Management Planning

Planning is the first of the four functions of management. “Planning is specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals” (Bateman, T., Snell, S. 2007, chapter 1). There are three types of planning that organization’s use-strategic, tactical and operational.

Strategic planning involves making decisions about the organization's long-term goals and strategies. Tactical planning translates broad strategic goals and plans into specific goals and plans that are relevant to a definite portion of the organization, often a functional area like marketing or human resources. Operational planning identifies the specific procedures and processes required at lower levels of the organization (Bateman, T., Snell, S. 2007, chapter 4).

These three aspects of planning need to be aligned with each other in order for them to be successful. Certain factors also need to be taken into consideration when implementing the different types of planning in order for them to be effective and accomplish the desired goals. With planning, decisions are made about what types of activities a company will take part in and what types of resources are needed to achieve its goals. Planning not only includes evaluating a company’s current state of affairs but also includes assessing what the future will look like.

Halliburton is an oil company that “provides and integrates products and services that add value through the entire lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs.” (Halliburton, 2008) Halliburton also provides construction and military support services along with its oilfield technologies and services. In my opinion, all facets of planning at the organization, Halliburton, have been extremely successful. This is apparent through the continued growth and success of the company since it was first founded in 1919. The founder of the company, Erle P. Halliburton, was dedicated “to technological leadership, operational excellence, innovative business relationships and a dynamic workforce”, (Halliburton, 2008) which were all achieved and continue to be achieved through appropriate business planning. Efficient strategic planning through the years allowed Halliburton to acquire and merge with other companies that would further enhance and compliment its business affairs. Now in the twenty-first Century, Halliburton’s valuable planning still continues with separation of the different business groups into two companies so that they “can better strengthen their business lines and compete effectively on a global basis” (Halliburton, 2008).

While implementing its strategic, tactical and operational planning, Halliburton seems to have analyzed efficiently the external environment, its internal strengths and finances to help the company grow to what it is today. From the external environment perspective, an organization needs to know what the public needs so that they can be successful. Halliburton has developed a supplier diversity program, which fits the different needs for different customers around the world. As for internal strengths, a company needs to have knowledgeable and dedicated employees to implement its strategies. Halliburton has an attractive educational program and even offers employees an opportunity to work and train at its locations around the world. Financial security enables an organization to implement its business plans without cutting corners and enables the purchase of other companies to strengthen business. Halliburton has made strategic business purchases and merged with other companies, which has been possible due to their financial stability.

In addition to the aforementioned factors, ethics, legal issues and corporate social responsibility are other factors that can have an impact on the way the different aspects of planning are developed. For example, business ethics play a major role in developing and maintaining proper business plans. Companies develop a code of ethics, which outlines their business beliefs, for employees to follow. “Business ethics comprises the moral principles and standards that guide behavior in the world of business” (Bateman, T., Snell, S. 2007, chapter 5). Companies with employees that bill clients need to practice and uphold good business ethics when reporting the amount of hours worked on a client’s project. If an employee were to take a longer lunch and not want the main company to know, billing the extra time to the client would be unethical. In regards to the second factor, no company plans to encounter legal issues but it is something that needs to be considered when planning since legal issues can become known to the public and can have an extremely negative impact that will be hard to be reversed. To try and help avoid legal issues, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed by Congress in 2002 due