Planning consists of:
- Defining specific desirable outcomes
- Establishing strategies to achieve those
- Defining a comprehensive hierarchy of actions, from broad to specific
Mission
Reason for the organization’s existence.
Good mission statements should include:
- Customers
- Products/services
- Location
- Underlying philosophy
Missions should serve the organization’s stakeholders well.
Values: broad beliefs about what is or not appropriate. The culture reflects the dominant value system (e.g. profit, environmental sustainability) of the organization as a whole.
Goals vs Objectives
Goals:
- End result of planned activities; often broad
- Can be without time and quantification
Objectives:
- Goals or sub-goals with specific results to be determined by specific times i.e. SMART:
- Specific: details specific results
- Measurable: can quantify success
- Achievable: those responsible for implementing it accept the objective
- Realistic: possible to achieve the objective
- Time-box: clear time period to complete the objective by
- Several objectives may be set up to achieve a single goal
Warning: anything that isn’t measured regresses; if you don’t set what you are measuring correctly, meeting the metrics does not necessarily mean helping the mission.
Types of Plans
Strategic plans: organization wide plans; establish overall objectives and position the organization in terms of its environment. Strategic plans are:
- Long term: beyond five years
- Directional: flexible plans that set out general guidelines only
Operational plans: plans that specify details on how to achieve overall objectives. Operational plans are:
- Short term: less than a year
- Specific: clearly defined with no room for interpretation
Types of Operational Plans
Single-use plans:
- Tactics
- Operational objectives
- Projects and programs
- Budgets; plans that commit resources to projects or activities
Standing plans:
- Methods
- Rules
- Policy: broad guidelines for decisions and actions
- Procedures: actions to be taken in specific situations in a recommended sequence of events
Planning Process
- Define objectives
- Determine current state relative to objectives
- Develop premises regarding future conditions
- Analyze and choose among alternatives
- Implement the plan and evaluate results
Strategic Planning
- Where are we now?
- Current mission, objectives, strategies
- What environment are we in?
- Industry and external environment
- Organizational resources and capabilities
- Where do we want to go?
- Revise mission/objectives, select new strategies
- What is required to close the gap?
- How can we make it happen?
Controlling
Determining if an organization is actually progressing towards its goals/objectives and taking corrective action if not. Involves:
- Measuring results against objectives
- Monitoring performance relative to standards
- Rewarding outstanding performance
- Taking corrective action