ninth edition

STEPHEN P. ROBBINS MARY COULTER

Chapter
Foundations
7 of Planning

PowerPoint Presentation by Charlie Cook

The University of West Alabama
What Is Planning?
• Planning
 A primary managerial activity that involves:
 Defining the organization’s goals
 Establishing an overall strategy for achieving those goals
 Developing plans for organizational work activities.

 Types of planning
 Informal: not written down, short-term focus; specific to an
organizational unit.
 Formal: written, specific, and long-term focus, involves
shared goals for the organization.

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Why Do Managers Plan?
• Purposes of Planning
 Provides direction
 Reduces uncertainty
 Minimizes waste and redundancy
 Sets the standards for controlling

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Planning and Performance
• The Relationship Between Planning And
Performance
 Formal planning is associated with:
 Higher profits and returns on assets.
 Positive financial results.
 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,
 Formal planning must be used for several years
before planning begins to affect performance.

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How Do Managers Plan?
• Elements of Planning
 Goals (also Objectives)
 Desired outcomes for individuals, groups, or entire
organizations
 Provide direction and evaluation performance criteria
 Plans
 Documents that outline how goals are to be accomplished
 Describe how resources are to be allocated and establish
activity schedules

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Types of Goals
• Financial Goals
 Are related to the expected internal financial
performance of the organization.
• Strategic Goals
 Are related to the performance of the firm relative to
factors in its external environment (e.g., competitors).
• Stated Goals versus Real Goals
 Broadly-worded official statements of the organization
(intended for public consumption) that may be
irrelevant to its real goals (what actually goes on in
the organization).

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 Exhibit 7–1 Stated Goals of Large Global Companies

Execute strategic roadmap—“Plan to Win.” Control inventory.

Grow the business profitably. Maintain industry’s lowest inventory shrinkage rate.
Identify and develop diverse talent. Open 25–30 new locations in fiscal 2006.
Promote balanced, active lifestyles. Live by the code of ethics every day.
(McDonald’s Corporation) (Costco)

Continue to win market share globally. Expand selection of competitively priced products.
Focus on higher-value products. Manage inventory carefully.
Reduce production costs. Continue to improve store format every few years.
Lower purchasing costs. Operate 2,000 stores by the end of the decade.
Integrate diversity. Continue gaining market share.
Gain ISO 14001 certification for all factories. (Target)
(L’Oreal)

Respect the environment. Roll out newly-designed environmentally friendly

Respect and support family unity and national cup in 2006.
traditions. Open approximately 1,800 new stores globally in
Promote community welfare. 2006.
Continue implementing quality systems. Attain net revenue growth of approximately 20
Continue to be a strong cash generator. percent in 2006.
(Grupo Bimbo) Attain annual EPS growth of between 20 percent to
25 percent for the next 3 to 5 years.
(Starbucks)

Source: Information from company’s Annual Reports, 2004–2005.

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Exhibit 7–2 Types of Plans

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Types of Plans
• Strategic Plans
 Apply to the entire organization.
 Establish the organization’s overall goals.
 Seek to position the organization in terms of its
environment.
 Cover extended periods of time.
• Operational Plans
 Specify the details of how the overall goals are to be
achieved.
 Cover short time period.

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Types of Plans (cont’d)
• Long-Term Plans
 Plans with time frames extending beyond three years
• Short-Term Plans
 Plans with time frames on one year or less
• Specific Plans
 Plans that are clearly defined and leave no room for
interpretation
• Directional Plans
 Flexible plans that set out general guidelines, provide
focus, yet allow discretion in implementation.

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Exhibit 7–3 Specific Versus Directional Plans

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Types of Plans (cont’d)
• Single-Use Plan
 A one-time plan specifically designed to meet the
need of a unique situation.
• Standing Plans
 Ongoing plans that provide guidance for activities
performed repeatedly.

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Establishing Goals and
Developing Plans
• Traditional Goal Setting
 Broad goals are set at the top of the organization.
 Goals are then broken into subgoals for each
organizational level.
 Assumes that top management knows best because
they can see the “big picture.”
 Goals are intended to direct, guide, and constrain from
above.
 Goals lose clarity and focus as lower-level managers
attempt to interpret and define the goals for their areas
of responsibility.

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Exhibit 7–4 The Downside of Traditional Goal Setting

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Establishing Goals and Developing
Plans (cont’d)
• Maintaining the Hierarchy of Goals
 Means–Ends Chain
 The integrated network of goals that results from establishing
a clearly-defined hierarchy of organizational goals.
 Achievement of lower-level goals is the means by which to
reach higher-level goals (ends).

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Establishing Goals and Developing
Plans (cont’d)
• Management By Objectives (MBO)
 Specific performance goals are jointly determined by
employees and managers.
 Progress toward accomplishing goals is periodically
reviewed.
 Rewards are allocated on the basis of progress
towards the goals.
 Key elements of MBO:
 Goal specificity, participative decision making, an explicit
performance/evaluation period, feedback

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Steps in Goal Setting
1. Review the organization’s mission statement.
Do goals reflect the mission?
2. Evaluate available resources.
Are resources sufficient to accomplish the mission?

3. Determine goals individually or with others.

Are goals specific, measurable, and timely?
4. Write down the goals and communicate them.
Is everybody on the same page?
5. Review results and whether goals are being met.
What changes are needed in mission, resources, or goals?

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Developing Plans
• Contingency Factors in A Manager’s Planning
 Manager’s level in the organization
 Strategic plans at higher levels
 Operational plans at lower levels
 Degree of environmental uncertainty
 Stable environment: specific plans
 Dynamic environment: specific but flexible plans
 Length of future commitments
 Commitment Concept: current plans affecting future
commitments must be sufficiently long-term to meet those
commitments.

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Exhibit 7–7 Planning in the Hierarchy of Organizations

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Approaches to Planning
• Establishing a formal planning department
 A group of planning specialists who help managers
write organizational plans.
 Planning is a function of management; it should never
become the sole responsibility of planners.

• Involving organizational members in the process

 Plans are developed by members of organizational
units at various levels and then coordinated with other
units across the organization.

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Contemporary Issues in Planning
• Criticisms of Planning
 Planning may create rigidity.
 Plans cannot be developed for dynamic
environments.
 Formal plans cannot replace intuition and creativity.
 Planning focuses managers’ attention on today’s
competition not tomorrow’s survival.
 Formal planning reinforces today’s success, which
may lead to tomorrow’s failure.

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Contemporary Issues in Planning
(cont’d)
• Effective Planning in Dynamic Environments
 Develop plans that are specific but flexible.
 Understand that planning is an ongoing process.
 Change plans when conditions warrant.
 Persistence in planning eventually pay off.
 Flatten the organizational hierarchy to foster the
development of planning skills at all organizational
levels.

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 Terms to Know
• planning • directional plans
• goals • single-use plan
• plans • standing plans
• stated goals • traditional goal setting
• real goals • means-ends chain
• framing • management by
• strategic plans objectives (MBO)
• operational plans • mission
• long-term plans • commitment concept
• short-term plans • formal planning
• department
specific plans

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