BARRIES TO EFFECTIVE PLANNING

5.6 BARRIES TO EFFECTIVE PLANNING

The dynamic and complex environment in which managers work requires careful consideration during planning. One of the biggest mistakes that a manager can make is to assume that conditions in the environment will remain constant.

Unless a manager has insight into the technology affecting the organisation, competition, changes in customer preferences, new legislation, and may other things, he or she is on very shaky ground. In order to plan effectively, managers need a clear understanding of which resources their organisation can utilize in order to attain the vision, mission, and goals of the organisation in a changing environment. They need to understand the strategy that the organisation is following. They also need to understand the goals of their own and of other sub-units (departments, division, or sections).

Concentration on proven plans and neglecting future plans is, however, certain to lead to their downfall. Reluctance by some managers to establish goals for their sub-units in another barrier to effective planning. Managers may not understand the principles of formulating goals. A lack of confidence, inability of manager and their subordinates could be another reason for this reluctance.

Fear of failure may be another reason why managers are reluctant to formulate goals; by not setting goals for their sub-units, managers cannot be accused of not attaining their goals. Resistance to change is another barrier to change. Almost by definition, planning involves changi ng one or more aspects of an organisation’s current solutions to enable it to adapt to the ever-changing external environment. Organizational changes may be required in one or more elements of the organisation: the organizational structure, the reward system, or work hours, to mention just a few. In planning for change, management almost inevitably encounters resistance.

Planning is time-consuming and expensive. Managers sometimes become so involved in their day-to-day activities that they neglect their management task of planning. Setting up a planning system and gathering information to make it work requires time and effort from many people. This high cost of planning – especially when it is introduced into an organisation for the first time – is often expected to be justified with tangible result. Since this is difficult to do, planning is often reduced to a superficial process.

Barriers to effective planning discussed in this section include:  Ignoring the constantly changing external environment;  Lack of understanding of the business’s strategic plan;  Poor understanding of the principle of goal formulation;  Resistance to change;  Planning being time-consuming and expensive.

Although the barriers to planning might seem insurmountable, there are guidelines that managers can use to overcome them:

 Effective planning should start at the top of an organisation. Top management’s sincere involvement in planning sets the stage for subsequent planning at middle and lower management levels, and stresses the importance of planning to everyone in the organisation.

 Management should realise the limitations of planning. Although it may sound paradoxical, good planning does not necessarily ensure success – adjustments and exceptions are to be expected as a plan unfolds.

 The role that line and functional managers play in the planning process cannot be overemphasized. Planning initiated at the top should be communicated to others in the organisation. Managers and all other employees involved in the planning process should have a clear understanding of the grand strategy of the organisation (for example, to reduce operating cost), as well as of the functional strategies (for example, the marketing and production strategies) and of how they are interrelated.

 Plans should constantly be revised and updated. Planning should be seen as a process and not a once-off activity. New information on changes in the business environment, an

unexpected strike by factory workers, or the discovery of a hazardous substance in a pharmaceutical product being developed, are examples of events that make planning a dynamic process.

 Contingency planning may be very useful in a turbulent environment. Contingency planning is the development of alternative course of action to be taken if an intended plan is unexpectedly disrupted or rendered inappropriate.