Managing resources

Because all resources are finite, they must be managed: used without waste, so as to get the most output from the least input. Management is a process with several steps.

1. Planning: the first step, making a scheme of action. Planning means asking four questions:

• Where are we now? (the present situation)
• Where do we want to reach? (the goal)
• What is the gap between the two?
• How can we close it?
• The steps in planning are: identify the problem, list the alternatives, choose the best one, act on it, and accept the consequences of the choice. Decisions are made at every step; decision-making means selecting the best course of action from the alternatives available, after weighing the pros and cons of each.

2. Organising: collecting and arranging the resources needed, and deciding who will do what and in what order.

3. Implementing: putting the plan into action.

4. Controlling: checking, while the plan is being carried out, that it is giving the desired results, and using feedback to correct errors. A student whose study plan keeps getting interrupted by phone messages might switch the phone off during study hours.

5. Evaluation: after the task is finished, comparing the result with the goal, noting what worked well and what did not, and using these lessons next time.

Example: organising a class farewell party with a fixed budget.

• Plan: the goal is a party for 40 students on a set budget. The gap is the decorations, snacks and music not yet arranged. Alternatives: hold it in the classroom or the school hall; buy snacks or have each family send one dish. Choose the hall and a mix of bought and home-made food.
• Organise: list items and costs, and assign teams for decorations, food and music.
• Implement: decorate, set up the food and run the programme.
• Control: during the party, when the juice runs short, a team member fetches more from the canteen within the budget.
• Evaluate: afterwards, the class notes that the music worked well but food ran short, and decides to plan quantities more carefully next year.