PLANNING Prepared by

Rajalakshmi.S

[POSDCORB]
5th Batch of Msc.Nursing
Josco College of
Nursing, Edappon
Mavelikara,Alappuzha
INTRODUCTION
Meaning:- A plan is forecast for accomplishment.
Planning is the foremost function of nursing management.

Planning is the foundation of nursing management as the other

functions of nursing management., viz. organizing, staffing,
directing and controlling.

Management
Management

Organizati Staffing Directing Controlling

on

Planning
CONCEPT OF PLANNING
Planning is considered as a process which involves the determination of future

course of action, i.e. why an action, what action, how to take action, when to

take action.

In order to achieve the objectives of nursing organization, planning is the first

step in the management function. As it precedes the execution of all other

managerial functions because it provides the frame of reference for future

decisions, reduces overall impact of changes and allows nurse manager to

organize, staff, direct and control the activities necessary to accomplish the

nursing organizational objectives.

DEFINITIONS OF PLANNING
Planning is the act or process of making plans for something

Oxford dictionary

Planning means the determination of what is to b done, how and where it

is to be done, who is to do it and how results are to be evaluated.

James Lundy

Planning is the function of a manager, which involves the selection from

among alternatives for the enterprise as a whole and each department
within it.
Koontz and O’ Donnell
NATURE OF PLANNING
Goal oriented

Basic to all managerial functions

Futuristic or forward looking

Involves selection of suitable course of

action

Flexible

Continuous process

Intellectual process

Planning process must allow flexibility

to meet the new challenges
APPROACHES TO PLANNING

Rational approach

Open system
approach
Pervasiveness
approach
Rational approach
Planning as rational approach tries to fill the gap between actual status and
desired status.
Planning is a rational approach for defining where one stands, where one wants to
go in future, and how to reach there.
Status Desired status

Gap

Status Planning required

Current status
T1 T2
Time
Open system approach

 It takes inputs from the environment, processes these, and exports

outputs to environment.

The open system approach of planning indicates that the

identification of gap between current status and desired status in
future and the action required to bridge this gap is influenced by a
variety of environmental factors- economic, political –legal,
technological, socio-cultural, and competitive.

These factors are dynamic and change with the time. Therefore,
while adopting open system approach in planning, manager have
to take into account the dynamic features of the environment.
Pervasiveness of planning

Planning is pervasive and extends throughout the organization.

Every manager has a planning function to perform.

Manager devote more of their time to planning and work with more
vital issues than the managers of the middle and lower level do.
PLANNING PROCESS
Identification of situation

Formulation of objective

Developing premises or conditions

Identification of alternatives

Evaluation of alternatives

Selection of the best possible alternatives

Formulation of supporting plans

Defining various activities and preparation of action plans

Communication of plans and securing cooperation

Follow up and review

TYPES OF PLANNING
Long term and Short term plans :
Long term planning involves more than one year period.
The planning of functional area is long term, where the
environmental factors are considered at the time of planning.
Short term planning is also known as tactile planning, usually
covers one year.
Why is the action required?
What action to be taken?
What will be the action accomplish?
What are the results of the action required?
What objectives and conditions must be meet?
Proactive and Reactive:

Proactive planning is the ‘planning in anticipation’. Organization

that use proactive planning use broad planning approaches, broad
environmental scanning, decentralized control, and reserve some
resources to be utilized for their future use. These organizations do
not wait for environment to change but take actions in advance of
environmental change. In India, companies like Reliance Industries,
Hindustan Lever, etc. have adopted this approach and their growth
rate has been much faster than others.

In reactive planning, organizations response comes after the

environmental changes have taken place. After the changes take
place , these organizations start planning.
Formal and Informal planning:

Formal planning is in the form of well structured process

involving different steps. Generally, large organizations undertake
planning in formal way in which they create separate corporate
planning cell placed at sufficiently high level in the organization.
Generally such cells are staffed by people with different
backgrounds like engineers, statisticians, MBAs, economists, etc.
depending on the organizations business.

Informal planning : As against formal planning, informal planning

is undertaken, generally, by smaller organizations. The planning
process is based on managers memory of events, institutions and
gut feelings rather than based on systematic evaluation of
STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL PLANNING
STRATEGIC PLANNING :
Strategic planning and long range planning is undertaken by the top
level which involves following activities.
1. Detail analysis of strength, weakness, opportunities and threats
(SWOT) of organization both internal and external environment.
2. Developing philosophy and formulations of policies and objectives
on the basis of analysis the organization.
3. Allocation of resources on the basis of priority.
4. Evaluation of activities to increase efficiency.
5. Providing proper direction to avoid duplication of services.
Meaning:

 Process to establish priorities on what you will accomplish in the future.

Nature of strategy planning

 A strategy is an overall approach and plan.

 Facilitates the good management of a process.

 It takes you outside the day to day activities of your organizations or

project.

 It provides you with the big picture of what you are doing and where you
are going.

 It gives you clarity about what you actually want to achieve and how to go
about achieving it, rather than a plan of action for day to day operations.
Need of strategy planning
It improves performance
Counter excessive inward and short term thinking
Solve major issues a macro level
Communicate to everyone what is most important
Characteristics of strategy planning
Address critical performance issues
Create the right balance between what the organization is capable
of doing vs. What the organization would like to do.
Cover a sufficient time period to close the performance gap
Flexible
Guide decision making at lower levels
Elements of strategic plan
Analysis
Choice
Implementation
Evaluation
Benefits of strategic planning
It serve as the road map to the work
It utilize the resources in best manner
It responds to environmental changes
Decreases the chances of mistakes
Provide a framework for communication
Guide
Gives a picture of employees in an organization
 TOOLS

1. SWOT ANALYSIS

2. BALANCED SCORECARD

3. STRATEGY MAPS
SWOT ANALYSIS
BALANCED SCORECARD
The balanced scorecard (BSC) is a

strategic approach and performance

measurement analysis tool that

enables organizations to translate a

company’s vision, mission, and

strategy into implementation.

STRATEGY MAPS
Strategy maps are diagrams that describe how an organization

creates values through connecting strategic objectives in cause and

effective relationships through the implementation of the balanced

scorecard perspective: finance, customer, business process,

learning and growth. Strategic maps are part of the balanced

scorecard framework to identify strategies for value creation.

OPERATIONAL PLANNING

This operational and short range planning is undertaken by middle

or supervisory level personnel. This involves

Planning for a few months to a financial year.

Planning for details budgeting, provision for short range goods and
it should be achieved within given period.

Extensional aspect of long range plan.

Operational plans should contain

1. Clear objectives

2. Activities to be delivered

3. Quality standards

4. Desired outcomes

5. Staffing and resource requirements

6. Implementation timetables

7. A process for monitoring progress

CORPORATE AND FUNCTIONALPLANNING
Corporate planning

The term corporate planning denotes planning activities at the top

levels, also known as corporate level,which cover the entire

organizational activities

The basic focus of corporate planning is to determine the long

term objectives of the organization as a whole, and then to

generate plans to achieve these objectives bearing in mind the

probable change in environment.

Functional planning

As against corporate planning which is integrative, functional

planning is segmental, and it is undertaken for each major function

of the organization like production/ operation, marketing, finance,

human resource/ personnel, etc.

REFERENCE
Jogindra Vati, Principles & Practice of Nursing Management & Administration

For BSc & MSc Nursing, Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers, New Delhi

L M Prasad, Principles and Practice of Management, Sultan Chand & Sons

Educational Publishers, New Delhi

Deepak K, A Comprehensive text book on Nursing management, Emmess

Medical Publishers, Banglore