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Planning Tools

Plans Plans are necessary to implement the organization’s goals Types of plans: Policies Procedures Methods Rules Programs Projects Budgets

Plans Support each other Must be consistent and integrated Ensure consistency in application of plans Two groups Repeat use Single use

Repeat-Use Plans Applicable whenever a problem situation presents itself often Include: Policies Procedures Rules Methods

Repeat-Use Plans: Policies Policies: Provide managers with general guidelines; reflect constraints, help coordinate activities, and are established by the executives of the organization When a policy does not exist and guidance is needed, an “appealed policy” may need to be created by appealing to the administration for guidance in the absence of an existing policy.

Repeat-Use Plans: Policies Should be clearly written Provide for flexibility “whenever possible” “under usual circumstances” Serve as guides to thinking Management may be reluctant to change them Should be periodically reviewed

Repeat-Use Plans: Procedures Derived from policies Much more specific than policies Serve as guides to action Step by step (chronological order for acts to be performed) Often created by managers/supervisors Written at different learning levels to meet the needs of those performing the job

Repeat-Use Plans: Procedures Creating Procedures Analyze the work to be done Involve the employee doing the job in the procedure preparation Help ensure consistent performance

Repeat-Use Plans: Methods A standing plan for action More detailed than a procedure Methods = practices Are concerned only with a single operation or with one particular step Manager’s role is to determine the best method

Using Work Simplification to Find Best Methods Methods improvement An organized approach to determine how to accomplish a task with less effort, time, or cost. Should encourage employee involvement

Repeat-Use Plans: Rules Most explicit standing plan Is a statement that either forbids or requires a certain action or inaction without variation Leaves no discretion in action to take Related to procedures in that they are guides to action Lack order of steps Policies establish the basis for rules

Repeat-Use Plans: Organizational Manual A comprehensive collection of decisions, other repeat-use plans, organization charts, and job descriptions A tool for orienting new staff Explains complex relationships Defines the organization’s objectives and goals Needs to kept current

Single-Use Plans Used for non-recurring situations Include: Programs Projects Budgets

Single Use Plans: Programs and Projects A complex set of activities to achieve an objective Has its own set of policies, procedures, and budget Project: Smaller in scope than a program Requires coordination of other projects

Single-Use Plans: Programs and Projects Coordinating a complex project Chart Bar chart that shows planned and actual activities Control device PERT tool (Program Evaluation Review Technique) Used by the military in the 1950s Critical path method (CPM) is a similar tool used by civilians

PERT Effective for scheduling complex projects where activities have interdependencies Steps to creating a PERT Chart Identify each task involved in the project Estimate the time required to complete each task Determine the relationships among tasks Determine when the project must be completed

PERT Graphic display Shows links between dependent tasks

Single-Use Plans: Budgets Plans that express the anticipated activities and results in numerical terms Instruments for controlling Supervisors should be involved in preparing the budget Thoroughly cover all critical needs Creates buy-in in controlling the use of financial resources Dunn, Rose (2007) Haimann’s Healthcare Management (8th Ed). Chicago, Il. Health Administration Press.

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