Planning as a Function of Management: In the world of management, planning is as fundamental as it gets. If you recall, the first of the managerial function is planning. Many believe planning is the most fundamental of the managerial functions because all other functions, including organizing, leading, controlling and staffing, stem from the planning function. Planning prepares organizations for tomorrow today by assessing what an organization wants to accomplish and how it will go about achieving that goal.

Managers will spend much of their time planning for all sorts of things that may or will occur in the organization. Typically a manager will create a plan that is aimed at accomplishing some organizational goal such as increasing sales or improving customer service. However, it is important to note that planning is an ongoing step that can be highly specialized based on an organization’s goals, division goals, departmental goals and team goals. It is up to the manager to recognize what goals need to be planned within their individual area.

For example, let’s say Erin the enrollment manager has noticed a steady decline in the number of students enrolling in the business program, so she creates a goal to increase enrollments in that area. Erin must first spend time mapping out the necessary steps she and her team of enrollment advisors need to take to increase the enrollment numbers of undergraduate business students. These steps might include things like increasing online advertisements on business-related sites, creating a new advertisement for television or radio, asking current business students to talk to their friends and family about enrolling in the program or going out to local high schools or community colleges to speak directly with students who may be enrolling at the university in the next semester. The steps are then organized into a logical pattern so that Erin and her team can follow it.