Task IV. What are the benefits that organizations realize through good planning?

- improving the social status of the staff;

- reducing uncertainty;

- reducing absenteeism;

- introducing the flexibility to change;

- raising the salary;

- stimulating the employees and getting the most of their potential;

- establishing a direction for the organization;

- coordinating the work of top managers;

- coordinating the diverse activities within the firm;

- predicting and controlling the future

Task V. Translate the following sentences into Russian:

1. Typically, an organization formulates a single broad plan to direct its overall activities; within that organization individual managers use very different methods to generate plans for accomplishing their specific goals and objectives.

2. Planning consists of two basic phases, the first one is a five-year strategic growth plan and the other one is the annual plan which on a year-to-year basis becomes the first year of your next five-year plan.

3. There is no single method of planning to fit every situation. The type of planning a manager uses, and the emphasis he or she puts on planning, depends on the manager’s position in the organizational hierarchy.

4. Planning may involve a single manager, a management team, or a whole department dedicated just to planning. The work of these planners usually results in a written document, which is the end product of a series of studies, forecasts, and managerial decisions.

5. Most organizations use both short- and long-term planning strategies; both serve a distinct purpose and both are necessary components of an effective overall planning system.

6. The short-term planning results basically in extrapolation or extending the trends past two or three years in the future.

7. Planning isn’t an isolated act that takes place at a certain point of time and then stops; it’s a process, an ongoing activity that continues throughout the life of any organization.

8. The function of planning is to help to reduce the uncertainty by giving some explicit consideration to what might happen in the environment and uncovering those problem areas that might occur.

9. One of the crucial functions of planning is to allow a company to set a long-term stable direction for the business.

10. Planning sets the stage for the four other managerial functions, and is absolutely critical to the success of any organization.

C. Follow-up activity.