Which of the following explains why planning is said to reduce creativity?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Middle managers are neither allowed to deviate from plans nor permitted to act on their own.
Option (1) Huge costs are incurred on boardroom meetings and discussions with experts. — Incorrect. Expenses on meetings and experts show that planning involves huge costs.
Option (2) Plans take so much time that little time is left for their implementation. — Incorrect. This is the limitation planning is a time-consuming process. Little time is left to carry out the plan.
Option (3) Managers may not be able to change a pre-decided plan when circumstances change. — Incorrect. This is rigidity. A pre-decided plan is hard to change when circumstances change.
Option (4) Middle managers are neither allowed to deviate from plans nor permitted to act on their own. — Correct. Middle managers must follow the plans of the top management. Since they cannot act on their own, their initiative and creativity get lost.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “(i) Planning leads to rigidity: In an organisation, a well-defined plan is drawn up with specific goals to be achieved within a specific time frame. These plans then decide the future course of action and managers may not be in a position to change it. This kind of rigidity in plans may create difficulty. Managers need to be given some flexibility to be able to cope with the changed circumstances. Following a pre-decided plan, when circumstances have changed, may not turn out to be in the organisations interest.” “(iii) Planning reduces creativity: Planning is an activity which is done by the top management. Usually the rest of the members just implements these plans. As a consequence, middle management and other decision makers are neither allowed to deviate from plans nor are they permitted to act on their own. Thus, much of the initiative or creativity inherent in them also gets lost or reduced. Most of the time, employees do not even attempt to formulate plans. They only carry out orders. Thus, planning in a way reduces creativity since people tend to think along the same lines as others. There is nothing new or innovative.” “(iv) Planning involves huge costs: When plans are drawn up huge costs are involved in their formulation. These may be in terms of time and money for example, checking accuracy of facts may involve lot of time. Detailed plans require scientific calculations to ascertain facts and figures. The costs incurred sometimes may not justify the benefits derived from the plans. There are a number of incidental costs as well, like expenses on boardroom meetings, discussions with professional experts and preliminary investigations to find out the viability of the plan.” “(v) Planning is a time-consuming process: Sometimes plans to be drawn up take so much of time that there is not much time left for their implementation.” |