Robbins mgmt12 ppt08 GE

Foundations of
Planning
Copyright
Copyright©©2012
2014 Pearson Education,
Pearson Education 8-1
Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
Define the nature and purposes of planning.
Classify the types of goals organizations
might have and the plans they use.
Compare and contrast approaches to goal-
setting and planning.
Discuss contemporary issues in planning.
Copyright
Copyright©©2012
2014Pearson
PearsonEducation,
EducationInc. 8-2
Publishing as Prentice Hall
What Is Planning?
• Planning - defining the organization’s

goals, establishing strategies for achieving
those goals, and developing plans to
integrate and coordinate work activities.
• Formal planning
– Specific goals covering a specific time period
– Written and shared with organizational
members
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Why Do Managers Plan?
• Four reasons for planning

– Provides direction
– Reduces uncertainty
– Minimizes waste and redundancy
– Sets the standards for controlling
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Planning and Performance
• Formal planning is associated with:

– Positive financial results - higher profits,
higher return on assets, and so forth
– The quality of planning and implementation
affects performance more than the extent of
planning
– The external environment can reduce the
impact of planning on performance
– The planning-performance relationship seems
to be influenced by the planning time frame
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Goals and Plans
• Goals (objectives) - desired

outcomes or targets
• Plans - documents that outline how
goals are going to be met
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Types of Goals
• Financial Goals - related to the expected

internal financial performance of the
organization.
• Strategic Goals - related to the performance of
the firm relative to factors in its external
environment (e.g., competitors).
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Types of Goals (cont.)
• Stated goals - official statements of what an

organization says, and what it wants its various
stakeholders to believe, its goals are
• Real goals - goals that an organization actually
pursues, as defined by the actions of its
members
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Types of Plans
• Strategic plans - plans that apply to the

entire organization and establish the
organization’s overall goals
• Operational plans - plans that
encompass a particular operational area of
the organization
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Types of Plans (cont.)
• Long-term plans - plans with a time frame

beyond three years
• Short-term plans - plans covering one year or
less
• Specific plans – plans that are clearly defined
and leave no room for interpretation
• Directional plans - plans that are flexible and
set out general guidelines
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Types of Plans (cont.)
• Single-use plan - a one-time plan

specifically designed to meet the needs of
a unique situation
• Standing plans ongoing plans that
provide guidance for activities performed
repeatedly
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Exhibit 8-1
Types of Plans
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Approaches to Setting Goals
• Traditional goal-setting - an approach to

setting goals in which top managers set goals
that then flow down through the organization and
become subgoals for each organizational area
• Means-ends chain - an integrated network of
goals in which the accomplishment of goals at
one level serves as the means for achieving the
goals, or ends, at the next level
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Exhibit 8-2
The Downside of Traditional Goal-Setting
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Approaches to Setting Goals (cont.)
• Management by
objectives (MBO) - a
process of setting
mutually agreed upon
goals and using those
goals to evaluate
employee performance
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Exhibit 8-3 Steps in MBO
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Steps in Goal-Setting
1. Review the organization’s mission, or purpose.

2. Evaluate available resources
3. Determine the goals individually or with input
from others
4. Write down the goals and communicate them to
all who need to know
5. Review results and whether goals are being
met.
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Steps in Goal-Setting (cont.)
4. Write down the goals and communicate them to

all who need to know
5. Review results and whether goals are being
met.
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Exhibit 8-4
Well-Written Goals
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Contingency Factors in Planning
• Length of future commitments

– Commitment Concept: Current plans
affecting future commitments must be
sufficiently long-term in order to meet those
commitments.
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Exhibit 8-5
Planning and Organizational Level
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Contingency Factors in Planning (cont.)
• Environmental Uncertainty
– When uncertainty is high, plans should be
specific, but flexible.
– Managers must be prepared to change or
amend plans as they’re implemented.
– At times, they may even have to abandon the
plans
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Approaches to Planning
• In the traditional approach, planning is done

entirely by top-level managers often are assisted
by a formal planning department
• Formal planning department - a group of
planning specialists whose sole responsibility is
helping to write organizational plans
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Contemporary Issues in Planning
• How Can Managers Plan Effectively in Dynamic

Environments?
– In an uncertain environment, managers
should develop plans that are specific, but
flexible.
– Managers need to recognize that planning is
an ongoing process
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Contemporary Issues in Planning (cont.)
• How Can Managers Use Environmental

Scanning?
– Environmental scanning - screening
information to detect emerging trends
– Competitor intelligence - gathering
information about competitors that allows
managers to anticipate competitors’ actions
rather than merely react to them
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Review Learning Outcome 8.1
• Define the nature and purposes of

planning
– Planning involves defining the organization’s goals,
establishing an overall strategy for achieving those
goals, and developing plans for organizational work
activities.
– The four purposes of planning include providing
direction, reducing uncertainty, minimizing waste and
redundancy, and establishing the goals or standards
used in controlling.
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• Classify the types of goals organizations might

have and the plans they use.
– Goals are desired outcomes.
– Plans are documents that outline how goals
are going to be met.
– Strategic plans apply to the entire
organization while operational plans
encompass a particular functional area.
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Review Learning Outcome 8.2 (cont.)
– Long-term plans are those with a time frame

beyond three years. Short-term plans cover
one year or less.
– Specific plans are clearly defined and leave
no room for interpretation.
– Directional plans are flexible and set out
general guidelines.
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– A single-use plan is a one-time plan designed

to meet the needs of a unique situation.
– Standing plans are ongoing plans that provide
guidance for activities performed repeatedly.
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• Compare and contrast approaches to goal-

setting and planning.
– In traditional goal-setting, goals are set at the
top of the organization and then become
subgoals for each organizational area
– MBO (management by objectives) is a
process of setting mutually agreed-upon goals
and using those goals to evaluate employee
performance.
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• Well-written goals have six characteristics

1. Written in terms of outcomes
2. Measurable and quantifiable
3. Clear as to time frame
4. Challenging but attainable
5. Written down
6. Communicated to all organizational members
who need to know them.
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• Goal-setting involves these steps: review

the organization’s mission;
– Evaluate available resources
– Determine the goals individually or with input
from others
– Write down the goals and communicate them
to all who need to know them
– Review results and change goals as needed
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• The two main approaches to planning

include
– The traditional approach, which has plans
developed by top managers that flow down
through other organizational levels and which
may use a formal planning department.
– The other approach is to involve more
organizational members in the planning
process
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• Discuss contemporary issues in planning.

– Dynamic environments – usually means
developing plans that are specific but flexible
– Contemporary planning issue involves using
environmental scanning to help do a better
analysis of the external environment.
– One form of environmental scanning,
competitive intelligence, can be especially
helpful in finding out what competitors are
doing.
Copyright
Copyright©©2012
Copyright
Copyright©©2012
2014Pearson
PearsonEducation,
EducationInc. 8-35
Publishing as Prentice Hall

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Foundations of

• Planning - defining the organization’s

• Four reasons for planning

• Formal planning is associated with:

• Goals (objectives) - desired

• Financial Goals - related to the expected

• Stated goals - official statements of what an

• Strategic plans - plans that apply to the

• Long-term plans - plans with a time frame

• Single-use plan - a one-time plan

• Traditional goal-setting - an approach to

1. Review the organization’s mission, or purpose.

4. Write down the goals and communicate them to

• Length of future commitments

• In the traditional approach, planning is done

• How Can Managers Plan Effectively in Dynamic

• How Can Managers Use Environmental

• Define the nature and purposes of

• Classify the types of goals organizations might

– Long-term plans are those with a time frame

– A single-use plan is a one-time plan designed

• Compare and contrast approaches to goal-

• Well-written goals have six characteristics

• Goal-setting involves these steps: review

• The two main approaches to planning

• Discuss contemporary issues in planning.

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