Planning organising and monitoring activities v2 PDF

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Effective planning, organisation and monitoring. ...

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Planning, organizing and monitoring activities

PLANNING Planning is the process of thinking about the activities required to achieve a desired goal. It is the first and foremost activity to achieve desired results. It involves the creation and maintenance of a plan, such as psychological aspects that require conceptual skills. Wikipedia "Planning is a process to develop a strategy to achieve desired goals, objectives, to solve problems, and to facilitate action" (Mitchell 2002, 6). The role of the planner is thus to identify a desirable future and to prepare a course of action to achieve this goal (Mitchell 2002). Natural resource planning thus is - with regard to resources - "the identification of possible desirable future end states, and development of courses of action to reach such end states" (Mitchell 2002, 6). Types of planning; Strategic, tactical, operational and contingency planning. Strategic planning is a long term organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, ensure that employees and other stakeholders are working toward common goals, establish agreement around intended outcomes/results, and assess and adjust. Questions to ask ourselves regarding strategic planning. Question 1, what are the five steps of strategic planning process? These include; goalsetting, analysis, strategy formation, strategy implementation and strategy monitoring. Question 2, what is the process of strategic planning? The process requires you to analyze both the internal and external environment of the organization. (SWOT). Typical steps in strategic planning include an analysis of the current state, defining the future state, developing objectives and strategies to achieve the vision, and implementation and assessment of the plan. Question 3, what are the key elements of a strategic plan? These include; 

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Mission, vision, and aspirations. A mission statement is your overall, lasting formulation of why your company exists and what it hopes to be and Vision is your pictorial view of where you want to be. Core values, these help to define the organizational culture. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, defining our status quo. Prepared by: Enoch Mugoda

31/03/2019

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Objectives, strategies, and operational tactics, helps streamlining on how to achieve our mission and vision. Measurements and funding streams, what cannot be measured can be managed and improved.

 Question 4, Why is strategic planning important? Strategic planning is important to an organization because it provides a sense of direction and outlines measurable goals. Strategic planning is a tool that is useful for guiding day-to-day decisions and also for evaluating progress and changing approaches when moving forward and it helps the organization to understand its status quo. Question 5, How long should a strategic plan be? This will depend on what is best for the agency. The most common timeline for planning is three to five years. Three to five years is long enough that new initiatives can take off and begin to show some results. Too short a timeframe means the plan must be updated before any results are seen but also 3-5 years is practical enough as some vision bearer might leave if you plan for a longer period. Question 6, What are the benefits of strategic planning? Strategic planning is a formalized, documented organizational management process used to analyze its current situation, set priorities, and to focus resources and energy to achieve and maintain an organization's competitive advantage. Tactical planning, is the process of taking a company's strategic plan and setting forth specific short-term actions and plans, usually by company department or function. The tactical planning horizon is shorter than the strategic plan horizon. What is the difference between strategic and tactical planning? A strategic plan is a course of action to achieve long-range goals, generally up to five years. Strategic plans reflect the company's direction and its purpose as stated in its mission statement. ... Tactical plans represent the short-term efforts to achieve the strategic, longer-term goals, therefore tactical planners implement strategic plans. Why is tactical planning important? Tactical planning is such an important part of a company's strategic planning process that management consulting companies are often hired to assist companies in preparing tactical plans. A company usually begins with its objectives and then develops strategies for how to carry out their objectives. What are tactical goals?

Prepared by: Enoch Mugoda

31/03/2019

The steps or tactics needed to achieve the goals defined in a strategic plan. For example, if a company's strategic plan is to become a market leader, its tactical plan might be to double the amount spent on advertising and marketing. Operational planning, these in the hierarchy they sit in the 3rd place, therefore these are plans prepared by a component of an organization that clearly defines actions it will take to support the strategic objectives and plans of upper management. What is included in an operational plan? The purpose of the operational plan is to provide organization personnel with a clear picture of their tasks and responsibilities in line with the goals and objectives contained within the Strategic Plan and tactical plan. Basically, the Operational Plan is a plan for the implementation of strategies contained within the Strategic Plan. What is the difference between strategic and operational planning? Operating plans involve the process of deciding what needs to be done to achieve the tactical objectives of the business. Operational planning is done to support strategic planning efforts.

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Key components of an operational plan; Clear objectives. Activities to be delivered. Quality standards. Key targets and key performance indicators. Risk management plan. Staffing and resource (including budget) requirements. Implementation timetables. A process for monitoring progress. Contingency planning; A contingency plan is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan. It is often used for risk management for an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have catastrophic consequences. Contingency plans are often devised by governments or businesses to mitigate unforeseen occurrences. Therefore, planning helps organizations achieves its goals and objectives for their existence.

Prepared by: Enoch Mugoda

31/03/2019

ORGANISATION SKILLS/ACTIVITIES: The ability to use your time, energy, resources, etc. in an effective way so that you achieve the things you want to achieve: Self-discipline and organizational skills are crucial to success in any profession. Organizational skills are some of the most important and transferable job skills an employee can acquire. They encompass a set of capabilities that help a person to plan, prioritize, and achieve his or her goals. The ability to keep work organized allows workers to focus on different projects without getting disoriented or lost, thereby increasing productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Managers look for employees who can not only keep their work and their desk organized, but for those who can also adjust quickly to the organized structure of a company. (“Good order is the foundation of all things”.) Some examples of organizational skills include: Creating and keeping deadlines, delegation. goal setting and meeting goals, decision making, managing appointments, team management, project management, and making schedules. Why Organizational Skills Are Important Staying organized in the workplace can save a company time and money. Organizational skills are essential for multitasking and keeping a business running smoothly and successfully. Employers aim to recruit applicants who can work to achieve results consistently, even when unforeseen delays or problems arise. (A good system shortens the road to the goal) Time is Money Disorganized business owners may find themselves searching through piles of paperwork for that one invoice, bank statement or human resources file. This problem can extend to the virtual office as well. Using neatly organized folders to keep track of important bills or emails, for example, can save time. Good organizational skills can free up much-needed minutes every day for you to spend on more important tasks.

Prepared by: Enoch Mugoda

31/03/2019

Reducing Stress and Overwhelm Working in an unorganized environment can make a business owner and employees feel constantly on edge. Not knowing where to look for information, sorting through unorganized paperwork and dealing with the consequences of poor organization create a stressful workplace. That stress may extend into the rest of a business owner's life and lead to job burnout. Implementing good organization systems can help reduce this stress and give a business owner more time to enjoy life outside work.

Planning the Cash Flow Organization is the root of a good financial management program. Systems that monitor receivables can help business owners keep track of their money and plan cash flow. With no system for organizing sales and invoices, balances can go unpaid without notice. If vendors aren't paid and the supply chain shuts down due to a delinquent balance, business suffers. Staying on top of how much money is going in and out can help the owner make adjustments to reduce spending or increase sales.

Winning Repeat Business Problems with organization can lead to a drop in customer service. For example, if an online store's order processing system is not properly organized, customers may not receive orders on time. Customer satisfaction is the key to earning repeat business, and if the company is not well organized in this area, revenue will also suffer. Poor billing systems can potentially result in customers being charged multiple times for one item or not at all, which is also bad for business.

Keeps the Taxman Happy At tax time, finding the appropriate documents can be stressful and time-consuming for a disorganized business owner. Missing documents can even turn into a legal hassle if the company undergoes an audit. Filing receipts, invoices and statements properly, and using basic accounting software to track sales, expenses and receivables, will make the entrepreneur (and his accountant) much happier at tax time.

Prepared by: Enoch Mugoda

31/03/2019

Therefore, a combination of these soft skills (Interpersonal Skills) and the Organizational Skills results into good employees, friends hence a higher benefit enjoyed by the parties involved in the process.

MONITORING. Monitoring and evaluation move hand in hand, actually biologically they can be described to be identical twins, therefore monitoring is the process of observing and checking the progress or quality of (something) over a period of time; keep under systematic review. What is the purpose of monitoring? Since Monitoring is the regular observation and recording of activities taking place in a project or Programme, it helps to identify variances and deviation and corrective actions taken before the situation runs out of hand. How do you do monitoring? Step 1: Select your post-2015 priorities. Step 2: Identify your target audience. Step 4: Choose your messengers. Step 5: Identify opportunities and activities. Step 6: Take stock and identify gaps. Step 7: Manage risks. Step 8: Monitoring and evaluation. Final thoughts. Therefore, Monitoring and evaluation is important because: it provides the only consolidated source of information showcasing project progress. By monitoring progress against defined goals, a project manager can assess what is working and what is not, and from there can determine what changes should be made to a project. In the business world and real life of an individual, planning, organizing and monitoring help to achieve you goals and objectives with ease.

Prepared by: Enoch Mugoda

31/03/2019

Prepared by: Enoch Mugoda

31/03/2019...