The correct answer is option 3- One-time activity.
One-time activity is not a feature of planning as planning is a continuous process.
Plans are prepared for a specific period of time, may be for a month, a quarter, or a year. At the end of that period there is need for a new plan to be drawn on the basis of new requirements and future conditions. Hence, planning is a continuous process. Continuity of planning is related with the planning cycle. It means that a plan is framed, it is implemented, and is followed by another plan, and so on.
OTHER OPTIONS
- Planning is futuristic & facilitates decision-making: Planning essentially involves looking ahead and preparing for the future. The purpose of planning is to meet future events effectively to the best advantage of an organisation. It implies peeping into the future, analysing it and predicting it. Planning is, therefore, regarded as a forward looking function based on forecasting. Through forecasting, future events and conditions are anticipated and plans are drawn accordingly. Planning helps the manager to look into the future and make a choice from amongst various alternative courses of action. The manager has to evaluate each alternative and select the most viable proposition. Planning involves setting targets and predicting future conditions, thus helping in taking rational decisions.
- Planning is pervasive: Planning is required at all levels of management as well as in all departments of the organisation. It is not an exclusive function of top management nor of any particular department. But the scope of planning differs at different levels and among different departments.
- Planning is a primary function of management: Planning lays down the base for other functions of management. All other managerial functions are performed within the framework of the plans drawn. Thus, planning precedes other functions. This is also referred to as the primacy of planning. The various functions of management are interrelated and equally important. However, planning provides the basis of all other functions.
|
