Features of planning

The features of planning:

• It focuses on achieving objectives: it is purposeful.
• It is the primary function of management: all the other functions (organising, staffing, directing, controlling) are carried out within the plans. This is called the primacy of planning.
• It is pervasive: it is done at all levels and in all departments, though its scope differs. Top management plans for the whole organisation; supervisors do the day-to-day operational planning.
• It is continuous: one plan ends, the next begins, in a planning cycle.
• It is futuristic: it looks ahead, using forecasts. A sales forecast, for example, is the base of the annual plan.
• It involves decision making: choosing among alternatives. If there is only one possible course, there is nothing to plan.
• It is a mental exercise: it needs foresight, imagination and sound judgement.

In short: planning comes first, and it never stops.