning should encompass an adequate             
                     time into the future to foresee                   
                     consequences of actions taken today.  
                                                   

For example, a thousand years from now is of little concern to 
a restaurant being opened today.  However, a nuclear waste facility 
might be very concerned about outcomes a thousand years from now.  
The key to determining how far into the future we should plan is 
to think carefully about how the consequences of an action today 
extend into the future.  Longterm planning is an example of the 
commitment principle.

                              
10. Flexibility:   The costs of flexibility should be 
                     weighed against the risks of future               
                     commitment.                                                 

Lots of seemingly great ideas that expand our flexibility end up 
biting  the dust when we consider the cost in relation to the problem.  
My favorite example is when a manager became concerned that 
employees were taking too much paper and pencils home from work -- he 
hired a fulltime guard to monitor the office supplies.  This action
was quickly cancelled when it was realized that the cost of the fulltime
guard was many times more than the entire budget of pencils and paper 
for the year!  In the end, they put up a sign that said "please be 
reasonable about your use of office supplies."  Extensive contingency
plans are an example of the flexibility principle.

                     
11. Navigational   The more commitment there is to the 
    change:        future, the more periodic checking is             
                     needed in order to adjust plans.                  
                                               

Let's face it: plans get out of date, and need to be adjusted.  
The longer the longterm plans, the more likely we need to adjust it.  
My favorite example here of a ship navigating at sea -- the goal of 
reaching a particular island may not change, but the winds and currents 
may force a change in where we direct the boat.  

 
                      
12. Limiting       In solving a problem, attention should            
    factor:        be directed to factors that make the              
                     most difference in selecting a solution.          
 

As an absurd example, I suppose it's possible that the 
color of the steering wheel on a truck might make a difference 
in transporting hazardous wastes.  But it certainly doesn't make 
the most difference!  Often we spend a great deal of time on plans
in areas that are really not the most influential on the outcomes.  

Three concepts that relate to planning success are given below.

13. effectiveness: the achievement of stated objectives  
 

For example, if you get an A in this class, that is a measure 
of effectiveness.    

 
14. efficiency:    the achievement of stated objectives (i.e., doing your job)
                     with the least amount of resources
 

Continuing with the above example, if two students got an A in this 
class, they are of equal effectiveness,  But if one of them studied 100 
hours and the second one studied 10 hours, then the second one is more 
efficient.  One of the things I hear constantly from employers is that it's 
not enough to be effective -- they want employees who can also be efficient.

 
15. productivity:  the output-input ratio 
                     within a time period 
                     with due consideration of quality
 

This is a more technical term that tries to incorporate the concepts 
of systems analysis, effectiveness, and efficiency.   Inputs are 
generally the easiest to measure, and measurement of outputs is 
generally more desirable, because it depends on the 
objectives of the organization.  The most desirable measure of program 
performance is outcomes, which chronologically follows output.  

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