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Identifying Barriers To Planning

The document identifies several common barriers to successful planning: lack of planning ability or inadequate planning processes, lack of commitment to planning, relying on inferior information, focusing only on short-term goals, overreliance on planning departments, and concentrating only on controllable variables while ignoring external factors. It states that these barriers can be overcome through effective communication, acquiring quality information, and involving others in the planning process.

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Allen Carl
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490 views5 pages

Identifying Barriers To Planning

The document identifies several common barriers to successful planning: lack of planning ability or inadequate planning processes, lack of commitment to planning, relying on inferior information, focusing only on short-term goals, overreliance on planning departments, and concentrating only on controllable variables while ignoring external factors. It states that these barriers can be overcome through effective communication, acquiring quality information, and involving others in the planning process.

Uploaded by

Allen Carl
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Identifying Barriers to Planning

Various barriers can inhibit successful planning. In


order for plans to be effective and to yield the desired
results, managers must identify any potential barriers
and work to overcome them. The common barriers that
inhibit successful planning are as follows:
 Inability to plan or inadequate planning. Managers
are not born with the ability to plan. Some managers
are not successful planners because they lack the
background, education, and/or ability. Others may
have never been taught how to plan. When these two
types of managers take the time to plan, they may
not know how to conduct planning as a process.
 Lack of commitment to the planning process. The
development of of a plan is hard work; it is much
easier for a manager to claim that he or she doesn't
have the time to work through the required planning
process than to actually devote the time to
developing a plan. (The latter, of course, would save
them more time in the long run!) Another possible
reason for lack of commitment can be fear of failure.
As a result, managers may choose to do little or
nothing to help in the planning process.
 Inferior information. Facts that are out‐of‐date, of
poor quality, or of insufficient quantity can be
major barriers to planning. No matter how well
managers plan, if they are basing their planning on
inferior information, their plans will probably
fail.
 Focusing on the present at the expense of the
future. Failure to consider the long‐term effects of
a plan because of emphasis on short‐term problems may
lead to trouble in preparing for the future. Managers
should try to keep the big picture — their long‐term
goals — in mind when developing their plans.
 Too much reliance on the organization's planning
department. Many companies have a planning
department or a planning and development team. These
departments conduct studies, do research, build
models, and project probable results, but they do
not implement plans. Planning department results are
aids in planning and should be used only as such.
Formulating the plan is still the manager's
responsibility.
 Concentrating on controllable variables. Managers
can find themselves concentrating on the things and
events that they can control, such as new product
development, but then fail to consider outside
factors, such as a poor economy. One reason may be
that managers demonstrate a decided preference for
the known and an aversion to the unknown.

The good news about these barriers is that they can all
be overcome. To plan successfully, managers need to use
effective communication, acquire quality information,
and solicit the involvement of others.

Advantages of Planning
1. Planning facilitates management by objectives.
a. Planning begins with determination of
objectives.
b. It highlights the purposes for which various
activities are to be undertaken.
c. In fact, it makes objectives more clear and
specific.
d. Planning helps in focusing the attention of
employees on the objectives or goals of
enterprise.
e. Without planning an organization has no guide.
f. Planning compels manager to prepare a Blue-print
of the courses of action to be followed for
accomplishment of objectives.
g. Therefore, planning brings order and rationality
into the organization.
2. Planning minimizes uncertainties.
a. Business is full of uncertainties.
b. There are risks of various types due to
uncertainties.
c. Planning helps in reducing uncertainties of
future as it involves anticipation of future
events.
d. Although future cannot be predicted with cent
percent accuracy but planning helps management
to anticipate future and prepare for risks by
necessary provisions to meet unexpected turn of
events.
e. Therefore with the help of planning,
uncertainties can be forecasted which helps in
preparing standbys as a result, uncertainties
are minimized to a great extent.
3. Planning facilitates co-ordination.
a. Planning revolves around organizational goals.
b. All activities are directed towards common
goals.
c. There is an integrated effort throughout the
enterprise in various departments and groups.
d. It avoids duplication of efforts. In other
words, it leads to better co-ordination.
e. It helps in finding out problems of work
performance and aims at rectifying the same.
4. Planning improves employee’s moral.
a. Planning creates an atmosphere of order and
discipline in organization.
b. Employees know in advance what is expected of
them and therefore conformity can be achieved
easily.
c. This encourages employees to show their best and
also earn reward for the same.
d. Planning creates a healthy attitude towards work
environment which helps in boosting employees
moral and efficiency.
5. Planning helps in achieving economies.
a. Effective planning secures economy since it
leads to orderly allocation ofresources to
various operations.
b. It also facilitates optimum utilization of
resources which brings economy in operations.
c. It also avoids wastage of resources by selecting
most appropriate use that will contribute to the
objective of enterprise. For example, raw
materials can be purchased in bulk and
transportation cost can be minimized. At the
same time it ensures regular supply for the
production department, that is, overall
efficiency.
6. Planning facilitates controlling.
a. Planning facilitates existence of certain
planned goals and standard of performance.
b. It provides basis of controlling.
c. We cannot think of an effective system of
controlling without existence of well thought
out plans.
d. Planning provides pre-determined goals against
which actual performance is compared.
e. In fact, planning and controlling are the two
sides of a same coin. If planning is root,
controlling is the fruit.
7. Planning provides competitive edge.
a. Planning provides competitive edge to the
enterprise over the others which do not have
effective planning. This is because of the fact
that planning may involve changing in work
methods, quality, quantity designs, extension of
work, redefining of goals, etc.
b. With the help of forecasting not only the
enterprise secures its future but at the same
time it is able to estimate the future motives
of it’s competitor which helps in facing future
challenges.
c. Therefore, planning leads to best utilization of
possible resources, improves quality of
production and thus the competitive strength of
the enterprise is improved.
8. Planning encourages innovations.
a. In the process of planning, managers have the
opportunities of suggesting ways and means of
improving performance.
b. Planning is basically a decision making function
which involves creative thinking and imagination
that ultimately leads to innovation of methods
and operations for growth and prosperity of the
enterprise.

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