Management Process is defined as activity which involves Planning, Controlling and Decision Making.

Management Process describes functions of a manager and functions to enable the workers.

Workers enablement gives authority to staff in the operation level to plan, control, and to make
decisions without requiring authorization from middle or top management. Worker enablement is done
based on the philosophy that the workers are considered very close to the job and are capable to give
input and suggestions, to get ideas, and have an active role in problem solving. Workers are given
permission to stop production so they can identify the problem and solve it. They are asked to give input
and ideas which are used to improve the production process.

The involvement to manage the company through workers enablement is a core element to promote
continuous improvement. Worker enablement is similar to High Involvement Organization (HIO) which
allows high participation of the workers in all aspects of the organization. High-involvement
organizations are characterized by flat organizational structures with product- or customer-focused units
rather than functional centers such as marketing, production and research and development.

Planning is a detail formulation of activity to achieve defined goals. Planning requires clear goals and the
identification of method to achieve those goals. As an example a factory manager can initiate a supplier
evaluation program to identify and select suppliers who are willing and able to supply zero defect
material. By promoting workers enablement, workers can identify the cause of defective materials or
products and create a new method to reduce waste and product reworking.

Controlling is a managerial activity to monitor the implementation of the plan and to make corrective
actions whenever required. After a plan is made, the plan should be implemented; manager and workers
need to monitor the implementation to ensure that the plan works as expected. Feedback is often used
to evaluate and set the corrective actions to implement a defined plan. Based on the feedback, manager
or worker can decide to keep the original plan and let it work, or to take corrective action or to re-plan it.
This feedback can be in the form of financial report or performance report.

Decision making is a process to choose the best solution among many alternatives. This managerial
function is collaboration between planning and controlling. The quality of decision can be improved if all
alternatives information can be collected and presented to manager. One of the important roles of
Accounting Information System is to supply the information to simplify the decision making process.
Management process is a way to keep a project focused and productive. The project team has the
authority to change or discontinue a part of or all of a project if it is not making minimum expectations.
They also have the responsibility of working with the client in the event of needing a new timeline,
miscalculated budget, or product delay.

The management process might seem complicated, but in truth it is a simple progression of steps or
tasks. At every phase the manager has the opportunity to ensure delivery on time and under budget.

The Five Functions of Management

a. Planning

The first managerial function involves planning. The function is about creating a detailed plan towards
achieving a

specific organizational objective. When you are planning, you are identifying the tasks, which are
required to achieve

the desired goals, outlining how the tasks should be performed, and identifying when and by whom they
must be

performed. The focus of planning is about achieving the objectives and it does require knowledge of the

organization’s objectives and vision. You will need to look both at the short- and long-term success of the

organization as part of the plan.

An example of planning would be a situation where you have an objective, such as increasing the sales
by 20% in the

following month. You will need to look at the different ways you and the team could achieve this goal.
This might

include things like creating a new advertisement campaign, reducing prices or speaking to customers
about their
shopping plans. Your role is to pick the processes that you find the most appropriate and to organize
them into a

logical pattern. You must also identify the timeline for these processes.

As you might realize, planning is on on-going function. Management will regularly have to plan the
future tasks and

adjust the plans based on the organizational situation and the achievement of previous goals.
Furthermore, it

requires the whole organization to work together as the different departments or team plans need to
link to each

other and align with the organizational objective. Henri Fayol called the function the most difficult to
achieve! You

need a lot of knowledge and flexibility in order to plan activities effectively.

Why is planning essential?

Why is planning important? Planning provides the organization a better sense of what it wants to
achieve and how it

can achieve this. You essentially have more focus when you plan for things. Think what would happen if
you went

into a big job interview without any planning.

You might be OK, but you wouldn’t be able to focus on the details and it might take time for you conduct
your

answers. But if you plan for the interview, you now exactly the points you want to make, you have
enough

knowledge to respond to specific questions about the company and so on.

In effect, planning ensures the proper utilization of the available resources and the ability to understand
how these

should be used in order to achieve the goal. In the example of the interview, the planning helps you take
advantage

of information on company websites, research interview questions and to then use this information to
outline

example answers.
A key part of planning is also the vital role it plays in reducing risks. When management plans for the
tasks ahead,

they are looking at the situation and detailing the possible pitfalls ahead. As with your interview, the risk
of not

knowing anything about the company or giving an incoherent answer is higher than if you had planned
your answers

a little.

How to plan?

Planning is an intellectual activity that doesn’t always require a lot of visible labor and effort, as much of
it is about

thinking creatively about the issues at hand. When you need to come engage in planning, you should
focus on the

following steps:

a.1. Gain knowledge of the issues – You need to understand the organizational objectives, the different
components

they involve, and the available resources you and the team have. You also need to be knowledgeable of
the

topic at hand. In terms of increasing sales, you need to have an understanding of how the sales industry
works

and what different methods can effectively boost company sales.

a.2. Look into the future – The function is about understanding the short- and long-term objectives the
organization

wants to achieve. You need to consider not just these different elements, but also be able to make
predictions

about the future conditions for achieving these. Perhaps you have noticed changes in customer behavior
due to

the downturn in the economy. When you are planning, you need to take into account these little
nuances.

a.3. Determine the objectives – Once you are aware of the organizational objective, the resources
available, and the
future outlook to achieving the objectives, you need to identify the specific processes and detailed goals
that are

required to achieve the bigger goal. You might want to create a marketing campaign to increase sales,
which

requires the team to conduct market research and to come up with ideas. The more detailed objectives
and

processes you can set, the better the plan is.

a.4. Create flexible structures – However, your planning needs to be flexible and take into account things
don’t

always go according to plan. Your management plan must take into account the other departments and
their

specific organizational goals. Perhaps the financial team has to cut down costs for the sales team and you
need

to be aware of the impact this would have on your new marketing campaign.

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Planning

Meaning and Concept of Planning

In simple words, planning is deciding in advance what is to be done,when where, how and by whom it is
to be done. Planning bridges thegap from where we are to where we want to go. It includes the
selectionof objectives, policies, procedures and programmes from amongalternatives. A plan is a
predetermined course of action to achieve aspecified goal. It is an intellectual process characterized by
thinking before doing. It is an attempt on the part of manager to anticipate thefuture in order to achieve
better performance. Planning is the primaryfunction of management.

Definitions of Planning

Different authors have given different definitions of planning from timeto time. The main definitions of
planning are as follows:

According to Alford and Beatt

, “Planning is the thinking process, the

organized foresight, the vision based on fact and experience that is

required for intelligent action.”

According to Theo Haimann

, “Planning is deciding in advance what is

to be done. When a manager plans, he projects a course of action forfurther attempting to achieve a
consistent co-ordinate structure ofoperations aimed at the desired results.

According to Billy E. Goetz

, “Planning is fundamentally choosing and

a planning problem arises when an alternative course of action is

discovered.”

Hi

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According to Koontz and O’ Donnell

, “Planning is an intellectual

process, conscious determination of course of action, the basing of

decision on purpose, facts and considered estimates.”



According to Allen

, “A plan is a trap laid to capture the future.”

Nature / Characteristics of Planning

The main characteristics or nature of planning is given below:

Planning is an Intellectual Process

Planning is an intellectual process of thinking in advance. It is a processof deciding the future on the
series of events to follow. Planning is a process where a number of steps are to be taken to decide the
futurecourse of action. Managers or executives have to consider variouscourses of action, achieve the
desired goals, go in details of the pros andcons of every course of action and then finally decide what
course ofaction may suit them best.

Planning Contributes to the Objectives

Planning contributes positively in attaining the objectives of the business enterprise. Since plans are
there from the very first stage ofoperation, the management is able to handle every problemsuccessfully.
Plan try to set everything right. A purposeful, sound andeffective planning process knows how and when
to tackle a problem.This leads to success. Objectives thus are easily achieved.

Planning is a Primary Function of Management

Planning precedes other functions in the management process.Certainly, setting of goals to be achieved
and lines of action to befollowed precedes the organization, direction, supervision and control. No
doubt, planning precedes other functions of management. It is primary requisite before other
managerial functions step in. But all

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functions are inter-connected. It is mixed in all managerial functions butthere too it gets precedence. It
thus gets primary everywhere.

A continuous Process

Planning is a continuous process and a never ending activity of amanager in an enterprise based upon
some assumptions which may ormay not come true in the future. Therefore, the manager has to go
onmodifying revising and adjusting plans in the light of changing

circumstances. According to George R. Terry, “Planning is a

continuous process and there is no end to it. It involves continuouscollection, evaluation and selection of
data, and scientific investigationand analysis of the possible alternative courses of action and
theselection of the best alternative.

Planning Pervades Managerial Activities

From primary of planning follows pervasiveness of planning. It is thefunction of every managerial

personnel. The character, nature and scopeof planning may change fro personnel to personnel but the
planning as

an action remains intact. According to Billy E. Goetz, “Plans cannot

make an enterprise successful. Action is required, the enterprise mustoperate managerial planning seeks
to achieve a consistent, coordinatedstructure of operations focused on desired trends. Without plans,
action

must become merely activity producing nothing but chaos.”

Role, Significance, Importance & Advantages of Planning

An organisation without planning is like a sailboat minus its rudder.Without planning, organisation, are
subject to the winds oforganizational change. Planning is one of the most important and

crucial functions of management. According to Koontz and O‟Donnell,“Without planning business

becomes random in nature and decisions

become meaningless and adhoc choices.” According to Geroge R.Terry, “Planning is the foundation of
most successful actions of anyenterprise.” Planning becomes necessary due to the following reasons:
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Formulating plans and chalking out of programmes are not sufficient,unless follow-up action is provided
to see that plans so prepared and programmes chalked out are being carried out in accordance with the
plan and to see whether these are not kept in cold storage. It is alsorequired to see whether the plan is
working well in the present situation.If conditions have changed, the plan current plan has become
outdatedor inoperative it should be replaced by another plan. A regular follow-up is necessary and
desirable from effective implementation andaccomplishment of tasks assigned.The plan should be
communicated to all persons concerned in theorganisation. Its objectives and course of action must be
clearly definedleaving no ambiguity in the minds of those who are responsible for itsexecution. Planning
is effective only when the persons involved work ina team spirit and all are committed to the objectives,
policies, programmes, strategies envisaged in the plan.

Planning

means looking ahead and chalking out future courses ofaction to be followed. It is a preparatory step. It
is a systematic activitywhich determines when, how and who is going to perform a specific job. Planning
is a detailed programme regarding future courses ofaction.

It is rightly said “

Well plan is half done

”. Theref

ore planning takesinto consideration available & prospective human and physicalresources of the
organization so as to get effective co-ordination,contribution & perfect adjustment. It is the basic
management functionwhich includes formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieveoptimum
balance of needs or demands with the available resources.

According to Urwick, “Planning is a mental predisposition to do things

in orderly way, to think before acting and to act in the light of factsrather than gue

sses”. Planning is deciding best alternative among others

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to perform different managerial functions in order to achieve predetermined goals.

According to Koontz & O‟Donell, “Planning is deciding in advance

what to do, how to do and who is to do it. Planning bridges the gap between where we are to, where we
want to go. It makes possible things

to occur which would not otherwise occur”.

Steps in Planning Function

Planning function of management

involves following steps:-

1.

Establishment of objectives

a.

Planning requires a systematic approach. b.

Planning starts with the setting of goals and objectives to be achieved.c.

Objectives provide a rationale for undertaking variousactivities as well as indicate direction of efforts.d.

Moreover objectives focus the attention of managers onthe end results to be achieved.e.

As a matter of fact, objectives provide nucleus to the planning process. Therefore, objectives should be
statedin a clear, precise and unambiguous language. Otherwisethe activities undertaken are bound to be
ineffective.f.

As far as possible, objectives should be stated inquantitative terms. For example, Number of
menworking, wages given, units produced, etc. But such anobjective cannot be stated in quantitative
terms like performance of quality control manager, effectiveness of personnel manager.g.
Such goals should be specified in qualitative terms.h.

Hence objectives should be practical, acceptable,workable and achievable.

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2.

Establishment of Planning Premises

a.

Planning premises are the assumptions about the livelyshape of events in future. b.

They serve as a basis of planning.c.

Establishment of planning premises is concerned withdetermining where one tends to deviate from the
actual plans and causes of such deviations.d.

It is to find out what obstacles are there in the way of business during the course of operations.e.

Establishment of planning premises is concerned to takesuch steps that avoids these obstacles to a great
extent.f.
Planning premises may be internal or external. Internalincludes capital investment policy, management
labourrelations, philosophy of management, etc. Whereasexternal includes socio- economic, political
andeconomical changes.g.

Internal premises are controllable whereas external arenon- controllable.

3.

Choice of alternative course of action

a.

When forecast are available and premises areestablished, a number of alternative course of actionshave
to be considered. b.

For this purpose, each and every alternative will beevaluated by weighing its pros and cons in the light
ofresources available and requirements of the organization.c.

The merits, demerits as well as the consequences of eachalternative must be examined before the
choice is beingmade.d.

After objective and scientific evaluation, the bestalternative is chosen.e.

The planners should take help of various quantitativetechniques to judge the stability of an alternative.

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Overcoming barriers of strategy finding

The Problem

Strategy finding is the responsibility of top management. In particularin smaller and medium sized
organizations, managers do not deal withstrategies on a regular basis. They lack the experience to
deriveappropriate strategies and initiatives from the analysis results. Inaddition, the executive team in
such organizations consists only of veryfew people. This even further limits their ability to discover the
one beststrategy amongst many options.

What to do

To generate a variety of ideas the organization has to ensure thatvarious perspectives and different
levels of knowledge are reflected.This can be achieved by including senior management
representativesfrom all functional units of the organization. That should include smallunits as well as
those units that are far away from corporate HQ.In order to overcome the lack-of-experience-barrier, it is
advisable toinclude strategic planning and thinking capabilities in the personneldevelopment activities.

Another option is to bring in some outside experience. I don‟t mean to

hire McKinsey or BCG. Nevertheless an experienced external coach orconsultant may facilitate strategy
finding by moderating and guiding thestrategy process.

Conclusion

The above examples include by far not all barriers and solutions forstrategic planning. They are just an
illustration for the broad range ofissues that make or break a successful strategic planning process.

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The first step to improve this process is to critically assess theorganizations capabilities, strengths and
weaknesses in strategic planning. Compare them with best practice approaches. On this basis,you can
identify the most important areas for improvement and decideon some measures to take.

Overcoming Barriers To Strategic Planning

The better you understand your organization and the barriers that existto strategic planning the better
off you'll be to address them. Althoughthe barriers and the methods of addressing them are
numerous,following are a few ideas that might help.

Provide Leadership

The drive to conduct strategic planning must be supported by theorganization's leadership. This sends a
strong signal of the level ofimportance of the process, which often improves the level ofacceptance.

Communicate

If there is uncertainty in the organization over strategic planning,communicate what you are going to do,
why you are doing it, how people will be involved in the process, and the expected timelines. Aswell, it is
important to commit to provide updates on a regular basis ofhow the process is going and what has
been achieved. In the absence ofinformation, people will make it up themselves. This communication
process can take a variety of forms including meetings, newsletters,town hall forums, etc.

Manage The Change Process

Development of the strategy is only the first step in the whole process.It is equally important to manage
the change process for theimplementation of your strategy. Effective change management will not

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eliminate all the concerns, but it will help keep them to a tolerable leveland allow the organization to
continue without significant loss of productivity.

Reward Supportive Behaviour

It's not enough to focus on the barriers to strategic planning. You shouldalso reward behaviours that
support strategic planning. For example, inhearing about the start of a strategic planning process, a unit
head meetswith her staff to discuss ideas on how they can backfill positions so asto allow as many staff
as possible to participate in the planning process.

No Time is Ever Perfect

No matter when you undertake strategic planning, there will always beother initiatives going on or
information that isn't available. Althoughstrategic planning is often positioned as though you are starting
with a blank canvas, the reality is that you are not. As long as you can devotethe time to strategy without
the wheels falling off - get on with it. In thelong term, your organization will be far better off getting on
with the planning and associated changes that come of it than constantly puttingit off for that elusive
perfect time.