Reflection Summary of Week 2

There are six steps management should follow when planning. Situational analysis is the first step where people gather relevant information needed for issue. The next step is generating alternative goals and plans. Then evaluate each alternative. Next select the best plan or goal out the alternatives. Implement the chosen plan or goal. Finally monitor and control the plan to ensure you are getting the desired outcome.

Strategic planning involves setting the long-term goals and strategies for the company. It basically means setting the course that the company will follow for the future. It involves setting strategic goals, which are major targets the company wants to meet, and deciding on a strategy to achieve those goals.

Tactical planning is on the middle management level and has a medium level of detail. It has a time horizon of one to two years, and contains a set of procedures. Those procedures are for translating goals and plans and are mostly used in functional areas like marketing. It is also vital that a tactical plan is checked to ensure that it is aligned with the strategic plan. Sometimes a tactical plan can stray because of someone’s personal interests or disagreement with the strategic plan.

Operational planning is the process of identifying specific procedures and processes required at the lower level of the organization. Here the front line managers set daily routines such as production runs, delivery schedules, and how to best schedule the workers to optimize the results. If you look at operational planning in regard to strategic planning, the strategic plan sets the broad goals but the operational plan works toward achieving those goals in a more specific manner during day-to-day operations.

Contingency planning is a backup plan for a business. A contingency plan is a good idea for any organization to have just in case problems arise while implementing the original plan or goal or in...