Planning is the process of anticipating the future and creating the necessary action plan required to deal with those events. Companies which are successful in developing plans experience considerable advantage over those which do not anticipate the future. But the plans need to be consistent with company policy and strategic objective. Furthermore, plans should take into consideration the available resources otherwise the plans may not be realistic. There are several benefits of planning such as; focus, action, coordination, control, and time management. Plans allow the workforce to know where attention is required and ensures that all departments are working towards the same objective which in turn leads to company success and profitability. Action determines the necessary steps required to follow the plan, unless supervisors and managers do not know what the plan is they will not be able to direct action, Hence, planning helps devise these action plans. Adding on, planning helps in the coordination of teams, departments, and even individual employees. People will know beforehand what is to be done; consequently, there will be some sort of coordination between them. Planning even allows managers to control the work environment. Managers can get work done more effectively if they have a plan in front of them and these tasks will be completed within deadlines.
On the other hand, the planning process is not without its flaws. In a fast moving environment companies need to be able to adjust with changing trends in the market place. Therefore, planning can be a cause of hindrance in adapting to these changes. Some managers may exhibit rigidity and the failure to deviate from plans in order to accommodate the changes may even lead to a failure in reaching the ultimate goal. Moreover, planning is not possible for companies which are operating in dynamic environments as they cannot anticipate the future. Planning even restricts creativity as people just follow the guidelines and this limits their ability to come up with creative and new ideas. Furthermore, planning is a costly process in terms of time and costs.
The company structure of any business will depend upon the nature of the business. Organizations could choose from a number of structures depending upon its culture ranging from team based to hierarchical. Facebook is the sort of organization which requires creativity and the employees need to have autonomy to demonstrate this, whereas, AT&T deals in the construction industry where the employees need to follow a set procedure. A team based structure would ensure creativity and for employees to develop better ideas by discussing with each other. However, at AT&T the employees need to follow the supervisors orders otherwise the entire process may be disturbed. Hence, I expect the structure of a social networking website to differ from that of a company dealing in the production and construction sector.
Bringing change to any workplace comes with some sort of negativity from the workers side. Since, people anticipate job losses they are resistant towards accepting this change. The best managers can do in such a situation is to take the employees into confidence. Managers should discuss the reasons and outcomes of the change and they should be able to satisfy employee queries by being open to questions. Ensuring employees that this change will benefit them and the organization is the best way to get them to view this change from the management’s perspective. Moreover, if the change will not actually result in job losses then the managers can provide training before the actual implementation of the change. This will make employees more receptive and they will welcome change with a positive attitude.
Effective leaders are those who are able to adapt to the needs and requirements of the team. Every team and organizational culture requires a different leadership style to be adopted. Today, the trend of team-based organizations is on the rise as this fosters creativity. But the role of leaders cannot be undermined. Leaders help in motivation, providing guidance, fostering creativity, and promoting values. This proves that the job the leader is even more important today because in an environment where there are numerous distractions it is vital to keep employees on track and motivated. Democratic, Laissez Faire, Charismatic and People oriented are some of the leadership styles which would work better in a team based structure compared to a traditional hierarchical structure.
References
8 Ways to Deal with Resistance to Change. (n.d.). theBigRocks of Change RSS2. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://thebigrocks.com/resistance-to-change/
Benefits of Planning: Focus, Action, Coordination, Control, and Time Management. (n.d.). Boundless. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from https://www.boundless.com/management/strategic-management/the-planning-process/benefits-of-planning-focus-action-coordination-control-and-time-management/
Importance of a Leader In a Team. (n.d.). Small Business. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-leader-team-52168.html
Pujari, S. (n.d.). 6 main limitations of planning in any organizations. YourArticleLibrarycom The Next Generation Library. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business/6-main-limitations-of-planning-in-any-organizations/905/
