Managers at a New York City import-export company suspected that two employees were robbing it. Corporate Defense Strategies (CDS) of Maywood, New Jersey, advised the firm to plan and install a software program that could secretly log every single stroke of the suspects’ computer keys and send an encrypted e-mail report to CDS. Investigators revealed that the two employees were deleting orders from the corporate books after processing them, pocketing the revenues, and building their own company from within. The programme picked up on their plan to return to the office late one night to steal a large shipment of electronics. Police hid in the rafters of the firm’s warehouse, and when the suspects entered, they were arrested. The pair were charged with embezzling $3 million over two and a half years, a sizable amount of revenue for a $25 million-a-year firm.
The following is not a standing plan:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Programme
A standing plan is made once and used again and again for work that keeps coming back. A single-use plan is made for one event or project and ends when that event is over.
Option (1) Policy — A standing plan (Incorrect). A policy is a general guide to how the organisation responds to a situation that keeps arising, like the admission policy of a school.
Option (2) Procedure — A standing plan (Incorrect). A procedure lists the steps to follow each time a particular situation occurs, like the procedure for reporting progress in production.
Option (3) Programme — Not a standing plan (Correct). A programme sets out the objectives, policies, procedures, rules and budget for one particular project. Once the project is finished, the programme is not used again, so it is a single-use plan.
Option (4) Method — A standing plan (Incorrect). A method is the set manner in which a routine task is done.
Note: The case study is taken from the chapter ‘Controlling’, but this question is based on the chapter ‘Planning’. However, since it is a case-study based question, all the questions on this case study are tagged to the chapter the case study is taken from.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Single-use Plan: A single-use plan is developed for a one-time event or project. Such a course of action is not likely to be repeated in future, i.e., they are for non-recurring situations. The duration of this plan may depend upon the type of the project. It may span a week or a month. A project may sometimes be of only one day, such as, organising an event or a seminar or conference. These plans include budgets, programmes and projects. …” “Standing Plan: A standing plan is used for activities that occur regularly over a period of time. It is designed to ensure that internal operations of an organisation run smoothly. Such a plan greatly enhances efficiency in routine decision-making. It is usually developed once but is modified from time to time to meet business needs as required. Standing plans include policies, procedures, methods and rules.” |