Planning in Administration (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what management planning is, its principles, elements and classification. In addition, the administrative process.

What is planning in administration?

In an organization, planning is the establishment of a strategy that allows achieving a series of objectives pre-established. The result of the planning process is a plan that will guide the company's actions and help use resources in the most efficient way.

Plans should not be excessively detailed and should be realistic: their objectives must be achievable.

Within the planning process the following steps can be identified:

Establish the objectives of the organization.
Design possible future scenarios.
Identify the most appropriate courses of action for each of these scenarios.
Design a plan.
Implement the plan.
Evaluate the plan.
Readapt the plan.

Planning principles

The principles to take into account so that planning is useful are the following:

Flexibility The plan must be able to adapt to the changes that occur within the organization, whether because there were changes in the needs of the firm, in operations or at the management level.
Inherence Every organization must have a plan that determines how to solve certain problems and thus achieve objectives in the most efficient way possible.
Rationality It consists of understanding a problem and then determining the design criteria of the plan, establishing alternatives and their application. Decisions should be made based on logic and reason, not emotions and values.
Universality The plans must specify the amount of resources necessary (considering the resources available within the company) to achieve the established objectives. This way, once the plan design is complete, it can be implemented immediately.
Unit Each member of the firm will be assigned an objective which, in turn, must be guided towards a common goal. Although there is a plan for each of the functions, they must all come together in a main plan.
Commitment To achieve the goal, the time that the commitment of each resource will involve must be calculated.
Precision The plan must be exact, any error can impact the rest of the firm's functions. The more exact the plans, the greater the chances of achieving the objectives.
Limiting factor The plan must be designed considering that before each decision, the limiting factor that may prevent the achievement of the objectives must be established.
Feasibility Every plan must be realistic: designed based on experience, concrete facts and available resources.

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Types of planning

There are different types of planning:

Strategic It is a long-term planning carried out by the organization's managers. It analyzes how external and internal factors impact the established objectives: advertising campaigns, presence in the media, entry into the market, etc.
Tactic They are the plans that are designed to face a crisis and that is why they are linked to short-term decisions that respond to the strategic plan.
Interactive In this planning, solutions are designed for problems that could arise in the future, identifying the resources necessary to carry it out.
Regulations It consists of a set of rules that regulate the operation of the organization behind closed doors. This plan includes working hours, rest hours, vacations and uniforms for staff.
Operational This plan addresses the way in which resources (including employees) will be organized for conflict resolution. This plan assigns the projects for each area, the steps to follow and the deadlines for each one.

Planning elements

The elements that make up the planning are:

Vision What the firm plans to be in the long term.
Mission The purpose of the signature.
Goals The results that the company intends to achieve. The deadlines and necessary actions must always be detailed, in addition to the objectives of each employee to focus their tasks to that end.
Strategies The description of the way in which efforts will be channeled to achieve the objectives. This includes those of the organization as a whole and those of each individual. A good plan always includes a series of alternatives to choose the most appropriate in each circumstance.
Policies The guide that is designed to make decisions in each of the areas of the company.
Program The series of actions that must be carried out to execute each part of the plan. You must detail the time it will take to complete each of the parts.
Budget The financial detail of what it will cost to implement a plan. It helps keep track of its implementation as it details costs, income, expenses, etc.

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Importance of planning

In administration, A well-designed plan translates into benefits for the company. On the one hand, it helps to allocate resources efficiently, especially for those activities that will enable the achievement of pre-established objectives.

Planning is key to focusing efforts and helps identify what the tasks of each area will be and used to achieve objectives efficiently.

Administrative process

The administrative process represents the flow and interaction of planning, organizing, directing and controlling activities to achieve a common goal. All these activities aim to make the most of all the resources that the firm has available.

The use is not only reflected within the company but also takes into account shareholders and society. That is, the administrative process seeks to satisfy both lucrative and social needs.