Steps of the planning process, from the start of a business

Today we already know about some enterprises that have got success, like Coca-Cola,
Apple, Sony, Amazon, etc. But also we make questions about how they did it. What did
they have used and how? They are too much questions that enclose us. But in the study
of Management, we can understand so many things of this issue. In this essay, we are
going to see the secret of success, because its one of the several tools (or even the
only one) that a company needs to achieve success. Im talking about of Planning.
Planning has a process, as the name of this essays refers, but first, we have to know
what Planning is, and how can we relate it to a process. What is the Planning Process?
How does the Process work?
According to BusinessDictionary.com, Planning is: 1A basic management function
involving formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of
needs or demands with the available resources.
And according to the same source, a Process is: 2The sequence of interdependent and
linked procedures which, at every stage, consume one or more resources (employee
time, energy, machines, and money) to convert inputs (data, material, parts, etc.) into
outputs. These outputs then serve as inputs for the next stage until a known goal or end
result is reached.
3

Management Planning is the process of assessing an organization's goals and creating

a realistic, detailed plan of action for meeting those goals.
So, the Planning Process is the steps a company takes to develop budgets to guide its
future activities. The documents developed may include:

Strategic plans (long-range, high-level company goals)

Tactical plans (shorter-term, specific plans to work toward goals in the strategic
plan)
Operating plans (detailed plans for a specific department to implement)
Project plans (plans to implement projects such as launching new products or
building a new plant)

Although the specific steps differ slightly from company to company and depend on
which type of plan you're developing, there are general steps that should be taken in
order to ensure a good result. The steps in the planning process are:

Develop objectives

Develop tasks to meet those objectives

Determine resources needed to implement tasks
Create a timeline
Determine tracking and assessment method
Finalize plan
Distribute to all involved in the process

The Web page Chron.com sets the steps of Management Planning Process as below:

Establish Goals
Identify Resources
Establish Goal-Related Tasks
Prioritize Goals and Tasks
Create Assignments and Timelines
Establish Evaluation Methods
Identify Alternative Courses of Action

So, using a comparative table, we can get:

Steps

The steps in the planning process

According to Study.com:
According to Chron.com:
1
Develop objectives
Establish Goals
2
Develop tasks to meet those objectives Identify Resources
3
Determine resources needed to Establish Goal-Related Tasks
implement tasks
4
Create a timeline
Prioritize Goals and Tasks
5
Determine tracking and assessment Create Assignments and Timelines
method
6
Finalize plan
Establish Evaluation Methods
7
Distribute to all involved in the process Identify Alternative Courses of Action
As we can see, those steps are very similar.

Strategic plans
The Strategic planning is a set of procedures for making decisions about the
organizations long-term goals (strategic goals) and strategies.
The strategic goals are major targets or end results that relate to the long-term survival,
value, and growth of the organization.
Tactical plans

A Tactical planning is a set of procedures for translating broad strategic goals and plans
into specific goals and plans that are relevant to a distinct portion of the organization,
such as a functional area like marketing.
Operating plans
An Operational planning is the process of identifying the specific procedures and
processes required at lower levels of the organization.
Project plans
The project plans exist to implement projects such as launching new products or
building a new plant. In this case, is related the called Strategic management Process
a process that involves managers from all parts of the organization in the formulation
and implementation of strategic goals and strategies. (A diagram of the strategic
management process is shown in the attachment of this document).
It integrates strategic planning and management into a single process. Strategic
planning becomes an ongoing activity in which all managers are encouraged to think
strategically and focus on long-term, externally oriented issues as well as short-term
tactical and operational issues.
The strategic management process has six major components:
1. Establishment of mission, vision, and goals.
The first step in strategic planning is establishing a mission, a vision and goals for the
organization.
2. Analysis of external opportunities and threats.
The mission and vision drive the second component of the strategic planning process.
Successful strategic management depends on an accurate and thorough evaluation of
the competitive environment and macro-environment.
3. Analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses.
As managers conduct an external analysis, they will also assess the strengths and
weaknesses of major functional areas inside their organization.
4. SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis and strategy
formulation.
Once managers have analyzed the external environment and the internal resources of
the organization, they will have the information they need to assess the organizations
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Such an assessment normally is
referred to as a SWOT analysis.

5. Strategy implementation.
As with any plan, simply formulating a good strategy is not enough. Strategic managers
also must ensure that the new strategies are implemented effectively and efficiently.
6. Strategic control.
The final component of the strategic management process is the strategic control. A
strategic control system is designed to support managers in evaluating the
organizations progress with its strategy and, when discrepancies exist, taking corrective
action. The system must encourage efficient operations that are consistent with the plan
while allowing flexibility to adapt to changing conditions.

In conclusion, companies use all of these plans to achieve their goals, the Planning
Process that is the steps a company takes to develop budgets to guide its future
activities. Managers lead companies, but a whole society is working together to be
successful, implementing plans, strategies that are patterns of actions and resource
allocations, also organizing and controlling, all to achieve the organizational goals.

References

Bateman, T., & Snell, S. (2011). Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive
World (Ninth Ed.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
1

. What is planning? definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2016, from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/planning.html
2

. What is process? definition and meaning. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2016, from
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/process.html
3

. What is the Planning Process - Steps & Concept. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2016,
from http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-planning-process-steps-lessonquiz.html
The Basic Steps in the Management Planning Process. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10,
2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/basic-steps-management-planning-process17646.html