LETTERS: In surviving the world today, we must have heard all the issues related to planning.
While people talked about how good they are at making plans, they fail to implement them.
Involvement of management is part of the planning process, as employees will receive the impact of a plan or who are instructed to carry it out.
Organisational management and behaviour studies show that involvement is key to a pla's success. Without involvement, a plan likely to be unsuccessful.
The involvement of all parties is very much needed in the planning. Employees' involvement can increase creativity, understanding, acceptance and commitment until the last stage of the planning.
It has to be reminded that planning is not an activity and not the absolute right of an individual called the boss or the policymaker. Gaining support from every level must be made at implementation.
It is not easy to make plans, but it is not difficult to plan, too. It becomes easy when the planning goes through an evaluation process and considers various factors before it is confirmed.
Whether it is easy or difficult to plan depends on the coverage of impact from the planning. Sometimes what we plan does not turn into what we carry out.
There tend to be changes along the way. This requires control and monitoring to ensure that the main aims are achieved.
Without control, planning cannot confirm if it can be done smoothly or otherwise. Without planning, control will be difficult as we do not know what is to be measured and evaluated about progress.
The dynamic, ever-changing environment necessitates adaptive planning to ensure that individuals and organisations can react towards change and reduce the negative impact of the change.
Also, a contingency plan, or "plan B", which expects events in the future and identifies appropriate action to deal with the situation, has to be thought out as well.
Some individuals or groups do not like to plan but instead take the "wait and see" approach (reactive). This can incite panic and increase stress among individuals and groups.
Today, this reactive attitude mostly leaves a negative impact, increases costs, and affects productivity.
Be it proactive or reactive, one thing for sure is that individuals' lives and careers begin with planning. Organisational management theory shows that planning is the first function of managing an institution. Its success or failure rests on the already formed planning.
Organisational management scholars see planning as something comprehensive, involving interpreting the objectives of the organisation, creating the overall strategies to achieve the goals, and developing the overall plan to coordinate and integrate all activities in the organisation.
The key in planning is the objective, where this can be defined as the outcome and requirement that one wishes to achieve. It is good to have a plan in life, be it informally or stated on paper as a policy or rule.
Dr Zafir Khan Mohamed Makhbul
Professor and dean, UKM-Graduate School of Busin ess (UKM-GSB), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
