Chapter 7 - Planning

Question 1

What are the 5 benefits of planning?

Answer 1

1) provides direction
2) reduces the impact of changes
3) promotes coordination
4) ensures cohesion
5) facilitates control

Question 2

What is the cost or negatives of planning?

Answer 2

1) create rigidity (no deviations)
2) consumes management time
3) may replace intuition and creativity
4) cause delays in decision-making

Question 3

What is an organizational goal or objective?

Answer 3

A desirable state of affairs that an organisation aims to achieve at some point in future.

Question 4

What is an organisational plan?

Answer 4

The means by which the goal is to be realised.

Question 5

What goals are formulated by top management?

Answer 5

Long term Stategic goals of the entire organisation.

Question 6

What goals are used and set by middle level managers?

Answer 6

Use strategic goals and plans

Set medium term tactical goals and plans

Question 7

What goals are used and set by lower level managers?

Answer 7

Use tactical goals and plans

Develop short term operational goals and plans

Question 8

Goals may be publicly stated or not. Which goal is publicly shared and which one not?

Answer 8

Official goals - publicly in annual reports and media

Operatives goals - private goals not shared

Question 9

What are the importance of goals?

Answer 9

• direction
• resource deployment
• motivate employees
• control

Question 10

The SMART framework helps set criteria for effective goals. What are they?

Answer 10

S - specific
M - measurable
A - attainable
R - relevant
T - time bound

Question 11

What does MBO stand for?

Answer 11

Management By Objectives

Question 12

What is MBO about?

Answer 12

It is a system whereby managers and employees for everyday department, project and person - and use them to monitor subsequent performances.

Question 13

Name the 4 steps in the MBO goal setting technique.

Answer 13

1) set clear job description
2) set potential key performance targets
3) establish checkpoints
4) degree of goal attainment @ end of period

Question 14

What are the 4 advantages of the MBO technique?

Answer 14

1) focus on attaining goals
2) performance can be improved
3) employees motivated
4) individual goals align with org

Question 15

What are the 5 disadvantages of MBO?

Answer 15

1) constant change
2) poor relations reduce MBO
3) ops goals may displace strategic goals
4) org culture may discourage effective MBO
5) too much paperwork

Question 16

What are the 6 steps in the planning process?

Answer 16

1) establish goals
2) alternative plans
3) evaluate alternative plans
4) select plan
5) implement
6) reactive planning - when change occur

Question 17

What does planning do?

Answer 17

It gives direction to the organisation
Force managers to be future orientated
To deal with changes in environment

Question 18

Strategic goals include 3 things?

Answer 18

Vision
Mission statement
Long term goals

Question 19

In a mission statement the org answers 3 ? What are they?

Answer 19

1) what is our buss? (Products and services)
2) who are our customers? (Markets)
3) how do we provide? (Tech)

Question 20

What sets the stage for planning in the organisation?

Answer 20

The mission statement

Question 21

What is another word for corporate strategies?

Answer 21

Grand strategies

Question 22

What 3 Things does the corporate strategies identify?

Answer 22

What buss the org should be in
Possible expansion
How managers deploy resources

Question 23

Give 11 examples of corporate strategies.

Answer 23

1) market development (develop existing markets)
2) product development (develop new products)
3) concentration growth strategy (dedicating all to grow a single product)
4) innovation (constantly improving products)
5) horizontal-integration (taking over similar org)
6) vertical integration (taking over diff buss eg raw materials)
7) joint venture strategy (joining forces for very large project)
8) diversification ( take over firms for new activities or set up new org with new activities)
9) turnaround strategy (to turn profitable again)
10) divestiture strategy (selling buss / part thereof)
11) liquidation strategy (admits failure and want to min losses for investors)

Question 24

In Operational Plans there are 3 sets of goals in SINGLE USE PLANS. Name them.

Answer 24

Programme (building new shopping mall)
Project (installing aircons in new mall)
Budget (numerical plan for allocating resources like human, financial ect)

Question 25

In Operational Plans there are STANDING PLANS. There are 3 directions for tasks that these plan provide. What are they?

Answer 25

1) policies (eg customer is always right)
2) rule (rules about lateness in employees)
3) standard procedures (precise steps of doing) eg grievance procedures

Question 26

Implementing the chosen plan involves 3 requirements. What are they?

Answer 26

• developing a framework for its execution
• leadership to set the plan in motion
• controls

Question 27

If after implementing a plan, the controls reveal deviation from the plan. What needs to be done?

Answer 27

Reactive planning.

Reconsider goal and resources required to fit new info.