Question

Describe the planning function and its importance as a primary management tool, explain the types of planning and list (in order) and explain each step in the planning process.

Answer 1

Planning is defined as organizing activities in order to achieve future goals.

• Planning is an important business tool which helps you define a path and act as a guideline to achieve future goals.
• It is the starting point for managing any successful business.

Types of planning:

• Operational planning is defined as planning process to define processes and systems in order to achieve operational efficiency and meet customer demands.
• Strategic planning is defined as corporate strategy to define and achieve quantifiable long term goals in a specific period of time. Formal is referred to making strategic planning process structured in the organization.
• Tactical planning: They are defined as plan to determine short term and long term strategies to achieve organizational goals.
• Contingency planning It is carried out when the unexpected event has occurred or warning sign appears of occurring event.

Below are the steps in planning process:

1. Identify objectives: It is the most important step to have effective planning process. Identify objective of the planning process so that planning can be done accordingly.
2. Budget: Identify the budget available for the process.
3. Identify resources available and can be used in the planning process.
4. Identify timeline for the planning process to reach objectives.
5. Identify the parameters to evaluate the success of planned objectives.
6. Finalize the plan and communicate to all stakeholders involved.