Meaning of planning

Planning is a purposeful process in which an organisation decides both the desired ends and the means for reaching them. The governing concept is feasibility: an objective is useful only when the organisation can select suitable resources, methods, time and people to pursue it. For example, a target of doubling output requires capacity, finance, labour and an appropriate production method; the target alone does not make it achievable. Thus option A is correct because the fit between means and objectives tests whether the plan is practical and internally consistent. Option B is wrong because means must support objectives, option C is wrong because resources are scarce, and option D is wrong because objectives give planning its direction.

Planning connects a broad, usually long-term objective with specific actions, schedules and intermediate steps. The governing concept is alignment: each smaller activity should contribute to the larger purpose, and short-term decisions should move the organisation towards its long-term target. If that connection is missing, employees may complete isolated tasks without advancing the main objective; the plan then lacks coherence and practical direction. Therefore option A is correct because it describes the imbalance between the long-term end and the short-term means or actions. Option B is not a defect here, since resources may be adequate. Option C describes accurate forecasting, not disconnection, and option D concerns wages rather than the structure of planning.

The governing concept is the future orientation of planning. Planning is performed in the present, but it involves selecting actions today after thinking about the conditions and results expected in the future. A decision about investment, production, staffing or marketing can influence later performance, so the planner compares alternatives and chooses the one most likely to support the desired objective. Hence option A is correct: planning links a present choice with a future objective or result. Option B is incorrect because past information may help forecasting but planning is not limited to the past. Option C is incorrect because choice and decision-making are essential parts of planning, while option D is incorrect because every plan is directed towards specified objectives.

In planning, ends refer to the objectives or results an organisation wants to achieve, while means refer to the policies, strategies, procedures, resources and actions used to reach them. The governing concept is the dual nature of planning: it determines the destination and selects a workable route to that destination. A sales target without a method, budget or schedule is incomplete, just as a method without a desired result has no direction. Therefore option B is correct because planning predetermines both what is to be achieved and how it is to be achieved. Option A is incomplete, option C wrongly removes objectives, and option D wrongly removes the means needed for implementation.

Planning is a process that precedes action. Its governing concept is prior decision-making: managers think about objectives, alternatives, resources, sequence and likely conditions before implementation starts. This preparation provides direction and reduces avoidable confusion, although it cannot remove every uncertainty. For instance, before launching a product, an organisation may decide the target market, budget, production method, schedule and responsibilities. Thus option A is correct because direction, means and method are settled in advance so that action can be coordinated towards an objective. Option B reverses the sequence, option C denies the connection between planning and action, and option D confuses planning decisions with evaluation, which normally occurs after or alongside implementation.