Define planning. Describe the major steps/ process of planning involved in the planning process.

 Planning is a process of setting future courses of actions regarding what to do, how to do, when to do, who will to do to attain the organizational goals and so on. It is one of the management functions that concern with setting organizational goals and actions to achieve them. Planning sets the future goals of organization and selects the course of actions to attain the goals effectively and efficiently. In this regard, planning can be described as the process of setting actions plans to direct activities of the organization to guarantee its success. If planning process which sets various goals, objectives and course of actions to attain these them. It is an intellectual process as to think in an advance about the things to be done in future. 

Process/Steps of Planning

The process of planning may differ in the nature of the organization and situation. The following are the widely used process of planning in most of the organizations.

1. Analysis of environment: At the beginning of the planning process, the internal as well as external environment of the organization are analyzed (SWOT analysis). The internal environment is analyzed to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Likewise, the external environment is studied to assess the likely opportunities and threats. Plans are formulated in a way that opportunities may be maximized by utilizing organizational strengths.

2. Establishing goals/objectives: Plans are prepared to achieve certain goals. Establishing the goals is the second step in planning. The goals are established for whole organization as well as individual departments. They may also be formulated for a short and long-term. Goals provide a general direction to the organization. Goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time bound, evaluate, support and trust.

3. Determining planning premises: Planning is done for the future, which is uncertain. Hence, it is based on certain assumptions called the premises. Assumptions are normally based on internal and external environmental factors. Internal assumptions deal with organizational policies and structure, and availability of resources. External assumptions competition, and are based on external factors such as political environment, economic environment, the technological environment, government policies. Assumptions should be uniform across the organization and the managers should be aware of these.

4. Identification of alternatives: There is no one way to achieve the organizational goals. Hence, alternative courses of planning should be identified. They should be identified based on planning premises.

5. Evaluation of alternatives: After identifying the alternative courses of plans, the next step of the planning process is to evaluate each of them. They are evaluated on ground of suitability, acceptability and feasibility. Suitability assesses whether the plan is suitable according to organizational environments. Acceptability assesses whether the plan is acceptable to the stakeholders, mainly the shareholders and employees. Feasibility assesses whether the organization has the necessary resources and capabilities to implement the plan.

6. Selecting the best alternative: After evaluating the alternatives, the most suitable alternative is selected. As discussed above, the best course should be selected on ground of suitability, acceptability and feasibility.

7. Formulating supportive plans: Once the best course has been selected, the supporting plans should be formulated. They are secondary plans and formulated to support the main plan. Within the framework of a basic plan, supporting plans are formulated in each functional area such as production, marketing, and human resources. The main aim of supporting plans is to support implementation of the main plan.

8. Implementation of the plan: This is the last step of the planning process. It involves the translation of the plan into action. Policies, resource management, work processes and systems, and leadership important for successful implementation of the plan. are very

9. Review of the plan: After implementation of the plan, it should be reviewed so that corrective actions may be taken for making it more effective in the time to come.