Planning/Control Cycle – How to Do + Free Essay Samples

The planning/control cycle is a critical process businesses use to achieve their goals and objectives. It involves continuously reviewing and evaluating performance against set targets, identifying areas for improvement, and developing strategies to address them. In this article, we will explore the planning/control cycle and its importance for an organization’s success and provide a step-by-step guide on how to conduct it.

🔝 Top-11 Planning/Control Cycle Examples

1. The Product Life Cycle in Management Success
2. Service Procurement And Provision
3. E-Commerce Life Cycle Analysis
4. The Project Management Body of Knowledge: Project Procurement Management
5. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.: Budget Planning and Control
6. Budget Planning and Control at a Charter School
7. Risk Management Implementation in the Project Life Cycle
8. Quality Management Initiatives to Improve Products
9. The Significance of Carbon Disclosure Project on Supply Chain and Life Cycle
10. Project Management Theory and Practice
11. Improving Organizational Performance and Management

🤓 Planning/Control Cycle Explained

Effective planning is essential for the success of any project, and the planning/control cycle is a process that can help you achieve this goal. Breaking down a project into phases enables organizations to carefully plan each stage and ensure that all parts of the project are coordinated. Additionally, the planning/control cycle helps identify and manage potential risks, adjust budgets, and refine processes as necessary, ensuring the project progresses successfully.

What Is Planning and Control Cycle?

It’s essential to plan every project stage to ensure its success. It means that a company needs to conduct research, develop a specific statement, and define the purpose and objectives of the project. Aligning the project with the overall goals of the company is also crucial. All these activities comprise the planning and control cycle, which organizes the planning process into a step-wise or phase-wise set of activities. By following this cycle, project participants can ensure that all facets of the project are brought together and executed in a coordinated and efficient manner.

Why Is the Planning and Control Cycle Important?

The planning control cycle has many benefits; here is what it does in practice:

1. Creates a strategy. The planning/control cycle aids in coordinating and focusing efforts toward specified goals more effectively.
2. Helps with the effective use of resources. Planning assists managers in determining where resources are most needed so that they can be allocated where they will be most beneficial.
3. Sets performance standards. The planning and control cycle defines desired outcomes and benchmarks to identify progress. It creates a standard for assessing when things are moving forward and when they need adjustment.
4. Provides motivation and dedication. People are more willing to work toward a clearly defined goal. The planning control cycle reduces uncertainty and outlines what everyone is expected to accomplish.
5. Allows flexibility. The goal-setting process helps managers to identify key internal resources and important external factors that need to be monitored. That way, when changes occur, the company is more likely to know how to react.

📝7 Steps of the Planning/Control Cycle

The planning/control cycle is one of the most effective ways to go through the project planning process. There are seven practical steps in the process.

I. Set Goals	A successful planning and control cycle starts with setting up goals. The goals must be SMART, namely specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Another method of establishing goals is to set quantifiable levels for all targets. It will create long-term or short-term objectives and evaluate the time for their achievement. Setting benchmarks is also crucial since they can help compare the company’s performance with those of rivals.
II. Identify Strategies	After establishing the goals, create a plan of action. The strategies for a project can be chosen based on the global objectives and their priority in the planning phase. Identifying strategies usually entails thoroughly analyzing an organization’s external and internal dynamics. This analysis will provide outcomes determining the type of strategy to employ.
	External Analysis A firm must be aware of its external influences, such as its economic status in its local area. Data about these external challenges will aid the company in improving weak areas and predicting environmental threats. There are various methods of conducting external analysis, but the PESTEL analysis is the most frequent and easiest to apply.
	Internal Analysis An internal analysis is a procedure that evaluates all of the components that interact within an organization to find failures and opportunities. It assists management in making judgments on business strategy development, formulation, and implementation methods. You can use Porter’s value chain model or Boston Consulting Group matrix to evaluate your organization’s internal environment.
III. Evaluate Strategies	This step in the planning and control cycle includes analysis and evaluation of financial performance in the context of the business’s goals. There are various economic parameters and financial ratios, such as EPS, profit margin ratio, or dividend per share ratio. Non-financial metrics can be assessed using the SWOT or GAP analysis. This step aims to review how well the strategy serves its purpose and make adjustments if needed.
IV. Alternative Strategies	After the assessment procedure, it’s crucial to determine whether a company needs to use alternative tactics. The management may opt to change the strategic direction of the product or the company’s market positioning. The alternative tactical shift may occur at various levels, including changes in the organizational structure, the product marketing mix, or the financial goals. This step will help the organization minimize risks and avoid costly mistakes.
V. Implementation of Strategic Plans	This step requires implementing the needed changes and evaluating various strategic courses. An effective project plan must communicate the goals and define roles and responsibilities. A clear understanding of these will eliminate uncertainty and allow project members to accomplish their tasks without issues.
VI. Performance Measurement and Plan Comparison	The performance evaluation can be conducted on a financial basis, like profitability or return on capital. It can also be carried out by non-financial criteria, including value addition, client engagement, and CSR values. Ultimately, you can use the Balance scorecard approach to receive internal company insight on long-term strategic performance evaluations.
VII. GAP and Variance Analysis	Finally, you must analyze the strategic plan and control cycle with the help of GAP and Variance analysis. The GAP analysis looks at the gap between achieved and planned goals. This approach will also help you identify issues and learning points for future reference. If you find any deviation from the plan, you may implement remedial steps to improve the strategy.