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Hot Management Tips ...
Better Without Plans ...
Recent research shows that some big firms operate more profitably without any planning. But before you rush off to tear up you planning, you should know that it’s best only in certain limited circumstances. Research shows no planning can succeed only where some or all of these characteristics are present:
- The business is less subject to unpredictable action by competitors.
- The business is in a declining market and management has decided to milk the business for cash.
- Key decisions are made by one person, or one group of people.
- The business hires above average numbers of senior executives away from competitors.
- The business can expect less than average changes in processing or production.
- The business is more likely to be in retailing or wholesaling.
It is understandable that in these circumstances it is more profitable not to plan. Planning is a current expense which does not produce profits until some time in the future. But in most of these circumstances, the future is far less significant. So the cost of planning can be saved without creating major problems.
The second purpose of planning is that it leads to unified actions by all sections of the business. But in these situations, uniform action can be achieved fairly naturally.
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