Contemporary Planning Techniques Project A onetimeonly set of

Contemporary Planning Techniques • Project – A one-time-only set of activities that has a definite beginning and ending point time • Project Management – The task of getting a project’s activities done on time, within budget, and according to specifications • Define project goals • Identify all required activities, materials, and labour • Determine the sequence of completion Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada 30

Exhibit 8. 13 Project Planning Process Define objectives Identify activities and resources Establish sequences Estimate time for activities Determine project completion date Compare with objectives Determine additional resource requirements Source: Based on R. S. Russell and B. W. Taylor III, Production and Operations Management (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995), p. 287. Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada 31

Contemporary Planning Techniques • Scenario – A consistent view of what the future is likely to be • Scenario Planning – An attempt not to try to predict the future but to reduce uncertainty by playing out potential situations under different specified conditions • Contingency Planning – Developing scenarios that allow managers to determine in advance what their actions should be should a considered event actually occur Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada 32

Tips for Managers: Preparing for Unexpected Events • Identify potential unexpected events. • Determine if any of these events would have early indicators. • Set up an information gathering system to identify early indicators. • Have appropriate responses (plans) in place if these unexpected events occur. Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada 33

Summary and Implications • What is environmental scanning and how is it done? – Environmental scanning screens large amounts of information to anticipate and interpret changes in the environment • What tools can managers use to allocate resources more effectively? – Managers can allocate resources through budgeting, scheduling, breakeven analysis, linear programming • How does one manage projects? – Project management Chapter 8, Stephen P. Robbins, Mary Coulter, and Nancy Langton, Management, Ninth Canadian Edition Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada 34