Modern Management: concepts and skills, 14/e

Types of Plans

With the repetitiveness dimension as a guide, organizational plans are usually divided into two types: standing and single-use. A standing plan is used over and over again because it focuses on organizational situations that occur repeatedly. A single-use plan is used only once—or, at most, a few times—because it focuses on unique or rare situations within the organization. As Figure 5.2 illustrates, standing plans can be subdivided into policies, procedures, and rules, and single-use plans can be subdivided into programs and budgets.

Standing Plans: Policies, Procedures, and Rules

A policy is a standing plan that furnishes broad guidelines for taking action that is consistent with reaching organizational objectives. For example, ...