Important Requirements of effective of Planning

Top Management Support: Planning should start from the top. As Koontz, O’Donnell and Weihrich have pointed out, “the example and drive of top managers are the most important single force in planning”.

Top management must lay down broad objectives of the enterprise and encourage and support planned operations at different levels of the organisation.

Involvement of subordinates:

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There should be wide participation in planning from the very formulation stage. In particular, those who will be required to implement the plan should be associated with its preparation. This will make planning more realistic and motivate the subordinate better.

Proper assessment of resources:

The resources available within the organisation should be properly assessed while making a plan. This involves maintenance of continuous inventory of physical facilities, manpower and other inputs.

Management Information System:

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Flow of information should be organized as part of a full-fledged information system. It implies that collection, compilation, classification and dissemination of data should be done as regular activities instead of on ad-hoc basis. There should also be provision for prompt feedback information.

Awareness and acceptance of change.

Business now-a-days is much dynamic. In order to survive, all enterprises must move with the time. As Koontz 0′ Donnell and Weibrich have emphasized, “it must be an objective of managers to build in their organizations an awareness of change, an ability to forecast in and a welcoming attitude towards it”.