Planning Work Activities

PLANNING
WORK
ACTIVITIES
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 6 P E A R S O N E D U C AT I O N , I N C 8-1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Define the nature and purposes of planning.
2. Classify the types of goals organizations might have and
the plans they use.
3. Compare and contrast approaches to goal-setting and
planning.
 Know how to set goals personally and create a
useful, functional to-do list.
 Develop your skill at helping your employees set
goals.
1. Discuss contemporary issues in planning.
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
WHY DO MANAGERS PLAN?
 Four reasons for planning

– Provides direction
– Reduces uncertainty
– Minimizes waste and redundancy
– Sets the standards for controlling
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.
GOALS AND PLANS
 Goals (objectives) – desired

outcomes or targets.
• Plans – documents that outline
how goals are going to be met.
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).
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.
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.
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.
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 6 P E A R S O N E D U C AT I O N , I N C 8 - 10
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.
EXHIBIT 8-1
TYPES OF PLANS
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.
EXHIBIT 8-2
THE DOWNSIDE OF TRADITIONAL GOAL-SETTING
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.
EXHIBIT 8-3
STEPS IN MBO
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.
EXHIBIT 8-4
WELL-WRITTEN GOALS
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 6 P E A R S O N E D U C AT I O N , I N C . 8 - 18
CONTINGENCY FACTORS IN
PLANNING
 Lengthof future commitments
– Commitment Concept: Current plans
affecting future commitments must be
sufficiently long-term in order to meet those
commitments.
EXHIBIT 8-5
PLANNING AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 6 P E A R S O N E D U C AT I O N , I N C . 8 - 20
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.
APPROACHES TO PLANNING
 In the traditional approach, planning is done

entirely by top-level managers, often assisted by
a formal planning department.
• Formal planning department – a group of
planning specialists whose sole responsibility
is helping to write organizational plans.
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.
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 reacting to them.
REVIEW LEARNING OBJECTIVE 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.
• 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.
REVIEW LEARNING OBJECTIVE 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.
C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 1 6 P E A R S O N E D U C AT I O N , I N C
8 - 27
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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 © 2016 BY PEARSON
E D U C AT I O N , I N C . 8 - 34

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PLANNING

• Planning – defining the organization’s goals,

 Four reasons for planning

 Formal planning is associated with:

• Positive financial results – higher profits, higher return

 Goals (objectives) – desired

 Financial Goals – related to the expected

 Stated Goals – official statements of

 Strategic plans – plans that apply

 Single-use plan – a one-time plan

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

 In the traditional approach, planning is done

• How Can Managers Use Environmental

• Define the nature and purposes of planning.

• Classify the types of goals organizations

• Long-term plans are those with a time

• A single-use plan is a one-time plan

• Compare and contrast approaches to goal-

• Well-written goals have six characteristics:

• Goal-setting involves these steps:

• The two main approaches to planning include:

• Discuss contemporary issues in planning.

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