Terms Which are Related to Planning

- Vision
- Mission
- Goals and Objectives
- Policies
- Program
- Rules
- Procedure
- Strategy

Vision:
Vision is mental picture of an organization.
What do we want to become in the future?
Vision talks about future time.

Vision statement example (MRRD):
A healthy, poverty free and opium free afghansitan, base on independence, democratic governance, self reliability and equitable development.

Mission:
It is the purpose or reason for the existence of an organization
Example: Marketing pharmaceutical products can be the mission of a drugs manufacturing company
Mission talks about present time.

Components of a mission statement:
Customer: Who are the customers?
Product or Service: What are the firms, Major products or services?
Market: Geographically, where does the firm compete?
Technology: is the firm technologically current?
Concern for survival, Growth and profitability: is the firm committed to growth and financial soundness?
Philosophy: what are the basic beliefs, values and ethical priorities of the firm?
Self Concept: What is the firm’s distinctive competence or major competitive advantage?
Concern for public image: Is the firm responsive to social, community and environmental concerns?
Concern for employees: Are employees being considered as valuable assets for the firm?

Mission Statement:
It is the purpose or reason for the existence of an organisation.
For Example: “What is our business?”
Shows what an organization wants to be and whom it wants to serve

Mission Statement example:
The Bellevue Hospital, with respect, compassion, integrity, and courage, honors the individuality and confidentiality of our patients, employees, and community, and is progressive in anticipating and providing future health care services.

Effective Missions/Visions:
- Broad in scope (meaningful)
- Not overly specific
- Reconciles interests among organisation members
- Finely balanced between specificity & generality

Effective Missions:
- Arouse positive feelings & emotions
- Motivate readers to action
- Generate favorable feeling of the firm

Mission Elements:
- Markets
- Technology
- Survival Growth Profit
- Philosophy
- Self-concept
- Public image
- Employees
- Customers
- Products/services

Goals and Objectives:
Quite frequently goals and objectives are used interchangeably
Goal: Is the end target or result
Strategic Goal: Broadly defined targets or future results set by top management. (Top Management)
Tactical Goal: targets or future results usually set by middle management for specific departments or units. (Middle-Management)
Operational Goal: are targets or future results set by lower management. (Lower Management)

Objectives:
Objectives are established at organisational, departmental or individual level
Policies: These are guidelines for action
Example 1: They indicate what is permitted and what is not permitted
Example 2: Promoting people is a personnel policy of a company

Program:
It is the actual course of action designed to carry out the established objective
Example: MBA, BBA,DBA etc.

Rules:
These are very specific actions to be taken or not taken with respect to situation

Example: wearing uniform or reporting to work at a particular time

Procedures:
These are instructions as to how a particular thing should be done
Example: Operating a machine or handling employee complaints

Strategy:
It is the method of shaping a company's future and involves determining the long-run direction of an organisation

Example: A company may have the strategy of diversifying into related business within next few years