Nature & purpose of planning
Every human activity is undertaken with its objective to achieve something following planning. Since man is gifted with the power of reasoning, he rarely does anything without weighing the consequences of his action.
- The head of a plans his expenditure
- The housewife plans here daily chores,
- The students plan their studies
- Teachers plan their teaching work
• In the field of business, the need for planning is all the greater. This is because of ever-y-growing competition, frequent fluctuations in demand, discovery of new products,
• The new ways in which these can be used, and a worldwide scarcity of resources.
• Planning is an activity, which is performed before any is The action we take is based on the plan. ‘Ihus, it is anticipatory decision making process and improves performance. Planning allows integrated, consistent and purposeful action.
• Planning is the primary function of management, The chief function of management is to attain the objectives of the enterprise. For this, it is necessary to plan not only in the beginning but throughout the operations. Planning involves deciding a best course of action from among a number of alternaåves which would help the enterprise to achieve its objectives most expeditiously & economically.
What is planning?
Planning has as many as management which many authors gave to it However, these definitions are mutually supportive or complementary to each other. Several of the definitions are:
Determining specified objectives & how to accomplish them,
The process by which managers set objectives, assess the future, & develop courses of action to accomplish these objectives
The process of preparing for change coping with uncertainty by formulation future courses of action. Planning is deciding in what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and who is to do it. nus, it is clear from the various definitions given above that planning involves two things.
i) Determining the aims and objectives
ii) Selecting on the bases of past experience, present facts and circumstances and future possibilities, the best course of action to realize the planning objective.
Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions to achieve the; it requires decision making, i.e., future course of action from among alternatives, Planning is determining in advance what is to and how it is to accomplished and how it is to be accomplished.
Because planning paves the way for all down stream management functions, by serving as a bridge between the present and the future, it is regarded as the primary function of management.
Nature/characteristics of planning
I. The primacy of planning
The primacy of planning means that the function of planning precedes all other managerial functions.
Since the other management functions are performed to facilitate the achievement of goals that are set in planning process logically precedes all other managerial functions.
Although in practice all the managerial functions inter-match as single system of action, planning is unique In that it establishes the objective necessary for all group effort. And, of course. All the other managerial functions must be planned if they are to be effective. That is, the managerial functions are inspirable especially, planning and controlling arc Afton referred to as the Siamese twins. ‘this is because controlling, by definition, is the comparison of actual performance with the planned. It is the planned performance which is controlled.
Il) pervasiveness of planning
Planning is pervasive/universal in the sense that:
(a) It is the function of all managers regardless of the level they belong, the time spent on planning the significance, and the characteristic.
(b) Planning exists in all organizations regardless of their type and size.
iii) Contribution to purpose & objective
This implies that the purpose of any plan and all its supportive & derivative plans is to facilitate the accomplishment and the achievement of the purposes and the objectives of the organization. Managerial planning seeks to achieve a consistent, coordinated structure of operations focused on desired ends. Without planning, actions much become merely random activities, producing nothing but chaos.
iv) Planning is directed towards efficiency
The efficiency of a plan is measured by its contribution to purpose & objectives, offset by the costs and other unsought factors required to formulate & operate it. Plans are efficient if they achieve their purpose at reasonable costs, when cost is measured not only interims of time, money, or production but also in the degree of individual & group satisfaction.
v) It concerns future activity
Since planning is deciding currently about the future, it Involves forecasting and decision making. The essence of planning is looking a head & is concerned with deciding in the present what is to done in the future.
vi) It has dynamic aspects (it is flexible & continuous)
A manager plans on the basis of some assumptions which may not come true in the future. Therefore, he had to go on revising, modifying and adjusting plans in the light of the prevailing realities/circumstances. Thus, planning is not only the primary function of management, but it is also a continuous function of management. Planning is flexible as it is based on future conditions which are always dynamic.
In sum, every business plan must have the following characteristics: objectivity, futurity, flexibility, stability, comprehensiveness, clarity & simplicity.
Importance/purpose of planning
i) To offset uncertainty:-
Future is always full of uncertainties and changes which make planning a necessity because planning foresees the future and makes provisions for it thereby giving added strength to the organizadon for continuous growth and steady prosperity
ii) To focus attention on objectives:-
Because, all planning efforts are directed towards achieving enterprise objectives, the very act of planning focuses attention on these objectives. Well considered overall plans unify interdepartmental activities
iii) To gain economical operation:
Planning minimizes costs of its emphasis on efficient operation and consistency. It substitutes joint directed effort for uncoordinated piecemeal Activity. Even flow of work for unevern flow. & Deliberate deviations for snap judgements.
To facilitate control
Planning and controlling are inseparable, and commonly referred to as the Siamese twins. this is because, unplanned action cannot be controlled, for control involves keeping activities on course by correcting deviations from plans. Any attempt to control without a plan would be meaningless, since there is no way for people whether they arc going where they hey want to go (the task of control), unless they first know where they want to go (the task of’ planning), plans thus furnish the standards of control. Generally, a coordinated sense of action. Managerial perspective, improved dccision making, increased efficiency, improved control & performance arc also benefits of planning.