Learn about the goals and Limitations of Management Planning
March 23, 2021
There are numerous advantages to planning. Planning achieves the following goals:
• Provides a sense of direction to an organization. Organizations without plans and goals simply react to daily events without considering what will happen in the long run. For example, a solution that makes sense in the short term may not always be the best in the long run.
• Focuses attention on objectives and results to avoid drift and ensure that short-term efforts support and harmonize with long-term goals. The people who carry out the plans stay focused on the expected outcomes. Employees are also motivated by keeping their eyes on the prize.
• Provides a foundation for teamwork. Without an integrated plan, diverse groups cannot effectively collaborate in joint projects. There are numerous examples: Without blueprints, plumbers, carpenters, and electricians will be unable to construct a home. Military operations also necessitate the coordination of Army, Navy, and Air Force units.
• Assists in anticipating problems and dealing with change. When management plans, it can help anticipate future issues and make any necessary changes ahead of time to avoid them. Preparing for these potential issues can help you avoid making costly mistakes and reduce the number of "surprises" that will inevitably occur.
• Provides decision-making guidelines. Decisions are built with the future in mind. Management will have few guidelines for making current decisions if they have no plans for the future. If a company knows it wants to launch a new product in three years, its executives must be careful about the decisions they make now. Managers and employees can both benefit from plans that help them stay focused on the big picture.
The following are some of the planning's drawbacks:
1. Insufficiency of Reliable Data:
The planners are given a variety of facts and figures to work with. If the data on which decisions are based is unreliable, then the decisions based on that data will be unreliable as well. If reliable facts and figures are not provided, planning will lose its value.
2. Procedural Time Consumption:
The time factor can sometimes reduce the practical utility of planning. Planning takes time, and because proper planning has not yet been completed, actions on various operations may be delayed. There is a risk of missing out on opportunities as a result of the delay. When time is of the essence, planning becomes obsolete. When immediate action is required, it is impossible to wait for the planning process to be completed.
3. Exorbitant:
The planning process is extremely costly. Greater sums of money are spent on gathering information and testing various courses of action. Occasionally, costs are so prohibitive that small businesses cannot afford to plan. Because of the high costs, long-term planning is a luxury for most businesses. The value derived from planning should never be less than the cost of doing it.