Steps in Planning Process

Assignment 2 MAN-301

1. List and discuss the steps in the planning process. Select the one step that you believe is the most important. From your own experience or observation, describe the circumstances where attention to or inattention to this step resulted in success or failure--choose either but not both.

The seven steps in the planning process include setting objectives, analyzing and evaluating environments, identifying the alternatives, evaluating the alternatives, selecting the best solution, implementing the plan, and controlling and evaluating the results[1].

The first step of setting objectives needs to have key characteristics such as measurable and specific, focused on key result area, realistic and challenging, for a specific timeframe, and a reward for performance for achieving the objective. The objectives will be influenced by internal and external environments, internally elements like, the organizations mission, philosophies, and the availability of resources and external elements like the economic conditions labor, availability of supplies, and political climate. The overall experience of the manager is also a contributing factor.

The second step of analyzing and evaluating environment is the process of understanding the current environment the organization is currently operating in, which will determine the availability of resources. There are internal resources such as finance, supplies, time, and material availability. There could also be internal constraints such as collective bargaining agreements which can limit the availability a certain courses of action.

The third step involves identifying the alternatives. It is during this process the manger identifies different plans to reach the objective. The process of identifying alternatives may be done as an individual or as a group. It is beneficial to process to include those personnel who will be executing the plan. The more alternatives that are created increase the number...