Management Planning and Ethics

Bateman and Snell (2003) state that "planning is the conscious, systematic process of making decisions about goals and activities that an individual, group, work unit, or organization will pursue in the future" (Planning and strategic management, p. 108). There are several levels in the planning process. Strategic planning involves setting long-term goals and is a function traditionally employed by top-level management. Newer models of strategic planning tend to involve all levels of management. Examples for strategic planning include profitability and productivity. Tactical planning is carried out by mid-level management and focuses on the required actions to achieve the strategic goals. At this point, the planning process is divided into smaller parts which are important to a certain department or functional area of the company. The process shifts to a short-term approach. Operational planning is carried out by frontline managers and includes routine tasks, such as human resources requirements. According to Bateman and Snell (2004) these three stages of planning have to be linked to form a cohesive unit. A fairly recent approach to accomplishing this is called "Strategic Management". In strategic management all levels of management play a part in the design and implementation of strategic goals. This involves the creation of a vision, a mission, and long-term goals. An analysis of external opportunities and threats and internal strengths and weaknesses is conducted, which leads to the SWOT analysis in which all factors are taken into account and a detailed plan is derived. Several factors play a role in determining the planning process in a company. Some of these factors in my organization include legal issues, ethics and corporate social responsibility.
In my organization specifically the planning stage starts when a client is considering the company for a translation or localization project. The manager of the department makes a decision whether or not the

References: Bateman, T. & Snell, S. (2003). Management: The new competitive landscape, 6th Edition, p.108. Retrieved from rEsource database October 18, 2006. Wikipedia. Corporate Social Responsibility. Retrieved October 21, 2006 from http://www.wikipedia.org/