Chapter Three

- Planning

Definition of planning

*Planning is setting the necessary plans to achieve goals, and it is the primary function on which the rest of the other management functions depend.

*Planning is an intellectual process that relies on logic and arrangement, in which an effort is made to clarify the goals that management wants and to search for the best means to achieve them, as well as an attempt to predict or predict the obstacles that may be encountered and how to overcome them.

Therefore, planning is essential for time management and thus facilitates the application process. The planning function also requires arriving in a systematic manner at answers to the following questions:

·  What ? where ? when ? how much ? how ?

Since the planning function represents a complex and complex function, it is advisable for all team members to participate in it by answering these questions:

·  Determine the required activities	·  What will be done?
· The beginning and end of each activity	·  When will it start and when will it end?
·  Identify who is responsible for each part	·  Who is responsible for implementing each part?
· The method of work	·  How each work is carried out?
·  The place where the nursery is intended	·  Where is this work carried out?

The importance of planning

The importance of planning is represented in the following points:

·  Focuses efforts on achieving the desired goals

·  Allows optimal use of human and material capabilities

·  It helps workers cooperate, coordinate their efforts, and achieve productive efficiency

·  It is considered the basis of oversight to monitor implementation and evaluate performance and the extent of achieving goals

·  It helps to discover problems before they occur and provides the opportunity to correct the course if necessary for the mother.

Steps to make the plan

Making the plan includes the following steps:

· Setting the goal and collecting data on:

o       current situation

o       Available possibilities

o       Statistics and reports

·  Create a set of plans and alternatives to achieve the goal, specifying the cost and implementation period

·  Study the steps, compare them, and choose the best one

·  Setting priorities and putting the plan into effect.

 

Prepare a work plan, which is summarized in the following table

The budget necessary to carry out the task	Materials required for implementation	Tasks required for implementation in advance	The specified time for implementation from to	Responsible for implementation	The task to be performed

Characteristics of a sound plan

A sound plan has the following characteristics:

·  Exploiting the capabilities available in implementation, which will lead to cost reduction

· Choose a plan that achieves more than one goal

·  Flexibility to allow the necessary adjustments to be made in the event of difficulties or unexpected changes during implementation

·  It must be written and known to those implementing it

·  It must be integrated and consistent in its components, and there should be no conflict in its parts

·  Involvement of those who will implement it in the planning process, which helps to implement it efficiently

·  It must be based on realistic data and statistics

Planning obstacles

The most important obstacles facing developing a sound plan are the following:

·  One person (senior management) makes plans

·  Freezing the planning process into formal templates that make them lose flexibility and simplicity

·  Lack of interest in reviewing plans periodically to determine the level of the leader/according to the goals, making sudden decisions outside the scope of the plan

·  Management undertakes daily executive matters and allocates less time to strategic planning

·  Lack of interest in defining the organization’s objectives

·  Lack of participation of executive managers in the planning process

·  Not relying on plans as criteria for measuring and evaluating managers’ performance.

Characteristics of successful planners :

·  Curiosity

·  creativity

·  Competitiveness

·  Self confidence

·  perseverance

· wisdom

·  Process (practical person)

Why don't we plan :

·  Lack of consistency and lack of patience

·  Lack of conviction in the feasibility of planning

·  Ignorance of planning and lack of knowledge of its importance

·  Lack of familiarity with planning skills .

·  Fear of the unknown

·  Not knowing priorities and arranging them according to importance

Types of planning :

Strategic planning : It defines the general objectives of the organization. It is also called

Long- term planning  : which takes 5-10 years to achieve

2. Tactical planning : It is primarily concerned with implementing strategic plans at the middle management level.

It is called medium - term planning  : which takes 1-5 years  to achieve

3. Executive planning : It focuses on planning the needs to accomplish the specific responsibilities of managers, departments, or departments . It is called short-range planning    Which takes from one day to 12 months to achieve .