Class 12 students can refer to Chapter 4 Planning notes given below which is an important chapter in the class 12 Business Studies book. These notes and important questions and answers have been prepared based on the latest CBSE and NCERT syllabus and books issued for the current academic year. Our team of Business Studies teachers has prepared these notes for class 12 Business Studies for the benefit of students so that you can read these revision notes and understand each topic carefully.

Planning Notes Class 12 Business Studies

Refer to the notes and important questions given below for Planning which is really useful and has been recommended by Class 12 Business Studies teachers. Understanding the concepts in detail and then solving questions by yourself will help you to learn all topics given in your NCERT Books.

Meaning : – Planning is deciding in advance what is to be done, when and where is to be done, how is to be done and by whom it should be done. It bridges the gap between where we are standing and where we want to go.
“Planning is deciding in advance what to do, how to do, when to do and who has to do it. Thus, it involves setting objectives and developing an appropriate course of action to achieve those objectives.”

Features of Planning

♦ Planning focuses on achieving objectives by deciding upon the activities to be undertaken.
♦ Planning is a primary function as it precedes all functions of management i.e. organising, staffing, directing& controlling.
♦ Planning is pervasive as it is required at all the levels of management but its scope may vary.
♦ Planning is continuous as plans need to be made on a continuous basis till an organisation exists.
♦ Planning is futuristic as it seeks to meet future events effectively to the best advantage of an organisation. Planning is, therefore, called a forward looking function.
♦ Planning involves decision-making as it involves rational thinking to choose the best alternative among the various available alternatives in order to achieve the desired goals efficiently and effectively.
♦ Planning is a mental exercise as it is based on intellectual thinking involving foresight, visualisation and judgement rather than guess work. Importance of Planning
♦ Planning provides direction as it acts as a guide for deciding what course of action should be taken to attain the organisational goals.
♦ Planning reduces the risk of uncertainty arising due to the dynamic nature of business environment as it enables a manager to anticipate and meet changes effectively.
♦ Planning reduces overlapping & wasteful activities as it serves as the basis for coordinating the activities and efforts of different divisions and individuals.
♦ Planning promotes innovation as it encourages new ideas that can take shape of concrete plans.
♦ Planning facilitates decision making as it enables a manager to choose the best alternative course ‘of action among the various available alternatives in light of present and future conditions.
♦ Planning establishes standards for controlling. Planning provides standards against which the actual performance is measured and timely corrective actions the taken.

Steps Involved in the Planning Process

♦ Setting objectives for the entire organisation and each department or unit within the organisation.
♦ Developing Premises which reflect the assumptions about the future that the manager is required to make since the future is uncertain.
♦ Identifying alternative courses of action through which the desired goals can be achieved.
♦ Evaluating alternative courses to analyse the relative pros and cons of each alternative in light of their feasibility and consequences.
♦ Selecting an alternative or a combination of plans which appears to be most feasible.
♦ Implement the plan with the help of a strategy.
♦ Follow up action in order to monitor the plans to ensure that the desired objectives are achieved efficiently and effectively.

Limitations of Planning

♦ Planning leads to rigidity as plans are drawn in advance and managers may not be in a position to change them in the light of changed conditions.
♦ Planning may not work in a dynamic environment as through planning, everything cannot be foreseen.
♦ Planning reduces creativity as the top management undertakes planning of various activities whereas the middle managers are neither allowed to deviate from plans nor are they permitted to act on their own.
♦ Planning involves huge costs in terms of time and money required to undertake scientific calculations and sometimes it may not justify the benefits derived from it.
♦ Planning is a time consuming process and sometimes there is not much time left for implementation of the plans.
♦ Planning does not guarantee success because it is not always essential that if a plan has worked before, it will work again, as things may change. This kind of complacency and false sense of security may actually lead to failure instead of success of a business.

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