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Role of Planning in Management

• satyendra
• April 10, 2014
• 5 Comments
• control, Decision making, goals, management, objectives, planning, SWOT analysis,

Role of Planning in Management

The present-day environment is dynamic in nature which demands continual development of the organization. Without action to secure its future, even the survival of the organization can be in danger. Action to secure future is a step process. This step process is known as planning process. The management of the organization is required to understand the significance of planning. The purpose of planning is the application of mind and decide a course of action so that the desired objectives are achieved.

Planning precedes all other managerial functions. The process of management begins with planning. Planning provides the basis for the subsequent functions of organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling, though all the functions are highly interrelated, and are equally important. Planning is the prime function from which the other functions get the necessary base.

Planning is a pervasive function of the management. It is applicable across the different departments / functional areas of the organization. For example, in an industrial organization, planning activities are there for production planning, materials planning, marketing and sales planning, man-power planning, maintenance planning, and financial planning etc.

Planning is needed for making decisions on (i) what is to be done, (ii) how it is to be done, (iii) the people responsible for planning and its implementation, (iv) where the actions are needed to be taken, and (v) why it is to be it done. Planning is the first step in the process of management which is concerned with the establishment of objectives and analysis of present limitations for achieving the organizational goals. In fact, planning is a promise to do something acceptable. It is an exciting opportunity to form a mental model to guide future activities.

Planning is a formalized process. An informal plan is one, which is not in writing, but is conceived in the mind of the management. Informal plans are only effective when the number of actions is less and actions are to be taken in short period.

Formalized planning process becomes necessary and particularly useful in cases where the organization has grown too diverse, big, or interrelated to handle planning informally. Formal planning concepts have been extensively developed by several industrial organizations. A system approach for making plans and their implementation contributes to the organizational strategic success. The formal planning process is intended to facilitate the development and implementation of the organizational strategy. Systematic approach to planning helps in developing better strategies for the organization, since it focuses on allocating the organizational resources to meet opportunities in the environment.

Planning is the designing of an environment for the effective performance of the organization. It is achieved with employees working together in a group. One of the essential tasks of the management is to see that all the employees understand the mission and objectives of the plans and the methods for attaining them. If group effort of the employees is to be effective, employees are required to know what they are expected to accomplish. This is one of the purposes of planning. Planning is the basic requirement in the management of the organization.

Planning is an organizational process of defining organizational strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating the organizational resources needed to pursue this strategy. In order to determine the direction of the organization, it is necessary to understand its current position and the possible avenues available through which the organization can pursue a particular course of action.

Planning is needed in the organization mainly for two reasons. The first is committing and allocating the available resources of the organization for the achievement of the stated goals and objectives. The second is anticipating the future issues and opportunities and taking suitable actions for them. Planning also implies making choices from the diverse available opportunities, and a time limit for achieving the goals and objectives.

Definition of planning – Several management specialists have defined planning. Some of these definitions are given below. 

‘Planning is the selecting and relating of facts and the making and using of assumptions regarding the future in the visualization and formulation of purposed activities believed necessary to achieve desired results’. – George Terry

‘Planning may be broadly defined as a concept of executive action that embodies the skill of anticipating, influencing, and controlling the nature and direction of change’. – McFarland

“Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it, who is to do it. It bridges the gap between where we are, where we want to go. It makes it possible for things to occur which would not otherwise happen’ – Koontz and O’Donnel

‘Planning is deciding in the present what to do in future. It is the process whereby companies reconcile their resources with their objectives and opportunities’. – Philip Kotler

Planning is ‘A multipurpose organ that manages a business and manages managers and manages workers and works’. – Peter F. Drucker

‘Management is what management does. It is the task of planning executing and controlling’. – J. Lundy

‘Planning is a trap laid down to capture the future’- Allen

‘Planning is informed anticipation of future’ – Haimann.

“Planning is ‘anticipatory’ decision-making” – R.L. Ackoff.

Planning is a blue-print of the course of action to be followed in the future. It is also a mental exercise which needs imagination, foresight, and sound judgment. It is process of thinking before acting. It is a preparatory step and it refers to detailed programming for the future course of action. It involves forecasting, laying down objectives, analyzing the different courses of action, and deciding the best alternative for implementation in order to achieve the objectives of the plan. It is a continuous process which involves decision-making.

Planning involves selecting missions and objectives and the actions needed to achieve them. It needs decision to select actions needed to be implemented from the different available alternative future course of actions. Hence, plans provide a rational approach to achieving pre-selected objectives. Planning is described as one of the functions of the management. In fact, it is the core function of the management.

Planning is the process by which management establishes goals and define the methods by which these goals are to be attained. Planning is deciding in advance what is to be done, i.e., a plan is a projected course of action. Planning consists of the process of evaluating the goals of the organization and creating a plan to meet these goals. The output of a planning process is the creation of an action plan along with its implementation, monitoring, and control.

Planning in the general concept which means identifying the work and plans to move to the future and to make decisions about what is to be done to reach the goal. Planning is not only thinking about the future or its control but it is also a process which can be used in conducting these affairs. Plans needs evaluation and changes which are to be made on a continuous basis.

Planning can be strategic planning, operational planning, or tactical planning on the basis of its content. Strategic planning is the process of deciding on long-term objectives of the organization and it encompasses all the functional areas of the organization. Operational planning is concerned with the operations of the organization. It specifies the details of how the overall operational objectives are to be achieved. It normally covers short time period. Tactical planning involves conversion of detailed and specific plans into detailed and specific action plans. It is the blue-print for present action and it supports the strategic plans.

Planning can be long-term planning, medium-term planning, or short-term planning based on the basis of time period. Long-term planning has a time frame beyond five years, specifies what the organization wants to become in the long run, and involves high level of uncertainty. Medium-term planning has a time frame in the range of two to five year, and is designed for the implementation of long-term plans. Short-term planning has a time frame of one year or less, and provides basis for day-to-day operations of the organization.

Planning creates either specific plans or directional plans. Specific plans are clearly defined plans which leave no room for interpretation. Directional plans are flexible plans which set out general guidelines, provide focus, yet allow discretion in implementation.

Planning needs decisions. It is the choice between the options what is available at present and what is needed in future which is to be achieved through inter-connected steps. Planning consists of taking the organization from the present to the desired future by a process created through a series of coordinated decisions. Planning can be done for the immediate future or for a distant future.

While planning plays an important role in management, its effective implementation is needed for successfully achieving the objectives of the plan. This is done by applying controls during the implementation of the plan. Hence, planning and control have a close relationship. It is frequently being stated that the planning does not exist without control.

According to the definition of control, it is clear that control is to be a rectifier and not a punishment. Basically, the goal of control system is correction of operation and preventing deviations. Hence, the system is designed and arranged in such a way that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of deviations and in case of deviation it provides solution and method of correction.

Planning bridges the gap between where the organization is at present and where it is required to be in future. It is also important to point out that planning and controlling are inseparable. In fact, they are twins of management (Fig 1). Any attempt to control without plans is meaningless, since there is no way for the management to know whether the organization is on the right path for achieving it desired future (the result of the task of control) unless the management first know where the organization is required to be in future from its present state (part of the task of planning). Hence, plans furnish the standards of control.

Fig 1 Planning and controlling – the twins of management

There are four types of controls which are available for the management of the plans. These are (i) diagnostics control system, (ii) valuable control system, (iii) control system of restriction, and (iv) interactive control system.

Diagnostic control system is used by the management for controlling different parts of the organization in terms of performance and safety. Management uses the value based control system since this system intends to explain the exact values and provides guidelines of good management so that the employees have enthusiastic acceptance of the planned activities.

Control system of restriction states that if the management wants to have creative employees, it tells the employees what they are not supposed to do instead of telling them what they are supposed to do. Interactive control system encourage interaction with the employees and makes available to them all the information so that they can take required decisions at their level regularly.

There are several instruments which control and affect the planning. These instruments are (i) mission or purpose, (ii) goals and objectives, (iii) strategies, (iv) policies, (v) culture, (vi) procedures, (vii) rules and regulations, (viii) internal and external environments, (ix) programmes, and (x) budgets.

The important features of planning in management include (i) it is primary function of management, (ii) it is a pervasive process, (iii) it is an intellectual process involving mental exercises, (iv) it focuses on the determination of the objectives, (v) it involves choice and decision making, (vi) it is a futuristic process, and (vii) it is a continuous process. Further, maintenance of consistency or the unity of planning is one of its essential requirements. Objectives provide the common focus for unifying managerial actions in planning. Moreover, policies and procedures introduce a consistency of executive behaviour and action in matters of planning.

Purpose of planning in management – The purpose of the planning is to systematize the future activities of the organization so that they can be carried out as smoothly as possible under the prevailing environmental conditions in the organization. Planning needs a lot of efforts and input from several departments / areas. Further, planning activity is to ensure that it (i) provides direction, (ii) reduces / offsets uncertainty and change, (iii) minimizes wastes and redundancy, (iv) sets up the standards to make monitoring and control effective, (v) manages by objectives, (vi) helps in the co-ordination of both internal and external activities, (vii) secures economy in operation, and (viii) increases the effectiveness of the organization.

Planning provides direction to the employees of the organization. When the employees know what their organization or work unit is trying to accomplish and what they are to contribute in order to reach the planned goals, they coordinate their activities, cooperate with each other, and do what is needed for achieving the goals. Without planning, employees / departments can work at cross-purpose and prevent the organization from efficiently achieving the planned goals.

Planning reduces / offsets uncertainty and change. It reduces uncertainty by educating the employees to look ahead, anticipate change, consider the impact of change, and develop appropriate response. Although planning does not eliminate uncertainty, management plans so that the organization can respond to uncertainty efficiently. Future is always full of uncertainties and changes. Planning foresees the future and makes the necessary provisions for the uncertainties and changes.

Planning minimizes wastes and redundancy. When work activity is carried out as per the plans, this results in efficient working and any inefficiency, if present, can be corrected and eliminated. This results in minimization of wastes and redundancy.

Planning establishes measurable goals or standards for the purpose of effective monitoring and control.  When the planning activity is being carried out by the management, then the goals are set and standards are made for the monitoring the progress of meeting the goals during the implementation of the plan. This ensures control of the plan implementation process which is to be on track if the planned goals are to be met. Without planning, there are no goals against which to measure or evaluate work effort. The controlling function of management relates to the comparison of the planned performance with the actual performance. In the absence of plans, the management has no standards for controlling the performance of the organization.

Planning facilitates management by objectives. All the activities of the organization are designed to achieve certain specified objectives. Planning makes the objectives concrete so that focussed attention can be given to them.

Planning helps in the co-ordination of both the internal and external activities. Co-ordination is, indeed, the essence of management, the planning is the base of it. Without planning it is not possible to co-ordinate the different activities of an organization.

Planning secures economy in operation. Planning is done based on approved specific consumption, and productivity and quality norms as well as planned maintenance activities. When the employees work with the planned parameters, the efficiency of the processes improves and the processes become economical. This ensures that the quality products are produced with minimum production cost.

Planning increases the organizational effectiveness. When the organization operates as per plans, its effectiveness improves in all the areas of the organizational activities. This improves the morale of the employees besides attracting appreciation from the external stake-holders. Motivated employees in turn lead to improvements in the process productivity and effectiveness. Planning enables the management to measure the organizational effectiveness in the context of the stated objectives and take further actions in this direction. 

Importance of planning in management – There are six factors which describes the importance of a sound planning. These factors are shown in Fig 2 and described after the figure.

Fig 2 Importance of planning

The first factor is that planning provides direction. Planning is involved in deciding the future course of action. Fixing goals and objectives is the priority for an organization. By stating the objectives in advance, planning provides the direction for action during implementation. Proper planning makes goals clear and specific. It helps the employees to focus on the purpose for which different activities are to be undertaken. It means planning provides focus only on fruitful activities which makes actions more meaningful.

The second factor is that planning reduces the risk of uncertainty. An organization normally is to operate in an uncertain environment. Planning helps the organization to survive in an uncertain environment by eliminating unnecessary action. It also helps to anticipate the future, and prepare for the risk by making necessary provisions.

The third factor is that planning reduces overlapping and wasteful activity. Plans are formulated after keeping in mind the objective of the organization. An effective plan integrates the activity of all the departments / units of the organization, and hence, reduces overlapping and wasteful activities.

The fourth factor is that planning promotes creativity and innovative ideas. Planning encourages creativity, and helps the organization in several ways. Employees develop new ideas and apply the same to create new products and services leading to overall growth and expansion of the organization. Hence, a good planning process promotes more employee participation which brings different and new ideas. Planning encourages the employees to think differently.

The fifth factor is that planning facilitates decision-making. Decision-making means the selection of the best alternative from several available alternatives. Planning helps the management to look into the future, and choose among different alternative schemes of action. Planning provides guidelines for sound and effective decision-making.

The sixth factor is that planning establishes a standard for controlling. Planning lays down the standards against which actual performance can be evaluated and measured. Comparison between the actual performance and pre-determined standards help to point out the deviation, and take corrective actions for ensuring that the performance is as per the plan. In case of any deviation, the management can take remedial measures to improve the performance.

Nature of planning in management – The nature of planning in management has some noticeable aspects which include (i) planning is goal-oriented, (ii) primacy of planning, (iii) pervasiveness of planning. (iv) efficiency, economy, and accuracy, (v) planning is an intellectual process, (vi) limiting factors, (vii) flexibility, and (viii) co-ordination.

Planning is goal-oriented – Every plan is to contribute in some positive way towards the accomplishment of organizational objectives. Planning has no meaning if it is not related to the goals of the organization.

Primacy of planning – Planning is the prime function of the management among its several functions. It precedes all other management functions.

Pervasiveness of planning – All the levels of the management carry out planning in their field of activity. Senior level of management carries out the strategic planning. Middle level of management is involved in administrative planning, while the lower level of the management concentrates on day-to-day operational planning.

Efficiency, economy, and accuracy – Efficiency of planning is determined by how efficiently the people formulate the plans. Economy of plan is measured by the cost of making and implementation of the plans, as well as meeting the organizational objectives in an economical manner. Also, planning secures economical operations in the organization. Further, planning is to be carried out with accurate forecasts.

Planning is an intellectual process – The quality of planning is highly dependent upon the quality and the capabilities of the people involved in the planning process.

Limiting factors – There are some limiting factors such as, 3Ms (money, man-power, and materials), technology, and equipment availability etc. which affect the planning.  The people involved in the planning process are to recognize the limiting factors and formulate plans accordingly.

Flexibility – The plans are to be flexible. They are capable of being modified to the changes which can take place in the environmental conditions.

Co-ordination – Planning activity is carried out with co-ordination of the what, who, how, where and why. All the related activities are to be coordinated while making of the plans.  There is to be united efforts of all concerns while making of the plans.

Process of planning – Planning is the process of thinking, mapping out, and organizing the activities needed to achieve a desired goal. Planning involves the creation and maintenance of a plan. As such, planning is a fundamental property of intelligent behaviour. This thought process is essential not only for the creation and refinement of a plan but also for its integration with other plans. It combines forecasting of developments with the preparation of scenarios of how to react to them. An important, although frequently ignored aspect of planning, is the relationship it holds with forecasting. Forecasting can be described as predicting what the future is going to look like, whereas planning predicts what the future looks like.

Planning is done to plan activities for the achievements of the desired goals. It does not just occur on its own or with the issue of an executive order. It has to be properly and carefully decided upon and planned. The management is to inculcate a planning culture in the organization at all the levels of employees. Employees are to recognize the merits of the planning and are to be trained in the techniques of planning so as to improve their capability in planning.

The planning activity for the achievement of certain objectives is to be designed and implemented. The pre-planning activities include (i) understanding of the internal conditions in the organization which are present at the time of start of the planning activity, and (ii) evaluation of the external environment of the organization. This can be done through SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. The understanding of internal conditions and the evaluation of external environment gives the management an idea about the tentative planning needed by the organization.

The internal conditions in the organization include the existing plans in the organization, the current organizational performance with respect to processes, and activities related to the organizational performance. It is necessary to review in detail the specific strengths and weaknesses of the organisation in its sphere of operations. Management is also required to make forecasts and projections of the likely future position and trends.

The evaluation of the external environment of the organization is concerned with the analysis of external environmental conditions for planning. This facilitates the management in understanding the elements and events happening outside the organization having impact on the present and future functioning of the organization. Evaluation is to be done to understand the trends in economic, social, technological, and other fields which have relevance for the organization. Evaluation of the external environment is to be a continuous process for which a systematic scanning and forecasting mechanism is to be established. This is needed to enable the organization to identify the present and future opportunities and threats in the different external fields with which the organization is directly concerned.

Basic steps in the planning process – Planning is a systematic process of assessing the goals of the organization in an area of operation and creating a realistic, detailed plan of action for meeting those goals. The management planning process involves a cycle of activities. It takes into consideration short-term and long-term strategies of the organization. The planning process ensures (i) that important concerns and issues are not overlooked, (ii) that a range of perspectives is considered, (iii) that decisions are well informed, and (iv) that there is a real opportunity for participation for all the concerned personnel. Planning is a ten-step process (Fig 3) which starts with perception of opportunities. The tenth step is the monitoring and control of the process during its implementation. This ten-step process creates a road map which outlines each task which the organization is to accomplish for achieving the plan objectives. These ten steps are described after the figure.

Fig 1 Basic steps in the planning process

Perception of opportunities – Although preceding actual planning and hence not strictly a part of the planning process, awareness of an opportunity is the real starting point for the planning. It includes (i) a preliminary look at possible future opportunities and the ability to see them clearly and completely, (ii) knowledge of where the organization stands in the light of its strengths and weaknesses, (iii) an understanding of why the management wish to solve uncertainties, and (iv) a vision of what the management expects to gain. Setting of realistic objectives depends on this awareness. Planning needs realistic diagnosis of the opportunities available in the organization.

Establishing objectives – The first step in planning itself is to establish objectives for the entire organization and then for each department / unit. Objectives specify the results which are expected to indicate the end points of what is to be done, where the primary emphasis is to be placed, and what is to be accomplished by the network of strategies, policies, procedures, rules and regulations, budgets and programmes.

Organizational objectives are to provide direction to the nature of all major plans which, by reflecting these objectives, define the objectives of departments / units. The objectives of departments /units, in turn, control the objectives of sections under departments, and so on down the line. The objectives of departments / units are better framed, if the management of the department / unit understands the overall organizational objectives. This understanding of the organizational objectives helps in the setting of the goals of departments / units.

Initial planning – Initial planning is the next logical step. Under this step, different data / informations to be used in the planning are to be collected / established from different sources. The data / informations include the forecasts of production, operational parameters, quality, material prices, operating costs and different other expenses, revenues receipt because of marketing of products and services, and similar matters. The forecast data is to be of factual nature. Further, applicable basic policies, existing organizational plans, and statutory regulations are to be available for making of the plan. All these form planning assumptions which, in other words, is the expected environment when the plans are being implemented. This step leads to one of the major principles of planning.

The more people involved in the planning activities, understand and agree to utilize consistent planning data / informations, the more coordinated is the organizational planning. Since the needed data / informations are complex in nature, these are to be realistic and are to be fully understood by the people involved in the planning activities. Further, where data / informations are not available, some assumptions need to be made.  These assumptions are to be as realistic as possible and are to have approval of the management.

Identification of alternatives – Once the organizational objectives have been clearly stated and the initial planning activities are completed, the people involved in the planning activities are to list as many available alternatives as possible for reaching those objectives. The focus of this step is to search for and examine alternative courses of action, especially those which are not immediately visible. There is seldom a plan for which reasonable alternatives do not exist, and quite frequently an alternative which is not obvious proves to be the best.

The more common problem is not finding alternatives, but reducing the number of alternatives so that the most promising alternatives can be analyzed. Even with the analytical techniques as well as with the aid of a computer, there is a limit to the number of alternatives which can be examined. Hence, it is normally necessary for the people involved in the planning activities to reduce the number of alternatives by preliminary examination, to those which promises maximum fruitful possibilities or to eliminate lesser promising alternatives with the use of analytic / mathematical techniques.

Evaluation of alternatives – After taking the decision on the reduction of the available alternatives, the chosen alternatives are to be examined in detail with respect to their strong and weak points. During this step, the chosen alternatives are evaluated against several criteria for their contribution towards achievement of organizational goals. One of the alternatives can appear to be the more acceptable but needs a large cash outlay and a slow payback while another alternative can be less profitable but involve more risk. There can be yet another alternative which can better suit the organization in its long–range objectives.

If the only objective is to examine profits immediately, if the future is not uncertain, if cash position and capital availability is not an issue, and if the majority of factors can be reduced to definite data, then the evaluation of the alternatives is relatively easy. But typical planning is full of uncertainties, and there can be an issue of capital shortage, and there can be intangible factors affecting the evaluation, which makes the evaluation of alternatives not an easy task. As an example, an organization can wish to enter a new product line mainly for purpose of prestige, the forecast of expected results can show a clear financial loss, but the question is still open as to whether the loss is worth the gain.

Selection of best alternative – After the evaluation of the chosen alternatives has been done, people involved in the planning activities determine which of the alternative suits best to accomplish organizational objectives. The selected best alternative is then put up for the approval of management. The selected best alternative after the approval becomes the approved plan.

Formulating support plans – After decision has been made and the selected best plan has been approved, department / unit plans are made within overall objectives of the approved plan. The detailed support plans are also made for the budget, production, materials, as well as for sales and marketing etc. All the support plans are to be detailed out from the overall approved plan. Support plans also include the important parameters and standards against which planning progress is to be measured.

A plan is also required in case a contingency takes place, which can happen if certain aspects of the approved plan are unattainable because of either incorrect forecasts or changes in the environmental conditions considered during the plan preparation. Alternative course of action can be incorporated into each segment of the planning process, or for the plan in its entirety.

Establishing sequence of activities – Once plan which furnishes the organization with both long-range and short-range directions have been made and approved, then the sequence of the actions to be taken for its implementation is to be established. This activity is done for the smooth implementation of the plan. Without the sequencing of the activities, all the plan benefits cannot be achieved.

Implementation of selected plan – Implementation of the plan is important, since a good plan if not properly implemented fails to achieve the organizational objectives. After the selected plan is approved, it is implemented in the organization. This is when all the other functions of management come into play and the plan is put into action to achieve the objectives of the organization. The tools needed for such implementation involve policies and procedures, budgets, rules and regulations, and standards etc. Employees are the people who are to implement the plan and hence, they are to be fully made aware with the intricacy of the plan.

Poor plan implementation includes not getting things done, being indecisive, and not delivering on commitments. Also, plan implementation is considered to be a specific set of behaviours and techniques which the organization is required to master in order to maintain a competitive advantage.

Monitoring and control – Planning does not end with implementation, since plans do not always proceed as conceived. Even the best-laid plans can sometimes be thrown off track by unanticipated events. Hence, the progress against all of the goals and objectives is to be measured. Measurement of the progress toward goal completion is done throughout the implementation of the plan.  The control process measures progress toward goal attainment and indicates corrective action is needed if too much deviation is detected. The deviation from expected performance can be negative or positive.

One way to carryout monitoring and control is through a periodic progress report from the employees / groups handling the implementation of the plan.  Once the progress report is available then the progress review is done by analyzing the fulfillment of plan against the targets. Progress review is an essential part of the plan implementation.

Advantages of planning in management – Planning in the management of the organizational affairs is necessary. It has several advantages as described below.

The objectives and goals of the organization gets defined in simple and clear words by the planning process and this provides clear direction to the employees and their efforts get focused towards a desired end. Also, through the planning process, activities are planned for the future in a planned way. This helps in minimizing the risks of uncertainties in future.

Through the planning process, the working in the organization becomes orderly and coordinated which eliminates the overlapping activities between the departments / unis of the organization. It avoids inconsistency in efforts and also avoids possible friction between the departments / units. It also reduces the wasteful activities of the organization to a negligible level.

Planning process creates an environment of thinking in the organization which promotes innovative ideas within the organization. It also facilitates the decision making since the decision making gets focused within the criteria laid down in the plan. Hasty and haphazard decisions are avoided. Increased uniformity is achieved in decision making process.

Planning process helps in judicious utilization of the available resources. It helps in standardized and systematic working in the organization which in turn helps in controlling the activities of the organization

Planning process secures wide and willing participation of the employees in the direction towards achievement of organizational goals. This improves the confidence level of the employees of the organization.

Planning process helps in improving the competitive capacity and the strength of the organization. It facilitates team working and delegation of authority. It removes communication gaps and raises overall efficiency in the organization.

The benefits of planning in management includes (i) it reduces unnecessary pressures of urgency, (ii)  reduces mistakes and oversights, (iii) ensures a more productive use of resources, (iv) makes control easier, (v) increases effectiveness of the employees, (vi) improves focus and flexibility, (vii) improves action orientation, (viii) improves coordination, (ix) improves time management, (x) improves control, (xi) knowing what to expect reduces stress, (xii) ensures required materials availability, (xiii) provides a sense of accomplishment and well-being , (xiv) management receive accurate and complete information, hence helps in decision making, (xv) helps the organization progress in a manner considered most suitable, (xvi) employees know what is expected, (xvii) employees stay within the time limits, and (xviii) planning provides enthusiasm and confidence to the employees.