STEPS OF PLANNING PROCESS- STEP 8: FOLLOW UP THE PLAN

Planning is considered as a perpetual process which goes on till the organization is in existence. The planning process does not ends merely by implementing the plan. Managers need to constantly monitor the plan and its efficiency, in order to keep a check on any irregularity in the process.

Therefore, the final step of planning process requires the managers to follow up, i.e. to monitor the plan implemented and in case any difficulty or deviation arises to take suitable measures and revise the plan. Managers have to observe whether the assumptions made, the alternative selected, the supportive plans, etc. are accurate in the present business scenario or not. If any of these aspects of the planning process seem to be erroneous at any level, appropriate adjustments and modifications must be made promptly to make the planning process efficacious.

Taking the example from the previous post where ‘a company aiming to advertise its products and services has various media options for advertisement and the managers adopt the digital media platform for the same.’ Once the plan is implemented, the managers must see to it whether the digital platform is serving its purpose? , Target customers are served by advertisement? , Does advertisement turns into sales? , etc. Let’s say, the advertisement does not seems lucrative to reach the target customers. In such a case the managers try to figure out what are the factors responsible for the given situation and try to modify the plan to serve the purpose and ultimately to achieve the organizational objective and make planning process successful.

Points to be considered while following up the plan:

·         Follow up should be done constantly, it is not a onetime activity;

·         All the aspects of planning should be monitored;

·         Needed modifications should be done once the deviation is tracked out;

·         Modifications, etc. should also be constantly followed up.