Planning is generally done for the performance. The planning starts firstly from the stage of the dreaming, which mainly involves the time when one is working conceptually on an idea. For the implementation of such dreams, planning is a dire necessity.

The performance is a very action oriented concept involving the planning of the actions for the implementation. Certain objectives in the plans are kept in the mind and then it is made sure that the performance is made according to the various objectives.

The planning is a very purposeful activity and just dreaming is not enough for fulfilling the planning, the planning is very much needed for fulfilling these dreams. And after this, the implementation is also needed and then following this step with the process of the evaluation.

The evaluation of the process of the performance is very much necessary as it helps a lot to have an idea of the time, the cost and also the efforts that are being made. It is very important that the performance is very efficient and at the same time very effective in the nature. And for the achievement of such a performance, the performance should be according to a certain plan and should be at the least possible cost and the most important thing to remember here is that it should be able to fully satisfy the customers.

It is very important that the planning is done in the particular framework of the time, the performance and the cost. The importance of the time has been explained above and now we will try to understand the importance of the cost in the process of the planning. Money value of any type of the plan is referred to as the cost. The cost in the process of the planning largely depends on the competition, the various products that are to be used and the types of the services that are to be provided. The cost of the planning can be adjusted at the different stages of the process with the help of the various alternatives or the substitutes that are available for the various products and the services.

One important point that must be remembered during the process of the implementation is that the cost must remain between the planned margins. And if the costs at any time cross the margins, the whole process of the planning is very greatly affected.

For keeping the planning within the planned costs, it is very necessary to keep the control over the resources and its use as the actions depends a lot on the resources that are available.

The process of planning includes the determination of objectives and outlining the future actions that are needed to achieve these objectives. Various steps that are followed in the process of planning are:

(i) Identifying the problem: It involves the identification of the aim for the fulfillment of which the plan is being formulated. If a new plan is require or the modification of an existing plan could help in achieving these aims.

(ii) Gathering information about the activities involve: An effective plan needs complete knowledge of the activities involved and their effect on other external and internal activities.

(iii) Analysis of information: This information is then analysed minutely and the information related with similar subjects is classified so that similar type of data can be kept together.

(iv) Determining alternate plans: There are alternate plans available for the achievement of the objectives and ingenuity and creativeness are required as some plans are also developed at this stage.

(v) Selecting the plan: At this stage the plan which is acceptable to the operating personnel is proposed. The adaptability and the cost of the plan are also taken into consideration.

(vi) Detailed sequence and timing: Detailed like who will perform which activity under the plan and the time within which the plan should be carried out is determining in this step.

(vii) Progress check of the plan: The provisions are made for the follow up of the plan as the success of any plan can be measured by the results only.

Planning Process – Types of the Plans
1. Planning Hierarchy
The concept of the feeling of the plans at the different hierarchical levels can be understood a great deal with the help of the planning hierarchy. Here the different plans are treated as the hierarchy, involves going towards the lowest hierarchical plan from the broader hierarchical plan. The planning hierarchy mainly consists of the following type of the plans –

1. Business plans – These types of the plans include whole of the business.

2. SBU plans – These plans act as the strategic business unit plans including the business units.

3. Corporate Plans – These plans act as the plans of the organization involving its activities. It is the total plan for the whole organization, a corporate body working as a functional unit. The complete unit is covered under such plans.

4. Departmental plans – These plans are also referred to as the functional unit plans and cover the branches, the projects, the departments, the units that are separated for the functional efficiency.

2. Conceptual planning
Provides some type of the guidance for the planning but the major drawback in this type of the planning is that the planning unit is not at all visible, whose presence is very much critical in the planning. The conceptual planning must consist of the following –

1. Policy – One time decision i.e. usually effective for a length of the time.

2. Objectives – Focus direction of an achievement and the general outcome.

3. Goals – Very well defined quantitative or the numerical objectives by the end of a particular period with the plan. The practical orientation to the implementation of the plans is obtained here.

4. Procedures – Process rules that are carrying out the action.

5. Rules – Fixed direction unless expressly revised.

6. Budgets – Plans converted to the quantities and in the terms of the money having the feature of the interpretation in the statistical and the accounting terms.

7. Vision Statement- The statement includes the purpose operating for the future and then to take the others in the vision fold of the organization.

8. Mission – The purpose of offering the goods and the services in the terms of the beneficiary.

9. Variable plans – In order to satisfy the different types of the contingencies, it is a necessity to draw different types of the plans. The variations may include drawing a realistic plan and then following this step by the preparation of an optimistic and pessimistic plan.

3. The Plan document
For getting a planned document, all the above steps are performed and during this, one particular thing to kept in mind is that the plan must start with the broader objectives and must be linked stepbystep to the actionable and the implementation activity. The plan document must consist of the following –

a. Premising – This step is needed at the each stage of the planning. Before undertaking the plan, the strength, the weakness, the opportunity and the threats (SWOT) can be calculated depending on the premises.
b. Vision – The way in which we visualize our future.
c. Mission – What we aim to deliver to the beneficiaries.
d. Policy – What restrictions on means we will note during the execution of the plan.
e. Objectives – What we will keep as the broad directions for the achievement.
f. Goals – Translate the objectives into the quantitative and the financial goals, which can be achieved by the operational people.
g. Procedures – To prioritize and then draw the sequence of the action.
h. Budget – Convert to the money terms in order to establish the standards for the evaluation.

4. The program
Whenever any activity is carried out, it is carried out to achieve one thing or the other. But the results that one expects to be obtained must be achieved in the proper frame of the time, so that they can be used at the right time for various other activities. Hence, in order to get the results within the certain time frame, a program is drawn.

The projects of the diverse nature within a subject are included in the program. The program is actually a clubbing together of the things and for getting a good view of the word program, it can be understood as the plan document on a much wider scale than the planning document.

Different steps involved in the planning are :-
1. Premising

a. Acts as a great tool for carrying out the planning of the business.
b. Act as the judgments about the future plans, depending on the type of the situation in which they will work.
c. Decides whether to proceed with the plan or not.
d. Helps in basing the judgment about the certain things that may work or not.
e. Must be correct as in case they are wrong, then the whole plan will go wrong.
f. Help in tackling the environment around a certain plan.
g. The premises must be consistent to all the plans and the sub plans.
h. A number of premises can be used to arrive at a certain plan.
i. The premises can be the possible growth in the market, the availability of the resources, the nature of the future competition, the strategic considerations etc.

2. Information / intelligence collection and the forecasting:

a. In this step, all the relevant data that is needed for the plan is collected.
b. Both the primary data and the secondary data can be used.
c. Primary data can be collected by interviewing the people and the secondary data is in the printed form or the published data that is available.
d. This data is interpreted in terms of the future utility.
e. In this step, the forecasting of the various changes, which take place during the implementation process of the data, is done.
f. Ultimately this forecasts acts as the premises for the future planning of the activity.

3. Establish vision:

a. Vision is what we do not see but what we feel is in store for the future.
b. Vision is dreaming as well as having faith in the activities that are being implemented.
c. Vision is very much personal in the nature.
d. It is required for giving the much needed direction for moving ahead in the future.
e. Acts as the compass that guides an individual in the correct direction.

4. Define mission:

a. Serves the beneficiaries depending on their needs and the satisfaction.
b. The mission is stated in terms of the recipient.
c. The mission is thought of in the angle of the receiver of the goods and the services.
d. It is very subjective in the nature.

5. Decide the policy:

a. The guidelines in the nature of an umbrella of the decisions of the long term are settled mainly to provide a firm guideline for many subsidiary decisions.
b. The policy can be written or unwritten in the nature.
c. The boundaries can be defined with the help of the various policies.
d. Provides the discretion within the boundaries, hence helping in the adjustment of the performance to the situation.

6. Set the objectives:

a. Objectives are defined as the achievements that mainly aim at in the broad terms to establish some of the guidelines, in order to take the required action.
b. Objectives can be many in the number.
c. May consist of the hierarchy along with the network of the objectives depending upon the divisions like the strategic business units, the departments and the levels in the organization.
d. It is very essential that these divisions are mutually consistent and also well coordinated in the nature.
e. Setting up of the objectives is done at the higher levels of the organization.
f. The objectives must be able to help the subordinates in determining the goals in the concrete terms.
g. Goals are actually in the terms of the performance.

7. Set the goals

a. Are short term and are operational within a financial year as these are more tied up with the budgets.
b. Provide the much needed, practical orientation to the plans.
c. Goals are divided into people working, so that each one has a target to achieve.

8. Draw the program

a. For the achievement of the objectives simultaneously, synchronization is very necessary.

9. Convert the program into the budget:

a. Budget can be defined as the available achievable targets and expressed in the money terms with the revenue and the expenditure for all the activities aiming at the possible surplus.
b. All the plans are converted into the budget.
c. After this conversion, the budget is used as the control and the evaluation document.

10. Collect the information on the feedback:

a. After the implementation, this step is performed.
b. The various required corrections in the future plans are carried out.
c. The revised plans are reintroduced.

Sources acting as the guide for the planning are:-

1. Navigational tool

a. Planning acts as the navigational tool for the management of the organization.
b. Management has the responsibility of navigating towards an objective.
c. Management has to arrange detours on its way to the objectives.
d. Planning helps a lot in the navigation.

2. Performance standard

a. Establishing the performance standards is very much necessary.
b. Without the planning, the controlling becomes very difficult in the nature.
c. Performance standards are set by the planning in terms of the achievement.
d. The plan acts as the control document.

3. Tool to establish the synergy

a. With the help of the planning, the activities become more organized in the nature.
b. The group activity can be made functional with the help of the planning.
c. Planning should be based on the people.
d. Planning establishes the synergy within a group.

4. Tool to define the jobs

a. The role and the description of the job of everyone can be understood with the help of the further planning.
b. Planning makes job meaningful to everyone.

5. Bridge to gap the present with the future

a. Planning must bridge the gap that is present between the present and the future.

6. Method to evaluate the activities

a. The activities of the tomorrow can be evaluated in the terms of those today, with the help of the planning.
b. Planning is actually the building of today for a better tomorrow.

7. Implementing tool for the SWOT

a. With the help of the planning, the SWOT analysis is able to spell out the organizational strengths and the weaknesses and then the opportunities and the threats available.
b. The internal situation is combined with the external one all the time.
c. One is able to think beyond the organization.
d. The situation can be studied within which an organization is growing.

8. Link with business

a. Organization is linked with the business objectives with the help of the planning.
b. This acts as the organizational tool for doing the business.

9. Opportunity to develop the consistency

a. Various new techniques can be established with the help of the planning.
b. These techniques help a great deal in building the organizational efficiency.
c. Helps in improving the consistency of the management thoughts and also its effectiveness.

10. Result orientation

a. Planning makes the management implementation oriented in the nature.
b. Serves the raison d’être of the management.

11. Flexibility

a. Planning should be made flexible in the nature.
b. By this, the changes that occur in the internal and the external environment can be absorbed.

12. Method to enable the resource planning

a. The resources act as the single most constraint in the planning.
b. Planning is done on the basis of the resources that are available.
c. Planning should be lopsided, as with the help of this, very well oriented results can be obtained.