MGT 601: WEEK 2 DQ 2 - Assignment Example

Module Types of Plans Plans are capable of committing departments, individuals, resources and an organization towards specific actions aimed for the future. Managers are, therefore, capable of achieving their set organizational goals through three major plans namely Tactical Plans, Strategic Plans and Operational Plans. In addition, Managers should also come up with contingency plans just in case failure occurs in their original plans (Plunkett, et al, 2013). How the Plans are distinguished from one another It is prudent to note that operational plans result in the achievement or attainment of the tactical plans which, in turn, result in the achievement of the strategic plans.

An operational plan refers to one which is used by the manager in order to accomplish the job responsibilities. Operational plans which can either be ongoing plans or single-use plans are, therefore, developed by team leaders, supervisors and facilitators in order to support tactical plans. Tactical Plans are normally concerned with what must be done within each division in the lower level units, how they must perform it and who is responsible at each specific level. Tactical plans are normally concerned with narrower scopes and shorter time frames as opposed to the strategic plans.

On the other hand, a strategic plan contains an outline of the steps and goals of an entire organization and it can plan for five or more years. Contingency plans enable an organization to adapt, attain flexibility and master the changing business environment (Gupta, 2009). In my opinion, plans having incremental objectives cannot be effective as those which have stretched goals since stretch goals are capable of helping an individual to achieve new heights in performance through working towards a goal which is more aggressive and increasing the likelihood of boosting one’s results.

Stretch goals are more effective than plans having incremental objectives because they are capable of helping individuals to renew enthusiasm through encouragement and experimentation (Camelio, 2008). Works CitedCamelio, Frank. One Last Hope…New York, Xlibris Corporation, 2008. Gupta, Meenakshi. Principles of Management. New York, PHI Learning, 2009. Plunkett, W. R., Allen, G. S., & Attner, R.F). Management: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations. Mason, OH : South-Western Cengage Learning, 2013.