3.
Organization and Planning Methods.
There are four fundamental methods of organizing the staff for planning:
Use the existing organization without change.
This first method
applies to normal operation of the unit and generally is preferable to
the other methods. Each staff member contributes to the overall plan,
but remains in his/her normal assignment and location.
Planners
coordinate with staff officers in other sections or levels of command
by exchanging visits and correspondence.
Create a permanent planning section or subsection.
In this second
method, a specially created agency does all the long-range planning
for the organization.
This leaves the other agencies free to
concentrate their efforts on short-range plans and current operations.
This method is useful when current operations are intense and
operations personnel have little time for planning. It also is useful
when current and future operations are not closely connected.
Additional personnel usually are necessary to staff these planning
sections and subsections. Extra facilities also may be necessary for
complete separation of the planning and operational staffs.
Create a temporary planning committee.
This third method, which is
the ad hoc committee method, is often created to resolve specific
problems or to devise a specific plan of action. Since staffing of ad
hoc committees diverts personnel from their normal duties, these
committees should be used only to prevent a staff from becoming
overextended or when a special planning action is required.
Use a combination of the above methods.
The fourth method, for
example, is the assembly of a planning section to work on planning
tasks of common interest. When the tasks are completed, the planners
return to their own sections to prepare their assigned portions of the
overall plan using the existing organization.
Two methods are commonly used to determine the actions, resources,
sequences, and procedures that must be employed to accomplish an assigned
mission. One method is to work backward beginning with the time specified
to achieve the objective.
This technique develops the personnel, time,
money, and other essentials needed to accomplish the mission. The relative
time sequence and organizational placement will emerge from this technique.
As the visualization continues, the need for specific tasks, conditions, or
assumptions and their relative placement becomes apparent. Another method
is to begin with the current position and plan through each intermediate
step to the final objective. The important thing is to choose a starting
point and then proceed to a logical conclusion.
4.
Planning Program.
A planning program is a schedule for performing a series of planning tasks
in a particular order.
It is a valuable aid in coordinating all matters
essential to the planning process. An analysis of the work to be performed
during planning establishes the specific planning tasks that must be
completed and the sequence for their completion. A checklist or schedule,
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