Exam 9: Foundations of Planning

A manager's analysis of the external environment can be improved by ________,which involves analyzing information to detect emerging trends.

Studies have found that the quality of the planning process and the appropriate implementation of plans likely contribute more to high performance than does the extent of planning.

Strategic plans tend to cover a longer period of time than operational goals and also ________.

In a short essay,explain and discuss in detail the four reasons for planning.

In order to manage effectively in an uncertain environment,managers must recognize that planning is ________.

Increasingly in today's world of innovative entrepreneurs we see goals that may not be realistic.These goals are ________.

Generally speaking,formal planning is associated with ________.

When the hierarchy of organizational goals is clearly defined,it forms an integrated network of goals called a ________ chain.

Which of the following is identified in our textbook as a contingency factor that affects organizational planning?

It's Academic (Scenario) Rachel is the academic dean for a regional community college. The president has asked her to develop a plan for the college. He wants a plan covering the next five years, and he wants it to be as specific as possible, but not to the extent that it constrains flexibility. In developing the plan, Rachel must address several emerging issues, including advancements in teaching technology, shifting demand for various academic programs, declining student enrolment, and increasing competition from other schools. Despite projections that student enrolment will continue to decline over the next five years, Rachel must ensure that the plan allows the college to meet its employment obligations to tenured faculty who have been offered long-term teaching positions. -Since Rachel's plan will apply to the entire college,it is best described as a(n)________ plan.

The term planning is used to describe any ideas developed by employees of an organization.

Organizations real goals and stated goals are the same.

It's Academic (Scenario) Rachel is the academic dean for a regional community college. The president has asked her to develop a plan for the college. He wants a plan covering the next five years, and he wants it to be as specific as possible, but not to the extent that it constrains flexibility. In developing the plan, Rachel must address several emerging issues, including advancements in teaching technology, shifting demand for various academic programs, declining student enrolment, and increasing competition from other schools. Despite projections that student enrolment will continue to decline over the next five years, Rachel must ensure that the plan allows the college to meet its employment obligations to tenured faculty who have been offered long-term teaching positions. -The college's employment obligation to tenured faculty is an example of which contingency factor that can affect planning?

The Sea to Sky Collaborative (Scenario)Nadia Mainardi is the senior planner for the Whistler-Blackcomb Regional Development Council. She has met with a group of stakeholders, including the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation, Tourism B.C., and others who are interested in working together to improve the Sea to Sky Highway between North Vancouver and Whistler. To date, Nadia has successfully obtained a Technical Assistance Grant from the province to help organize several small communities along the Sea to Sky Highway into an intergovernmental unit, all sharing the same mission and goals. Nadia is now charged with developing a strategic plan for this group, called the Sea to Sky Collaborative. -Because of the intergovernmental nature of the Sea to Sky Collaborative,Nadia's boss suggests that open-ended goals may be preferable,as they offer greater flexibility.Nadia,a knowledgeable and experienced planner,tells her that well-designed goals should ________.

Retail Planning (Scenario) Tyler Nall is president and CEO of a new chain of retail stores that is about to begin operations. During the last couple of months, he has been developing goals and directions for the stores, which will sell moderately priced home furnishings to average-income consumers. The plan is to open 20 to 30 stores in large shopping centres across Canada over the next three years. Tyler and his vice-presidents have decided that each store should have sales equal to or greater than $900 per square metre per day. To attract an adequate number of customers, each store should be: • located in an out-parcel site of a major shopping mall; • located at a mall that attracts an average of at least 2,000 customers daily; • well maintained both inside and out; • well lit, throughout the store; • arranged in room settings to highlight the home furnishing decor; • open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday; • staffed with friendly, well-groomed sales personnel dressed in business attire. -The primary management function that Tyler and the vice-presidents have been performing during the last couple of months is ________.

The number of years used to define short-term and long-terms plans has increased considerably because of the greater environmental certainty businesses have today.

External environment has little or no impact on the formal planning process.

Retail Planning (Scenario) Tyler Nall is president and CEO of a new chain of retail stores that is about to begin operations. During the last couple of months, he has been developing goals and directions for the stores, which will sell moderately priced home furnishings to average-income consumers. The plan is to open 20 to 30 stores in large shopping centres across Canada over the next three years. Tyler and his vice-presidents have decided that each store should have sales equal to or greater than $900 per square metre per day. To attract an adequate number of customers, each store should be: • located in an out-parcel site of a major shopping mall; • located at a mall that attracts an average of at least 2,000 customers daily; • well maintained both inside and out; • well lit, throughout the store; • arranged in room settings to highlight the home furnishing decor; • open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday; • staffed with friendly, well-groomed sales personnel dressed in business attire. -The recruitment policy to hire sales personnel who are friendly and well-groomed is a ________ plan.

Directional plans have clearly defined objectives.

________ dominates managers' planning efforts at lower levels of an organization.