It is the basic function of management. It deals with chalking out a future course of action & deciding in advance the most appropriate course of actions for achievement of pre-determined goals. According to KOONTZ, “Planning is deciding in advance - what to do, when to do & how to do. It bridges the gap from where we are & where we want to be”. A plan is a future course of actions. It is an exercise in problem solving & decision making. Planning is determination of courses of action to achieve desired goals. Thus, planning is a systematic thinking about ways & means for accomplishment of pre-determined goals. Planning is necessary to ensure proper utilization of human & non-human resources. It is all pervasive, it is an intellectual activity and it also helps in avoiding confusion, uncertainties, risks, wastages etc.
Planning is the conscious determination of a future course of action to achieve the desired results. Henry Fayol observes that management should chalk out a plan of action which is the result envisaged, the line of action to be followed, to stages to go through and methods to use. It is the process of thinking before doing. It means the determination of what is to be done, how and where it is to be done, who is to do it and how results are to be evaluated.
Importance: Managementplanning is an inevitable prerequisite for the attainment of business objectives by rational use of resources. It facilitates the building up of the organizational structure and helps in the critical appraisal of the relative merits and demerits of alternative policies and actions and choosing ‘the best’ method for achieving the pre-determined targets. In short, it introduces dynamism in business administration.
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