Planning Technical

Activities

PREPARED BY:
KRISTIANNE JOY TOLENTINO
 PLANNING TECHNICAL
ACTIVITIES
 THE NATURE OF PLANNING
 PLANNING DEFINED
 PLANNING AT VARIOUS MANAGEMENT LEVELS
 THE PLANNING PROCESS
 MAKING PLANNING EFFECTIVE
 INTRODUCTION
If managing an organization is to be
pursued vigorously, planning will constitute
the most important activity. Managers who
plan are afforded with the opportunity to
carefully analyze situations which directly
contribute to effective decision-making.
THE NATURE OF PLANNING
There are many instances when managers are overwhelmed
by various activities which at times be cloud his judgment.
This must be expected since anybody who is confronted by
several situations happening simultaneously will loose
sight of the more important concerns. To minimize
mistakes in decision – making, planning is undertaken.
A plan, which is the output of planning, provides a
methodical way of achieving desired results. In the
implement of activities, the plan serves as a useful guide.
Without the plan, some minor tasks may be afforded major
attention which may, later on, hinder the accomplishment
of objectives
 PLANNING DEFINED
Various experts define planning in various ways, all of which are
designed to suit specific purposes.

Planning, according to nickels and others, refers to “the

management function that involves anticipating future trends
and determining the best strategies and tactics to achieved an
organizational objectives.” This definition is useful because it
relates the future to what could be decided now.
Aldag and stearns, on the other hand, defined planning as “the
selection and sequential ordering of tasks required to achieved
an organizational goal”. This definition centers on the activity
required to accomplish the goals
 PLANNING DEFINED
The definition of cole and amilton provides a better guide on
how to effectively perform this vital activity. Planinng, according
to them is “deciding what will be done, who will do it, where,
when and how it will be done, and the standards to which it will
be done.
For our purpose, it will suffice to define planning as
selectingthe best course of action so that the desired result may
be achieved.
 PLANNING AT VARIOUS
MANAGEMENT LEVELS
Since engineer managers could be occupying positions in any of
the various managementlevels, it will be useful for them to know
some aspectsof planning undertaken at the differrent
management levels.

Planning activities undertaken at various levels are as follows:

 Top management level - strategic planning

 Middle management level - intermediate planning

 Lower management level - operational planning

 STRATEGIC PLANNING
The term strategic planning refers to the process of
determining the major goals of the organization and the policies
and strategies for obtaining and using resources to achieve those
goals. The top managementof any firm is involved in this type of
planning.

The output of strategic planning is the strategic plan which

spells out “the decision about long-range goals and the course
of action to achievethese goals”.
INTERMEDIATE PLANNING

Intermediate planning refers to “ the process of determining

the contributions that subunits can make with allocated
resources”. This type of planning is undertaken by middle
management.
 TYPES OF PLANNING
TOP STRATEGIC PLANNING
MANAGEMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,
PRESID ENT, VICE PRESID ENTS,
GENERAL MANAGER, D IVISION
HEAD S
( ONE TO TEN YEARS)

INTERMEDIATE PLANNING
FUNCTIONA L MANAGERS,
PRODUCT LINE MANAGERS,
DEPARTMENT HEADS

MIDDLE
(SIX MO. TO TWO YEARS)
MANAGEMENT

UNIT MANAGERS,
FIRST LINE
SUPERVISORS

OPERATIONAL PLANNING
LOWER
(ONE WEEK TO ONE YEAR)
MANAGEMENT
THE ORGANIZATION AND TYPES
OF PLANNING UNDERTAKEN

PRESIDENT/ MARKETING PERSONNEL

GENERAL MANAGER MANAGER MANAGER

PRODUCTION MANAGER FINANCE MANAGER

INDUSTRIAL
ENGINEERING MANAGE R
FACTORY MANAGER
QUALITY CONTROL MANAGER
 SETTING ORGANIZATIONAL,
DIVISIONAL, OR UNIT GOALS

The first task of the engineer manager is to provide of

directon to his firm (if he is the chief executive), to his
division (if he heads the division), or to his unit (if he is a
supervisor). The setting of goals provide an answer to the
said concern. If everybody in the firm (or division or unit, as
the case may be) is aware of the goals, there is a big chance
that everybody will contribute his sharein the realization of
such goals.

Goals may be defined as the “precise statement of results

sought, quantified in time and magnitude, where possible
OPERATIONAL PLANNING
THE TERM OPERATIONAL PLANNING REFERS TO “ THE
PROCESS OF DETERMINING HOW SPECIFIC TASKS CAN
BEST ACCOMPLISHED ON TIME WITH AVAILABLE
RESOURCES”. THIS TYPE OF PLANNING IS A
RESPONSIBILITY OF LOWER MANAGEMENT. IT MUST BE
PERFORMED IN SUPPORT OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND
THE INTERMEDIATE PLAN
 THE PLANNING PROCESS
The process of planning consists of various steps depending
on the management level that erforms the planning tasks.
Generally, however, planning involves the following:

 Setting organizational, divisional, or unit goals

 Developing strategies or tactics to reach those goals

 Determining resources needed and

 Setting standards
 EXAMPLE OF GOALS BY
ORGANIZATIONAL LEVEL
.
ORGANIZATION EXAMPLE OF GOALS
LEVEL

COMPANY TO ATTAIN A RETURN

ON INVESTMENT OF 25%

TO INCREASE THE NUMBER

DIVISION OF PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN
BY THE COMPANY

UNIT TO INCREASE THE NUMBER

OF PROJECT ENGINEERS
DEVELOPING STRATEGIES OR
TACTICS TO REACH GOALS
After determining the goals, the next tasks is to devise
some means to realize them. The ways to realize the
goals are called strategies and thesewill be the concern
of top management. The middle and lower management
will adapttheir own tactics to implement their plans

A tactic is a short-term action taken by management to

adjust to negative internal or external influences. They
are formulated and implemented in support of the firm’s
strategies. The decision about short-term goals and the
courses of action are indicated in the tactical plan
DETERMINING RESOURCES
NEEDED
When particular sets of strategies or tactics have been
devised, the engineer manager will, then, determinethe
human and nonhuman resources required by such
strategies or tactics. Even if the resource requirements are
currently available, they must be specified.

The quality and quantity of resources needed must be

correctly determined. Too much resources in terms of
either quality or quantity will be wasteful. Too little will
mean lossof opportunities for maximizing income.
SETTING STANDARDS
A standard may be define as “a quantitive or qualitative
measuring device designed to help monitor the performances of
people, capital goods, or processes.

An example of a standard is the minimum number of units

that must be produced by a worker per day in a given work
situation.
 TYPES OF PLAN
FUNCTIONAL AREA PLANS

PLANS ARE OF DIFFERENT TYPE. THEY MAY BE

CLASSIFIED IN TERMS OF FUNCTIONAL AREAS, TIME
HORIZON, AND FREQUENCY OF USE.
PLANS MAY BE PREPARED ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS
OF THE DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL AREAS. AMONG THE
TYPES OF FUNCTIONAL AREA PLANS ARE THE
FOLLOWING:
 FUNCTIONAL AREA PLANS

 MARKETING PLAN- THIS IS THE WRITTEN DOCUMENT OR BLUEPRINT

FOR IMPLEMENTING AND CONTROLLING AN ORGANIZATION’S
MARKETING ACTIVITIES RELATED TO A PARTICULAR MARKETING
STRATEGY
 PRODUCTION PLAN- THIS IS A WRITTEN DOCUMENT THAT STATES
THE QUANTITY OF OUTPUT A COMPANY MUST PRODUCE IN BROAD
TERMS AND BY PRODUCT FAMILY
 FINANCIAL PLAN- IT IS A DOCUMENT THAT SUMMARIZES THE
CURRENT FINANCIAL NEEDS, AND RECOMMENDS A DIRECTION FOR
FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES
 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN- IT IS A DOCUMENT THAT
INDICATES THE HUMAN RESOURCE NEEDS OF A COMPANY DETAILED
IN TERMS OF QUANTITY AND QUALITY AND BASED ON THE
REQUIREMENTS OF THE COMPANY’S STRATEGIC PLAN
 PLANS WITH TIME
HORIZON
PLANS WITH TIME HORIZON CONSIST OF THE
FOLLOWING

1. SHORT-RANGE PLANS- THESE ARE PLANS INTENDED TO

COVER A PERIOD OF LESS THAN ONE YEAR. FIRST-LINE
SUPERVISORS ARE MOSTLY CONCERNED WITH THESE
PLANS.
2. LONG-RANGE PLANS- THESE ARE PLANS COVERING A
TIME SPAN OF MORE THAN ONE YEAR. THESE ARE
MOSTLY UNDERTAKEN BY MIDDLE AND TOP
MANAGEMENT.
 PLANS ACCORDING TO
FREQUENCY OF USE
ACCORDING TO FREQUENCY OF USE, PLANS MAY BE
CLASSIFIED AS:
1. STANDING PLANS

2. SINGLE-USE PLANS
 STANDING PLANS
These are plans that are used again and again, and they
focus on managerial situations that recur repeatedly
Standing plans may be further classified as follows:
I. Policies- they are broad guidelines to aid managers at
every level in making decisions about recurring
situations or function.
II. Procedures- they are plans that described the exact series
of actions to be taken in a given situation
III. Rules- they are statements that either require or forbid a
certain action
 SINGLE-USE PLANS
THESE PLANS ARE SPECIFICALLY DEVELOPED TO
IMPLEMENT COURSES OF ACTION THAT ARE RELATIVELY
UNIQUE AND ARE UNLIKELY TO BE REPEATED.
SINGLE-USE PLANS MAY BE FURTHER CLASSIFIED AS
FOLLOWS:
I. BUDGET- A PLAN WHICH SETS FORTH THE PROJECT
EXPANDITURE FOR A CERTAIN ACTIVITY AND EXPLAINS
WHERE THE REQUIRED FUNDS WILL COME FROM
II. PROGRAMS- A SINGLE-USE PLAN DESIGNED TO
COORDINATE A LARGE SET OF ACTIVITIES
III. PROJECT - IS ASINGLE-USE PLAN THAT IS USUALLY MORE
LIMITED IN SCOPE THAN A PROGRAM AND IS SOMETIMES
PREPARED TO SUPPORT A PROGRAM
Parts of the various functional
area plans
THE ENGINEER MANAGER MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH
ENGINEERING PLANS, KNOWING THE DETAILS FROM
BEGINNING TO END. HOWEVER, THE EVER PRESENT
POSSIBILITY OF MOVING FROM ONE MANAGEMENT LEVEL
TO THE NEXT AND FROM ONE FUNCTIONAL ARE TO
ANOTHER PRESSES THE ENGINEER MANAGER TO BE
FAMILIAR AS WELL WITH OTHER FUNCTIONAL AREA
PLANS.
 THE CONTENTS OF THE
MARKETING PLAN
THE STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF MARKETING PLANS VARY
DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS
ADAPTING. WILIAM COHEN MAINTAINS THAT THE FOLLOWING
MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE MARKETING PLAN
 THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY- WHICH PRESENTS AN OVERALL
VIEW OF THE MARKETING PROJECT AND ITS POTENTIAL.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS AND TARGET MARKET
 MARKETING OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
 MARKETING STRATEGIES
 MARKETING TACTICS
 SCHEDULES AND BUDGETS
 FINANCIAL DATA AND CONTROL
 THE CONTENTS OF THE
PRODUCTION PLAN
THE PRODUCTION PLAN MUST CONTAIN THE
FOLLOWING:

 THE AMOUNT OF CAPACITY THE COMPANY MUST HAVE

 HOW MANY EMPLOYEES ARE REQUIRED
 HOW MUCH MATERIAL MUST BE PURCHASED
 THE CONTENTS OF THE
FINANCIAL PLAN
The components of the financial plan are as follows

1. The analysis of the firm’s current financial condition as

indicated by an analysis of the most recent statements
2. A select forecast
3. The capital budget
4. The cash budget
5. A set of pro forma (or projected) financial statements
6. The external financing plan
 CONTENTS OF THE HUMAN
RESOURCES PLAN
THE HUMAN RESOURCE PLAN MUST CONTAIN THE
FOLLOWING:

1. PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTSOF THE COMPANY

2. PLANS FOR RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION
3. TRAINING PLAN
4. RETIREMENTPLAN
 PARTS OF THE STRATEGIC
PLAN
THE STRATEGIC PLAN MUST CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING:

 COMPANY OR CORPORATE MISSION

 OBJECTIVE OR GOALS
 STRATEGIES

COMPANY OF CORPORATE MISSION REFERS TO THE

“STRATEGIC STATEMENT THAT IDENTIFIES WHY AN
ORGANIZATION EXISTS, ITS PHILOSOPHY OF
MANAGEMENT, AND ITS PURPOSE AS DISTINGUISHED
FROM OTHER SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS IN TERMS OF
PRODUCTS, SERVICES, AND MARKETS
 MAKING PLANNING
EFFECTIVE
PLANNING IS DONE SO THAT SOME DESIRED RESULTS MAY BE
ACHIEVED. AT TIMES, HOWEVER, FAILURE IN PLANNING OCCURS.
PLANNING MAY BE MADE SUCCESSFUL IF THE FOLLOWING ARE
OBSERVED:
1. RECOGNIZED THE PLANNING BARRIERS
2. USE OF AIDS TO PLANNING

THE PLANNING BARRIERS, ACCORDING TO PLUNKETT AND ATTNER,

ARE AS FOLLOWS:

3. MANAGER’S INABILITY
4. IMPROPER PLANNING PROCESS
5. LACK OF COMMITMENT TO THE PLANNING PROCESS
6. IMPROPER INFORMATION
 MAKING PLANNING
EFFECTIVE

THE PLANNING BARRIERS, ACCORDING TO PLUNKETT AND

ATTNER, ARE AS FOLLOWS:

 MANAGER’S INABILITY
 IMPROPER PLANNING PROCESS
 LACK OF COMMITMENT TO THE PLANNING PROCESS
 IMPROPER INFORMATION
 FOCUSING ON THE PRESENTAT THE EXPENSE OF THE
FUTURE
 TOO MUCH RELIANCE ON THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT
 CONCENTRATING ON ONLY THE
CONTROLLABLEVARIABLES
 MAKING PLANNING
EFFECTIVE
AMONG THE AIDS TO PLANNING THAT MAY BE USED
ARE:

 GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE

 DEVELOP MULTIPLE SOURCES OF INFORMATION
 INVOLVE OTHERS IN THE PLANNING PROCESS