Section A

Global Planning

An ongoing struggle
As companies continue to struggle with bringing their strategic objectives in line with
day-to-day operational decisions, enterprise planning has become a business-critical tool
that sits at the heart of corporate success.

But the results of the Global Planning clearly show that there is still a chasm
between strategy and the execution of management tactics. Although many companies
are looking at planning as fundamental to the success of the business, there is still dissatisfaction
in the time taken and results gained.

One major issue revealed by the results is the tendency for organizations to over-complicate the
planning process with practices that delve too deeply into the details.

Companies are getting bogged down in the technicalities of each individual plan, taking
analysis and control to a granular level that examines the financials of specific business
units. This detracts time-sensitive resources from more strategic endeavors.

In addition, results show that measurement of progress against strategic objectives is

too often financially focused and concentrated internally. Best practice measurement
should reflect market share and qualitative positioning of a company in its sector, not
margins and revenue as the majority of respondents suggest.

The fight against time

The overwhelming proportion of respondents are unhappy with the time it takes to
update plans and with the overall accuracy of forecasts. For Operating Plans and
Financial Plans, companies are well behind their own targets in how often they would
like to be updating them. In fact, speed is still an issue across the board for organizations
committed to the planning process.

While over 90% of companies have a Financial Plan, there is still some lag in how often
they are updated. These results suggest a need for more automation in the process to
streamline modelling and ensure a smoother update that is in line with corporate strategy.
After all, if planning starts to cause problems, instead of solve them, it begins to
defeat its purpose.

A key issue for businesses in the future success of a planning strategy is the
improvement of the consolidation of actuals into the plan, and the visibility of specific
plans’ details and assumptions. Again, these results point to a need for a more
strategically aligned ‘planning and performance’ approach.
GLOBAL PLANNING

Planning for the future

There is still distance between corporate strategy and operational control, and this is
having a knock-on effect on the satisfaction of those companies who continue to fight to perfect
the planning process. In fact, less than a quarter of survey respondents admitted to
being ‘very satisfied’ with the control they have over the overall planning process. This
current level of dissatisfaction jeopardizes the overall effectiveness of the process itself.

The combination of a need for consolidated actuals, better visibility of assumptions and
quicker, more accurate forecasting suggests that businesses need procedures to make the
most of the potential that lies within the planning process.

The corporate world still seems to be crying out for the processes to ensure planning
works to bring business operation into line with the overall business strategy. Because
when operations and strategy fight for first place, it is the business that loses out.

What Do You Mean By JOB FIT

The Personality-Job Fit Theory assumes that examining a person's personality will give insight
into their adaptability in an organization. Basically, how well they will fit in and work. By
matching the right personality with the right company you can achieve a better synergy and
avoid pitfalls such as high turnover and low job satisfaction.

Person-Environment Fit: Looks at if the person and job are suited to one another and at how well
the individual will fit in the overall organizational environment.

The Organisational Competencies are Defined in order to look at the requirements of the
company which an individual is applying to. The Individual is then Assessed on these
competencies and the competency fitment between the individual and the company is found out.

The Competencies can be assessed using various tools like Psychological Tests, Competency
Based Interview, Situational Analysis, Etc.

If the Individual is found out to be good on competencies defined for the company using the
various tools, we can say that the Individual would be able to adjust in the company environment
and work culture and would be able to perform at his Optimum level, taking the performance to
maximum level when required
Stress management strategy #1: Avoid unnecessary stress
Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed.
You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

 Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal
or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities when you’re close to reaching
them. Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.
 Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and
you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that
person or end the relationship entirely. 
 Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the
TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the
market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.
 Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your
conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people,
stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.
 Pare down your to-do list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If
you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.”
Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Stress management strategy #2: Accept the things you can’t

change
Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death
of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with
stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier
than railing against a situation you can’t change.

 Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control—
particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on
the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.
 Look for the upside. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.”
When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If
your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from
your mistakes.
 Share your feelings. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist.
Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you
can do to alter the stressful situation.
 Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people
make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by
forgiving and moving on.