Supervisory Planning

The company’s performance is an important aspect, which takes into account many peculiarities of the company’s business environment. The diversity of functions performed by the company in the field of management includes planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. These functions may vary in subfunctions. However, the focus of these functions remains the same. The four basic functions of management formulate a mandatory element in shaping the company’s business platform and organizational behavior.

Planning is the core of functions, which set the direction of the company’s performance. It is a valuable element, which contributes to the development of strategies. Planning is also the element, which can set the company’s activity for different periods from one hour up to more than five years. It is a tool, which lies in the core of the company’s success as long as it implements various options into the management system. It is an element that can transform the company’s performance at all levels of its development. It is not a coincidence when professionals claim that a well-established plan of actions is equal to half of the company’s success. Planning is the crown of all actions, which lead to the development of the company. It is impossible to obtain sustainability at all aspects of performance without effective planning. In addition, planning requires a systematic approach towards implementation of its elements.

Strategic planning is an element of planning, which requires setting the company’s activity for a long term. It is a process with its inputs, processes, and outputs. Strategic planning requires the formulation of a plan of action for a period exceeding five years. It includes an in-depth analysis of business environment, a guide towards implementation of a plan of actions, and key aspects of the company’s goals and objectives. Strategic planning requires building a plan creating the diversity of competitive advantages. It means that the company should establish a set of activities, which will include four basic steps. First, the company should strive to emphasize its strengths and transform its weaknesses into strengths. The company’s advantages and disadvantages should become the core of further considerations in order to bring the company to another level of competition. It is necessary to make the company compatible in order to enhance its profits and productivity. The next step suggests evaluation of industry opportunities and competitive threats, which have a negative impact on the organization’s sustainability. In addition, it is important to value both external and internal environments in order to attain balance in the integration of all elements. For example, the company should focus on the investigation of customer’s behavior and response to the products and services offered by the company. Various polls, surveys, and feedback collection may become outlining elements contributing to the comprehensive evaluation of customers’ opinion (Morgeson, DeRue & Karam, 2010). Finally, the company should continuously work on extending customers’ expectations regarding products and services brought to the market. Customers should become involved in the process of strategy evolution as long as their interest promotes further purchases. Apple is an appropriate example of sustainable development and effective strategic planning. It not only continues to grip attention of new customers, but also keeps loyal customers waiting impatiently for new digital devices and gadgets. It enhances the company’s innovation initiative and increases its profits at the same time.

The company cannot operate with enhanced efficiency without a set of goals and objectives, which must be the core of the company’s performance. The company should set a plan including goals, objectives, and aspirations of the company’s activity. In addition, goal setting has an impact at all levels of the company. For example, employees should focus on accomplishing their goals in order to contribute to the overall success of the company and move up the career ladder. It means that the company’s success depends on the clear envisioning of its aims, which will make it successful and will help to obtain leading positions. The company should take care of selecting appropriate goals and split them into subgoals in order to make success achievement a systematic activity. Moreover, it is the company’s responsibility to set goals to every employee in order to explain their role in success achievement. Employees should have a clear vision of their goals, which lead to the success. Otherwise, chances to lose profits, increase employee turnover rate and reduce the number of customers are extremely high (Cintron, & Flaniken). The company essentially benefits from building the core of its activity focusing on its goals and objectives. First, it increases employee involvement in the planning and decision-making processes. It provides all employees with visibility of the company’s performance. Secondly, it creates a cascading nature of goals among employees whenever necessary. It means that the company becomes flexible enough to adjust to the changeable environment. Finally, both employees and top management have the same expectations and awareness about their responsibilities.

Planning is an integrated element of the company’s performance as long as it takes into account activities of different departments. As long as planning considers taking into account different approaches, there is a necessity to understand its nature. For example, top management of the company may create a general plan for the company and distribute its elements between all departments (Kralev, 2011). Another option considers that all the departments create their plans of actions, which further formulate the company’s general plan of actions. Different critics doubt regarding effectiveness of both approaches. However, it is clear that all structural elements become involved in the process of planning. Every department has a plan, which it needs to accomplish in order to boost the company’s evolution. Plans not only include goals and responsibilities of every department, but also include the period, which should become a regulating element of the company’s performance. Time is both a resource and a limit towards implementation of the departments’ goals. It is essential to follow the deadline of the plan in order to accomplish it successfully. Employees also take advantage of planning as long as it helps to organize activities and prioritize tasks. Employees may take their own initiative to plan or follow the managers’ initiative to formulate an appropriate set of actions.