This
is in continuation to my earlier Blog Post on “Limitations/ Criticism of Planning”.
Some of the remaining points are explained below:-
Delay
in Implementation/ Action: Planning process involves numerous
activities like gathering information, planning for resources, hiring
professionals, finding alternatives, analyzing and evaluating alternatives,
selecting the best alternative, etc. All these activities consume a lot of time
thus delaying actual action. Such kind of delay in implementation and action
makes it unfitting to adopt planning where swift actions are needed.
Limited
Flexibility: One of the major drawbacks of planning
is its inflexible nature. Once the plans are made and are implemented in the organization
all the processes start working accordingly so do the employees. In case any
need arises due to certain circumstances, it becomes problematic for the
management to make changes in the plan, as any change would mean starting
everything afresh. Such inflexibility may be categorized further in two forms
i.e. ‘Internal or Organizational inflexibility’ and ‘External or Environmental
inflexibility’.
Internal inflexibility
is because of the fact that the plans are being followed and processed by the organization
and employees, and making changes would cause loss of time and efforts with
additional cost and delayed goal achievement.
Likewise, external inflexibility
arises because of the changes in government policies and regulations,
technological advancements, competition, etc. Once there are changes in the
external environment of the business it becomes necessary to modify the plans
to suit the prevailing business conditions, however it is not as easy as it may
sound.
Psychological
Barriers: Whole planning process is prepared by managers and implemented
by employees, where all are human beings. Wherever, humans are involved there
exists psychology, emotions, mindsets, etc. Planning needs the cooperative and
whole hearted determinations of the managers and employees for it to be a
success. However, in general managers do not get proper feedback, suggestions
and co-operation from their subordinates likewise subordinates feel lack of
trust and appreciation from their superiors. With this kind of mindset it becomes
challenging to make planning a success.
Limited
Practicability: Planning is an intellectual process
which involves lot and lots of deliberations and discussions before forming any
concrete solution or plan. However, there are only a few plans that are implemented
successfully in the business organization. Thus, many of the scholars are of
the view that instead of investing more efforts on planning managers should
invest time and efforts on making its implementation practically successful.
Limited
Creativity/ Initiative: Another drawback of planning
includes the lack of creativity and initiative among employees. As is known,
planning once implemented is to be followed by the employees in order to
achieve the organizational objectives. This makes the employees a blind
followers of the pre-determined plans, which hinders their capability of
initiative ideas and suggestions. This also discourages any creativity on part
of the employees, which can possibly be beneficial for the organization.
Conclusion:
The
above discussed points substantiate the facts that ‘planning is not a
substitute to success’ as it suffers from certain drawbacks. However, it does
not mean that mangers should circumvent planning, rather they should try to
plan considering the limitation of planning and should try to overcome it with
creative ideas.
