Question

‘Planning is not a guarantee of success.’ In this context, explain the limitations of Planning.

Answer 1

“Planning is not a guarantee of success.” It suffers from various limitations:

1. Planning may not work in a dynamic environment: The environment in which a business exists is very dynamic. Changes in technology, changes in government policies, legislative enactments, industrial unrest in the country, etc. are important external limitations of planning. Thus, it becomes very difficult to forecast the future when the economic policies of the government keep on changing continuously.
2. Time-Consuming: Considerable time is required for the collection, analysis, and interpretation of information for planning. Sometimes, a lot of time is taken in formulating the plans, as a result of which very little time is left to implement these plans. Planning is not practicable during emergencies and crisis when on the spot decisions are necessary.
3. Rigidity: In an organization, a well-defined plan is drawn to achieve some specified goals within a specified period of time. Employees become more concerned with observing the programs and procedures rather than achieving the goals. They have to strictly adhere to the formulated plans irrespective of changes in the environment. Therefore, rigidity in plans may create difficulty in an organization.
4. Costly Process: Planning is an expensive process. The cost is in terms of money, time and effort. Moreover, sometimes the cost incurred in formulating plans turns out to be higher than the benefits actually received from these plans. Management must exercise intelligent judgment to balance the expenses of preparing plans against the benefits derived from them.
5. Lack of Accuracy: Forecasts, which are projections of the future, serve as the foundation for planning. Plans become deceptive when the projections are off. As the plan time lengthens, the degree of inaccuracy rises. This is due to the fact that predictions about the distant future can be made with less precision.
6. False Sense of Security: Employees may feel that everything has been taken care of if there is thorough planning. They can view labour that follows plans as completely satisfactory. They might not be able to enhance performance and might limit themselves to meeting plan needs.
7. Psychological Barrier: People are resistant to changing long-standing customs, beliefs, and behaviours because they are accustomed to them. The main psychological barrier, according to McFarland, is that executives, like the majority of people, place greater value on the present than on the future. In addition to being more desirable, the present is also more certain than the future.