Plans and Planning Technique

Chapter 5

How do Managers use the planning process?

• Planning is one of the four functions of management

• Planning is the process of setting objectives and identifying how to achieve them

• Steps in the Planning Process:Step 1: Define your objectivesStep 2: Determine where you stand vis a vis

objectivesStep 3: Develop premise regarding future

conditions

Step 4: Make a planStep 5: Implement the plan and evaluate

results• Objectives: specific results that one wishes to

achieve• Plan : statement of intended means for

accomplishing objectives

• Good planning makes us…Action OrientedPriority OrientedAdvantage OrientedChange Oriented***The complacency trap is being lulled into

inaction by current successes or failures

• Planning improves coordination and control

• Planning improves time management

What types of plans do managers use?

• Managers use short-range and long-range plansShort-range plans – covers a year or lessLong-range plans- covers three years or moreStrategic plans – identifies long-term decisions

for the organizationVision – clarifies purpose of the organization

and expresses what it hopes to be in the future

Operational Plan/ Tactical Plans : sets out ways to implement a strategic plans

Functional Plans: identifies how different parts of an enterprise will contribute to accomplishing strategic plans

• Organizational policies and procedures are plans

Policy: standing plans that communicates broad guidelines for decisions and action

Procedure/ Rule: precisely describes actions to take in specific situations

• Budgets are plans that commit resources to activities

• Forecasting tries to predict the future• Contingency planning creates backup plans for

when things go wrong• Scenario planning crafts plans for alternative

future conditions• Benchmarking identifies best practices used by

others• Participatory planning improves

implementation capacities

• Goal setting helps align plans and activities throughout an organization

How do managers formulate and implement strategies?

SWOT

Porter’s Five-process model examines industry attractiveness

Controls and Control Systems

Chapter 6

How and why do managers use the control process?

• Controlling is one of the four functions of management

Controlling: the process of measuring performance and taking action to ensure desired results

After-action review: structured review of lessons learned and results accomplished through a completed project, task force assignment or special operations

• Control begins with objectives and standards

Output standards: measures performance results in terms of quantity, quality, cost or time

Input standards: measures work effort that goes into a performance task

• Control measures actual performance• Control compares results with objectives and

standards

• Control takes corrective actions as neededManagement by exception: focuses attention

on differences between actual and desired performance

What types if controls are used by managers?

• Managers use feedforwad, concurrent, and feedback results

Feedforward: ensures clear directions and needed resources before the work begins

Concurrent control: focuses on what happens during the work process

Feedback: takes place after completing an action

• Managers use both external and internal controls

Internal control/ self control: occurs as people exercise self-discipline in fulfilling job expectations

External control: occurs through direct supervision or administrative systems

Bureaucratic control: influences behavior through authority, policies, procedures, job descriptions, budgets, and day-to-day supervision

Clan control: influences behavior through social norms, and peer expectations

Market control: the influence of market competition on the behaviors of organizations and their members

• Managing objectives is a way to integrate planning and controlling

Managing by objectives: a process of joint objective setting between a superior and a subordinate

Improvement objectives: documents intentions to improve performance in a specific way

Personal development objectives: documents intentions to improve personal growth, such as expanded job knowledge or skills

What are some useful control tools and techniques?

• Quality control is a foundation of modern managementTotal Quality Management (TQM): commits to quality

objectives, continuous improvement and doing things right the first time

Continuous improvement: involves always searching for new ways to improve work quality and performance

Control charts: graphical ways of displaying trends so that exceptions to the quality standards can be identified

Six sigma: quality standard of 3.4 defects or less per million products or service deliveries

• Gantt Chart and CPM/PERT are used in project management and control

Project: one time activities with many competent tasks that must be completed in proper order and according to budget

Project management: makes sure activities required are to complete a project are planned well and accomplished on time

Gantt Chart: graphically displays the scheduling of tasks required to complete the project

CPM/PERT: is a combination of critical path method and program evaluation and review technique.

Critical path: the pathway from project start to conclusion that involves activities with the longest completion times

• Critical path

• Inventory controls help save costsInventory control: ensures that inventory is

only big enough to meet immediate needsEconomic order quantity method: places new

orders when inventory levels fall to predetermined points

Just in Time (JIT) scheduling: routes materials to workstations just in time of use

• Breakeven analysis shows where revenues will equal costs

Breakeven point: occurs where revenues equal costs

Breakeven analysis performs what-if calculations under different revenue and cost conditions.

• Financial ratios measure key areas of financial performance

• Balanced scorecards help top managers exercise strategic control

Balanced scorecard: measures performance on financial, customer service, internal process, and innovation and learning goals

Strategy and Strategic Management

Chapter 7

What types of strategies are used by organizations?

• Strategy is a comprehensive plan for achieving competitive advantage.

Corporate strategy: sets long term direction for total enterprise

Business strategy: identifies how a division or strategic business unit will compete in its product or service domain

Functional strategy: guides activities within ne specific area of operations

• Growth strategies focus on expansionFunctional strategy: guides activities within one

specific area of operations• Restructuring and divestiture strategies focus

on consolidationRetrenchment strategy: changes operations to

correct weaknessLiquidation: occurs when business closes and

sells its assets to pay creditors

Restructuring: reduces the scale or mix of operations

Chapter 11 bankruptcy: protects an insolvent firm from creditors during a period of reorganization to restore profitability

Downsizing: decreases the size of operationsDivestiture: involves selling off parts of the

organization to refocus attention on core business areas

• Global strategies focus on international business incentives

Global strategy: adopts standardized products and advertising for use worldwide

Transnational firm tries to operate globally without having a strong national identity

• Cooperative strategies focus on alliances and partnerships

Strategic allegiance: organizations join together in partnership to pursue an area of mutual interest

Co-opetition: working with rivals on projects with mutual benefit

• E-business strategies focus on using the internet for business strategies

B2B Business strategy: uses IT and Web portals to link organizations vertically in supply chains

B2C Business strategy: uses IT and Web portals to link businesses with customers

Social media strategy: uses social media to better engage with an organization’s customers, clients and external audiences in general

Crowdsourcing: strategic use of internet to engage customers and potential customers in providing opinions and suggestions on products and their designs

How do managers formulate and implement strategies?

• The strategic management process formulates and implements strategies

Strategic management: process of formulating and implementing strategies

Strategic formulation: process of creating strategies

Strategic implementation: process of putting strategies into action

• Strategy formulation begins with organization's mission and objectives

Mission: organization's reason for existence in society

Operating objectives: specific results that organizations wish to accomplish

• SWOT analysis identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

Core competencies: special strength that gives an organization a competitive advantage

• Porter’s Five-process model examines industry attractiveness

• Porter’s competitive strategies model examines business or product strategies

Differentiation strategy: offers products that are unique and different from those of the competition

Cost leadership strategy: seeks to operate with lower costs than competitors

Focused differentiation strategy: offers unique products to a special market segment

Focused cost leadership strategy: seeks the lowest cost of operations within a special market segment

• Portfolio planning examines strategies across multiple businesses or products

BCG Market – analyzes business opportunities according to market growth rate and market share

• Strategic leadership ensures strategy implementation and control

Strategic leadership: inspires people to implement organizational strategies

Strategic control: makes sure that strategies are well implemented and that poor strategies are scrapped or changed