Planning and managing business

Topics to be discussed…
(Including our Thoughts,
Opinion & Research)
• Planning, Importance of planning
Business Plan
Types of plans
Planning Process
Factors of effective planning
Strategy and Strategic planning method – SWOT Analysis
Communication
Communication Models
Importance of Communication
Types of Communications
Barrier to Communication
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Planning
Planning is the first function or the primary function of management. Planning is a management process of determining what an organization
needs to do and how best to get it done.
• Planning is looking ahead. Planning helps in forecasting the future, makes
the future visible to some extent.
• It bridges between where we are and where we want to go.
Planning is important to ensure that everyone is clear of what to accomplish.
Planning helps organization to adjust towards the environment.
Planning is being proactive rather than reactive which can increase
organization’s survival rate.

Importance of planning
• Planning is the management process of determining what an organization needs to do and how best to get it done.
Planning provides the direction and opportunity to analyze alternative courses of action and reduces uncertainties.
Planning has three components:-
Determine the firm’s goals.
Develop a comprehensive strategy for achieving those goals.
Design tactical and operational plans for implementing the strategy.
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Business plan
• A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons
why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals.
• Business plans may be internally or externally focused.
• Business plans are decision-making tools.
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The sample structure of a
Business Plan
 Executive Summary
 Business Description
 Plan of Operations
 Management Team
 Industry Analysis
 Competitor Analysis
 Marketing Plan
 Financial Plan
 Conclusion
 Appendix
 Glossary of Business Terms
 References - List all your references
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Types of Plans
Strategic Plans
Plans that apply to the entire organization purpose / direction
Strategic plans are made by the top management for the whole organization
Strategic plans are usually done for 5 years and above
Manager has to come out with strategic goals which are long term, organization
wide goals set by top management when doing strategic planning
Tactical Plans
Plans done by middle level management
Tactical plans are done for a period of 1 – 5 years span
Plans that basically focus on the problems of resources allocation
Manager has to come out with tactical objectives which are short term goals set by middle management that has to be achieved in order to reach top management’s strategic goals

Operational Plans
Plans developed by first line managers in support of tactical plans
It is the first line manager’s tools for executing daily, weekly and monthly activities
Operational plans has 2 major categories:-
Single Use Plan
Plan made for a one time activity where an activity that does not occur again
Once the activity is completed, the plan is no longer needed
Standing Plan
Plans that specifies how to handle continuing or recurring activities
Once the plan is made, it is useful over many years
For example: policies, procedures and rules
Types of Plans

Planning Process
Step 1 : Set Objectives
Establish the objectives and targets while taking into consideration of the mission, strategic plans / goals, environment and availability of resources
Step 2 : Analyze & Evaluate the environment
Once the objectives are established, manager must analyze their current situations and environment (internal & external) to determine what resources are available
Step 3 : Identify Alternatives
List or identify as many alternatives as possible to reach the goals
Step 4 : Evaluate the alternatives
Evaluate all the alternatives to determine which one or combination of alternatives is the most effective and efficient to achieve the goals / objectives
For each alternative, manager will look at the advantages & disadvantages

Planning Process
Step 5 : Select the best solution
Select the course of action / alternative that gives the most advantages and fewest serious disadvantages and is within the resources available and time limit
Step 6 : Implementing the plan
Determine who will be involved, what resources will be needed, how the plan will be evaluated and how reporting will be handed
Step 7 : Controlling & Evaluating the results
Monitor to ensure the plan is going according to expectations and make necessary adjustment, if needed

Ways to make plans
effective
Clearly define the mission of organization with detailed time frame and strategies
Organization needs to emphasis the importance of planning and to eliminate fear of change
Ensure there is effective communication and information flow so that there is
transparency and therefore able to get cooperation from employees
Obtain commitment and support from top management
Encourage employees at all levels to provide feedback and suggestions for planning to obtain their commitment
Develop contingency plans and strategies
Must acquire facts and information that are as current and reliable as possible to be accurate in planning
Practice Management by Objective (MBO) which is a technique that emphasize
collaboration objective setting by managers and subordinates

Strategy
• Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term, which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfill stakeholder expectations.
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Strategic planning method
SWOT Analysis
• SWOT------ Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
• SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business.
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Communications
• Communication is defined as, “It is a transfer of information from one communicator to another through the use of symbols”.
The parties involve in the communication is Sender and Receiver.
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information.
Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast distances in time and space.
Communication requires that the communicating parties share an area of
communicative commonality.
The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender.
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Communications Model
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Information
Sender
Transmitting the information
Noises or disturbance
Receiver
Feedback from receiver

SMCR Model of
Communication
Sender Message Channel Receiver

The Interactive Model
Thought: First, information exists in the mind of the sender. This can be a concept, idea, information, or feelings.
Encoding: Next, a message is sent to a receiver in words or other symbols.
Decoding: Lastly, the receiver translates the words or symbols into a concept or information that he or she can understand.

Importance of
Communications
• Communication is important to influence people to put effort to do work effectively.
• It helps employees and customers to transfer their emotions or feelings.
• For information to be transferred, communication is important.
• To ensure consistent controlling, information is required.
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Types of Communications
Communication can be categorized into different type of depending upon the level at which it takes place.
1. Personal communication and business communication
2. Internal communication and external communication
3. Upward communication and downward communication
4. Formal communication and informal communication
5. Verbal and Nonverbal communication
6. Mass communication
7. Global communication
8. Lateral communication
9. Interactive communication
10. Social communication
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Nonverbal Behaviours
of Communication
Eye contact: This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and increases the speaker's credibility. People who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.
Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and people will react favourably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen more.
Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures the listener's attention, makes the conversation more interesting, and facilitates understanding.

Nonverbal Behaviours
of Communication
Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates to listeners that you are approachable, receptive and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and the listener face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates disinterest.
Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading the other person's space. Some of these are: rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion.
Vocal: Speaking can signal nonverbal communication when you include such vocal elements as: tone, pitch, rhythm, timbre, loudness, and inflection. For maximum teaching effectiveness, learn to vary these six elements of your voice. One of the major criticisms of many speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice. Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring and dull.

Barriers to Communication
Culture, background, and bias — We allow our past experiences to change the meaning of the message. Our culture, background, and bias can be good as they allow us to use our past experiences to understand something new, it is when they change the meaning of the message that they interfere with the communication process.
Noise — Equipment or environmental noise impedes clear communication. The sender and the receiver must both be able to concentrate on the messages being sent to each other.
Ourselves — Focusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can lead to confusion and conflict. The “Me Generation” is out when it comes to effective communication. Some of the factors that cause this are defensiveness (we feel someone is attacking us), superiority (we feel we know more that the other), and ego (we feel we are the center of the activity).
Perception — If we feel the person is talking too fast, not fluently, does not articulate clearly, etc., we may dismiss the person. Also our preconceived attitudes affect our ability to listen. We listen uncritically to persons of high status and dismiss those of low status.

Message — Distractions happen when we focus on the facts rather than the idea. Our educational institutions reinforce this with tests and questions. Semantic distractions occur when a word is used differently than you prefer. For example, the word chairman instead of chairperson, may cause you to focus on the word and not the message.
Environmental — Bright lights, an attractive person, unusual sights, or any other stimulus provides a potential distraction.
Smothering — We take it for granted that the impulse to send useful information is automatic. Not true! Too often we believe that certain information has no value to others or they are already aware of the facts.
Stress — People do not see things the same way when under stress. What we see and believe at a given moment is influenced by our psychological frames of references — our beliefs, values, knowledge, experiences, and goals.
Barriers to Communication

Speaking Hints
When speaking or trying to explain something, ask the listeners if they are following you.
Ensure the receiver has a chance to comment or ask questions.
Try to put yourself in the other person's shoes — consider the feelings of the receiver.
Do not be vague, but on the other hand, do not complicate what you are saying with too much detail.
Make sure your words match your tone and body language (nonverbal behaviours).
Be clear about what you say.
Look at the receiver.
Vary your tone and pace.
Do not ignore signs of confusion.

Think & React
“He who fails to plan, plans to fail”- proverb
“Well planned is half done”- proverb
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