© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter 10 Planning Tools and Techniques

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Learning Objectives Describe the different organizational planning techniques businesses use today. Discuss when to use appropriate project planning tools. Identify personal planning techniques that managers must develop.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Organizational Planning Techniques Environmental Scanning – Proactive approach to monitoring trends and anticipating changes that may affect organization at strategic and tactical levels of scanning. – Information can be valuable without coming through a computerized method. – Online searching: computerized literature searches using public databases.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Organizational Planning Techniques Competitor Intelligence – Form of environmental scanning that uses external sources to assure a company has adequate information for competing effectively. – Does not necessarily involve a computer. – Industrial espionage: selling information about product plans of company; illegal and unethical.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Organizational Planning Techniques Conceptual Modeling – Focuses on process: how we seek data, turn data into information, and use data to help reach conclusions. – Expert systems: computer-based programs that provide advice to users just like human experts do. – Good conceptual map is a blueprint for the future.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Organizational Planning Techniques Quantitative Tools and Techniques – Forecasting: systematic development of predictions about future. Projection of future revenues. Time-series forecasting: plotting subject of forecast against time for several years. Delphi forecasting: systematic refinement of information that takes advantage of expert opinion.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Organizational Planning Techniques Quantitative Tools and Techniques – Linear programming (LP): method for determining optimal combination of resources and activities. – Break-even analysis: determines points at which revenues and costs will be equal.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Organizational Planning Techniques Quantitative Tools and Techniques – In using tools and techniques for planning, manager needs to remember: Relative strengths and weaknesses of aids. Increasingly important role of computer. – Sensitivity analysis: enables decision maker to vary values of critical assumptions and re-do analysis.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Project Planning Techniques Project Planning and Scheduling – Scheduling competence essential for managers. Project Planning Tools – Assist in development of acceptable solution to problem within reasonable time frame and minimum cost.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Project Planning Techniques Project Planning Tools – Gantt chart: uses bars to represent project tasks. Critical path: longest path through entire project. – Program Evaluation and Review (PERT) charts: recommended for larger projects where tasks are dependent on each other for completion. Events: points in time.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Personal Planning Techniques Time Management – Setting priorities for how to use time in achieving needs and desires. – Peak performers: excel at their performance and are committed to results. – Job-related stress: associated with job satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Personal Planning Techniques Time Management – Do not let being “busy” pass for being “productive.” – Do not confuse visibility with productivity. – Have confidence in your ability to proceed.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Personal Planning Techniques Time Management – Trust subordinates with decisions. – Do not unnecessarily or needlessly prolong making a decision. – Do not get sidetracked from making decisions.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Personal Planning Techniques Time Management – Do not let adversity defeat you. – Use technology to assist you. – Manage your own time rather than letting others manage it.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Personal Planning Techniques Time Management – Distinguish high-payoff activities from low-payoff activities. – Self-correct when you determine a time-waste problem. – Make a personal time study.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Personal Planning Techniques Action Planning – Action plan: explains detailed implementation plans to organizational members; specify decisions that call for actions. – Action planning differs from strategic planning: compels individual to add specific steps to ideas presented in original plan.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter Summary All managers must spend some time planning. Environmental scanning: monitor external factors that affect organization. Competitor intelligence: environmental scanning that tracks competitors and what they are doing.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter Summary Conceptual models: allow managers to develop mental maps of related topics. Forecasting: systematic development of predictions about future. Linear programming focuses on resource planning.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter Summary Break-even analysis focuses on costs. PERT and Gantt charts provide managers with technical skills to plan projects to achieve organizational objectives.

© 2014 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter Summary Time management focuses on a scarce resource called time. Action planning focuses on what actions to accomplish and the necessary steps to accomplish them.