Standing Plan and Single Use Plan

TYPES OF PLANS

Single-Use Plan & Standing Plan

Single-use plan

• Single-use plans apply to activities that do not recur or repeat.
• Such Plan is developed to meet the needs of a unique situation.
• The length of a single-use plan differs greatly depending on the project in question, as a single event plan may only last one day while a single project may last weeks or months.
• Includes:-  - Budget , Programs

Standing plans – known as repeat use plans

• Are used over and over again because they focus on organizational situations that occur repeatedly.
• Usually made once and retain their value over years
• That is why they are also called repeated use plans.
• Includes:-  Policies, Procedures, Methods And Rules

Differences between standing and single-use plans

 Objectives:

• Objectives are the ends towards which the physical & human energies of the enterprise are channelized.
• All individuals, groups, and depts. are integrated, coordinated and directed to achieve this end.
• Objectives can be major, minor, collateral. They are set by the top-level management.

Strategy:

• Strategy is a comprehensive plan for accomplishing an organization‘s objectives.
• This comprehensive plan will include (3 dimensions):

1. Determining long term objectives
2. Adopting a particular course of action
3. Allocating resources necessary to achieve objectives

Policy:

• Organization general response to a particular problem/ situation.
• These are general statements/ understandings, which guide thinking & decision-making. A policy is an Organization's intention to act in certain ways when specific types of circumstances arise.
• Policies define the boundaries within which decisions can be made and they direct decisions towards the accomplishment of objectives.

Features

• The general response to a particular problem: guide managers in view of the repeated appearance of similar problems/situations
• Basis for objectives: Policies provide the routes to objectives.
• Provide guidelines for thinking/ action.
• Discretionary: provide scope for executive judgment.
• Top management‘s intention: generally formulated by top management. For operational purposes, managers at all levels also formulate their own policies

Examples: Recruitment policy, Pricing policy (for the elite segment); We don‘t sell on the credit's a policy of the sales dept.

PROCEDURE:

• A procedure is a series of related tasks that make up the chronological sequence & the established way of performing work to be accomplished.
• It gives a series of actions directed towards a goal.
• It specifies tasks to be performed /done sequentially for completing a piece of work

Features:

• Defines steps of doing different jobs/methods in routine. So it saves time.
• Helps to improve efficiency by providing standards and the best manner of doing work.
• Cuts across all dept. lines (e.g. execution of a sales order concerns sales, finance, production depts.)
• Help in the implementation of policies

Examples

Admission procedure, the Selection procedure for employees, Passport/Visa, Procedure for placing an order.

METHOD:

A method is a type of management plan that specifies the detailed and the best manner of performing a particular step, comprised in a procedure.

Features:

• Methods are formalized/-standardized ways of doing routine jobs
• These are standard ways of doing jobs, though there is no penalty for violation of methods
• These are defined to increase efficiency
• They are usually manual/ mechanical ways to perform an operation

Examples

• Depreciation methods: Straight line method, written down value method
• Methods of stocktaking: LIFO, FIFO, Training methods (e.g. orientation programs, lectures, etc.)

RULE:

• A rule requires that a specific action be taken for a situation.
• Rules are prescriptive directives to people in the org. and elsewhere to do or not to do things, to behave or not to behave in particular ways.

Features

• Rules indicate limits of acceptable behavior to the members of the org.
• They help to improve efficiency
• Help in maintaining discipline in the org.

Examples

•No smoking, No admission without permission

BUDGET:

A budget is a plan which states the expected results of a given future period in numerical terms. It may be expressed in time, money, or physical units.

Features:

• Presents the objectives of the enterprise in financial/Quantitative terms.
• Helps in financial control: provides standards by which actual performance can be measured.
• Coordinates activities of various depts. of a big enterprise by adjusting the departmental budgets into the master plan.

Since budgets specify measurable goals to be achieved within a specific period (usually one year), they inject a sense of clarity in directing and performing the activities of the org.

Examples -

Cash budget determines cash inflows and outflows, so that management knows how much cash it

should hold at all points of time for various purposes.

PROGRAMME:

• It is a comprehensive plan designed to implement the policies and accomplish objectives.
• It is a combination of goals, policies, task assignments, resource flows, etc.
• It is a concrete or well-designed scheme designed to accomplish a specific objective.
• It spells out the steps to be taken, resources to be used and the time taken to complete the task.
• It also indicates who should do what and how?

Features -

• Single-use abut comprehensive
• Action-based
• Result oriented
• Designed to ensure smooth and efficient functioning of the organization
• Great risk of failure due to changes in the environment

Example –

• Launching a new product.
• Training program.
• Advertising program.
• Expansion program.