What is the purpose of Planning?

What is a planning?
Planning means setting up a blue print for future and deciding what do you went to do and who will do a particular task. Plans are of many times types and are formulated to achieve specific purposes or all purpose plans.

There are 7 elements of planning:
1) Objectives
2) Policies
3) Procedures
4) Rules
5) Budget
6) Programs
7) Strategies.

A successful plan should be flexible in nature and subject to improvement. It should also be subject to enforcement to be effective. A successful plan is evaluated by the extent that a plan is in conformity with the objectives of the organization and to the extent a plan satisfied the requirements of cost, speed, quality and return on investment.

What is the purpose of planning?
Every plan should be linked with some objectives. The planning done by managers is aimed at achieving the organizational goals. The planning helps people in concentrating their efforts on the most important jobs rather than wasting time on the lesser important work. The purpose of planning is also to minimize the cost of performance and eliminate unproductive efforts. It also helps the management in adopting and adjusting according to the changes that take place in the environment. Planning also provides a basis for teamwork as when the goals are properly defined assignments can be fixed and all the members can start contributing in the achievement of these objectives. Planning gives a sense of direction and ensured that efforts are being put to useful purpose instead of being wasted. Planning also facilitate control because without planning there will be nothing to control.