-IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING

GOOD PLANNING IS GOOD STEWARDSHIP CAPSULE Suppose one of you wants to build a tower, will he not first sit down and
estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it, for if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, This fellow began to build and was not able to finish Luke 14: 28-30. Good planning is good stewardship. Success in any endeavour requires careful preparation and planning. Without proper planning and preparation, failure is almost guaranteed.

INTRODUCTION
A workplace is necessarily composed of individuals, but a workplace in which these individuals dont work together in positive ways will never perform to its full potential. Creative teamwork maximises individuals strengths and minimises their weakness, leading to a workplace that is efficient, dynamic and productive. These combined efforts of a team that works well together accomplish more than the total efforts of all the members would have accomplished if they were each working alone.

MEANING OF PLANNING
Planning is a process of thinking about the activities required to accomplish a desired task or reaching the organizational goal. Choosing a destination, evaluating alternative routes and deciding the specific course of the plan. It is a process for accomplishing purposes. It is a blue print of business growth and road map of development. It can be broadly defined as a concept of executive action that embodies the skill of anticipating, influencing and controlling the nature and direction of change.

IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING

 Provides Direction - Planning provides a clear sense of direction to the activities of the organization and the job behaviour of an individual. It strengthens their confidence in understanding where the organization is heading and what for, how best to make the organization move along the chosen path, and when should they take what to achieve the goals of the organization.

It provides opportunity to analyse alternative courses of action Another source of importance of planning is that it permits individuals to examine and analyse alternative course of action with a better understanding of their likely consequences. It reduces uncertainties Planning forces the individuals to shake off their inertia and insular outlook. It induces them to look beyond those noses, beyond today and tomorrow, and beyond immediate concerns. It encourages them to probe and cut through complexities and uncertainties of the environment and to gain control over the elements of change. It minimizes impulsive and arbitrary decisions - Planning tends to minimize the incidence of impulsive and arbitrary decisions and actions. It obviates exclusive dependence on the mercies of luck and chance elements; it reduces the probability of major errors and failures in managerial actions. It injects a measure of discipline in managerial thinking and organizational action. It improves the capability of the organization to assume calculated risks. It increases the freedom and flexibility of managers within well-confined limits. Resource Use Efficiency For an on-going organization, planning contributes towards a more efficient functioning of the various work units. There is better utilization of the organizations existing assets, resources and capabilities.It prompts individuals to close gaps, to plug loopholes, to rectify deficiencies, to reduce wastage and leakages of funds, materials, human efforts and skills so as to bring about an overall improvement in resource use efficiency. Planning Increases the organizations ability to future eventuality The future is generally uncertain and things are likely to change with passage of time. The uncertainty is augmented with an increase in the time dimension. With such a

rise in uncertainty, there is generally a corresponding increase in the alternative courses of action from which a selective must be made. The planning activity provides a systematic approach to the consideration of such future uncertainties and eventualities and the planning of activities in terms of what is likely to happen. Planning helps crystallise objectives The first step in planning is to fix objectives which will give direction to the activities to be performed. This step focusses attention on the result desired. A proper definition and integration of overall and departmental objective would result in more co-ordinated interdepartmental activities and greater chance of attaining the overall objectives. Planning ensures relatedness among decisions A crystallization of objectives as mentioned above would lead to relatedness among the decisions which would otherwise have been random. Decisions of the managers are related to each other and ultimately towards the goals or objectives of the enterprise. Creativity and innovation of individuals is thus harnessed towards a more effective management of the workplace. Planning helps the Organization to remain more competitive in +drive Planning may suggest the addition of a new line of products, changes in the method of operation, a better identification of customer needs and segmentation and timely expansion of plant capacity of which render the organization better fitted to meet the inroads of competition. Adequate Planning reduces unnecessary pressures of Immediacy If activities are not properly planned in anticipation of what is likely to happen, pressures will be exerted to achieve certain results immediately or in a hurry. Thus, adequate planning supplies orderliness and avoids unnecessary pressures. Planning reduces mistakes and oversights Although, mistakes cannot be entirely obviated, they can certainly be reduced through proper planning. Planning makes control easier The crystallization of objectives and goals simplify and highlight the controls required. Planning enables the identification of future problems and makes it possible to provide for such contingencies.

 Planning can help the organization secure a better position or standing Adequate planning would stimulate improvements in terms of the opportunities available. Planning increases the effectiveness of an individual As an individual, his/her goals are made clearer, adequate planning would help the individual in deciding upon the most appropriate act. Planning bridges the gap from where we are to where we want to go. It makes it possible for things to occur which would not otherwise happen.

In conclusion, To teach successfully, one must plan successfully. Planning begins at the beginning of the year when a teacher thinks about what is to be achieved with his/her class. This involves reflection on the age, needs, abilities and interests of the students discussion of school, policy in different subject areas, and review of subject matter for the year level, checking of references and resources, deciding upon teaching strategies, determining class organization and selecting evaluation procedures. Planning throws the searchlight of human wisdom, experience and ingenuity into the darkness of the future. Future is always unpredictable, market trend is always dynamic. Only through a proper and flexible planning, future uncertainties can be tackled efficiently. Hence, Planning is never a waste of time in relation to unpredictable future.