Chap 8. Planning Processes and Techniques môn Principle of Management | Trường Đại học Quốc tế, Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

Chap 8. Planning Processes and Techniques 1. Why and How managers plan
- Planning – the process of setting objectives and determining how to best accomplish
them we have to identify and set up the goals
- Objectives and goals – identify the specific results or desired outcomes that one intends to achieve
- Plan – a statement of action steps to be taken in order to accomplish the objectives
5 basic in the planning process:
1. Define your objectives: what we want to achieve ?
2. Determine where you stand vis-à-vis objectives: determine your position, where you
are to the goal identify the gap
3. Develop premises regarding future conditions
4. Analyze alternatives and make a plan: how many options to achieve your goal
There are many alternatives, choose the best alternative
5. Implement the plan and evaluate results - Benefits of planning:
+ Improves focus and flexibility
we know which we should focus on, at the same time we have multitasking to perform
with planning, we choosing a variety of goals + Improves action orientation
when we know our goals, we can concentrate our action and activity
+ Improves coordination and control
team members can coordinate to accomplish the goals + Improves time management
we know when is the deadline to accomplish the goal
2. Types of Plans used by managers - Types of plans:
+ Long-term plans look 3 or more years into the future
+ Short-term plans typically cover 1 year or less
+ Strategic plans – set board, comprehensive, and long-term action directions for the entire organization
Vision – clarifies the purpose or mission of the organization and what it hopes to be in the future
Stratigic plans ideally set forth the goals and objectives needed to
accomplish the organization’s vision in terms of mission or purpose and what it hopes to be in the future
VD: Google’s vision statement is “to provide access to the world’s information in 1 click”
+ Tactical plan – helps to implement all or parts of the strategic plan
Tactical plans in business often take the form of functional plans – indicate how
different operations within the organization will help accomplish the overall strategy, including:
Production plans – focus on production
Financial plans – focus on finance Facilities plans Logistic plans Marketing plans Human resources plans
+ Operational plans – identify short-term activities to implement strategic plans,
including both standing plans like policies and procedures that are used over and
over again, and single-use plans like budgets that apply to 1 specific task or time period
Policies are standing plans that communicate guidelines for decisions
Procedures are rules describing actions that are to be taken in specific situations
Budgets are single-use plans that commit resources for specific time
periods to activities, projects, or programs
A zero-based budget allocates resources as if each budget were brand new.
In zero-based budgeting there is no guarantee that any past funding will be
renewed; all proposals – old and new, must compete for available funds at
the start of each new budget cycle
3. Planning Tools and Techniques
- Forecasting – attempts to predict the future based on qualitative forecasting, which uses
expert opinion or involving quantitative forecasting, which uses mathematical models
and statical analyses of historical data and surveys - Contingency planning:
+ identify alternative courses of action to take when things go wrong
+ contingency plans contain “trigger point” to indicate when to activate preselected alternatives
+ contingency plans anticipate changing conditions
-Scenerio planning – a long-term version of contingency planning:
+ Identifying alternative futre scenarios
+ Plans made for each future scenario
+ Increases organization’s flexibility and preparation for future shocks
-Benchmarking – uses external and internal comparisions to plan for future improvements:
+ adopting best practices: things people and organizations do that help them achieve superior performance
+ staff planners assit in all steps of the planning process
4. Implementing plans to achieve results - Goal setting:
+ Great goals tend to have these 5 characteristics:
1. Specific – clearly targeted key results and outcomes to be accomplished
2. Timely – linked to specific timetable and “due dates”
3. Measurable – described so results can be measured without ambiguity
4. Challenging – include a stretch factor that moves toward real gains
5. Attainable – although challenging, realistic and possible to achieve -Goal allignment
+ Goal allignment between team leader and team member
Jointly plan: set objectives, set standards, choose actions
Individually set: perform tasks (member), provide support (leader)
Jointly control: review results, discuss implications, renew cycle
-Participation and Involvement:
+ Participatory planning includes in all planning steps the people who will be affected
by the plans and asked to help implement them:
Unlocks the motivational potential of goal setting
Management by objectives (MBO) promotes participation
When participation is not possible, workers will respond positively if
supervisory trust and support exist