管理学学习资料：robbins_mgmt11_im09a.docVIP

Planning Tools and Techniques Module In the study of this module, students will have an opportunity to learn essential knowledge about the planning tools and techniques that can help any business to reach the objectives driven by its organizational mission. MODULE OUTLINE INTRODUCTION This section introduces some of the basic planning tools and techniques that can be used by managers in helping organizations to achieve their goals. 1. TECHNIQUES FOR ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENT The following techniques have been developed to assist managers in assessing the organization’s environment: A. Environmental Scanning Environmental scanning is the screening of large amounts of information to anticipate and interpret changes in the environment. Research has shown that both large and small companies with advanced environmental scanning systems have increased their profits and revenue growth. Competitor intelligence is an environmental scanning activity by which organizations gather information about competitors. In using this fastest-growing environmental scanning activity, companies seek to identify their competitors, learn what their competitors are doing, and gain information about the possible effect of competitors’ actions on their organization. 2. Global scanning is an especially important type of environmental scanning used by managers to assess changes and trends in the global environment through the gathering of vital global information. B. Forecasting Environmental scanning provides the foundation for developing forecasts, which are predictions of outcomes. 1. Forecasting techniques can be grouped into two main categories: a. Quantitative forecasting applies a set of mathematical rules to a series of past data to predict outcomes. b. Qualitative forecasting uses the judgment and opinions of knowledgeable individuals to predict outcomes. c. Exhibit PM-1 describes some popular forecasting techniques. 2. Managers must consider effectiveness when deciding which fore