Материал: Management-and-Organization-Behavior

particular nation. For instance, the attitude of the government in India towards foreign companies has undergone dramatic change in the last two decades. In the late seventies during the Janata Party rule at the centre, Coca-Cola, IBM and a few other multinationals were forced to leave the country. There were several other restrictions on the equity holding of foreign partners. The whole thing has changed, in the last few years so much so that multinationals are not only welcome but are also offered many facilities.

The cooperation that exists between business and government in Japan has in fact helped the Japanese Companies to conquer the world markets in the last few decades. In Japan, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) extends all out support to the organizations to emerge internationally competitive. In India too, of late, we see a lot of change in the attitude of the government both at central and state level towards the business. Various state governments are weighing with each other with attractive packages to woo the foreign investment in many core sector industries.

The various factors discussed so far highlight the impact of the environment on the business. If companies like Dr, Reddy Labs, Tata Motors, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance, ITC, etc. are able to go global, it is precisely because of their ability to assess the changing environment effectively and to adapt to the changes with considerable case. As a result, we see a few Indian companies reaching the status of being called Indian multinationals.

Review Questions

1.Explain the influence of various forces of the environment on business.

2.Describe the major factors in the environment of business and how they affect the survival of an organisation.

3. Present the case of atleast two Indian Companies and explain how they responded to changes in the environment.

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Lesson - 5 : Planning

Objectives

After reading this lesson, you should be able to:

ӹӹUnderstand The Principles And Purpose Of Planning;

ӹӹExplain The Steps In Planning;

ӹӹDescribe The Strategic/Long Range Planning; And

ӹӹDistinguish Operational Planning From Strategic Planning.

Lesson Outline

ӹӹObjectives Of Planning

ӹӹPrinciples Of Planning

ӹӹPlanning Process

ӹӹCharacteristics Of Sound Plan

ӹӹLong Range And Short Range Planning

ӹӹTypes Of Plans

ӹӹReview Questions

Planning is an important managerial function in that there is no choice between planning and no planning. The choice is only in regard to the method and techniques used to plan. It is anybody’s knowledge that we plan many things in our day to day lives. We plan to go on a holiday trip, plan our careers, and plan our investments and so on. Organizations are no exception. Lot of planning is done by managers at all levels. Planning is the basic process by which we use to select our goals and determine the means to achieve them. Lot of information has to be gathered and processed before a plan is formulated. In other words, a plan is like a jigsaw puzzle. All the pieces have to be put together properly, so that they make sense.

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Planning is necessarily forward looking. It is looking into the future. It bridges the gap between where we are and where we want to go. It involves visualizing a future course of action and putting it in a logical way. Let us look at the following observations about planning.

ӹӹ“Failure to plan is planning to fail”.

ӹӹ“Planning is outlining a future course of action in order to achieve objectives”.

ӹӹ“Planning is looking ahead”.

ӹӹ“Planning is getting ready to do something tomorrow”.

ӹӹ“Plan is a trap laid down to capture the future”.

Purpose of Planning

It is no exaggeration that in the absence of planning events are left to chance. In such a case, you as a manager are depending on luck. You may, as a result, in all probability end up in frustration. Organizations often fail not because of lack of resources, but because of poor planning. Whatever the resources you have, in the absences of systematic planning, the resources may not help you in achieving the objectives.

The following factors further highlight the importance of planning;

a. To achieve objectives

While developing a plan, you have to ask yourself a few questions.

ӹӹWhy am I making this plan?

ӹӹWhat am I trying to accomplish?

ӹӹWhat resources do I need to execute the plan?

Objectives are the ends sought to be achieved by the organizations. The above questions, if properly answered provide lot of clarity to the objectives. In other words, they force you to be clear about the objectives, the time frame required to achieve them and the resources required. It forces you to visualize the future in an organized manner. The saying that “when a man doesn’t know what harbour he is making for, no wind is the right wind” is quite appropriate in the case of planning. Systematic planning, thus, starts with a clear statement of objectives. All the important inputs necessary to achieve the objectives are carefully thought of. The uncertainties of the future, if any, are also taken into consideration.

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b. Plans make the things happen

Effective managers anticipate future and prepare themselves to meet the challenges of the future. They are rather pro-active. They influence the outcome of the events in a significant way. In any modern business, the interests of many people are involved. The shareholders, employees, creditors, consumers and the Government are the major interest groups in any organization. Further, the interests and expectations of all these groups are varied and at times are in conflict. That apart, they constantly change in a dynamic business environment. In the light of the uncertainties involved in the environment, your job, as a manager, is to foresee the future and predict the consequences of actions. In other words, you have to look down the road into future and prepare yourself to meet the uncertainties ahead. A well thought out plan solves many of the problems associated with the future.

c. Plans help to cope with change

Organizations are products of environment. The ability to deal with the environment has enabled many an organization to survive, despite other weaknesses. Alert managements continually tune in to the environmental forces. On the other hand, managements which fail to adapt would eventually fall on the way side. Therefore, in the managerial job, you have to constantly analyze the impending changes in the environment and assess their impact on your business. For instance, the liberalization policies pursued by the government have, of late, brought in too many changes. Markets are shifting due to increased competition. Pressure on the existing resources is increasing. Expectations of the employees as well as the consumers are changing. Product life cycles are becoming shorter due to rapid technological changes. All these changes exert a tremendous pressure on the management.

d. Plans double up as tools to control the events

Planning and control are often described as the ‘Siamese’ twins of management. When you plan the events, you make them happen in a particular way. The specific objectives decided in advance themselves become the standards. Therefore, it goes without saying that plans provide mechanism to know whether the events are happening in the way expected.

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