Types Of Planning
What are the different types of planning? A plan is a diagram or preconceived things to do to achieve a certain goal. Planning involves resources and timing, as it dictates what resources you will need to achieve your goal and when you will need to do them. This is why when it comes to business, knowing how to effective make plan is very important. This is also why there are many different types of planning that have been designed.
Strategic plans are types of planning that are designed with thinking about the entire organization. Planning strategically starts with focusing on the mission and vision of a certain company. The top level people, the CEOs and VPs, then design different strategies to achieve the goal of the company leaning towards their mission and vision. Basically, the strategic types of planning are painting a picture of the future of the company basing on its mission and vision. It is planning where the company will be in the near future. Basically, this is the framework that will be used towards the lower levels of the company.
Tactical plans are types of planning that support the strategic types of planning. Here, the strategic plans are taken into consideration one by one. Each of the strategies will be broken down into how each of them will take effect. Then, the top level people in the company will device plans on how to go about each level of the plan. Basically, the tactical plans are focused on planning the moves of the lower level departments so that their strategic plan will be met.
Operational types of planning are those that are at the bottom of the plan. Here, the plans to achieve the company goals are made and devised by the low level department managers. These types of planning are focused on specific processes, steps, and procedures of what the company front liners can do so that the goal of the company will be met. There are single use and ongoing operational plans. As the name implies, these are operational plans that can only be used once for many reasons – mainly because it will not be effective if it was done again. These are types of planning that include steps and procedures that will not be done again or may have expiration. Ongoing operational plans, on the other hand, are the types of planning that are built to last for years. These are plans that can be used over and over again. These are plans that outline policies and rules of the company. Some examples of these are hiring plans, training, assessments, and even procedure outlines.
Contingency plans are types of planning that are best used in fast paced businesses. The contingency plans allow managers to be change savvy and flexible. They ensure that there are alternative moves that a company can and will do if certain plans fail. These are the back up plans when the other types of planning end up failing. It may seem like hard work, but it’s better to have these than just let the company fail.
