Short Answer Questions

Question 0

Why do managers need to plan?

Answer 0

Establish coordinated effort
Reduces uncertainty
Reduces overlapping and wasteful activities
Establishes the goals or standards that facilitate control

Question 1

What is planning?

Answer 1

Planning is concerned with what is to be done and how it’s to be done

Question 2

How do managers set goals?

Answer 2

Evaluate available resources
Determine the goals individually or with input from others
Make sure goals are well written and then communicate them to all who know
Build in feedback mechanisms to assess goal process
Link rewards to goal attainment

Question 3

How managers develop plans?

Answer 3

Executive summary
Analysis of opportunity
Analysis of the context
Description of the business
Financial data and projections
Supporting documentation

Breadth, time frame, specificity, frequency of use

Question 4

Breadth?

Answer 4

Strategic (overall goal)

Tactical (specific about how?)

Question 5

Time frame?

Answer 5

Long-term (3 years +)

Short-term (less 1 year)

Question 6

Specificity?

Answer 6

Specific (clearly defined)

Directional (flexible)

Question 7

Frequency?

Answer 7

Single-use plans

Standing (ongoing)

Question 8

What contemporary planning issues do managers face?

Answer 8

Dynamic environments -> plans specific, flexible and continuous
Environmental scanning -> analyse external environment.
- competitive intelligence: what are competitors doing?
- benchmarking: identify opportunities

Question 9

What is strategic management?

Answer 9

Identify organisations current mission, goals & strategies
External analysis (opportunities/threats)
Internal analysis (strengths/weaknesses)
Formulate strategies
Implement
Evaluate