PlansPlans are necessary to implement the

organization’s goalsTypes of plans:

PoliciesProceduresMethodsRulesProgramsProjectsBudgets

PlansSupport each otherMust be consistent and integratedEnsure consistency in application of plansTwo groups

Repeat useSingle use

Repeat-Use PlansApplicable whenever a problem situation

presents itself oftenInclude:

PoliciesProceduresRulesMethods

Repeat-Use Plans: Policies

Policies: Provide managers with general guidelines; reflect constraints, help coordinate activities, and are established by the executives of the organization

When a policy does not exist and guidance is needed, an “appealed policy” may need to be created by appealing to the administration for guidance in the absence of an existing policy.

Repeat-Use Plans:Policies

Should be clearly writtenProvide for flexibility

“whenever possible”“under usual circumstances”

Serve as guides to thinkingManagement may be reluctant to change

them Should be periodically reviewed

Repeat-Use Plans:Procedures

Derived from policiesMuch more specific than policiesServe as guides to action

Step by step (chronological order for acts to be performed)

Often created by managers/supervisorsWritten at different learning levels to meet

the needs of those performing the job

Repeat-Use Plans:Procedures

Creating ProceduresAnalyze the work to be doneInvolve the employee doing the job in the

procedure preparationHelp ensure consistent performance

Repeat-Use Plans:Methods

A standing plan for actionMore detailed than a procedureMethods = practicesAre concerned only with a single operation

or with one particular stepManager’s role is to determine the best

method

Using Work Simplification to Find Best Methods

Methods improvementAn organized approach to determine how

to accomplish a task with less effort, time, or cost.

Should encourage employee involvement

Repeat-Use Plans:Rules

Most explicit standing planIs a statement that either forbids or

requires a certain action or inaction without variation

Leaves no discretion in action to takeRelated to procedures in that they are

guides to actionLack order of steps

Policies establish the basis for rules

Repeat-Use Plans:Organizational ManualA comprehensive collection of decisions,

other repeat-use plans, organization charts, and job descriptions

A tool for orienting new staffExplains complex relationshipsDefines the organization’s objectives and

goalsNeeds to kept current

Single-Use PlansUsed for non-recurring situationsInclude:

ProgramsProjectsBudgets

Single Use Plans:Programs and ProjectsProgram:

A complex set of activities to achieve an objective

Has its own set of policies, procedures, and budget

Project:Smaller in scope than a programRequires coordination of other projects

Single-Use Plans:Programs and Projects

Coordinating a complex projectChart

Bar chart that shows planned and actual activities

Control devicePERT tool (Program Evaluation Review

Technique) Used by the military in the 1950s Critical path method (CPM) is a similar tool used

by civilians

PERTEffective for scheduling complex projects

where activities have interdependenciesSteps to creating a PERT Chart

Identify each task involved in the projectEstimate the time required to complete each

taskDetermine the relationships among tasksDetermine when the project must be

completed

PERTGraphic displayShows links between dependent tasks

Single-Use Plans:BudgetsPlans that express the anticipated

activities and results in numerical termsInstruments for controllingSupervisors should be involved in

preparing the budgetThoroughly cover all critical needsCreates buy-in in controlling the use of

financial resources

Dunn, Rose (2007) Haimann’s Healthcare Management (8th Ed). Chicago, Il. Health Administration Press.

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