Planning and Organising
Questions here test plan types (policy vs procedure vs rule), the planning process and its limitations, plus delegation, decentralisation and organisation structure.
Planning
Primary function, forward-looking, intellectual, continuous, flexible. Process: set objectives, develop premises, identify alternatives, evaluate, select, implement, follow up. Limitations: rigidity, failure in dynamic conditions, reduced creativity, cost and time, no guarantee of success.
Plan types
- Objective: the end to be achieved.
- Strategy: long-term, comprehensive plan allocating resources to meet the environment.
- Policy: general guide to thinking ('promote from within').
- Procedure: sequence of steps for routine work.
- Rule: specific, must-follow, no discretion ('no smoking'). Programme, method and budget complete the list.
Organising
Formal structure is deliberately designed; informal arises from interaction. Delegation = authority + responsibility + accountability, and accountability cannot be delegated. Decentralisation is the systematic dispersal of authority to the lowest levels; it is wider than delegation and organisation-wide.
Worked example
A hospital opens a cardiac wing. Investing ₹40 crore over five years is a strategy, being long-term and resource-heavy. The admission routine is a procedure. 'No visitor after 8 p.m.' is a rule, since no discretion is allowed. Promoting nurses internally is a policy, because it guides repeated decisions.
Traps
- Giving a rule as an example of a policy.
- Saying accountability can be delegated.
- Treating decentralisation as identical to delegation.
- Forgetting that planning is the primary function.