Based on content, planning can be divided into: The reporting and statistical method consists of developing draft plans based on reports, statistics and other information characterizing the real state and changes in the characteristics of the enterprise's activities. Cl

Planning is the most important management function, which, like management, changes in the process of economic development.

The centralized system of economic planning corresponds to an adequate system of national economic planning. Therefore, the transition to a market management concept required a revision of all planning elements.

The economic management system in our country has developed under the influence of a number of specific factors:

· Monopoly of state-owned enterprises due to the predominance of state ownership;

· A rigid system for establishing economic ties between enterprises;

· Restriction of independence of business entities;

· Concentration of production, orientation of production specialization not towards self-financing, but towards national economic efficiency;

· Closedness of the country's unified national economic complex.

Planning as a form of government influence on the economy exists in almost all countries. It fits organically into the market economic mechanism. It is important to determine what and how the state should plan, and what should be planned by the enterprises themselves (subjects of planning).

To solve this problem it is necessary to consider the types of planning:

1. From the point of view of the mandatory nature of planned targets:

· directive;

· indicative planning.

Directive planning is a process of making decisions that are binding on planning objects. The entire system of socialist national economic planning was exclusively directive in nature. Therefore, for failure to fulfill planned targets, enterprise managers bore disciplinary and sometimes criminal liability. Directive plans are, as a rule, targeted in nature and are characterized by excessive detail.

Indicative planning is the most common form of government planning for macroeconomic development throughout the world. Indicative planning is the opposite of directive planning, because the indicative plan is not binding in nature. In general, indicative planning is of a guiding, recommendatory nature.

In the process of activity, when drawing up long-term plans, indicative planning is used, and in current planning, directive planning is used. These two plans must complement each other and be organically linked.

2. Depending on the period for which the plan is drawn up and the degree of detail of the planned calculations, it is customary to distinguish:

· long-term planning (perspective);

· medium-term planning;

· short-term planning (current).

Long-term planning covers a period of more than 5 years, for example, 10, 15 and 20 years. Such plans are designed to determine the long-term strategy of the enterprise, including social, economic, scientific and technological development.

Long-term planning should be distinguished from forecasting. In form they represent the same process, but in content they differ. Forecasting is a process of foresight, built on a probabilistic, scientifically based judgment about the prospects for the development of an enterprise in the future, its possible state. Forecasting allows you to identify alternative options for the development of a planned process or object and justify the choice of the most acceptable option. In this sense, forecasting is one of the stages of long-term planning.

Without this attribute, long-range planning would be fortune-telling, not scientific foresight.

Medium-term planning is carried out for a period from 1 to 5 years. At some enterprises, medium-term planning is combined with current planning. In this case, a so-called rolling five-year plan is drawn up, in which the first year is detailed to the level of the current plan and is essentially a short-term plan.

Current planning covers a period of up to a year, including semi-annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly (ten-day) and daily planning.

· strategic planning;

· tactical planning;

· operational calendar planning;

· business planning.

Strategic planning, as a rule, is focused on the long term and determines the main directions of development of the enterprise.

Through strategic planning, decisions are made about how to expand business activities, create new business areas, stimulate the process of satisfying consumer needs, what efforts should be made to satisfy market demand, which markets are best to operate in, what products to produce or what services to provide, etc. what partners to do business with, etc.

The main goal of strategic planning is to create the potential for the survival of an enterprise in a dynamically changing external and internal environment that creates uncertainty in the future.

Tactical planning. If strategic planning is considered as a search for new opportunities for an enterprise, then tactical planning should be considered the process of creating prerequisites for the implementation of these new opportunities, and operational scheduling should be considered the process of their implementation.

As a result of tactical planning, a plan for the economic and social development of the company is drawn up, representing a program of production, economic and social activities of the company for the corresponding period.

Tactical planning covers the short and medium term. As for the objects and subjects of this planning, they can be very different. In this case, one rule should be remembered: the only way to make the tactical planning process controllable is to plan only the main types of products and costs, the most important functions. But with different structures of plans, the relationship must be observed: “costs - output - profit price”. Otherwise, tactical planning becomes impractical.

Operational scheduling. Operational scheduling (OCP) is the final stage in planning the business activities of a company. The main task of the OKP is to specify the indicators of the tactical plan in order to organize the systematic daily and rhythmic work of the enterprise and its structural divisions.

In the process of operational scheduling, the following planning functions are performed:

· The time for performing individual operations for the manufacture of assembly units of products and products as a whole is determined by establishing associated deadlines for the transfer of items by the supplying workshops to their consumers;

· Operational preparation of production is carried out by ordering and delivering to workplaces materials, workpieces, tools, fixtures and other equipment necessary to fulfill the production plan;

· Systematic recording, control, analysis and regulation of the production process is carried out, preventing or eliminating its deviations from the planned one.

Operational calendar planning links all these elements of the enterprise into a single production organism, including technical preparation of production, logistics of production, creation and maintenance of the necessary reserves of material resources, sales of products, etc.

Business planning. A business plan is intended to assess the feasibility of implementing a particular activity. This is especially true for innovations that require large investments for their implementation.

A business plan for an investment project is developed to justify:

· Current and long-term planning of enterprise development, development (selection) of new types of activities;

· Opportunities for obtaining investment and credit resources, as well as repayment of borrowed funds;

· Proposals for the creation of joint and foreign ventures;

· The feasibility of providing government support measures.

4. In the theory and practice of planning, other types of planning can also be distinguished, covering both the main and secondary aspects of this process.

In particular, planning can be classified into the following categories:

I. By degree of coverage:

· general planning covering all aspects of the problem;

· partial planning, covering only certain areas and parameters;

II. By planning objects:

· target planning, related to the determination of strategic and tactical goals;

· planning of means, relating to the determination of means to achieve set goals (planning of such potentials as equipment, personnel, finances, information);

· program planning, which relates to the development and implementation of specific programs, such as production and sales programs;

· planning activities, for example, special sales, hiring staff;

III. By planning area:

· sales planning (sales goals, action programs, sales costs, sales development);

· production planning (production program, production preparation, production progress);

· personnel planning (needs, hiring, retraining, dismissal);

· planning of acquisitions (needs, purchases, sales of excess stocks);

· planning of investments, finances, etc.

IV. By planning depth:

· aggregate planning, limited by given contours, for example, planning a workshop as a sum of production areas;

· detailed planning, for example, with detailed calculations and descriptions of the planned process or object;

V. For coordinating private plans over time:

· sequential planning, in which the process of developing various plans is one long, coordinated, sequentially carried out process, consisting of several stages;

· simultaneous planning, in which the parameters of all plans are determined simultaneously in one single planning act;

VI. To account for data changes:

· strict planning;

· flexible planning;

VII. In order of time:

· ordered (current) planning, in which another plan is developed after the completion of one plan (plans alternate sequentially one after another);

· rolling planning, in which, after a certain planned period, the plan is extended for the next period;

· extraordinary (eventual) planning, in which planning is carried out as needed, for example, during reconstruction or reorganization of an enterprise.

Factors influencing the choice of planning form.

In practice, enterprises use various types of planning, and most often a combination of them. A set of different types of planning, applied simultaneously to a specific business entity, is called a form of planning.

The choice of one form or another of planning depends on many factors. The dominant position among them is occupied by the specifics of the enterprise. For example, a clothing manufacturing company plans its products for no more than 1-2 years, and a shipyard - at least 5-10 years.

Among the many factors influencing the form of planning, three main ones can be distinguished:

a) Factors determined by the specifics of the company (concentration of capital, level of mechanization and automation of company management, geographical location of the company, etc.)

The most important factor determining intra-company planning is the concentration of capital. For example, the minimum size of fixed production assets in a number of sectors of American industry is hundreds of millions of dollars. The concentration of capital is increasing due to the processes of diversification and internationalization of capital.

The influence of scientific and technological progress on the production process and its management is expressed in the complication of the division of labor and the manufactured product and, as a result, the complication of the organizational and technical structure of the enterprise and association.

The structure of the largest companies includes dozens of scientific laboratories, hundreds of production divisions, a complex system of logistics and sales of finished products, including sales agents and technical service enterprises for consumers of their products. This puts forward strict requirements for the coordination of production participants and the need to plan their joint efforts.

Of no small importance is the fact that recently in the economies of many countries there has been a significant lag in the growth rate of the population's solvency from the growth rate of production capacity.

This circumstance leads to an increased role of sales in the activities of companies. In this case, marketing becomes the most important planning object in the enterprise.

Mechanization and automation of management have a significant impact on the process of intra-company planning, which is reflected in the forms and methods of planning. Since it allows you to improve the degree of coherence and balance of plans of various functional areas of production and economic activity and structural divisions of the enterprise, improves the overall culture of planned work, etc.

b) Environmental factors.

The external environment influences the form of planning through two groups of factors: direct and indirect influence.

The group of direct impact factors includes those factors that determine the direct influence on the planning decisions made in the form of various conditions and restrictions. Subjects of such influence can be suppliers and consumers, competitors, trade unions, central and local government bodies, etc.

The group of indirect influences includes factors that do not have a clear impact on the planning decision.

But, nevertheless, they can affect the implementation of the decision through an indirect impact on the interests of the participants in the implementation of the decision, changing the conditions for its implementation, etc. this may include the state of the economy, international events, political factors, scientific and technological progress, socio-cultural factors, etc.

The number of factors to which business entities are required to respond, as well as the level of variation of each factor, constitute the complexity of the external environment, which may have different dynamics of change.

Environmental mobility is the rate of change in the environment of an enterprise. For different business entities, these changes can be of varying intensity. For example, for enterprises in the electronics, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, the external environment changes at a faster pace than for the confectionery industry or enterprises producing spare parts for automobiles.

c) Criteria determined by the specifics of the planning process.

Whatever economic entities the planning process is carried out, it always has the same structure and must comply with standard requirements, which also applies to the choice of specific forms of planning.

For example, when choosing a planning form, the following criteria can play a decisive role:

· Completeness of planning, which implies that when drawing up a plan, all events and factors that are important for making a decision must be taken into account. The presence of such conditions makes it possible to draw up a complete plan associated with a system of private plans.

· Detailed planning, meaning the need to determine with a sufficient degree of detail all planned indicators.

· Planning accuracy, which must be high enough to achieve the goal.

· Elasticity and flexibility of planning. These requirements mean the plan's ability to adapt to changing conditions. Otherwise, there is a danger of it being separated from the real conditions in which the plan is being implemented.

A criterion for the effectiveness of intra-company planning is also the degree to which it is used in practice as a guide to action.

Many managers and specialists often note that enterprise plans “don’t work.” Upon careful analysis, it turns out that they cannot work. This is mainly because the plans cover too long a period, cover very large systems, and are subject to a huge number of random processes and events. Therefore, in the internal company planning system it is necessary to have an organizational structure that ensures constant adjustment of plans in accordance with changes in the external environment and internal conditions.

And so the factors considered have a significant impact on the methods and organization of intra-company planning, which is manifested in the following.

1. There is a need to separate functions in enterprise management and planning its activities. The division of labor is carried out in the direction of separating strategic planning functions from operational current planned work, separating R&D planning from the development and implementation of production and sales plans.

In the organization of planning and control over the implementation of plans, the principles of division of labor and management hierarchy, the stages of which are determined by the organizational management structure of the enterprise (OSU), apply to a greater extent. The organizational structure of enterprise management is the key to understanding the methodology, tasks and organization of intra-company planning.

2. The complexity of the plan increases. It becomes a complex of various indicators, activities, different in nature, timing, and performers.

The planning period is growing, in which the beginning and end of work on the development and development of a new product, the acquisition and use of new equipment can be laid down. In this regard, the role of long-term plans and the need to coordinate them with medium-term and current plans is increasing.

3. Planning turns into a special sphere of economic activity, which can be carried out under certain economic and material conditions. It becomes a necessary condition for the functioning of the company at the current level of socialization of production. But the increasing complexity of the planning process leads to the fact that it can only be carried out by a large company that has the appropriate specialists, equipment and information for this purpose. Intra-company planning services are turning into a kind of instrument for concentration and control of capital. Thus, planning, being largely the result of the concentration of capital, turns into the most important factor in the centralization of capital.

Planning is “one of the management functions, which is the process of choosing the goals of the organization and ways to achieve them,” that is, a function associated with determining the goals and objectives of the organization, as well as the resources necessary to achieve these goals. Planning, in essence, is one of the ways in which management ensures that the efforts of all members of the organization are directed towards achieving its common goals. That is, through planning, the management of an organization seeks to establish the main directions of effort and decision-making that will ensure unity of goals for all its members.

In management, planning occupies the main place, embodying the organizing principle of the entire process of realizing the goals of the organization.

The essence of planning is to justify goals and ways to achieve them based on identifying a set of tasks and work, as well as identifying effective methods and methods, resources of all types necessary to complete these tasks and establish their interaction.

For the first time, the general principles of planning were formulated by A. Fayol. The main principles of planning are the principle of unity, the principle of participation, the principle of continuity, the principle of flexibility and the principle of accuracy.

The principle of unity is that an organization is an integral system; its components must develop in a single direction, that is, the plans of each division must be connected with the plans of the entire organization.

The principle of participation means that each member of the organization becomes a participant in planned activities, regardless of their position, i.e. The planning process must involve all those affected by it. Planning based on the principle of participation is called “parsitive”.

The principle of continuity means that the planning process at enterprises must be carried out constantly, which is necessary due to the fact that the external environment of the organization is uncertain and changeable, and, accordingly, the company must adjust and clarify plans taking into account these changes.

The principle of flexibility is to ensure the ability to change the direction of plans due to the occurrence of unforeseen circumstances.

The principle of accuracy is that any plan should be drawn up with as much accuracy as possible.

Often these principles are supplemented by the principle of complexity (dependence of the development of an organization on a comprehensive system of planned indicators - the level of development of equipment, technology, production organization, use of labor resources, labor motivation, profitability and other factors), the principle of efficiency (development of such an option for the production of goods and services, which, given the existing limitations of the resources used, ensures the greatest efficiency of activity), the principle of optimality (the need to select the best option at all stages of planning from several possible alternatives), the principle of proportionality (a balanced account of the resources and capabilities of the organization), the principle of science (taking into account the latest achievements of science and technology ) and others.

Planning can be classified in various areas:

According to the degree of coverage of areas of activity, the following are distinguished:

General planning (planning of all areas of the enterprise’s activity);

Private planning (planning of certain areas of activity).

Strategic planning (search for new opportunities, creation of certain prerequisites);

Operational (implementation of opportunities and control of the current progress of production);

Current planning (planning that links all areas of the enterprise’s activities and the work of all its structural divisions for the coming financial year).

According to the objects of functioning, the following are distinguished:

Production planning; - sales planning;

Financial planning; - personnel planning.

By periods (coverage of a period of time) there are:

Short-term or current (from a month to 1 year)

Medium term, (from 1 year to 5 years)

Long-term planning (more than 5 years).

If changes are possible, the following are highlighted:

Rigid (does not involve changes);

Flexible (with such planning, changes are possible).

Strategic planning is “the construction of a management system that ensures the organization’s long-term competitive advantage in the field of management.” That is, strategic planning aims to provide a comprehensive scientific substantiation of the problems that an enterprise may face in the coming period, and on this basis to develop indicators for the development of the enterprise for the planning period. Strategic planning sets the direction for an organization's activities and allows it to better understand the structure of marketing research, the processes of consumer research, product planning, promotion, and sales, as well as price planning.

Operational planning most often covers a five-year period, as it is the most convenient for updating the production apparatus and the range of products and services. They “formulate the main objectives for a specified period, for example, the production strategy of the enterprise as a whole and each division; service sales strategy; financial strategy personnel policy; determination of the volume and structure of necessary resources and forms of material and technical supply.” Such planning involves the development in a certain sequence of activities aimed at achieving the goals outlined in the long-term development program.

Current planning is carried out through the detailed development (usually for one year) of operational plans for the company as a whole and its individual divisions, in particular, marketing programs, plans for scientific research, plans for production, and logistics.

2. Current planning in the organization

Current planning, as already noted, is planning for a period of up to one year.

Current planning is carried out through the detailed development for a period of up to one year of operational plans for the company as a whole and its individual divisions on an international scale, in particular, marketing programs, plans for scientific research, plans for production, and logistics.

The main links of the current production plan are calendar plans (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual), which represent a detailed specification of the goals and objectives set by long-term and medium-term plans. The calendar plans provide for expenses for the reconstruction of existing facilities, replacement of equipment, construction of new enterprises, and training of service personnel. Thus, current planning is embodied in short-term and operational plans, which link all areas of activity of the organization and its divisions for the coming period.

Short-term plans at the enterprise level are developed in the form of production programs for a period of several weeks to a year. They relate to the volume of production, material and technical supplies, the procedure for using equipment, etc. If demand changes, supply disruptions, or disruptions in the production process, programs can be adjusted.

The production program is based on the sales forecast, which is based on received orders, sales volumes for the past period, assessment of market conditions, etc., as well as on available personnel, production capacity, stocks of raw materials. It is the basis for drawing up current estimates (budgets) for resource consumption, taking into account their existing reserves, expected deliveries, and room for maneuver.

In essence, production programs contain decisions on how to operate a plant's technological system in response to changing market demands and ensure that the required products and services are produced at minimal cost.

Operational plans are their own production programs, tasks for sections and teams, that is, formed by units based on the part of the program that concerns them. The elements of such a plan are most often determined by:

1) a calendar plan that determines the sequence and timing of the launch, processing and release of each type of product and their batches by day of the week; routes of their movement, loading of equipment; need for tools, etc.;

2) shift-daily assignments containing information about the volume of specific types of products that must be produced in this and adjacent workshops;

3) a schedule for the movement of products and their individual parts within the framework of the technological process.

In addition, many sources indicate that current, or operational, planning is what a manager at an enterprise does every day. This includes planning the operation of an enterprise for a short period of time. This can be a day, a month, a quarter, a half-year or even a year. It depends on the strategic and tactical goals of the enterprise.

Ongoing planning is usually driven by the need to respond to many factors. For example, there should be an immediate reaction of the manager to the occurrence of force majeure circumstances that could cause the death of people. These include natural disasters (flood, fire, earthquake, etc.). Force majeure circumstances also include strikes. The manager must quickly respond to emergency situations that arise, to changes in the external or internal environment of the enterprise in order to prevent undesirable consequences or extract maximum benefit for the enterprise. This may include resolving current problems and tasks, such as conflicts.

With current planning, unlike strategic planning, there is no significant time gap between the fixation at the level of consciousness of the action to be performed and the implementation of such an action in real mode. The manager must be aware that the reactions of operational planning and operational action can have very important strategic consequences. He must be able to prolong the consequences of an operational decision, current planning, operational action for a future time period. Otherwise, very dangerous phenomena or situations may arise for the enterprise.

In this case, the current planning process consists of several stages:

Identifying the problem;

Determining possible actions;

Preliminary selection of one of certain possible actions;

Analysis of possible consequences;

Final choice of action.

Moreover, the manager must be able to see not only the current moment, but also foresee the impact of the decision on the future time period. That is, what is meant here is that the manager must be able to draw up strategic plans, organize tactical planning and engage in ongoing planning.

That is, the main thing for current planning is its interdependence with strategic planning. The company's core values ​​and missions need to be considered when making ongoing plans, but ongoing planning and operational responses can have very important strategic implications. In addition, after achieving a strategic goal, it is necessary to replace it with the next strategic goal and organize current planning accordingly.

Successful strategic planning is inextricably linked with ongoing planning, which is the detailed work of concretizing the strategy. The daily work of a manager involves constantly making many decisions, each of which is accompanied by a procedure for ongoing planning of the progress of their implementation.

If you begin to thoroughly understand what factors influence a person’s life in general, then you can find a great variety of them. Any area of ​​a person’s life and each sphere of his activity, of course, has a number of peculiarities inherent to them, and sometimes what is applicable to one is completely inapplicable to another. But despite this, there are certain fundamental principles that are effective in absolutely everything. One of these principles, or more precisely, laws that can be considered guarantors of success in any field, can safely be called the ability to plan and prioritize. We will find out why this is so important in this time management training lesson.

After studying this material, you will learn about what business planning is and what its features are, why it is necessary and important to daily compile lists of work, personal and household chores. In addition, we will look at several effective planning techniques and principles, some of which are designed for every day, and some have a more long-term focus - for a week, a month, a year and even several years. This online training course will be useful for people of all ages and professions, and you will be able to use the information received to achieve your goals from the first day.

What is planning? Types of planning. Prioritization

The planning process

Planning is the process of optimal allocation of resources necessary to achieve set goals and objectives, as well as a set of processes that are associated with their formulation and implementation. Planning is an integral part of time management (time management) and, when used skillfully, increases its effectiveness many times over.

In its simplest and most formal interpretation, planning is characterized by the following stages:

1. Stage of setting goals (tasks)
2. The stage of drawing up a plan to achieve the goal
3. Variant design stage
4. The stage of identifying the required resources, as well as their sources
5. Stage of identifying executives and briefing
6. The stage of recording planning results in physical form (plan, project, map, etc.)

Types of planning

Planning, as already noted, is applicable to absolutely any sphere of life, but, depending on this, it may have its own characteristics, which, in turn, is expressed in different forms and contents.

Types of planning differ:

By necessity

• Directive planning - implies the mandatory execution of assigned tasks, always has a specific addressee and is characterized by increased detail. An example is the setting of tasks related to solving issues of state/national significance, work in enterprises, etc.
• Indicative planning is the antipode of the first: it does not imply mandatory and precise execution, it has a more recommendatory and guiding nature. This type of planning is widespread in the system of macroeconomic development of various countries.

By timing of achieving goals

• Short-term (current) planning - calculated for a period of up to 1 year and can consist of plans for a day, a week, a month, a quarter, or six months. The most common type of planning. It is used both by ordinary people in everyday life and by leaders of various organizations.
• Medium-term planning - calculated for a period from 1 year to 5 years. This form of planning is common in the activities of government agencies, firms and enterprises, but is often used by strategically thinking people. In some cases, it can be combined with current planning, which in its entirety is rolling planning.
• Long-term (long-term) planning - usually calculated for several (5, 10, 20) years in advance. Most often, this type of planning is used at large enterprises in order to perform tasks of a social, economic, scientific and technological nature, etc.

• Strategic planning is mainly long-term. With its help, the main directions in the activities of organizations are determined: expanding activities, creating new directions, stimulating the work process, studying the market and its segments, studying demand, characteristics of the target audience, etc. Widespread in the activities of organizations.
• Tactical planning is most often also long-term. Its main goal is to create the necessary conditions for the implementation of opportunities found through the use of strategic planning. As a rule, tactical planning is used when planning the economic, social, and production development of an organization. Widespread in the activities of organizations.
• Operational calendar planning is the final stage of strategic and tactical planning. Serves mainly to implement the process of achieving the desired results. With its help, all indicators are specified and the work of the organization is directly organized. Operational calendar planning involves determining the time for completing assigned tasks, preparing for the implementation of the process, maintaining records, monitoring and analyzing the process. Widespread in the activities of organizations.
• Business planning - serves to assess the feasibility, relevance and effectiveness of planned activities. The preparation of a business plan is done very carefully, taking into account all kinds of indicators, opportunities, proposals, etc. It is widespread in the activities of organizations and the work of businessmen.

In addition to the considered types of planning that take into account primary aspects, there are also those that take into account secondary ones. They, in turn, differ:

By coverage

• General planning - covers all the details of the context.
• Partial planning - covers some details of the context.

By planning objects

• Target planning - involves determining the goals required to achieve.
• Planning of means - implies planning of the means necessary to achieve the result (finance, information, personnel, equipment, etc.).
• Program planning involves the development of programs necessary to achieve results.
• Action planning involves determining the actions necessary to achieve a result.

By depth

• Aggregated planning occurs taking into account general parameters.
• Detailed planning takes place taking into account all the details and features.

By coordinating plans over time

• Sequential planning involves a long process that consists of several smaller stages.
• Simultaneous planning - implies a one-time short stage.

Taking into account data changes

• Rigid planning implies mandatory adherence to specified parameters.
• Flexible planning implies the possibility of non-compliance with specified parameters and the emergence of new ones.

In order

• Orderly planning - implies the sequential implementation of plans, one after another.
• Rolling planning - involves extending the plan for a subsequent period after its completion in the current period.
• Extraordinary planning - implies the implementation of a plan as the need arises.

Prioritization

Prioritization is the process of setting priorities - an indicator of the predominance of the importance of a particular plan item over the rest. Prioritization is important for the reason that among a large number of different nuances and features, there are those that have the least significance and have minimal impact on the process of achieving the goal, and those that play a dominant role in this process. The ability to prioritize can be called another indicator of the effectiveness and efficiency of any planning process, because The emphasis on the most significant points of the plan is often decisive in the question of whether the goal will be achieved or not.

As you can see, planning as a process is characterized by a considerable number of different nuances. Any of the types can be used separately, or maybe in combination with others. The main thing when choosing is to take into account all the features of your activity. But, no matter how many types of planning exist, no matter how many we consider them, no matter how many examples we give, all this will have no value if we do not understand why we need to plan anything at all, what advantages it has how will this help us in life? It is these questions that we will try to answer in the next section.

Why do you need planning?

Considering that our trainings are devoted to methods of increasing personal productivity, here and further in the lesson we will consider planning in relation to the activities of a person, and not organizations, firms, enterprises, etc.

Planning is the factor that largely determines not only whether a person achieves what he wants, but also what he achieves at all. The fact is that the planning process itself does not have some single and narrowly targeted effect, but has a complex effect, influencing many personal indicators of a person, the direction of his actions and his lifestyle in general. Below we list just a few of the positive aspects of planning and the benefits it provides.

Specification of the goal

As soon as a person begins to plan his activities, his thinking is activated, his creative potential is activated, and his brain activity increases. You can want something and “sort of” imagine it, while thinking that you know exactly what you want. But as soon as you sit down to draw up a plan and begin to think it through carefully, your goal begins to transform from abstract to concrete. Gradually you begin to imagine it in detail, take into account its features, and somehow vary it. There is a saying that says that a ship that does not know where it is going will never reach its destination. So is a person - if he does not know what exactly he wants, he will never achieve it. Planning makes it possible to understand and realize what you really want and achieve a specific goal.

A clear action plan

Even if we know what we want, we may never achieve it if we don’t know what we need to achieve it. Our goals can be mega-global, good and wonderful, but they will remain just a picture of what we want to have and do. This state of affairs can be corrected through planning. Firstly, it allows you to determine the specific steps that need to be taken in order to achieve the desired result. Secondly, it helps to identify the resources needed for this and their sources. Thirdly, it makes it possible to set a time frame. This way, once you have an accurate plan, you will know what you need to do to implement it, who or what you will involve in it, and most importantly, when you want to do it. Planning significantly speeds up the process of achieving a goal, because... is a practical guide to action.

Action, not thoughts about action

Until we have a plan to implement what we want, we are constantly thinking about this topic. We think about how much we want it, how nice it would be if we had it, we reflect on how we lack it now, perhaps we even imagine ourselves in the process of doing it. But there is one BUT - besides thinking, we do nothing else. And this indicates that, most likely, this will all end. It is important to understand that when you start planning, you are already taking the first and biggest step towards realizing your plans. This alone moves you forward significantly. And then a chain reaction begins: after drawing up a plan, you begin to carry out specific actions, the first point is followed by the second, the second by the third, etc. If you can instill in yourself the habit of planning even the smallest things, you will immediately notice how your desires begin to become reality. Another proverb can be applied here: “Water does not flow under a lying stone.” Get off the ground and start taking action. Planning creates the energy potential necessary to achieve a goal.

Possibility of maneuvering

Without knowing specifically what needs to be done to achieve the desired results, we can neither determine nor coordinate our actions. We can have a rough idea of ​​what we need to do, but if we act without a plan, we risk reaching a dead end or even moving further away from the goal. When you have a plan and begin to act, you can, so to speak, manage the entire process online: it doesn’t work this way, try it differently, one thing doesn’t work, think about what can replace it. Having a clear plan will allow you to maneuver along your path, vary different methods and methods. As a result, you will have a comprehensive plan that will take into account all possible nuances and options for the development of events. The ability to plan is the ability to be flexible and ready for any situation.

High probability of success

And, perhaps, the most important advantage of planning is that, although not a 100% guarantee, it is still a huge probability of success. How many people we see who want very little, but without a plan, never achieve anything! And, in contrast to them, there are a huge number of examples of people who have fantastic goals that seem unattainable, despite everything they achieve them and even more. What distinguishes the former from the latter is the ability to plan and prioritize. Determine your goals, start making a plan - after a while you will see that you have reached your goal, and thousands of onlookers without a plan remain in their places. Planning will make you a leader in any field!

Surely, now it has become much clearer to you why you need to plan and think through all your steps. Planning is carried out by businessmen and entrepreneurs, heads of huge corporations, creative people, writers, actors and show business stars, in general, all those who are commonly called successful people. Planning is part of the life and activity of any person who wants to increase their productivity and achieve serious results. It is for this reason, in addition to sitting down at the table, taking a pen and a piece of paper, and starting to plan something, today there are specially developed planning techniques that have proven their effectiveness more than once. We will give a brief overview of the most popular of them in the next section.

Planning techniques

ABC planning

The prerequisite for this method is experience that clearly shows that the percentage ratio of important and unimportant matters is always approximately the same. Any tasks, based on their importance in achieving the set results, should be distributed using ABC letter values. It follows from this that the tasks that have the greatest importance and significance (A) should be completed first, and then all the others (B, C). You need to plan your time using this technique, taking into account the importance of the tasks, and not the effort required to complete them.

The ABC method is based on three basic rules:

• Category A - the most important matters. They make up about 15% of all the things you do, but they produce about 65% of the results.
• Category B - important matters. They make up about 20% of your total business and produce about 20% of your results.
• Category C - matters of the least importance. They make up about 65% of all your business, but also bring about 15% of your results.

You can find out more about this technique here.

Eisenhower principle

This technique was proposed at one time by the American General Dwight David Eisenhower. It is an excellent additional meter for quickly making the most important decisions. This principle involves setting priorities according to the criteria of importance and urgency.

You must divide all your tasks into four main categories and perform them in order of priority:

• Category A - the most urgent and important matters.
• Category B - urgent but not important matters. It is important to be able to separate them according to the criterion of importance from the first category, otherwise you can waste time on them, leaving the really important things for later.
• Category C - not urgent, but important matters. Here you need to take into account the urgency factor: due to the fact that these things are not urgent, they are often put on the back burner, after which they become urgent, which is not a good thing. Therefore, their implementation should never be neglected. Such tasks, among other things, can be delegated - entrusting their implementation to someone else.
• Category D - non-urgent and non-important matters. Often, a person is most concerned about such things and spends most of his time on them. Learn to accurately identify cases in this category. They should be done last, when the previous ones are completed.

You can learn more about the Eisenhower method here.

Pareto rule

This rule is sometimes called the “80/20” principle. It was formulated by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto. Its basic premise is that the smallest amount of action produces the greatest amount of results, and vice versa.

Visually, this rule looks like this:

• 20% actions = 80% results
• 80% actions = 20 results
• 20% of people own 80% of all capital
• 80% of people own 20% of total capital
• 20% of customers generate 80% of revenue
• 80% of customers generate 20% of revenue
• Etc.

Apply this rule to your daily activities, and you will see that 80% of everything you do in a day is only 20% of the result you need, and 20% of well-planned actions bring you 80% closer to your cherished goal. Based on this, remember that you need to start the day with the few, but most difficult, important and urgent tasks, and only then take on the easy and no less important, but present in a much larger volume. It is very convenient to apply the Pareto rule in combination with the ABC technique or the Eisenhower principle.

You can read more about the “80 to 20” principle.

Timing

The term “timing” refers to a method designed to study the time spent. It is carried out by recording and measuring the actions performed. The main goals of timekeeping are to determine how time is spent, identify “time sinks,” find time reserves, and develop a sense of time.

Keeping timekeeping is quite simple: experts advise recording all your actions with an accuracy of 5 minutes for 2-3 weeks. Visually it looks something like this:

• 8:00-8:30 - woke up, stretched, washed
• 8:30-9:00 - drank tea, turned on the computer, checked email
• 9:00-9:30 - went to social network
• 9:30 - 10:00 - prepared documents for work
• Etc.

Entries can be supplemented with comments and additional parameters. There are several ways to keep track of time:

• On paper - in a notebook, notebook, notebook
• Using a gadget - mobile phone, e-reader, tablet
• Using a voice recorder
• Using special software on a computer
• Online - special Internet applications
• Gantt chart (see below)

Based on the data obtained through timing, you will be able to identify important features in the distribution of your time and adjust them. Read more about timing.

Gantt chart

The Gantt chart is a bar chart method developed by American management specialist Henry Gantt. It is used to illustrate plans and schedules for various projects. The diagram consists of stripes that are oriented along the time axis, and each of them displays a separate task that is part of the project. The vertical axis is a list of tasks. In addition, you can mark various indicators on the chart - percentages, pointers, timestamps, etc.

Using a Gantt chart, you can clearly track the process of project implementation and the effectiveness of the actions performed. But, in any case, this method will have to be supplemented with others, because the diagram is not synchronized with dates, does not display the resources spent and the essence of the actions performed. It is best used for small projects. The diagram itself is often included as an add-on to various project management applications.

SMART technology

The SMART goal setting technique is recognized as one of the best in the world. It originates in NLP and we discussed it in detail in one of our lessons. Here we will give only a brief description of this technique.

The word “SMART” itself is an acronym formed from the first letters of five words that define goal criteria. Let's look at them in a little more detail.

• Specific - the goal must be specific, i.e. when setting it up, you must clearly imagine the result you want to achieve. For example, “I want to become an anthropologist.”
• Measurable - the goal must be measurable, i.e. you must represent the desired result in quantitative terms. For example, “by 2015 I want to earn 50 thousand rubles monthly.”
• Attainable - the goal must be achievable, i.e. you must take into account the characteristics of your personality: abilities, predisposition, talent, etc. For example, if you have a hard time with mathematics and you absolutely do not understand this science, it is better not to set yourself the goal of becoming an outstanding mathematician.
• Relevant - the goal must be relevant to your other goals. For example, achieving a medium-term goal should implicitly include the achievement of several short-term ones.
• Time-bounded - the goal must be defined in time and have a clearly defined time frame. For example, “I want to lose weight from 95 to 80 kg in six months by such and such a month.”

All together, this will allow you to determine the necessary actions to achieve the desired result, take into account the maximum number of factors and constantly monitor your progress. Read more about the SMART technique.

List of goals and objectives

The simplest technique with which you can plan time and tasks. It's just a list of things to do. Such lists are very convenient because they do not require any additional resources, such as a PC, mobile applications or the use of complex schemes, but they also allow you to clearly display everything you need to do and control this process.

Making a list of goals and tasks is very simple: you can simply write down on a piece of paper everything that you need to accomplish and when, and upon completion, simply cross out the completed items. Or you can make it a little more complicated: make a table in which there will be columns: “task”, “priority”, “due date”, “completion mark”.

All presented techniques can be used individually or in combination. Try all the options - for sure, after a while you will select the most convenient and suitable one for yourself, and maybe even create some of your own based on them.

To make things easier for you when planning your activities and time, we would like to conclude this lesson by presenting to your attention some very effective principles that you can use in your daily life.

Planning principles

• Try all the planning methods discussed and choose the one that suits you best. Use it daily and in all matters.
• Don't try to remember everything - take notes. As the saying goes, “the dullest pencil is better than the sharpest memory.”
• If you have a lot of things to do, don’t try to do everything. Take the time to identify the most important and priority ones and start implementing them. Finish the rest later.
• At the end of one week, make an action plan for the next. Do the same at the end of each day.
• Get into the habit of carrying a notepad and pen or a voice recorder with you to record interesting thoughts that come to you.
• Keep a “success journal” in which you will note all your successes, no matter how small, every day. This will keep you constantly motivated and remind you that you are on the right track.
• Learn to say no. This ability will save you from wasting time, striving for unnecessary goals and communicating with unnecessary people.
• Always think before you do anything. Weigh the pros and cons. Try not to commit rash actions and actions.
• Always when you are in the process of something, remember yourself, be aware of what you are doing at the moment. If you feel that you are not moving forward, quit this activity.
• Look critically at yourself: identify your bad habits that waste time, things that you like to do, but that do not move you towards your goal. Then gradually and one by one replace these habits and activities with new ones that are effective.
• Determine your main priorities in life and live in accordance with them. This way you can always be focused on the main thing and won’t waste time.
• Do not perform unnecessary unnecessary actions, do not do other people’s business. You must move forward yourself, but do not allow yourself to be used as a tool to achieve other people's goals if you yourself are not happy about it.
• Regularly and systematically allocate time for self-improvement: reading books, watching educational and motivating videos, training your skills, etc.
• Don't stop there - having achieved one goal, set another, more serious one. This way you can always be in good shape, have incentive and motivation.

Applying all of the above recommendations will allow you to be successful in any field and achieve your goals in the shortest possible time. The most important thing is to constantly work on yourself and put into practice the acquired skills. In order for everything you learned from this lesson to begin to bear fruit, you need to start planning your future activities today. Start with any method, practice, hone a new skill and make it a habit. Of course, it’s impossible to plan everything in our lives, but a lot can be done.

You can find additional interesting materials regarding planning and efficiency on our 4brain resource:

Test your knowledge

If you want to test your knowledge on the topic of this lesson, you can take a short test consisting of several questions. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question. The points you receive are affected by the correctness of your answers and the time spent on completion. Please note that the questions are different each time and the options are mixed.

Planning serves as the basis for making management decisions and is a management activity that involves developing goals and objectives for production management, as well as determining ways to implement plans to achieve the goals. Forecasting in the management cycle precedes planning and sets as its task the scientific prediction of production development, as well as the search for solutions that ensure the development of production and its parts in an optimal manner. Since forecasting always precedes planning, it can be considered a subfunction of planning. As a rule, planning is based on the past performance of the organization and is carried out with the aim of determining the ways of development of the company in the future and its control. In this regard, the reliability of the plan is largely determined by the accuracy of past values ​​of actual indicators. However, planning in any organization is based on incomplete data, despite an established statistical and accounting system. The problem is that not all aspects of a company’s functioning can be assessed, in particular, for example, the political situation, the actions of competitors and economic cycles, etc. Market indicators are the starting point when planning an enterprise’s activities. The planning process includes the following stages:

• development of common goals;
• determination of detailed and specific goals of the company for the planned period;
• determining ways and means to achieve goals;
• monitoring the achievement of set goals using plan-fact analysis, adjusting goals.

All goals that contribute to the successful operation and development of an enterprise can be grouped into three areas:

• 1. Material goals- is the release of competitive products that are in demand in the market. Material goals are achieved through the implementation of strategies.
• 2. Cost (monetary) goals- these are expected future financial results (net present value, estimated and book profit, return on equity, increase in the market value of the enterprise). Cost goals can be characterized by absolute and relative indicators (balance sheet profit and return on equity). Cost goals are realized only through the achievement of material goals.
• 3. Social goals (humanitarian goals) are determined by behavior towards the organization’s personnel, as well as towards social groups and individuals in the internal and external environment of the company. These goals can have both monetary and non-monetary expressions, in particular, for example, the image of the company, interesting work, the level of staff income, cultural events, environmental protection. Achieving social goals is possible through the implementation of cost and material ones.

The main task of planning is to ensure the successful operation and development of the enterprise. All economic entities are interested in this. These are, first of all, shareholders or property owners (their capital increases), employees of the enterprise (their income increases), the state (budget revenues are ensured), enterprises that supply materials and components (their business develops), banks (timely repayment of loans).

TO planning tasks How do the process of practical activity relate to:

• formulating the composition of upcoming planned problems, determining the system of expected dangers or expected opportunities for the development of the enterprise;
• justification of the put forward strategies, goals and objectives that the enterprise plans to implement in the coming period, designing the desired future of the organization;
• planning the main means of achieving set goals and objectives, selecting or creating the necessary means to move closer to the desired future;
• determining resource needs, planning the volumes and structure of necessary resources and the timing of their receipt;
• designing the implementation of developed plans and monitoring their implementation.

Planning in an organization can be classified according to the following criteria:

• 1. According to the content of plans:
  • financial and investment;
  • technical and economic;
  • social and labor;
  • organizational and technological;
  • operational and production;
  • supply and sales;
  • business planning, etc.

Each of these types of plans implies the choice of a system of planned indicators that characterize the types of activities, timing of work, intermediate or final results, etc.

2.By control level depending on the number of linear links

In organizations, the following types of planning are distinguished:

• corporate;
• branded;
• plant or other types of plans related to top management or the entire enterprise. The shop planning system, as a rule, is used at the middle level of management, and the production system - at the lower level of management and covers individual planning areas.
• 3.According to justification methods in production
  • administrative;
  • market;
  • centralized, used in organizations with state, municipal, federal or other forms of public ownership;
  • indicative, common in joint-stock companies and business partnerships.

Market planning is carried out on the basis of prices for services and goods, as well as the interaction of supply and demand. The excess of demand over supply for a given product leads to an increase in prices for goods and, accordingly, expansion of its production is planned. A decrease in prices and sales volume of a product leads to its decline. Directive, or centralized, planning implies the establishment by a higher management body of an organization that is subordinate to the planned values ​​of indicators. Indicative planning is government regulation and control over prices and tariffs, taxes, bank loan interest rates, the establishment of a minimum wage (minimum wage) and other indicators.

• 4. By duration There are such types of planning as:
  • current or short-term (for a period of up to one plan year);
  • annual or medium-term (ranging from 1 to 3 years);
  • long-term or long-term (for a period of 3 to 10 years).
• 5. By area of ​​application planning is usually divided into:
  • individual;
  • in-shop;
  • intershop;
  • brigade
• 6. By development stage The following types of planning are distinguished:
  • final;
  • preliminary.
• 7. According to the accuracy of compilation planning can be:
  • clarified;
  • enlarged.

The accuracy of planning is determined by the methods used, planning periods, regulatory materials, professional level and production experience of personnel.

• 8. By goals planning divided into:
  • tactical;
  • operational.

The strategy of an economic organization is a set of main goals and the main ways to achieve these goals. To develop a company's strategy means to determine the general directions of its activities. Strategy is, first of all, the organization’s response to the objective external and internal circumstances of its activities.

Typically, strategic planning is for the long term, although in many organizations the strategy is based on medium-term planning. At the same time, strategic and long-term planning, as already noted, are ambiguous processes. Strategy is not a function of time, but primarily a function of direction. It is not just focused on a given period of time, but includes a set of global ideas for the development of the company.

Responsibility for developing a strategy lies primarily with the head of the enterprise, since strategic planning requires high responsibility and large-scale coverage of actions by the manager. The planning team provides strategic planning with an analytical approach to making decisions about the future of the firm. Tactical planning deals with decisions about how enterprise resources should be allocated to achieve strategic goals. Tactical planning usually covers short and medium term periods, i.e. is the subject of activities of middle and lower management.

The difference between strategic and tactical (operational) planning is the difference between goals and means. Decision making at the tactical planning level tends to be less subjective because good, specific information is more available to managers engaged in this type of planning. In this case, quantitative analysis methods based on computer technologies are used. Tactical decisions are easier to evaluate because they can be expressed in more specific numerical results.

• 9. According to the orientation of planning ideas to the past, present and future:
  • reactive - aimed at the past;
  • inactive - based on ideas of the present;
  • proactive - aimed at the future;
  • interactive - based on the best ideas of the past, present and future.

This classification of types and systems of intra-company planning is the most complete. It characterizes the main content of enterprise planning.

1. From a point of view mandatory plan targets - directivesnew and indicative planning.

Directive planning is a decision-making process that is binding on planning objects. Directive plans are, as a rule, targeted in nature and are characterized by excessive detail.

Directive planning can serve as an effective means of solving many national economic problems of national importance, for example, in the field of environmental protection, defense, social policy, economic restructuring, etc. Experts in the field of planning note that directive planning, being an alternative to market self-tuning, is nevertheless not the antithesis of the market. This is its product and an important element, practiced not only by the state, but also by business itself.

Indicative planning is the opposite of a directive plan, because an indicative plan is not binding. The indicative plan may contain mandatory tasks, but their number is very limited. In general, it is of a guiding, recommendatory nature.

As a management tool, indicative planning is most often used at the macro level. The tasks of the indicative plan are called indicators. These are parameters characterizing the state and directions of economic development. They are developed by government bodies during the formation of socio-economic policy.

Indicative planning is also used at the micro level. Moreover, when drawing up long-term plans, indicative planning is used, and in current planning, directive planning is used.

Indicative and directive planning should complement each other and be organically linked.

2. Depending on the period for which the plan is drawn up and the degree of detail of the planned calculations, it is customary to distinguish long-term(prospective), medium-term and short-term (current) plansroving.

Forward planning covers a period of more than five years. Such plans are designed to determine the long-term strategy of the enterprise, including social, economic, scientific and technological development.

Medium-term planning carried out for a period of one to five years. At some enterprises, medium-term planning is combined with current planning. In this case, a so-called rolling five-year plan is drawn up, in which the first year is detailed to the level of the current plan and is essentially a short-term plan.

Current planning covers a period of up to a year, including semi-annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly (ten-day) and daily planning.

Strategic planning, as a rule, it is focused on the long term and determines the main directions of development of an economic entity. Through strategic planning, decisions are made about how to expand business activities, create new areas of business, stimulate market demand, what efforts should be made to meet consumer needs, which markets to operate in, which products to produce or what services to provide, with which partners run a business, etc.

As a result tactical planning a plan for the economic and social development of the company is drawn up, representing a comprehensive program of production, economic and social activities of the company for the corresponding period. Tactical plans reflect measures to expand production and improve its technical level, update and increase the quality of products, make the fullest use of scientific and technical achievements, etc.

Tactical planning usually covers the short and medium term, while strategic planning is effective in the long and medium term.

Operational scheduling (OKP) is the final stage in planning the business activities of a company. The main task of the OKP is to specify the indicators of the tactical plan in order to organize the daily systematic and rhythmic work of the enterprise and its structural divisions.

Business planning is intended to assess the feasibility of carrying out a particular innovative event, especially one that requires large investments for its implementation.

4. Planning can be classified according to the following criteria:

A) coverage levels:

general planning covering all aspects of the problem;

partial planning, covering only certain areas and parameters;

b) planning objects:

goal planning, which refers to the determination of strategic and tactical goals;

planning the means to achieve the goals (planning potentials such as equipment, personnel, finances, information);

program planning, which relates to the development and implementation of specific programs, such as production and marketing programs;

planning activities such as special sales, recruitment;

V) planning areas:

sales planning (sales goals, action programs, sales costs, sales development);

production planning (production program, production preparation, production progress);

personnel planning (needs, hiring, retraining, dismissal);

planning of acquisitions (needs, purchases, sales of excess stocks);

planning investments, finances, etc.;

G) planning depth:

aggregate planning, limited by given contours, for example, planning a workshop as a sum of production areas;

detailed planning, for example with detailed calculations and descriptions of the planned process or object;

d) coordination of private plans over time:

sequential planning, in which the process of developing various plans is one long, coordinated, sequentially carried out process, consisting of several stages;

Simultaneous planning, in which the parameters of all plans are determined simultaneously in one single planning act;

e) accounting for data changes:

rigid planning, which does not provide for the possibility of adjusting plans;

flexible planning that provides for this possibility;

and) sequence in time:

ordered (ongoing) planning, in which, upon completion of one plan, another is developed;

rolling planning, in which, after a certain planned period, the plan is extended for the next period;

extraordinary (eventual) planning, in which planning is carried out as needed, for example during reconstruction or reorganization of an enterprise.