Explain the various purposes of planning.

To make the things happen
Effective managers anticipate future and prepare themselves to meet the challenges of the future. They are rather pro-active. They influence the outcome of the events in a significant way. In any modern business the interests of many people are involved. The shareholders, employees, creditors, consumers and the Government are the major interest group in any organization. Further, the interests and expectations of all the groups are varied and at times are in conflict. That apart, they constantly change in a dynamic business environment. In the light of the uncertainty involved in the future environment, your job, as a manager, is to foresee the future and predict the consequences of actions. In other words you have to look down the road into the future and prepare yourself to meet the uncertainties ahead. A well thought out plan solves many of the problems associated with the uncertain future.

To cope with change
Organizations are products of environment. The ability to deal with the environment has enabled many organizations to survive, despite other weaknesses. Alert management continually tune in to the environments forces. On the other hand, management, which fail to adapt, would eventually fall on the wayside. Therefore, in the managerial job, you have to constantly analyze the impending changes in the environment and assess their impact on your business. For instance, the liberalization policies pursued by the government have, of late, brought in too many changes. Markets are shifting due to increased competition. Pressure on the existing resources is increasing. Expectations of the employees as well as the consumers are changing. Product life - cycles are becoming shorter due to rapid technological changes. All these changes exert a tremendous pressure on the management.
We all know that dinosaur as a species long ago vanished. The reason for this extinction, being their inability to adapt to the changes in the environment. Similarly, if you fail to manage sudden and unexpected changes you will definitely be in trouble. Effective planning thus shows the preparedness of the organization to manage the change. It helps the organization to keep itself afloat even in the worst circumstances.

To control the events
Planning and control are often described as the 'Siamese' twins of management. When you plan the events, you make them happen in a particular way. The specific objectives decided in advance, themselves become the standards or the measuring tools. Therefore, it goes without saying that plans provide mechanism to know whether the events are happening in the way expected. Planning ensures the events to conform to plans. Thus, if you do not plan (no clear objectives), you do not know what to control. Control assumes significance in a dynamic environment as of today, where several forces push you away from reaching the goal. Appropriate control devices help you to check the course from time to time, so that you will be able to take the appropriate corrective measures.

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Kavungya answered the question on March 26, 2019 at 11:31