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The Planning Function of Management
MGT/330
April, 2008
Management Planning
The planning function of management provides goals, strategies, direction, and it defines responsibilities in any organization. The types of plans include strategic, operational, tactical, and contingency. Each one of these types allows an organization to have multiple plans to play different roles to achieve an overall common goal. According to Fortune 500, “Entergy has been in their top rankings for the past several years. Entergy constantly exceeds the 10 billion dollar mark in annual revenues.” (Cable News Network, 2008). With revenue of that magnitude, and having an employee base of over 14,000 employees, it is apparent that Entergy’s planning function is one of success.
Entergy’s foundation for strategic planning was created in 1913 by one of the company’s founders, Harvey Couch, during his endeavor into the electrical industry. “Couch’s ultimate goal was to have an integrated electric system with numerous sources of power at a reasonable price. Service reliability was foremost on his mind.” (Entergy Corporation, 2008). Couch’s original philosophy for strategic planning is still implemented by Entergy to this day. The company continues to grow into new markets to increase its sources of power to distribute to its existing and potential customers. With this growth, the strategic plan remains one of the most successful functions of Entergy’s management plan.
Operational planning occurs in the trenches, so to speak. It is the work of lower-to-middle management and all subsequent field workers who perform the tasks that help accomplish the overall corpor ...