Notes

planning involves defining organisational goals, establishing an overall strategy to acheive them and developing plans or org work activities.
purpose/ benefits/ char
planning gives direction to both managerial and non managerial employees.
planning reduces un certainty
planning establishisdehs goals or standards used in controlling.
planning also minimizes waste by coordinating activities.


goals are often called objectives - they are desired outcomes for individuals, groups or the entire organisation.
1- single goals - plans/goals will be straight forward.
2- multiple goals -
3- stated goals - they are written goals. it is the official statement of what the organsation says and what it wants its stakeholders to believe its goals are.
4 - Real goals - non- written goals. these are the type of goals that and org actually pursue, derived from the actions of its memebers.

Plans are documents that outline how goals are to be accomplished. it also describes how resources are to be allocated.
plans are divided on the basis of breadth, time frame, specificity and frequency of use.

on the basis of time frame - long term - plans that are beyond the time frame of 3 years
short term - plans that cover one year or less - operational plans

on the basis of specificity - specific and directional
specific plans are clearly defined and leave no room for interpretation.
directional plans are unclear and flexible that set out general guidelines.

on the basis of frequency of use - single and stannding
sing plans are one time plans that are designed specifically to meet the needs of a unique situation (non- recurring plans)
standing plans are on - going plans that provide guidance for activities performed repeatedly eg - budget plans.

2 approaches to goal setting
- traditional goal setting. the goals are set by the top management or at the top of the organisation and then broken into sub goals for each level of the organisation.
- mbo - managemnt by objectives - the process of setting mutually agreed upon goals and using these goals to evaluate employee performance.

Characteristics of a well designed/ written goal.
- goals must be written in terms of outcomes, rather than actions that need to be taken
- measurable and quantifiable
- clear and defined in terms of time frame
- challenging but reasonable and attainable
- communicated to all organisational members (all interested parties)