Chapter 8 Foundations of Planning

2012-10-17 10:11:06   --   来源：中國經濟管理大學   --   浏览：29587 次

Chapter 8   Foundations of Planning
In this chapter, we begin our study of the first of the management functions: planning. Planning
is important because it establishes what an organization is doing. We’ll look at how managers set
goals as well as how they establish plans. Focus on the following learning outcomes as you read
and study this chapter.
LEARNING OUTCOMES 
8.1 Define the nature and purposes of planning.
8.2 Classify the types of goals organizations might have and the plans they use.
8.3 Compare and contrast approaches to goal setting and planning.
8.4 Discuss contemporary issues in planning.
A MANAGER’S DILEMMA 
Your students may be familiar with the adage, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Chapter 8
examines skills needed for effectiveness in the first of the four management functions—
planning. After learning about the purposes of planning, students will discover how managers at
different levels        of an organization develop plans and empower employees to participate in
the planning process.
“A Manager’s Dilemma” tells the story of Lou Policastro, executive vice president of Geodis
Wilson.  Geodis Wilson manages logistics for the World Food Program (WFP).  After the
massive earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, 2010, the WPF had an urgent need to move
hundreds of tons of emergency supplies to the island.  Policastro oversaw the logistics operation
that moved a substantial amount of supplies and food within just four days. 
Students are asked to imagine themselves in Mr. Policastro’s position as he plans for additional
aid efforts to Haiti. What types of plans might be needed? Why would knowledge and
understanding of the many facets of planning be important for Policastro’s success?
CHAPTER OUTLINE 
INTRODUCTION
 Planning is one of the four functions of management. Fundamental information about
managerial planning is presented in this chapter; the text discusses the nature and purposes of
planning, strategies for effective planning, and contemporary planning issues.
1. THE WHAT AND WHY OF PLANNING
A. What is Planning?  Planning involves defining the organization’s goals, establishing an
overall strategy for achieving these goals, and developing plans for organizational work
activities. The term planning as used in this chapter refers to formal planning.
B. Why Do Managers Plan? Planning serves a number of significant purposes.
1. Planning gives direction to managers and nonmanagers of an organization.
2. Planning reduces uncertainty.
3. Planning minimizes waste and redundancy.
4. Planning establishes goals or standards used in controlling.
C. Planning and Performance. Although organizations that use formal planning do not always
outperform those that do not plan, most studies show positive relationships between planning and
performance.
1. Effective planning and implementation play a greater part in high performance than does the
amount of planning done.
2. Studies have shown that when formal planning has not led to higher performance, the external
environment is often the reason.
2. GOALS AND PLANS
Planning is often called the primary management function because it establishes the basis for all
other functions. Planning involves two important elements: goals and plans.
A. Types of Goals
1. Goals (often called objectives) are desired outcomes for individuals, groups, or entire
organizations.
2. Types of goals
a. Financial goals versus strategic goals
b. Stated goals versus real goals
1) Stated goals are official statements of what an organization says and what it wants its various
stakeholders to believe its goals are.
2) Real goals are those that an organization actually pursues, as defined by the actions of its
members.
B. Types of Plans  
1. Plans are documents that outline how goals are going to be met.
2. Plans can be described by their breadth, time frame, specificity, and frequency of use (see
Exhibit 8-1).
a. Breadth:  Strategic versus operational plans. Strategic plans (long-term plans) are plans that
apply to the entire organization, establish the organization’s overall goals, and seek to position
the organization in terms of its environment. Operational plans (short-term plans) are plans that
specify the details of how the overall goals are to be achieved.
b. Time frame:  Short-term versus long-term plans. Short-term plans are plans that cover one
year or less. Long-term plans are plans with a time frame beyond three years.
c. Specificity:  Specific versus directional plans. Specific plans are plans that are clearly defined
and leave no room for interpretation. Directional plans are flexible plans that set out general
guidelines.
d. Frequency of use: Single-use versus standing plans. A single-use plan is a one-time plan
specifically designed to meet the needs of a unique situation. Standing plans are ongoing plans
that provide guidance for activities performed repeatedly.
3. SETTING GOALS AND DEVELOPING PLANS
A. Approaches to Setting Goals. Goals can be established through the process of traditional goal
setting or through MBO (management by objectives).
1. Traditional goal setting is an approach to setting goals in which goals are set at the top level of
the organization and then broken into subgoals for each level of the organization.
a. Traditional goal setting assumes that top managers know what is best because of their ability
to see the “big picture.” Employees are to work to meet the goals for their particular area of
responsibility.
b. This traditional approach requires that goals must be made more specific as they flow down to
lower levels in the organization.  In striving to achieve specificity, however, objectives
sometimes lose clarity and unity with goals set at a higher level in the organization (see Exhibit
8-2).
c. When the hierarchy of organizational goals is clearly defined, it forms an integrated means-
end chain—an integrated network of goals in which the accomplishment of goals at one level
serves as the means for achieving the goals, or ends, at the next level.
d. Management by objectives (MBO) is a process of setting mutually agreed-upon goals and
using those goals to evaluate employee performance. Exhibit 8-3 list the steps in a typical MBO
program.
e. Studies of actual MBO programs confirm that MBO can increase employee performance and
organiza-tional productivity. However, top management commitment and involvement are
important contributions to the success of an MBO program.
2. Characteristics of Well-Written Goals (See Exhibit 8-4):
1 Written in terms of outcomes
2. Measurable and quantifiable
3. Clear as to a time frame
4. Challenging yet attainable
5. Written down
6. Communicated to all organizational members

3. Steps in Goals Setting

1. Review the organization’s mission (the purpose of the organization).
2. Evaluate available resources.
3. Determine the goals individually or with input from others
4. Write down the goals and communicate them to all who need to know.
5. Review results and whether goals are being met. Make changes as needed.
B. Developing Plans
 The process of developing plans is influenced by three contingency factors and by the particular
planning approach used by the organization.
1. Contingency Factors in Planning:
a. Manager’s level in the organization (see Exhibit 8-5). Operational planning usually dominates
the planning activities of lower-level managers. As managers move up through the levels of the
organization, their planning becomes more strategy oriented.
b. Degree of environmental uncertainty. The greater the environmental uncertainty, the more
directional plans should be, with emphasis placed on the short term.
1) When uncertainty is high, plans should be specific, but flexible.
2) Managers must be prepared to rework and amend plans, or even to abandon their plans if
necessary.
c. Length of future commitments
1) According to the commitment concept, plans should extend far enough to meet those
commitments made today.
2) Planning for too long or for too short a time period is inefficient and ineffective.
C. Approaches to Planning
1.   In the traditional approach, planning was done entirely by top-level managers who were often
assisted by a formal planning department.
2. Another approach to planning is to involve more members of the organization in the planning
process. In this approach, plans are not handed down from one level to the next, but are
developed by organizational members at various levels to meet their specific needs.
4. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES IN PLANNING
 The concluding section of Chapter 8 examines how managers can plan effectively in dynamic
environments as well as addressing the concept of environmental scanning.
A. How Can Managers Plan Effectively in Dynamic Environments?  
1. The external environment is continually changing.  Dynamic environments are more the norm
than the exception.
2. Managers should develop plans that are specific, but flexible.  Planning is an ongoing process
and maintaining flexibility is important.  Even though the environment is highly uncertain, it’s
critical to continue formal planning.  Persistence in planning contributes to significant
performance improvement.  In addition, a flatter hierarchy allows lower organizational levels to
set goals and develop plans.  
B. How Can Managers Use Environmental Scanning?
1. A manager’s analysis of the external environment may be improved by environmental
scanning, which involves screening information to detect emerging trends.  Competitive
intelligence is the process of gathering information about competitors that allows managers to
anticipate competitors’ actions. 
2. Competitive intelligence is not corporate espionage – much competitor-related information is
publicly available.  Purchasing access to databases as well as searches on the internet can provide
key information. 
3. Global information can be garnered through subscriptions to news services.
4. Managers should ensure that information gathering is legal and ethical.  The theft of
proprietary materials or trade secrets is illegal, and delineated by the Economic Espionage Act. 
 
Answers to Review and Discussion Questions 
1. Explain what studies have shown about the relationship between planning and performance.  It
should be noted that one cannot say that organizations that formally plan always outperform
those that don’t plan.  However, studies have indicated that formal planning is often associated
with positive financial results.  Generally, performance is also higher in those organizations
where planning is present.  And, when higher performance is not the result of formal planning,
often the reason is due to something in the external environment.  Finally, studies indicate that at
least four years of formal planning are necessary before performance is affected.
2. Discuss the contingency factors that affect planning.  The first contingency factor is a
manager’s level in the organization.  Typically, lower-level managers are operational planners,
while upper-level managers are strategic planners.  Second, with environmental uncertainty,
plans should be specific, but flexible.  And third, the length of future commitments can greatly
affect planning.

3. Describe how managers can effectively plan in today’s dynamic environment.  Environmental
uncertainty is a constant.  Therefore, managers should develop plans that are specific yet remain
flexible.  If managers recognize that planning is an ongoing process, then when a dynamic
environment is encountered, managers can adapt readily.  Another way to assist with planning is
to craft an organizational hierarchy that is relatively flat.  Allowing lower level managers to set
goals and develop plans is an effective way to deal with a dynamic environment.
4. Will planning become more or less important to managers in the future? Why?
 Planning will become more important to managers in the future because of the uncertainty in an
increasingly dynamic environment. Changes constantly occur in both the general and specific
environments of organizations, and many of these changes take place rapidly. Planning helps
managers cope with the uncertainty by forcing managers to look ahead, anticipate change,
consider the impact of the change, and develop appropriate responses.
5. If planning is so crucial, why do some managers choose not to do it? What would you tell
these managers?
 Managers may choose not to devote time to planning because they do not know how to plan or
feel that they do not have the necessary time. Others may say that planning is a waste of time,
that the future is going to happen whether or not they plan. However, these reasons do not
discount the importance of planning. Every manager should engage in planning.
6. Explain how planning involves decisions today that will have an impact later.
 As managers plan, they make decisions that influence how activities are organized, how
employees are managed, and what control mechanisms are implemented. As managers look to
the future by planning, the decisions they make as they plan will have an impact on their other
managerial activities.
7. How might planning in a not-for-profit organization such as the American Cancer Society
differ from planning in a for-profit organization such as Coca-Cola?
 The process of planning is similar, but the content of the plans will differ. The types of
objectives that are established and the plans that are formulated will be influenced by the fact
that a not-for-profit organization does not have profit as its major objective. However, a not-for-
profit organization must devote efforts and resources to planning how to raise funds and to
recruit volunteers to achieve its mission.
8. What types of planning do you do in your personal life? Describe these plans     in terms of
being (a) strategic or operational plans, (b) short or long term plans, and (c) specific or
directional plans.
 Students’ responses to this question will, of course, vary. Students may mention their planning
to meet educational and career goals. Encourage your students to think about their everyday lives
and the types of daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly planning they do.
9.  The late Peter Drucker, an eminent management author, coined the SMART format for setting
goals back in 1954: S (specific), M (measurable), A (attainable), R (relevant), and T (time
bound). Are these still relevant today? Discuss.
Of all of the material presented in this chapter, most students will readily recall this acronym for
goal setting.  These qualities from Drucker have remained basically unaltered and have been
cited in numerous texts and studies.  As a part of student discussion, try to find other application
for Drucker’s work in this area beyond the management of employees.  What about for school
children?  Volunteers working for a community program? 
10.  Many companies have a goal of becoming more environmentally sustainable. One of the
most important steps they can take is controlling paper waste. Choose a company—any type, any
size. Imagine that you’ve been put in charge of creating a program to control paper waste for the
company. Set goals and develop plans. Prepare a report for your boss (that is, your professor),
outlining these goals and plans.
 It should also be stressed to students that plans must be accepted by top management and as well
as employees at lower levels if it is to be effectively implemented.  Have students discuss the
difficulty of implementing a plan such as this across levels.  How could students increase buy-in
of the plan?  How would such a plan be ultimately evaluated to determine its success?  Using
criteria discussed in the previous question, have students check that their goals match the
SMART format. 

Ethics Dilemma 
Students are asked to assess the ethical concerns of a company protecting its employees at the
expense of public protection.  This exercise could be a short written assignment or serve as a
group activity in class.  Obviously, students may have their opinion on the matter, but should be
able to provide support for their stance on the issue.

Skills Exercise:  Developing Your Goal Setting Skills 

Students are provided with eight suggestions for effectively setting goals.  They are then asked to
determine goals for five years from the present.  In addition, they are to set personal and
academic goals to be achieved by the end of the current college term.  Ensure that students’ goals
are specific, achievable, and measurable. 

Working Together:  Team Exercise 

In groups of three to four individuals, students tackle planning and goal setting for a public
school system moving to a four-day week.  Students should be able to clearly identify strategic
and operational plans.  Goals associated with the plans should be specific, achievable, and
measurable. 
My Turn to be a Manager 
• Practice setting goals for various aspects of your personal life, such as academics, career
preparation, family, hobbies, and so forth. Set at least two short-term goals and at least two long-
term goals for each area.
• For the goals that you have set, write out plans for achieving those goals. Think in terms of
what you will have to do to accomplish each one. For instance, if one of your academic goals is
to improve your grade-point average, what will you have to do to reach it?
• Write a personal mission statement. Although this may sound simple to do, it’s not going to be
simple or easy. Our hope is that it will be something that you’ll want to keep, use, and revise
when necessary...that it will be something that helps you be the you you’d like to be and helps
you live the life you’d like to live. Start by doing some research on personal mission statements.
There are some wonderful Web resources that can guide you. Good luck!
• Interview three managers about the types of planning they do. Ask them for suggestions on
how to be a better planner. Write a report that describes and compares your findings.
• Choose two companies, preferably in different industries. Research the companies’ Web sites
and find examples of goals that they have stated. (Hint: A company’s annual report is often a
good place to start.) Evaluate these goals. Are they well written? Rewrite those that don’t exhibit
the characteristics of well-written goals so that they do.
• Steve’s and Mary’s suggested readings: Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto:  How to Get
Things Right (Metropolitan Books, 2009); Peter F. Drucker, Management: Tasks,
Responsibilities, Practices (Harper Business, 1974); Peter F. Drucker, The Executive in Action:
Managing for Results (Harper Business, 1967); and Peter F. Drucker, The Practice of
Management (HarperCollins, 1954).
• What does it take to be a good planner? Do some research on this issue. As part of your
research, talk to professors and other professionals. Make a bulleted list of suggestions. Be sure
to cite your sources.
• In your own words, write down three things you learned in this chapter about being a good
manager.
• Self-knowledge can be a powerful learning tool. Go to mymanagementlab.com and complete
these self-assessment exercises: What’s My Attitude Toward Achievement? What Are My
Course Performance Goals? What Time of Day Am I Most Productive? and How Good Am I at
Personal Planning? Using the results of your assessments, identify personal strengths and
weaknesses. What will you do to reinforce your strengths and improve your weaknesses?

Answers to Case Application 1 Questions 

Building a Future
1. What role do you think goals would play in planning for the wise use of this gift? List some
goals you think might be important. (Make sure these goals have the characteristics of well-
written goals.)
Goals play a substantial role in an organization’s planning for situations requiring coordination
of resources. Habitat for Humanity’s goal to effectively use the $100 million gift should follow
the SMART format introduced by Drucker.  In addition to being written, have students suggest
ways that the goal can meet the qualities of S (specific), M (measurable), A (attainable), R
(relevant), and T (time bound).
2. What types of plans would be needed in wisely using this gift? (For instance, long-term or
short-term, or both?) Explain why you think these plans would be important.
Planning involves defining the organization’s goals, establishing an overall strategy for
achieving those goals, and developing a comprehensive set of plans to integrate and coordinate
organizational work. Determining how and where the $100 million gift should be allocated
requires careful planning – in both the long-term and short-term.  Have students think of short
term plans involved for the initial allocation of some of the gift and then long-term plans to not
only evaluate what has been allocated, but how the remaining funds should be used.  In
addressing the importance of these plans, have students think of the possible outcomes for the
plan if they decided to invest a percentage of the gift (and the investment results in a significant
return; or the investment results in a substantial loss). 
3. What contingency factors might affect the planning Habitat executives have to do for the wise
use of this gift?  How might those contingency factors affect the planning? 
A gift of this size will ultimately be managed by the top executives at Habitat for Humanity. 
Therefore, at the top organizational level, the planning will be strategic in nature.  As smaller
pieces of the gift are passed down through the organization for allocation, lower-level managers
will be engaged in operational planning.  Second, environmental uncertainty will affect the
planning process in that natural disasters, greater need for housing, or a myriad of other
unexpected occurrences could cause the executives to rethink how the gift is used.  And third, the
time frame for the use of this gift is important.  Students might think in terms of a five-year plan,
but shorter and longer plans are also possible if properly supported by the students.  
 

4. What planning challenges do you think Habitat executives face with getting the most use out
of this gift?  How should they cope with those challenges?
A plan involving such a large amount of money would be quite challenging.  Very likely, not all
the executives will agree on specifically how the money should be utilized.  Reaching consensus
on the actual use of the gift could be a difficult process.  In addition, once agreed, others (the
media, Habitat employees, volunteers, and even needy families benefitting from Habitat homes)
may view the use of the gift in a negative fashion – in other words, executives might face some
scrutiny.  Students should be able to identify the importance of effective communication
throughout the organization once the plans and goals are set.  Getting buy-in from others will
facilitate the plan’s acceptance by constituents. 
 
Answers to Case Application 2 Questions 
Icelandic Volcano, 1; Global Commerce, 0
1. Could a company even plan for this type of situation?  If yes, how?  If not, why not?
This situation epitomizes the importance of understanding environmental uncertainty.  A
company may not be able to plan specifically for a volcano eruption that interrupts air traffic;
however, a company’s plans should remain flexible in the event of sudden, unexpected
obstacles.  Students should be able to explain how a firm develops specific plans, but builds in a
degree of flexibility to those plans.  
2. Would goals be useful in this type of situation?  What types of goals might a manufacturing
company like BMW have in such a situation?  How about a global airline?  How about a small
flower grower in Kenya? 
Goals are important in situations of this type – especially short-term goals.  An organization’s
quick response to the volcanic eruption will lessen the negative impact of the delays on shipping,
communication, travel, etc.  All three situations (BMW, global airline, and Kenyan flower
grower) would set both strategic and financial goals.  Specific strategic goals would assist each
organization with how it adapts to the air traffic delays, while financial goals would attempt to
lessen the financial hit each organization suffers. 
3. What types of plans could companies use in this type of situation?  Explain why you think
these plans would be important. 
A sudden, unexpected event such as a volcanic eruption would create a need for several different
kinds of plans.  Though long-term plans would be in place, some flexibility in those plans would
probably be necessary.  Students should be able to identify the importance of short-term plans in
handling the situation.  Again, flexibility would be key.  Additionally, students may point to
operational plans to provide specifics on certain areas of an organization and directional plans
that ensure flexibility during the crisis.  

4. What lessons about planning can managers learn from this crisis?
Students should grasp the importance of flexibility with the planning process.  Environmental
uncertainty is the expectation and not the exception, therefore, rigid adherence to any plan could
create challenges for managers.  The ability to quickly adapt to a crisis is also critical as it
enables managers to assess a situation and work with his or her team to overcome the
obstacles.