As you progress through your BSBA program you will come across a required course that is described, variously, as Principles of Management, Management Theory or something similar. Do not be alarmed. This is a straightforward, relatively easy course.
Managers, first of all, are planners. Whether they operate a small business or work in a large corporation, they will encounter at least the following four types of plans:
- Short-range plan (annual budget)
- Mid-range plan (2 - 4 years in the future; prepared in functional areas)
- Long-range plans (5+ years is the usual horizon; covers the entire enterprise and sets forth broad goals and methods for reaching them)
- Contingency plans (how to deal with sudden changes in technology, competition, etc.)
At the BSBA level, students will normally get only an "introduction" to each of these plans. At the graduate level, however, students may spend an entire semester studying just one of the four (Strategic Planning, for example, is a common graduate-level course).
The owner of a small, struggling business must develop plans if he expects to be successful. However, the plans need not be formal, bound documents. Sometimes the business owner works on his budget or sets out mid- and long-range goals in a 3-ring binder. That's fine. In a big corporation, however, the process is much more formalized.
Even government follows planning principles. The Department of Defense, for example, continually updates its Future Years Defense Plan, also known as the "FYDP". Next time: organizing!
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