Management

1. Planning: Planning is the most fundamental and the most pervasive of all management functions. If people working in groups have to perform effectively, they should know in advance what is to be done, what activities they have to perform in order to do what is to be done, and when it is to be done. Planning is concerned with 'what', 'how, and 'when' of performance. It is deciding in the present about the future objectives and the courses of action for their achievement.

It thus involves:

(a) determination of long and short-range objectives;

(b) development of strategies and courses of actions to be followed for the achievement of these objectives; and

(c) formulation of policies, procedures, and rules, etc., for the implementation of strategies, and plans.

The organizational objectives are set by top management in the context of its basic purpose and mission, environmental factors, business forecasts, and available and potential resources. These objectives are both long-range as well as short-range. They are divided into divisional, departmental, sectional and individual objectives or goals. This is followed by the development of strategies and courses of action to be followed at various levels of management and in various segments of the organization. Policies, procedures and rules provide the framework of decision making, and the method and order for the making and implementation of these decisions.

Every manager performs all these planning functions, or contributes to their performance. In some organizations, particularly those which are traditionally managed and the small ones, planning are often not done deliberately and systematically but it is still done. The plans may be in the minds of their managers rather than explicitly and precisely spelt out: they may be fuzzy rather than clear but they are always there. Planning is thus the most basic function of management. It is performed in all...