Meaning of Planning
·
“Planning is deciding in advance about what to do, how to do it, when
to do it, and who is to do it. It provide ends to be achieved”.
- Stephen P. Robbins
·
“Planning is the process by which managers define goals and take necessary
steps to ensure that goals are achieved
- Richard Steers
·
“To some people, planning means specifying a plan of action; to
others, determining the most efficient allocation
of resources; still to others, identifying
the future want”.- Mary Arnold
·
A plan is defined as a road map, as
preparation, as an arrangement. Planning defines where one wants to go, how
to get there and the timetable for the journey. Complete planning sets
out indicators for tracking progress and ways to measure if the trip was worth the
investment. Health System
Intelligence Project – 2006 Ontario
Health Planning
·
Health planning “The systematic
process of defining community health problems; identifying unmet needs and surveying the resources
to meet them; establishing the priority goals
that are realistic and feasible and projecting administrative actions to accomplish the purpose of anticipated
program”. - WHO
Planning answer the Question
·
Where are we now? ( assessment)
·
Where do we want to
go? ( priorities, goal, objectives, targets, decisions)
·
How will we get
there? (strategy, management)
·
How will we know
where we arrive? (monitoring, evaluation)
Planning
In summary “Planning is a systematic process
of:
1. defining health needs;
2. prioritize the
problems;
3. setting goals,
objectives and strategies;
4. analyze and allocate
resources;
5. prepare details plan of
action and
6. setting monitoring and
evaluation methods”
Why planning ? / Purpose of planning
To match limited
resources with many problems
To eliminate
wasteful expenditures or duplication of expenditures
To develop the best
course of actions for achieving the defined objectives
The
purpose of planning is to ensure that a program has the best possible
likelihood of being successful defined in terms of being effective with the
least possible resources (greater
outcome with least resources).
Importance of planning
·
Control risk and uncertainty of the project
·
Allocate resources in the coordinated manner
·
Establish standards of performance of
monitoring and evaluation
·
Provide a structured to execute the project
·
Establish procedure to make correction the
project work
·
Achieve results in time in estimated cost and
desired level of quality performance
·
Improve efficiency of project operation by
minimizing waste
Characteristics of planning
·
Futuristic in nature
·
Systematic process
·
Change oriented
·
Continuous and dynamic
·
Goal-focused
·
Efficiency
·
Pervasiveness (concern in all level)
Types of Planning
Types of planning is
vague. There is no any specific classification of planning, rather it is classified
in different perspectives.
A. Types of planning –
by duration
1. Long term planning: long term planning usually covers several
years of planning, deals with subject which needs long time to meet (e.g.
HR, infrastructure)
2. Medium term planning: usually 3-7 years period, more
concerned achieving pre-defined goals and objectives
3. Short term planning: mostly 1-2 year period, link with
government’s budget period
B. Types of planning -
by level
1. Top level planning: focuses on setting directions and policies,
known as health policy plan, guide and regulate health system
2. Middle level planning: deals with translation of policy in to
operation, known as health sector program planning
3. Lower level planning: deals with necessary arrangement for
implementation including formulation of projects, basically known as health
project planning
C. Types of planning
– by function
1. Strategic planning: Strategic planning involves determining the goals and gives general
direction of healthcare delivery and the development of the overall
framework and principles, which may require “engineering” an agreement between
various stakeholders.
2. Strategic planning is a
process where top-level management sets long-term organizational goals and
determines where an organization is going over a period time, more -typically 3 to 5 years, although
some extend their vision to 10 to 20 years.
1. Operational planning (tactical): Operational planning
refers to the translation of strategic objectives into action. includes concrete sequence of
activities, involving the allocation of budgets and resources, the provision of
facilities, equipment and staff and the organization of services. Operational
plans that are short-term and deal with the day-to-day work of their
team. Short-term goals are aligned with the long-term goals and can be achieved
within a month, quarter or up to one year.
