Introduction
Planning is considered one of the most important functions within the administrative process, since it includes the selection of alternative courses of action. Therefore, planning not only becomes a basic function for those who exercise administration in any organization, but also, the other functions of the administrative process must manifest it.
In this way, an administrator should organize, direct and control to guarantee the achievement of the objectives and goals as planned.
Within the planning, the selection of the organizational objectives is carried out, as well as the establishment of the means to achieve them. Therefore, planning should be considered as a function that examines the conditions of the present and future environment, in which the planned decisions and actions will be developed.
Meanwhile, the control function is in which the measurement of what is done against what is established in the plans is carried out. It also implies the correction of deviations in order to ensure the achievement of the objectives set in the planning function.
By executing a plan, monitoring will help measure progress, spot deviations if they occur, and indicate corrective actions.
Nature and purpose of planning
Of all the functions of the administrative process, it is understood that planning is the basic one, from this it will be possible to establish the very essence of any organization, its objectives and goals, as well as the way in which they can be achieved.
Planning includes the selection between different courses of action for the organization in general and for each department or area. It establishes through the plans, the selection of the organizational objectives and the departmental goals, and the way in which they must be accomplished.
Planning involves the action of deciding in advance, answering the following questions; What to do? How and when to do it? and who is to do it? therefore it is in charge of establishing the bases that will make the organization get where it wants to go.
Therefore, it is understood that planning is a function that is complex and intellectually demanding; it requires the establishment of courses of action and the rationale on which decisions are based.
Currently, most organizations of any type plan more carefully for the future, taking into account more aspects of their operations. Now they rely less on intuition or luck and do so on the analysis of the environment variables.
To make a good planning; To formulate plans that do not lead to failure, it must be carried out based on theories and principles, since it is through understanding the foundations that success can be achieved.
Main aspects of planning
Contribution to objectives and purposes
The fundamental intention of each plan is to make possible and facilitate the achievement of the objectives and purposes of the organization.
Primacy of planning
In practice, all the functions of the administrative process are aimed at assisting in the achievement of organizational objectives, however, it is the planning function that establishes the objectives that are needed to direct all group cooperation efforts, therefore planning precedes to the execution of all other functions.
Before the administrator establishes relationships within the organization, designate the resources that will be necessary - personal, financial, technological, operational - indicate under which perspective the personnel will be guided and directed and what type of control will be used, the plans They must be carried out in advance to chart the course of the other administrative functions, and thus achieve the objectives.
It is important to note that the planning and control functions are inseparable. Something that is not planned cannot be controlled, since there will be no parameters that serve as guides and set the course of actions.
Maintaining the course of operations and at the same time being attending to deviations in relation to plans, will only be achieved with the correct formulation and application of planning and control functions. The plans will consequently provide the control standards.
Planning force
All managers exercise the planning function, although obviously the nature and scope will vary according to the level of authority or position they possess within the organization.
One administrator may plan more than another, or their functions in this sense may be more important, therefore the planning of one can be quite basic or complex and encompasses certain functions, while another may exercise planning impacting an entire department or area of the organization.
Thus, a manager, a boss or a supervisor plans within an area delimited by procedures, policies and rules established equally under the planning of an administrator with a higher level of authority.
Plan efficiency
A plan is known to be efficient when its contribution to the organization's purposes and objectives can be calculated, such as cost compensation and other unforeseen consequences that were generated for its formulation and execution.
A plan will do no good, if by compensating what is obtained against the expected results, the costs generated are greater than the income obtained. Or when the consequence of what is executed are very negative behaviors, not at all expected within the planning.
Basic reasoning for planning
Now it can be stated that planning is an administrative function, which allows managers or administrators, through an analysis of information from the past, present and an evaluation of future events, to prepare work plans and strategies that guarantee the effective achievement of objectives.
General principles of planning
They are action guides that allow planning to be carried out.
Contribution to the objective or unit.
Any plan developed should have as common purpose the orientation towards the achievement of the organizational objectives.
Feasibility.
Regardless of the type of plan developed, it should be possible to achieve. It should not present too much slack, nor a level of demand that makes it almost impossible to achieve.
Objectivity or precision.
All the data presented and resulting information must be clear, quantifiable, verifiable and verifiable.
Flexibility or change of route.
Due to the degree of infallibility that the plans present, sometimes modifications will have to be made taking into account the unforeseen, so other routes will have to be taken into consideration, without losing sight of the organizational objective.
Participation and commitment.
All the organization's staff, according to their intervention space, must commit to the planning process.
Types of plans
In order for a plan not to create difficulties and be effective, it depends on the degree to which the administrator recognizes the variety of existing plans that can be used. Therefore, since any plan is capable of encompassing any course of action in the future, it is natural that they be varied.
Depending on the future course of action, it is that each plan may be adjusted to what the administrator wishes to contemplate and is the ideal for that purpose.
According to the content
Of purpose or mission
It is clear that any organization, no matter what type of operations it carries out, should be clear about its purpose or mission. It will be difficult to devise how the objectives - and obviously the plans to carry them out - can be carried out unless the organization forges a clear and concrete conception of its purpose or mission.
Establishing what is the purpose or mission of an organization, can be a somewhat complicated task, managers must consider and answer these questions, what do I do and for whom do I do it? And what do my clients want? Under this approach, the organization channels its efforts to the satisfaction of its clients, recognizes their attitudes and is aware of what they expect.
You can think that the purpose or mission of an organization is to make profits and to some extent it can be, however it turns out that it is a basic objective, that any organization can achieve as long as activities are undertaken, they are drawn certain directions, leading to the achievement of the established goals, all under the fulfillment of a shared mission.
Of objectives
The objectives or goals are the ends towards which the activities are directed. They also represent the path through which the organization, direction and control will channel their efforts.
There will be different types of objectives according to their organizational scope and together they will constitute the basic plan of the organization, and that alone cannot guarantee the achievement of the organizational objective. Suppose that a department sets its own goals that it must meet, but these should contribute to achieving the goals of the entire organization. Although the goals are different in each area or department, the fulfillment of all of them will lead to the organizational goals, hence their importance.
Of strategies
The strategies determine the alternative courses of general action or alternatives that show the direction and general use of resources and efforts to achieve the objectives in the most advantageous conditions, since they guide business thinking and action.
According to Koontz then, the purpose of the strategies is that they serve to determine and communicate, through a system of objectives and policies, an image of what the organization aspires to be.
Policy
Policies are general plans that are intended to guide or channel thinking or actions in the decision-making process. Being thought guides, policies allow us to act with some discretion, otherwise they would be rules.
Administrators rely on policies, so they ensure that they are properly structured, that is, they delimit the area in which they will exert their influence for correct decision-making. The policies will also give the employee guidelines so that he himself is able to intervene in the solution of problems and does not have to constantly resort to higher levels, giving rise to initiative within certain limits.
The policies will allow the administrator to delegate authority while maintaining control. They serve as a basis for predicting and setting the course on certain issues, avoiding repetition or reprocessing, all this greatly streamlining the decision-making process at all levels within the organization and something very important is that the policies provide, together with the other plans, a unified structure.
Of procedures
They are the plans that establish the usual method of how to handle activities. They establish the way of acting rather than thinking, detailing exactly how a certain activity should be carried out and carried out, under a precise chronological sequence.
Each organizational area will have different procedure plans, becoming more precise and scrupulous as the levels become lower, this due to the need for more careful control, to reduce the decision area, to avoid mistakes due to ignorance, at the same time as They help to achieve the greatest efficiency by establishing how to do things in the best way.
Of rules
The rules are characterized by being the simplest type of plan. There is confusion between policies or rules, the latter being specific actions that should or should not be carried out, which also leads to them being confused with procedures.
Procedures specify how to do something in a temporal sequence, which give the sense of being a set of rules to follow, the rules however, may or may not be part of a procedure.
Thus, it can be established that "not drinking alcoholic beverages" is a rule that has no interference with a procedure; but a procedure that regulates the exit of merchandise can establish the rule that "all transactions must be registered in the warehouse".
The rules are therefore administrative decisions that establish actions that should or should not be carried out, without leaving room for judgment and discretionary agency.
Of programs
Programs are the set of goals, policies, procedures, rules, resources and other elements that will be necessary to carry out a course of action.
These can be as large, in terms of their scope in time and space, as may be the one planned by a transnational corporation with a view to entering into operations in a new country, such as that planned by a supervisor in their area of work within the small company operations department to reduce time and costs.
A program by its magnitude can be considered as a primary program, from which various secondary programs will be derived, which in turn may require others, thus the correct implementation of all programs, together will support and contribute to the execution of the primary program.
Something very important is that these and all the programs require coordination and calculation of times, since in case of presenting a failure in any link, it will bring up the resulting costs and the decrease in income derived from the delay in the major program.
Of budgets
A budget is a plan expressed in numerical terms of the expected results. A budget must contain measurable numerical information in financial or economic terms, or in terms of machine-hours, man-hours, units produced, or another quantifiable term.
Making a budget is planning, since it forces you to anticipate at the same time as it serves as a control tool when plans are reflected in it.
According to the duration or validity
Short term plans
When its duration or validity is less than one year.
Medium-term plans
When its duration or validity is from one to three years.
Long-term plans
When its duration or validity is greater than three years.
According to the hierarchical level
Strategic plans
They are the plans elaborated by the high administration, they have the characteristic of being global and comprehensive. They are plans that due to their magnitude are long-term and therefore generally once implemented they are irreversible.
Tactical plans
They are medium-term plans that obey the strategic ones. They are carried out by departments or functional areas of the organization.
Operational plans
They are short-term plans that obey tactics. They have interference and effect on the lower level positions and are executed with daily work.
Planning process
Organizational systems control and planning
Nature and purpose of control
Welsh points out that control is the process of measuring and evaluating the performance of each element of an organization, and when it is necessary to take corrective action and ensure efficient compliance with organizational objectives, goals, standards and policies.
This administrative function involves ensuring the achievement of objectives, comparing and / or measuring what has been done against the rules of the plans and the correction of deviations.
Monitoring becomes necessary to measure progress, detect deviations, and indicate corrective action. These actions may involve minor corrections such as changes in the form or style of management, even radical corrections such as the modification of the organizational structure.
Control process
1. Determine the purpose of the control.
It is necessary to specify what you want to measure and evaluate, because depending on the object of control it will be determined what techniques will be used.
2. Establishment of execution standards.
They are the benchmarks or parameters that will establish the expected result in the objectives.
These performance standards or criteria are set in quantifiable units of measure; time, cost, sales, weight, temperature, hours, etc.
3. Measurement of performance.
It is through a performance report that an objective determination is made of what was actually achieved.
4. Comparison of performance against the established standard.
It consists of determining the differences between what is planned and what is actually achieved. These deviations or differences can be positive or negative.
5. Analysis of the causes of deviations and establishment of previous measures.
General principles of control
1. Exception.
Special attention should be paid to exceptional or abnormal variations, leaving minor ones at the discretion of operating personnel.
2. Of the medial character.
The control function is not an end without or a means to achieve the objectives.
3. Balance.
The degree of control will depend on the degree of delegation and responsibility conferred.
4. Of prevention.
It establishes that the better the contingencies are anticipated with automatic controls, the fewer the negative deviations.
5. Of the division of labor.
Whoever runs the control should not be directly involved with the activity to be controlled.
Control means
They will basically depend on the object to be controlled; be it activities, people or functions. Among the most common are:
Cost benefit analysis.
It measures the effectiveness of the system by comparing the cost of keeping track of something against the benefits that result.
Performance evaluation.
This is the evaluation of the performance of the staff, in order to verify whether it fulfilled what was planned.
Budgets.
Classic control tool expressed in quantifiable terms in relation to operations in a given period. Used as integrative and coordinating plans to achieve organizational objectives.
Operational audit.
Technique that aims to check, verify and evaluate organizational activities and their administrative process. This in order to provide a report that allows to know the quality in the process of realization and the suggestions to improve if necessary.
Final comment
In summary, it can be established that planning is the administrative function in which goals are defined, strategies are established for their achievement, and plans are drawn up to integrate and coordinate all activities.
Meanwhile, it is in the control function in which it is possible to monitor the current performance of the organization, compare it with a norm or standard and thus have the basis to take the necessary actions.
Bibliographic references
- Chiavenato, I. (2001). Introduction to the general theory of administration. Mexico: McGraw-Hill.Koontz, H., & O'Donnel, C. (1979). Modern administration course. Mexico: McGraw-Hill de México.Nava García, JL (2003). Administration. México: Cia. Editorial Nueva Imagen.Reyes Ponce, A. (2002). Modern Administration. Mexico: Limusa.
