20 Planning

Planning begins by anticipating potential problems or opportunities the organization may encounter. Managers then design strategies to solve current problems, prevent future problems, or take advantage of opportunities. These strategies serve as the foundation for goals, objectives, policies, and procedures. Put simply, planning is deciding what needs to be done to achieve organizational objectives, identifying when and how it will be done, and determining who should do it. Effective planning requires extensive information about the external business environment in which the firm competes, as well as its internal environment.

There are four basic types of planning: strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency. Most of us use these different types of planning in our own lives. Some plans are very broad and long term (more strategic in nature), such as planning to attend graduate school after earning a bachelor’s degree. Some plans are much more specific and short term (more operational in nature), such as planning to spend a few hours in the library this weekend. Your short-term plans support your long-term plans. If you study now, you have a better chance of achieving some future goal, such as getting a job interview or attending graduate school. Like you, organizations tailor their plans to meet the requirements of future situations or events. A summary of the four types of planning appears in Table 6.2.

Strategic planning involves creating long-range (one to five years), broad goals for the organization and determining what resources will be needed to accomplish those goals. An evaluation of external environmental factors such as economic, technological, and social issues is critical to successful strategic planning. Strategic plans, such as the organization’s long-term mission, are formulated by top-level managers and put into action at lower levels in the organization. For example, when Mickey Drexler took over as CEO of J.Crew, the company was floundering and had been recently purchased by a private equity group. One of Drexler’s first moves was to change the strategic direction of the company by moving it out of the crowded trend-following retail segment, where it was competing with stores such as Gap, American Eagle, and Abercrombie and back into the preppie, luxury segment where it began. Rather than trying to sell abundant inventory to a mass market, J.Crew cultivated scarcity, making sure items sold out early rather than hit the sale rack later in the season. The company also limited the number of new stores it opened during a two-year span but planned to double the number of stores in the next five to six years. Drexler led the company through public offerings and back to private ownership before bringing on a new CEO in 2017. He remained chairman with ownership in the company.⁴

Table 6.2

In all organizations, plans and goals at the tactical and operational levels should clearly support the organization’s mission statement.

Tactical planning begins the implementation of strategic plans. Tactical plans have a shorter (less than one year) time frame than strategic plans and more specific objectives designed to support the broader strategic goals. Tactical plans begin to address issues of coordinating and allocating resources to different parts of the organization.

Under Mickey Drexler, many new tactical plans were implemented to support J.Crew’s new strategic direction. For example, he severely limited the number of stores opened each year, with only nine new openings in the first two years of his tenure (he closed seven). Instead, he invested the company’s resources in developing a product line that communicated J.Crew’s new strategic direction. Drexler dumped trend-driven apparel because it did not meet the company’s new image. He even cut some million-dollar volume items. In their place, he created limited editions of a handful of garments that he thought would be popular, many of which fell into his new luxury strategy. For example, J.Crew now buys shoes directly from the same shoe manufacturers that produce footwear for designers such as Prada and Gucci. In general, J.Crew drastically tightened inventories, a move designed to keep reams of clothes from ending up on sale racks and to break its shoppers’ habit of waiting for discounts.

This part of the plan generated great results. Prior to Drexler’s change in strategy, half of J.Crew’s clothing sold at a discount. After implementing tactical plans aimed to change that situation, only a small percentage does. The shift to limited editions and tighter inventory controls has not reduced the amount of new merchandise, however. On the contrary, Drexler created a J.Crew bridal collection, a jewelry line, and Crew Cuts, a line of kids’ clothing. The results of Drexler’s tactical plans were impressive. J.Crew saw same-store sales rise 17 percent in one year.⁵

Operational planning creates specific standards, methods, policies, and procedures that are used in specific functional areas of the organization. Operational objectives are current, narrow, and resource focused. They are designed to help guide and control the implementation of tactical plans. In an industry where new versions of software have widely varying development cycles, Autodesk, maker of software tools for designers and engineers, implemented new operational plans that dramatically increased profits. Former CEO Carol Bartz shifted the company away from the erratic release schedule it had been keeping to regular, annual software releases. By releasing upgrades on a defined and predictable schedule, the company is able to use annual subscription pricing, which is more affordable for small and midsize companies. The new schedule keeps Autodesk customers on the most recent versions of popular software and has resulted in an overall increase in profitability.⁶

The key to effective planning is anticipating future situations and events. Yet even the best-prepared organization must sometimes cope with unforeseen circumstances, such as a natural disaster, an act of terrorism, or a radical new technology. Therefore, many companies have developed contingency plans that identify alternative courses of action for very unusual or crisis situations. The contingency plan typically stipulates the chain of command, standard operating procedures, and communication channels the organization will use during an emergency.

An effective contingency plan can make or break a company. Consider the example of Marriott Hotels in Puerto Rico. Anticipating Hurricane Maria in 2017, workers at the San Juan Marriott had to shift from their regular duties to handling the needs of not only customers, but everyone who needed assistance in the wake of the hurricane that devastated the island. A contingency plan and training for events such as this were a key part of managing this crisis.⁷ The company achieved its goal of being able to cater to guest and general needs due to planning and training while having a contingency plan in place. One guest commented on TripAdvisor, “Could not believe how friendly, helpful & responsive staff were even during height of hurricane. Special thanks to Eydie, Juan, Jock, Ashley and security Luis. They kept us safe & were exemplary. Will always stay at Marriott from now on.”⁸ Within one month after Hurricane Maria hit, operations were back to normal at the San Juan Marriott.⁹