Planning,Strategy and management

Planning and strategy become more important in periods of uncertainty and change. Explain
what management tools managers can use to help them respond to change in the current and
challenging financial and political environment.
You are required to read and research widely around the subject of critical thinking and
managing in organisations and support your findings with appropriate academic quotes,
models
and theories, as well as drawing on practical examples, such as case studies.
This assignment forms 25% of your overall mark for this module
Guide length: 2000-2500 words
Marking Criteria
Evidence of background reading 20%
Depth of knowledge and focus 30%
Use of and application of academic theories, models, quotes, etc. 30%
Conclusions 10%
Structure and presentation 10%

Submission date: On or before Thursday, 1st April 2010, 4 pm

Hardcopy submission location: Assignment Submission Box
Electronic copy to: assignments@ctlondon.ac.uk

Table of Contents
1.0 SUMMARY....................................................................................................................................4
2.0 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................5
3.0 METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................................5
4.0 ECONOMIC THEORIES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP...................................................................5
4.1 AN OUTLINE OF ECONOMIC THEORIES...........................................................................................5
4.2 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC THEORIES............................................................................7
5.0 PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAIT THEORIES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP..........................................8
5.1 AN OUTLINE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAIT THEORIES.......................................................................8
5.2 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAIT THEORIES.......................................................9
6.0 SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR THEORIES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP................................................10
6.1 AN OUTLINE OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR THEORIES..........................................................................10
6.2 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR THEORIES..........................................................11
7.0 SYNTHESIS: AN ECLECTIC THEORY OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP........................................11
8.0 CONCLUSIONS...........................................................................................................................12
9.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................................13

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT
The term management refers to the supervision, guidance and control in an
organisation which is required to accomplish a program .This implies that, for
an effective management there has to be a proper system in place which
includes planning and strategy that helps to guide the people in the organisation.
There are three primary activities in management. The first step is to establish a
plan which shows the necessary tools and procedures to be done. Second step is
to locate the resources needed to implement the plan. Final step is to compile
and scrutinize the results to see how the ultimate product compares from what
the management has originally expected. Management also includes recording
and storage of information and data which is needed for later use or to be used
by other people in the organisation. Management is not a monopoly of
supervisors and managers. Every single member in the organisation has some
kind of management and responsibilities. On the whole, management can be
defined as the process of organizing, planning, leading and controlling the
people, utilizing their skills and the resources available to obtain higher outputs
for the organisation.
Shead, M.(2007,30 January) Definition of management.[Online]
URL http://www.leadership501.com/definition-of-management/21/

FUNCTIONS OF MANAGEMENT
The basic functions of management are Planning, Organizing, Staffing,
Directing and Controlling/Monitoring.
Planning- The process of setting up objectives, developing strategies which
includes allocating tasks and schedules to achieve certain goals for the
organisation. It is the most important function of management because without
proper planning management is quite impossible.
Organizing- The logical way of arranging different elements together from the
available resources in accordance with certain rules, regulations and principles.
It also includes the ideal use of resources such as man, machine, money and
materials.
Staffing- It refers to the process of selecting people, providing them with
adequate training facilities for different works and engaging them with various

responsibilities in an organisation. The staff or the employed individuals in an

organisation are called as the workforce.
Directing- It is the management function which gives the authority to provide
instructions and manages the workforce to create an effective work
environment. It delivers better opportunities, motivation, guidance and
directions for the people to improve the organisation.
Controlling/Monitoring- It is an important function because it inspects for the
errors in the different functions of management and takes corrective actions
against it. It also ensures that all the activities in the organisation are up to the
standards and all the changes are within the limit. The main objective of
controlling/monitoring is to make sure that all the actions are being carried out
in accordance with the implemented plan.
PLANNING AND ITS TYPES
There are different kinds of planning which are based on the needs of an
organisation. The types of planning are as follows,
Strategic planning
Business planning
Financial planning
Comprehensive planning
Network resource planning
Marketing plan
Infrastructure planning
Architectural planning
Urban planning
One of the important types of planning is strategy. It determines the optimum
use of the available resources to obtain long lasting goals. It involves tactics and
innovative measures to accomplish the objectives of the organisation. Strategic
planning deals with various business analysis techniques like SWOT analysis

(strength, weakness, opportunities and threats), PEST (political, economical,

social and technological) etc.
In SWOT analysis, strength refers to the characteristics of the individuals and
the company which is beneficial for the organisation. For instance, the
experiences of the staff, quality of the product are assets or strengths of an
organisation. Weaknesses are the characteristics which are hazardous in
achieving the objectives of the firm. The strengths and weaknesses constitute
the internal factors of the organisation. The opportunities and threats are the
external factors of the organisation. For example, demography, banking,
competition between companies is susceptible to the progression of the
company. The changing policies of the government, instability of the global
economy and change in consumer lifestyles are some of the threat factors
affecting the organisation.
The main approaches in strategic planning include a variety of steps .The first
step is to evaluate the current situation and then analyzes using SWOT, STEER
or PEST. The next procedure is to assign a target which defines certain goals
and objectives. Once the actions and processes are put together, the plan is
implemented and the monitoring process is carried out. Overall strategic
planning is one of the vital processes in a business activity for decision making