Basic Elements of Planning and Decision Making

Chapter Seven Basic Elements of Planning and Decision Making Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Summarize the function of decision making and the planning process. 2. Discuss the purpose of organizational goals, identify different kinds of goals, discuss who sets goals, and describe how to manage multiple goals. 3. Identify different kinds of organizational plans, note the time frames for planning, discuss who plans, and describe contingency planning. 4. Discuss how tactical plans are developed and executed. 5. Describe the basic types of operational plans used by organizations. 6. Identify the major barriers to goal setting and planning, how organizations overcome those barriers, and how to use goals to implement plans. 7–2 Decision Making and the Planning Process • Decision making – Is the cornerstone of planning. – Is the catalyst that drives the planning process. – Underlies every aspect of setting goals and formulating plans. • Planning – All organizations plan, but not in the same fashion. – All planning occurs within an environmental context. – All goals require plans to guide in their achievement. – All goals are tied higher goals and plans 7–3 1 Figure 7.1: The Planning Process 7–4 Organizational Goals • Purposes of Goals – Provide guidance and a unified direction for people in the organization. – Strongly affect on the quality of other aspects of planning. – Serve as a source of motivation for employees. – Provide a mechanism for evaluation and control of the organization. 7–5 Kinds of Goals • By Level – – – – Mission statement Strategic goals Tactical goals Operational goals • By Area – Different functional areas of the organization. • By Time Frame – Long-term, intermediate-term, or short-term time frames and explicit time frames or open-ended. 7–6 2 Figure 7.2: Kinds of Organizatio nal Goals for a Regional Fast-Food Chain 7–7 Responsibilities of Setting Goals • Who Sets Goals? – All managers: managerial responsibility for goal setting should correspond to the manager’s level in the organization. • Managing Multiple Goals – Optimizing allows managers to balance and reconcile inconsistent or conflicting goals. • Managers can choose to pursue one goal and exclude all others or to seek a midrange goal. 7–8 Kinds of Organizational Plans • Strategic Plans – A general plan set by and for top management that outlines resource allocation, priorities, and action steps to achieve strategic goals. • Tactical Plans – A plan aimed at achieving the tactical goals set by and for middle management. • Operational Plans – Short-term focus plans that are set by and for lower-level managers. 7–9 3 Time Frames for Planning • The Time Dimension of Planning – Planning must provide sufficient time to fulfill the managerial commitments involved. • Long-range Plans – Cover present and future strategic issues extending beyond five years in the future. • Intermediate Plans – Cover from 1 to 5 years and parallel tactical plans. – Are the principal focus of organizational planning efforts. • Short-range Plans – Are action plans and reaction (contingency) plans that have a time frame of one year or less. 7–10 Responsibilities for Planning • Planning Staff – Gather information, coordinate planning activities, and take a broader view than individual managers. • Planning Task Force – Created when the organization wants a special circumstance addressed. • Board of Directors – Establishes corporate mission and strategy. – May engage in strategic planning. • Chief Executive Officer – May serve as president or board chair; has a major role in planning and implementing the strategy. 7–11 Responsibilities for Planning (cont’d) • Executive Committee – Composed of top executives. – Meets regularly with the CEO to review strategic plans. • Line Management – Have formal authority and responsibility for management of the organization. – Help to formulate strategy by providing information. – Responsible for executing the plans of top management. 7–12 4 Contingency Planning and Crisis Management • Contingency Planning – The determination of alternative courses of action to be taken if an intended plan is unexpectedly disrupted or rendered inappropriate. – These plans help managers to cope with uncertainty and change. • Crisis Management – The set of procedures the organization uses in the event of a disaster or other unexpected calamity. 7–13 Figure 7.3: Contingency Planning 7–14 Figure 7.4: Developing and Executing Tactical Plans 7–15 5 Table 7.1: Types of Operational Plans 7–16 Managing Goal-Setting and Planning Processes • Barriers to Goal Setting and Planning – As part of managing the goal-setting and planning process, managers must understand the barriers that can disrupt them. – Managers must also know how to overcome them. 7–17 Table 7.2: Barriers to Goal Setting and Planning 7–18 6 Figure 7.5: The Formal Goalsetting Process 7–19 Using Goals to Implement Plans: The Effectiveness of Formal Goal Setting • Strengths (Success) • Weaknesses (Failure) – Improved employee motivation – Enhances communication – Fosters more objective performance appraisals – Focuses attention on appropriate goals and plans – Helps identify managerial talent – Provides a systematic management philosophy – Facilitates control of the organization – Poor implementation of the goal setting process – Lack of top-management support for goal setting – Delegation of the goalsetting process to lower levels – Overemphasis on quantitative goals – Too much paperwork and record keeping – Managerial resistance to goal setting 7–20 Key Terms • • • • • • • • • • • mission strategic goal tactical goal operational goal optimizing strategic plan tactical plan operational plan reaction plan long-range plan intermediate plan • • • • • • • • • short-range plan crisis management single-use plan program project standing plan policy rules and regulations management by objectives (MBO) 7–21 7