Organisations That Fail to Plan are Planning to Fail

“Organisations that fail to plan are planning to fail.” Critically discuss this statement.

Businesses do not plan to fail, they fail to plan. In my opinion, the planning process is a vital component towards successful operation of any business, thus i believe the above statement to be correct. According to Stephen Chapman, planning is defined as ‘the process of setting targets and deciding how to achieve them. It acts as a link between the business owner’s ideas and the actual operation of the business’. (2011 pg. 396) It is a managerial and leadership task and is such an integral part of managing a business, especially in today’s rapidly changing environment.

The contemporary business environment is dynamic, ever-changing and increasingly competitive. Their is potential for success, but even more for failure. Businesses are heavily influenced by the changing organisational environment and this intern creates much uncertainty for managers and organisations. With increasing uncertainty in the external environment, the more important it is that managers engage in continual planning. (Robbins 2012 p. 32) Businesses must be flexible and evolve in accordance with their external environment.

Planning aims to reduce uncertainty. It does this by forcing managers to look ahead, anticipate change, consider the impact of change and develop appropriate responses. (Robbins 2012) Through attempted monitoring of conditions in a changing environment, one is able to respond quicker to new information and new circumstances, thereby becoming more flexible. In addition, having the environment under constant observation enables managers to analyse how the organisation will differentiate itself from its competitors, therefore facilitating more chan...

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