Planning is the set of actions and efforts carried out in order to meet objectives and make various purposes come true . This process requires respecting a series of steps that are established at first, for which those who prepare a plan use different tools and expressions.
Planning involves working along the same lines from the beginning of a project since multiple tasks are carried out within the framework of the organization. To begin, experts indicate, the plan must be drawn up that will later be made concrete. In other words, planning is a method that allows plans to be executed directly, which will be carried out and supervised based on planning .
The concept in an organization
In an organization , managers are the ones who have to make the plans that will be governed by planning. The operation and execution of the plans may have been carried out by a single person, who will necessarily have to know and understand the level of planning that has been intended or could be carried out.
The person who develops the plans can also be the one who makes the decisions, although generally an organizational structure is established from which the rules and policies of the organization are established. That is where the functions, roles and scope of the members are defined.
It should be noted that, although there are organizations that resort to formal and systematic planning, planning can also be carried out empirically in daily life. Like administration , planning is part of most activities of people, companies and organizations of all kinds.
Planning in business administration
Within business administration, many scholars have tried to define the concept of planning.
James A.F. StoneryLeonard D. Goodstein están de acuerdo en que la planificación consiste en el goal setting process y escoger la mejor manera de alcanzarlas: una vez se tenga todo claro, pueda emprenderse la acción.
For his part, Russell L. Ackoff assures that it serves to anticipate the actions that need to be taken and to determine the way in which they will be done with the aim of ensuring that the company obtains the expected results in the established time. Likewise, George Terry points out that it is a process in which information is selected and assumptions are made regarding the future in order to establish the objectives of the organization and the ways in which these goals will be pursued.
In a company, in short, planning serves to obtain information and apply it regarding the resources available in order to achieve the goals, also agreed upon when planning the action. Subsequently, it orders the development of the procedures that have been chosen, always looking towards the end, trying to control the process to always advance towards the established priorities and relying on the strengths of the organization.
Possible difficulties
There are several types of planning but all of them contemplate forms, actions and methods that are designed in order to achieve certain goals in an orderly and efficient manner.
However, there are factors that can jeopardize planning, such as unexpected events that come from entities outside the organization; resistance to adaptation to changes by employees or customers; the lack of information that could cause the plan to fail; or implementing the plan in inappropriate ways .
Planning in politics and society
In the political aspect, planning serves to establish methods of struggle around a problem . They are ways in which we will try to solve a certain problem and define in what time it will be done and what is expected at the end of the established period.
Social planning is a process that serves to organize ideas in order to resolve a specific social conflict. It is a plan that is put into action to improve a certain aspect of society. It generally consists of the use of planning methods that are based on geographic and demographic indicators and whose main objective is to use theories to modify an aspect of an element of the social system.
Social planning has three fundamental elements: the superstructure (the set of ideas and values), the social structure (forms of relationships, social practices, types of government, community actions, etc.) and the material infrastructure (geography, technology , economy and demographics of said society). By thoroughly analyzing these three elements, it is possible to establish social planning that gives a positive result and improves the quality of life of those who are part of that society.
family project
Family planning is the planning that a couple establishes to responsibly determine the number of children they can have based on their resources. They must consider the needs that each child would have and to what extent they will be able to satisfy them and also what their family project is.
There are many ways established by social organizations to help parents carry out correct family planning, but unfortunately the concept is rarely put into action since couples usually decide to have a child based on their desires and not their possibilities. , which turns out to be extremely harmful to societies since more and more children are born with fewer opportunities, more unmet needs and, ultimately, less happy.
Family planning programs offer couples a list of activities through which they can receive information, advice, education and resources for contraception, so that they take becoming parents seriously and plan correctly.
Nowadays, when talking about family planning we may also be referring to birth control ; That is, to the ways in which countries organize their populations, taking into account the resources of the place and the needs that can be covered safely.
Among the advantages of birth control is that it encourages women to give birth in their best years ; reduce the number of abortions with contraceptive methods that prevent unwanted pregnancies; minimize the risks of venereal diseases (such as AIDS), also thanks to these methods; and reduce the number of inhabitants based on the resources available, meaning less expense for the environment. Finally, those countries where birth control is seriously planned are less likely to suffer from overpopulation and have a more balanced economy. They also have more possibilities of achieving a positive level of development , as they have less use of their natural resources .
Importance of planning
Planning, in any field of application, is key to successful management of available resources . The programming and coordination of actions, when framed in a well-designed strategy, contributes to efficiency and effectiveness.
With planning, the chances of sticking to a budget and schedule increase. The forecast of what will be done is based on an analysis of the situation and allows for drawing up an action plan that brings the objectives closer.
Of course, planning must contemplate supervision of actions so that actions can be monitored. In this framework, planning also helps to carry out a review of processes and operations.
Another advantage of planning is that it helps to define responsibilities . Each team member has assigned tasks and it is possible to evaluate performance according to plan.