planning means the selection of mission and objectives as well as the action to achieve them which requires decision making that is choosing future course of action amongst all alternatives: any attempt to control without plans is meaningless.
Types of Planning
Plans can be classified as
- Mission or Purpose
- Objectives or Goals
- Strategies
- Policies
- Procedures
- Rules
- Programs
- Budgets
Now we will discuss types of planning in details one by one
1. Mission or Purpose:
The basic purpose or function or tasks of an enterprise or nay part of it. In every social system enterprise have a basic function or task assigned to them by society, for example the purpose of a business generally is the production and distribution of goods and services. the purpose of the court is the interpretation of laws and their application. The purpose of a university is teaching, research and providing series to the community.
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In the 1960 s the mission of the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) was to get a person to the moon before the Russians. It is true that in some businesses and other enterprises. The purpose or mission often become fuzzy for example, many conglomerates have regarded their mission as synergy which is accomplished through the combination of a variety of companies. Synergy means that the Whole is greater than its parts. the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects is known as Synergy. The concept of synergy can be expressed simply as situation in which 2 plus 2 becomes equal to 5. Or in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
A mission statement is brief description of company’s fundamental purpose. A mission statement answers the question. “Why do we exist?” the mission statement articulates the company’s purpose both for those in the organization and for the public. The difference between a mission statement and a vision statement is that a mission statement focuses on a company’s present state while a vision statement focuses on a company’s future.
2. Objectives or Goals
The 2nd type of planning is Objectives or Goals. Objectives or Goals are the ends towards which all the activities are aimed. They represent not only the end point of planning but also the end toward which organizing, staffing leading and controlling are aimed. The difference between goal and objective can be simplify by the following table;
| Basis | Goal | Objective |
| Plan | Broad plan | Narrow plan |
| Action | Generic action | Specific action |
| Example | I want to achieve success in the field of genetic research and do what no one has ever done | I want to complete this thesis on genetic research by the end of this month |
| Measure | Goals may not be strictly measurable or tangible | Must be measurable and tangible |
| Time grame | Longer term | Short to medium term |
| Meaning | The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed | Something that one’s efforts action are intended to attain or accomplish purpose target. |
| Principle | Based on ideas | Based on facts |
3. Strategies:
The 3rd types of planning is strategies. For the years the military used the word strategies to mean grand plans while the term still totally has a competitive implication manager increasingly use it to reflect broad areas of the enterprise’s operation. the determination of the basic long term objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of course of action and allocation of resources necessary to achieve these goals. in short strategies are long term action plans for achieving a goals.
4.Policies:
The 4th types of planning is Policies.Policies are also plans, they are general statements or understanding that guide or channelize thinking in decision making. policies help decides issues before they become problems. There are many types of policies.
Example include policies of hiring only university trained teachers. a policy provides a broad guideline for managers to follow when dealing with important areas of decision making. Policies are general statements that explain how a manager should attempt to handle routine management responsibilities. Typical human resources policies. For example, address such matters as employee hiring, terminations performance appraisals pay increases discipline.
5.Procedures:
The 5th types of planning is Procedures.Procedures are plans that establish a required method of handing future activities. They are chronological sequence of required action. They are guides to action, rather than to thinking and they detail the exact manner in which certain activities must be accomplished.
For example, in a manufacturing company the procedure for handling order may involve the sale department (for original order) the accounting department for (recording the transaction) and the production department (for order to produce the goods or the authority to release the stock)
A procedure is a set of step by step directions that explain how activities or task are to carried out. Most organizations have procedures for purchasing supplies and equipment,
For Example: this procedure usually begins with a supervisor completing a purchasing requisition. The requisition is then sent to the next level of management for approval. The approved requisition is forwarded to the purchasing department. Depending on the amount of the request the purchasing department may place an order or may need to secure quotations and or bid for several vendors before placing the order. By defending the steps to be taken and the order in which they are to be done. Procedures provide a standardized way of responding to a repetitive problem.
6. Rules:
The 6th type of planning is Rules.Rules spell out specific required actions or non-actions, allowing no discretion they are usually the simplest type of plan, “No Smoking” is a rule that allows no deviation from a stated course of actions. The essence of a rule is that it reflects a managerial decision that a certain action must or must not be taken. Rules are different from policies; polices are meant to guide decision making by making off areas in which manager can use their discretion. While rules allow no discretion in their application.
A rule is an explicit statement that tells an employee what he or she can and cannot do. Rules are “do” and “don’t” statement put into place to promote the safety of employees and the uniform treatment and behavior of employees.
For example, rules about tardiness and absenteeism permit supervisors to make discipline decision rapidly and with a high degree of fairness.
7. Programs
The 7th type of planning is Programs. Programs are a complex of goals policies, procedures, rules, task assignment, steps to be taken, resources to be employed, and other elements necessary to carry out a given course of action they are ordinary supported by budgets.
For example, a program may be of an airline system acquire a $500 million fleet of jets. There may different sort of programs within and outside of organization.
8.Budgets:
The final types of planning is budget. A budget is a statement of expected results expressed in numerical terms. it may be called as “quantified” plans. In fact, the financial operating budget is often called a profit plan. A budget may be expressed in financial terms; in terms of labor-hours. Units of products. Or machinery house or in any other numerically measurable terms.
