MODULE II

THE PLANNING PROCESS: PART 1

INTRODUCTION

Module II deals with the concepts of strategic planning, planning process, organizing and
staffing, and training. An in depth understanding of these terms will lead us to a better
appreciation of the nuances of the planning process. This module is divided into two (2)
lessons, namely: Organizing and Staffing, and Training (Lesson 1); and Environmental
Scanning (Lesson 2). Organizing and staffing and environmental scanning are the first 2
phases of the planning process. The planning process consists of ten (10) phases.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
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At the end of Module II, you should be able to:

1. Define the concepts of strategic planning, planning process, organizing, staffing, and
training;

2. Prepare the institutional profile of your organization;

3. Come up with a SWOT analysis of the internal and external factors that impact on
your institution’s vision; and

4. Frame your institution’s planning concerns.

LESSON 1
THE PLANNING PROCESS: TRAINING AND
ORGANIZING AND STAFFING

Definition of Planning and Planning Process

The formulation of a plan is not an easy task. It requires outstanding leadership and
steadfast commitment on the part of the planners and decision-makers and the active
participation of managers and the rank and file.

Strategic planning has three dimensions. First is the conceptual dimension which means a
knowledge of its meaning. A typical definition of strategic planning as a course of action
designed to achieve common ends is a common example. The first step of two sub-steps
in Figure 7 (Supra.) comes under this dimension.

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The second concept pertains to strategic planning as a process. The act of actually
preparing a plan falls within this dimension. Steps two to seven of the model fall under
this category. The third dimension is the praxis stage. Praxis is simply the combination of
theory and practice. Under this stage, major in the process are required to internalize
conceptual and procedural dimensions of strategic planning through the implementation
of programs and projects that are reflected in the plan and their monitoring and evaluation
in accordance with stated goals and objectives. Steps eight and nine reflect this dimension
(Miclat, 2005).

Several key questions emerge before planners whenever they engage in planning. The
most important ones are (NEDA, 1993):
1. a.What are the new developments in the organizational milieu? Shall we come
together and plan these changes to happen?
b. Are we knowledgeable and competent to plan these changes to happen? Do we
possess the proper values and attributes to do planning?
2. Where are we now? What resources are available at our disposal
3. Where do we want to go from here? What do we want to be?
4. How do we get there? What values shall we pursue?
5. What activities do we have to do? Are these feasible and viable?
6. What activities need to be done first that yield the greatest results?
7. How much money or fund is available or allowable for each activity?
8. How do we execute the plan? Who is responsible with which activity?
How do we determine whether or not plans are implemented as planned?
9. How do we determine whether or not objectives and targets are achieved?
Are they measurable and attainable?

Each of these questions corresponds to the series of steps in the strategic planning process
model shown in Figure 7 (Supra).

ORGANIZING AND STAFFING

Organizing and staffing is the first phase of the planning process. It seeks to answer the
questions: “What are the new developments in the institutional milieu?” “Shall we just
see them pass?” “Shall we organize and plan these changes?”

Organizing is the system by which the structure and allocation of jobs and functions are
determined (Koontz and O’Donnell, 1990). On the other hand, staffing is the method
wherein managers select, train, appoint, promote and retire individuals in the

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organization. Organizing pertains to the creation of executive positions and the
constitution of collegial groups, and eventually selecting and staffing these positions and
groups with individuals who possess the required educational qualifications, training and
experiences.
Training is the second sub-step under plan preparation. It searches for answers to the
questions: “Are we knowledgeable and competent to plan these changes to happen?” “Do
we possess the proper values and attributes to do planning?”

When the planning groups are in place particularly the president’s core executive
planning committee, the next thing done is to conduct a training program on strategic
planning.

TRAINING

According to the Civil Service Commission (1995), a training program has the following
major objectives: a) increases knowledge, abilities, skills and positive attitudes; b)
develops and taps people’s potentials to achieve the ends of the organization; c)
stimulates and nurtures self-actualization; d) invigorates the development of total
personalities; and e) provides a basis for promotion and career development in the
organization.

Training provides the avenue for the participants to do some exercises in developing the
vision of the organization. In the visioning activity, chances are high that the
organizational vision can be initially framed. The vision can then be rephrased into a
concise but complete statement and can be used to rally everyone in the organization to
internalize it.

LESSON 2
ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING

Environmental scanning, the second phase of the planning process, looks for answers to
the basic questions: “Where are we now?” “What resources are available at our
disposal?”

Environmental scanning is also know as situational analysis. It is the method of making

an intense examination of the environment in terms of a) demographic, social, economic,
political and physical characteristics and natural and technological dimensions; b) the
organization’s programs, services, resources and outputs; c) a SWOT analysis of the
internal and external factors that may affect the preferred future vision; and d) developing
a theoretical planning framework and the identification of relevant development issues
and concerns.

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The Environment

A dynamic organization like a university has to respond to and relate with its
environment to justify the very purposes of its creation and existence. The environment is
so volatile and vacillating that present conditions influence and dictate on the
organization.
The conditions being referred to are the demographic, social, cultural, economic,
political, natural, physical and technological circumstances or factors that describe the
environment. Various dimensions and indicators of the different factors that would
impact on the preferred ideal vision of the organization should be gathered, processed and
summarized. Once the environment had been precisely described and determined, setting
of goals and objectives become realistic.

Under economic aspect, indicators like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), tax and revenue
systems, per capita income, employment, underemployment and unemployment, poverty
levels, agriculture systems and fishery outputs are needed. Indicators like people
empowerment, political maturity and stability, political will and leadership, peace and
order situation, etc. are also necessary.

Finally, natural, physical and technology indicators like tourist attraction and
destinations, roads and bridges constructed, electronics and communication networks like
cable, mobile and phone line, and computers influence if not dictate the stage of
development of the area or locality (Miclat, 2005).

The end result of the environmental scanning is the socio-economic profile of the
operational area of the university. The ideal profile should include the nation, the region,
and the province where it is situated. But said profile of these areas should be short, brief
and focused only on selected applicable indicators.

Institutional Profile

The profile of the institution requires a discussion of its creation, history, evolution,
programs, services, and resources. Basically, it zeroes in on academic programs and
services, manpower, financial and physical resources, and general administration.

Academic matters that should be considered are course offerings and curriculum
development, enrolments and graduates, human resource/faculty development, program
accreditation, and research and extension services. Student support services should be
examined. Data and statistics on the mentioned concerns during the last five years would
be ideal. These would provide trends and directions for reliable and realistic projections.
The preparation of the institutional profile becomes doubly interesting if a development
plan had earlier been formulated. This would afford the planner the opportunity to
compare accomplishments with set targets and objectives and evaluate whether or not
stated goals, mission, and vision were attained (Ibid., pp.80-81).

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Academic Programs and Services

Instruction

Data on enrolments and graduates should be analyzed in terms of uptrends and slacks
because these are affected by internal and external factors. Factors like popular and
bankable programs, lack of faculty and financial resources, and strong economy would
certainly affect statistical trends. Performance in the licensure examinations and number
of employed graduates should also be known.

On program and curriculum development, the number of degree programs proposed,

approved and offered as well as curricular offerings revised and enriched should be
reported. The analysis should focus on developments particularly the advances made in
science and technology.

The data on faculty members by highest educational attainment, academic rank and those
on scholarship should be collected. Issues on needs and problems in areas of
specialization, and opportunities for scholarship and study grants should be looked into.
Short-term training programs, both in- and off-house attended by faculty should likewise
be collected.

Data on program accreditation, syllabi preparation and accreditation of degree programs

should be gathered to foster quality education, course offerings/degree programs should
be voluntarily submitted for accreditation by prestigious accrediting agencies. Rating in
terms of level per degree program should be collected.

Research service

Data on research review and planning; number of studies proposed, approved, completed
and on-going; number of mature technologies commercialized; number of in- and off-
house capability training for researchers; linkages established should be gathered; and
research awards received indicated.

Extension and training

Statistics on extension services should include the number of trainees served, classes
organized, training modules and materials developed, capability training for
extensionists, linkages established, and trainees employed. These should be presented on
the bases of comparison, contrast, and trend.

Student services

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Services to students that complement and enhance formal instruction are equally
important and should be included in the institutional profile. Data on library, guidance,
medical and dental, dormitory and housing, canteen and cafeteria, scholarship and
financial assistance, student council, student organ and publication, sports, physical
fitness and recreation, cultural and spiritual development, professional organizations, and
honor societies should be collected.

Income generating projects

The data needed are those on revenue generated from various projects; number of
feasibility studies conducted; capital and seed money granted by project type; and
linkages organized with other organizations and agencies. Data should be analyzed and
discussed in terms of return on investment (ROI) and profitability.

Physical Resources

Physical resources inventory aims to analyze the potentials of a program or service which
may contribute to the attainment of institutional goal. The inventory should include lands
and land improvements therein, infrastructures like buildings and structures, and
equipment, fixtures and accessories.

Lands and land improvement

Data on total land area, hectarage used as institutional for buildings and playgrounds, and
production for research and income generating projects should be collected. Analysis
should correlate land area used for various purposes with total student enrolment, faculty,
and staff. This would generate a ratio like square meter per person. If curricular programs
in agricultural are offered, a minimum standard hectarage for instruction, research and
production is required.

Infrastructures

Data on buildings and structures that should be collected are their number, cost, area,
type, and purpose. Classroom, library, shop room, laboratory room, audio-visual and
gymnasium are classified as academic. Offices, conference and function rooms,
convention center, training room, and canteen and cafeteria fall under administrative.
Building used for research, extension, greenhouse, warehouse, poultry, piggery, goat
house and other buildings of similar use are categorized under others.

Equipment, fixtures, and accessories

Equipment, fixtures, and accessories are the books, manuals, CD-ROMs, learning
modules and other instructional materials, journals, serials, and other references. The
others are laboratory apparatuses, shop tools and machineries, audio-visual and video

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materials electronics, computer and communications equipment and other appurtenances
that are component parts of offices, function and conference rooms.
Financial Resources

Financial resource plays an important role in the institution for without it the institution is
rendered inutile. Budget allocations for the last five years or so, grants and donations,
annual allotments by expense class, budgetary object, function, and programs should be
examined. Expenditures by class are Current Operating Expenditures (COE) and Capital
Outlay (CO). Items under COE are Personal Services (PS) and Maintenance and Other
Operating Expenses (MOOE). Under CO fall Lands and Land Improvement, Buildings
and Structures, and Equipment, Fixtures and Accessories.

Functions are the operations like instruction, research, and extension; support services
like student services and business projects; and general administration. The share of its
unit depends upon the number of academic units, i.e., faculty, department and college.
Programs also depend on the number of programs, degrees and other curricular programs
offered. For easier understanding, a graphical presentation of said data is preferred. The
analysis becomes more meaningful if ratios computed annually can be determined from
the data. These ratios are cost per student, cost per research study, cost per trainee;
allotment by expense class, by budgetary object, by function, by college, and by program.
Ratios can be computed by fiscal year, by academic year, or by calendar year depending
on the need.

General Administration

Under general administration, the items are that are examined are management, policies
and program development, and linkages. The administrative and operational governance
of the organization should be looked into. The existence of an organizational chart
showing boxes of positions are in place and that their functions, responsibilities and
relationships are categorically spelled out should be indicated. A flat structure hastens the
flow while a steep one makes the flow circuitous.

Management refers to the day-to-day operation of the organization, personnel, finance,

logistics and supplies, physical planning, and general house keeping. Statuses of
personnel, finance, logistics and suppliers and physical planning organization whether
they are functional, anomic or status quo should be reported. Processes should be
analyzed whether these contribute to the achievement of the institution's goals and
objectives. Lastly, these policies should be assessed whether these induce change or
promote status quo.

Linkage is the coordinative and cooperative effort made in building a network of

relationships with other agencies, and organization, both local and international, to
complement and maximize resources. These should be looked into whether these are
enabling, normative, functional or diffused. Linkages that are explored, arranged and

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established as to whether they are multilateral, bilateral, and institutional should also be
examined.

SWOT Analysis

The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis is a critical examination

and evaluation of the internal and external factors of both the environment and the
organization as they impact upon the institutional vision (Goodstein et al., 1993). This
calls for a study of each variable whether it is categorized as a strength-opportunity,
strength-threat, weakness-opportunity or weakness-threat. This is done with the use of a
two-by-two SWOT matrix. The factors are summarized in Table 1 (Infra.).

Variables that are classified under strength-opportunity are to be taken advantaged of as

opportunity to further build upon those identified strengths. Those that are classified as
strength-threat are considered strengths but nevertheless threaten the attainment of
institutional goals and objectives. An example of an internal environmental variable is
high population growth. While high population growth rate contributes to high student
enrolment, it may exact its toll on the university’s resources.

Under the weakness-opportunity panel, the planner should introduce or create ways of
overcoming the identified weakness and at the same time turn this into an opportunity.
An example of an internal environmental variable is “declining quality of education.”
“Lack of buildings and instructional materials and equipment” is a good example of an
internal institutional variable. Admittedly, both variables are considered weaknesses but
the planner can capitalize on these by making them opportunities to ask congress
decision-makers and managers for higher budgetary allocation.

Finally, on the cell which has the combination of weaknesses-threat variables, the planner
should devise strategies to reduce if not totally eliminate the negative effects of these
variables on the university’s goals and objectives. An example of the external
environmental variable is the “stringent education policies.” Under the internal
institutional variable, a good example is “low personnel morale.”

Table 1
SWOT Matrix

Opportunity Threat
S Dynamic and committed national High population growth rate
T executive leadership Higher government plans and policies
R High enrolment and participation rate Increased enrolment and graduates
E High literacy rate Advances in science and technology
N Satisfactory health status
G Variety of new degree programs
T Competent and strong faculty
H Capable and productive research and

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 S extension services
Highly conducive learning atmosphere
Dynamic and aggressive university
management
High faculty morale
Innovative and re-engineered
management system and
technology
Strong institutional linkages

W Inadequate capital and savings Modestly low GNP and GDP

E Inadequate transportation and IMF-imposed economic policies
A communication systems High inflation rate
K Elitist congress High poverty incidence
N Prevalence of traditional politics Low functional literacy
E Precarious peace and order situation Prolonged power outages
S Excessive bureaucratic red tape Compartmentalized justice
S Low social values and moral fiber Corrupt police system
E Declining quality of education High crime rate
S Lack of buildings and instructional Systematic graft and corruption
materials and equipment Proclivity to “jueteng”
Inadequate university income Stringent CHED policies
Low support to research
Low morale of support personnel
Typhoon and volcanic eruption
Source: Miclat, 2005, pp. 90-91.

Theoretical Planning Paradigm, Development Issues and Concerns

A paradigm is a framework that presents in visual and graphical illustration the

theoretical and conceptual systems model of an institution (Cali, 1993). The
organizational theoretical planning framework is presented in Figure 8. The framework
portrays the institution's programs and services in terms of inputs, conversion process,
outputs and outcomes as these are affected or influenced by its external environment. The
aim is to concretize the abstract nature of its activities as it attempts to maintain a
dynamic state of equilibrium. Developing a theoretical planning framework places the
institution in the center stage of the development effort. Thus the institution is portrayed
as a well-oiled machine which churns in inputs, processes them, and produced the outputs
and generate the outcomes (Miclat, 2005).

Resources (human, financial, equipment and facilities; public demand, and mandate) are
inputted into the institution. These inputs are processed by the system's "black box"
through formal and non-formal teaching-learning activities and other transformation
processes. The process is affected by the institution's internal strengths and weaknesses as
well as threats and opportunities from the external environment. Eventually, the

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institution produces its outputs which are in the form of graduates, research results,
trained clientele, and generated production incomes (Ibid.).

Development of National, Regional and Local Economics

External
Goal of total Human Development and World Competitiveness opportunities
Environmental
Super Region/Growth Quadrangle Threats
Analysis
Luzon Long-Term Perspective Development Plan
OUTCOMES
Millennium Development Plan

Internal
Technical Human
Analysis
Information Resource
OUTPUTS
Development

Strengths
Extension Research Weaknesses
Production Instruction
PROCESSES

People’s
University INPUTS
Demand
Mandate
Resources
human
financial
equipment
facilities
Figure 8. Development Planning Framework of a People’s Univerisity

The qualitative dimension of outputs will be in terms of manifest competence of

graduates and trainees, functional research outputs, conducive teaching-learning
atmosphere, higher income, better facilities and equipment, and innovative management
systems. Outcomes in terms of effects and impact are also monitored and evaluated.
Examples of effects are board examination performance, employed graduates and
trainees, commercialized mature technologies, etc. Results of impact are self-reliance and
self-sufficiency, dynamic citizenship and better quality of life (Ibid.).

Analyzing the variables derived from the environmental and institutional profiles using
the SWOT analysis two-by-two table prepares the planner to frame the development
planning concerns of the institution with the aid of the planning framework presented in
Figure 8 (Infra.). Said listing of issues and concerns is the articulated and synthesized version
of the planning framework graphically illustrated in the said figure.

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The development concerns of the institution is prepared using the variables categorized in
the SWOT matrix. It consists of three columns with table headings namely: Issues and
Concerns, Goals and Objectives, and Policies and Strategies as summarized in Table 2.

Table 2
Development Issues and Concerns

Issues and Concerns Goals and Objectives Policies and Strategies

High population growth rate 1. Train the manpower require- Human resource development
High enrolment ments in education, agricul-
Trade liberalization and ture, fisheries, engineering
globalization and technology, and arts and
Advances in science and sciences.
technology 2. Develop curricular programs Curriculum development
Competent and strong faculty needed in the economy
Declining quality of education 3. Upgrading the skills and Faculty and staff development
Low support to research and abilities of faculty and staff
development 4. Generate new knowledge Research and development
Low GNP and GDP growth rates through research
High poverty incidence 5. Conduct feasibility studies to Project planning and management
Low functional literacy rate establish project viability
Highly conducive learning 6. Conduct community outreach Extension and continuing
environment of mature technologies education
Lack of buildings and 7. Provide conducive learning Student services
instructional equipment environment to learners
Inadequate university income 8. Operate income-generating Income-generating projects
Strong national political support projects
Strong university leadership and 9. Establish network of linkages Institutional linkages
linkages for resource maximization
Innovative and re-engineered and complementation
management systems and 10. Re-engineer the organization Development management
technologies and adopt state of the art
Province, Region, Luzon and information and
National Long-Term communications technology
Development Plans, 1996-2025 in management.

Source: Miclat, 2005.

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 ACTIVITIES

Activity No. 1

Try to prepare the institutional profile (IP) of your college/university or institution of

your choice. The IP should present your institution’s creation, history and evolution as
well as briefly discuss academic programs and services, manpower, financial and
physical resources, and general administration.

Activity No. 2

Prepare the socio-economic profile of the operational area or external environment of

your college/university or institution. The SEP should cover the entire nation, the region
that hosts the institution, and the province or city where the institution is located. The
SEP should be brief and focused on selected applicable variables. Present the SEP in the
form of SWOT matrix using Table 1 as guide.

Activity No. 3

Using the environmental and institutional profiles indicated in the SWOT analysis, frame
or craft your institution’s planning concerns with the help of the planning framework in
Table 2.

Suggested Time Frame: Five (5) Weeks

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