1. How do managers plan? Planning Objectives Plan
The process of setting objectives and determining how to best accomplish them.
Objectives
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.

2. How do managers plan? Steps in the planning process:
Define your objectives.
Determine where you stand vis-à-vis objectives.
Develop premises regarding future conditions.
Analyze and choose among action alternatives.
Implement the plan and evaluate results.

3. The roles of planning and controlling in the management process.

4. Benefits of Planning Focus
Set goals -
Set Priorities
Determines the needs of the customer
Provides a unified direction
Ability to Adapt
Deals with changing situations
Helps cope with a changing economy

5. Benefits of Planning Increased Co-ordination
Sets a series of objectives
Lower level objectives support higher level objectives
Improved co-ordination between departments
Improved Control
Identify and measure results
Easy to evaluate results

6. Benefits of Planning Improved Time Management
Sets priorities for employees’ time
Motivates Staff
People will work harder to achieve goal especially if a rewarded when plan is completed

7. A sample means-ends chain for total quality management.

8. What types of plans do managers use?
Short Range Plans
Less than one year
Decided by lower management levels
Example—hire a new shift
Intermediate-range plans
1 to 2 years
Long Range Plans
Greater than 3 years
Decided by top management
Example—launch a new product 8

9. What types of plans do managers use?
Strategic Plans
Extensive, long range plans
Created by upper management
Provides the overall direction of the company
Example—launching a product into another country
Operational Plans
Plans that implement strategic plans
Example—hiring employees in the new country
Production, Financial, Facilities, Marketing, Human Resource Plans
Single-Use Plans
Only used once to meet the needs and objectives of a well-defined situation in a timely manner.

10. What types of plans do managers use?
Standing-Use Plans - Designed to be used again and again
Policies - broad guidelines to assist in making decisions
Rules and Procedures
detailed plans that state actions to be taken in specific situations
found in employee handbooks and manuals
Budgets
determines how money is to be spent on specific projects
Fixed, flexible, and zero-based budgets.
Projects
One-time activities that have clear beginning and end points.
Project management and project schedules.

11. What are the useful planning tools and techniques?
Forecasting
Making assumptions about what will happen in the future.
Qualitative forecasting uses expert opinions.
Quantitative forecasting uses mathematical and statistical analysis.
All forecasts rely on human judgment.
Planning involves deciding on how to deal with the implications of a forecast. 11

12. What are the useful planning tools and techniques?
Contingency Planning
Planning for alternative courses of action should your plan fail or situations change
Worst case scenario planning
Contingency plans contain trigger points.

13. What are the useful planning tools and techniques?
Scenario Planning
A long-term version of contingency planning.
Identifying alternative future scenarios.
Plans made for each future scenario.
Increases organization’s flexibility and preparation for future shocks. 13

14. What are the useful planning tools and techniques?
Benchmarking
Using external comparisons to understanding what is occurring in your company
Adopting best practices of other organizations that achieve superior performance.
Example—if your competitor lost 15% in sales, you gain perspective on your company losing 2% in sales

15. What are the useful planning tools and techniques?
Use of Staff Planners
Coordinating the planning function for the total organization or one of its major components.
Possible communication gaps between staff planners and line management. 15

16. What are the useful planning tools and techniques?
Participation and Involvement
Participatory planning requires that the planning process include people who will be affected by the plans and/or will help implement them.
Benefits of participation and involvement:
Promotes creativity in planning.
Increases available information.
Fosters understanding, acceptance, and commitment to the final plan. 16

17. How participation and involvement help build commitments to plans.