Functions of planning in a business

Name:

Institution:

Course:

Tutor:

Date

Introduction

Planning is essential for any organization. It can be described as the process by which purposes are accomplished. It is a road map for development and the blue print of the growth of an organization. it is both the psychological process which includes thinking of the activities which are required to reach a desired goal within some scale and it is also the organizational process which creates and maintains plans.

Functions of planning

Planning enables the organization in deciding objectives both in qualitative and quantitative terms. It simply sets the goals based on the objectives and also ensuring the keeping in the resources. A plan plays an important role since it helps to avoid mistakes and also to recognize the opportunities which are hidden. It is essential to make a satisfactory plan for the organization. Planning enables the organization to forecast the future. It makes it possible for the future to be visible to some extent. This is very important since it serves as a bridge between where the organization is in the present and where the organization is aiming to go. Looking ahead enables the organization to develop those strategies that would enable it to achieve its objectives. An eye to the future will also enable the organization to make changes in the various aspects which were in place and which would were a hindrance towards achieving its objectives (Dale 2000).

Planning will enable the management to focus, clarify, and research their projects of development and the prospects. Without planning the management doesn’t have clear strategies. Because of this its focuses on the wrong moves which aren’t necessary for achieving of it goals and even if they help in achieving the goals they still consume a lot of energy, resources and time. Planning provides a logical framework which has been carefully put into consideration and within which an organization can develop and pursue its strategies over a specific duration of time. Time is very essential when it comes to achievement and an achievement is only an achievement if it has been done with a specified period of time. If an organization leaps for example ten years later there is little achievement than when it had leaped after two years (Dale 2000).

Planning provides a benchmark for measuring and reviewing actual performance. It is the benchmark against which the organization reviews the far it has achieved. The organization by looking at what it initial plans and then looking at it present position will be ale to decide on how far it has gotten. This is a very important exercise since it will enable the management to identify the mistake that hindered it’s reaching to its desired position and thus be in a position to correct the mistakes in the future. Once the organization has been able to rate its achievement by looking at the initial plan it is in position to estimate the remaining part and be able to calculate its next step. This is integration of the initial plans with other plans meaning it combines forecasting of developments and scenarios and preparations of how to react to them when they come up. Through planning the organization is able to determine it strengths and how to use such strengths to achieve its goals and at the same time how it can rid the weaknesses that are the hindrances to its glory. Through planning the organization is also able to see the future threats and determine how they can avoid colliding with such threats that may ruin the organization. Through panning the organization is also able to determine the hidden opportunities (Pride, Hughes, HYPERLINK “http://www.google.co.ke/search?tbs=bks:1&tbo=p&q=+inauthor:%22Jack+R.+Kapoor%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=8” Kapoor 2009).

Conclusion.

Without planning an organization is a well as dead. It has no eye into the future and this means that it’s just stagnant to the present. Without putting the future into consideration it unlikely for an organization to achieve its goals and objectives since it has nothing at its hands that guides it those goals and objectives. This means that planning justifies the existence of the organization since without it the objectives and goals are simply not in existence and thus the organization as well.

References

Dale, E. (2000) Management: theory and practice edt 4. United States. Rex Bookstore.

Pride, W. Hughes, R. HYPERLINK “http://www.google.co.ke/search?tbs=bks:1&tbo=p&q=+inauthor:%22Jack+R.+Kapoor%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=8” Kapoor, J. ( 2009) Business Edt10. New York. Cengage Learning.