Role of Planning in Business Success
Role of Planning in Business Success
ORGANISATION.
PROJECT REPORT
Submitted to the University of Madras in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the
award of degree of BACHELOR of BUSINESS ADMINISTRARTION (BBA)
By
RICHARD.J 411801931
VJAYAKRISHNAN.H 411801950
VIGNESH.G.P 411801949
CHENNAI – 114
MARCH - 2021
CONTENTS
1
ACKNOWLEDGENT
ABSTRACT
3.1 FINDINGS
3.2 SUGGESTIONS
3.3 CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXURE
2
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Every business organization hopes to grow in its activities in order to record high profit
margin. According to Thompson and Strickland (1987), noted those organization activities or
planning and forecasting “is the blue print of all the important entrepreneurial competitive
and functional area of actions that are to be taken in pursuing organizational objectives and
positioning the organization for sustained success”. It reflects the organizational best opinion
as to how it can most profitably apply its skills and resources to the market place. This is only
available by adopting varied but effective strategies aimed at reaching the ultimate consumer.
One of the most vital and widely adopted strategies utilized by managers of modern business
is to adopt an appropriate and efficient method of planning and forecasting. Kotler and
Armstrong (1989) defined planning as the intended plan of action to which an organization
wants to undergo. The set of firms and individuals that take title or assist in transferring title,
The recognition of these strategies reflects the complexity and sophistication of modern
business; planning and forecasting are not only reflected on the manufacturing sector but also
in the services sector. This is as a result of enlarging the scope of business operation.
According to Fayol, “Modern business management has become a complex activity and so
there is the need for adequate planning, the need for adequate forecasting is apparent from the
role it plays in planning”. Speaking further, Koontz et al stated that “as influence in plans of
the entire environment outside the enterprises has come to be increasingly recognizes
forecasting of the environment has risen in importance”. These therefore, is a clear indication
3
To buttress this point, learner (2000) ascertain that planning and forecasting are important
tools of company management and decision- making as since they assist in the appraisal of
strategy and manpower. Looking critically, planning identified the necessary allocation of the
available human and non-human resources whereas, the forecasting aid in the development
of new products and new market further they promote and facilitate the proper functioning of
the many aspects of company’s activities. To compliment this, Koontz O’ states that
“forecasting especially where participated throughout the organization may help to unify and
purpose to planning”.
organizations are no longer seen to be focus, evidence of efficient and effective planning and
forecasting are no longer there in our organization. This justified the statement that he who
Furthermore, anybody or business that optimistically fails to envisage the future is likely to
crash young. Planning and forecasting have been put together to be wonderful tools for
effective and efficient management functions. Since planning and forecasting are like touch
light used in darkness for a success movement. It is also the believed that anybody or
business dwell in the world of modern dynamism and unsteady setting, which called for
effective use of planning and forecasting. It can also be seen as an eye at every business that
4
The HOLY book says, “Where there is no vision, people perish” in this context vision, which
sight in modern business management system as, is planning and forecasting. Moreover
Hosea 4:6 said “my people perish for lack of knowledge” likewise many business collapses
present problems and eminent problems which many business are encountering and also will
encounter in future that make the researchers to bring out the topic title planning and
problems:
(i) Lack of appropriate planning and forecasting structures that has seen to be a
(ii) The frequency use of routes and schedules that is not cost effective in planning
(iii) The total refusal of organizations to adopt appropriate and effective method of
planning and forecasting in order to achieve the statement goals and objectives.
organization.
ii. To identify various planning and forecasting method and construct effective and
5
iii. To recommend to the organization to adopt the right planning and forecasting
This research work is intended among other things to answer the following questions:
iv. To what extend does planning and forecasting influences or the success of
organization?
v. What are the various planning and forecasting methods or techniques to construct
vi. What are the best methods and techniques to recommend to the organization to
adopt?
6
This study recognized that planning is organic function of management and therefore, it bring
much good and beauty to business in various arrived and get to arrive will benefit from these
topic, the study shall utilized especially in areas of pricing, quality, man-power, money,
This study is meant to examine the problems of planning and forecasting in a business
organization. It will examine the role, which manager’s tries to implement by using planning
and forecasting to achieve effective and efficient management of the organization and society
at large. The research will also find solution to some of the problems manager’s encounter by
implementing planning and forecasting in their day- to- day activities. However, the
importance of the research to management of any organization both profit and non-profit
organizations students both graduate and undergraduate will not be over emphasized. Family
will also benefit from it, since management is alone by all and planning is first born and
Government agency and parastatals will also benefit from this topic by applying knowledge
of planning and forecasting in service of civil servant. Politicians of these 5 th republic and
others to come well benefit from it by planning their political manifesto ideology.
Generally, everybody or anybody and all that want to survive in this ever dynamic business
world must learn to plan and forecast in these perilous or risk evil days of ours.
Management: - This is the application of human and material resources in achieving the
7
Manager: - This is a person that makes use of the material and human resources of an
Planning: - It is the act or process of making plan, planning is a major component of the
management process, which is concerned with defining ends, means and conduct at every
Forecasting:- To say what one think will happen in the future base on information available
now.
accomplished goals. Organization is also defined as the sum total of the ways in which it
divides the labour distinct takes and then achieves co-ordination between them.
Business:- This is any economic activity oriented towards producing goods and services at a
8
CHAPER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Some people that tries to apply the process fails to update with the modifies process by an
author Nwachukwu C.C. who in his book called management theory and practice says that it
Organization objective
Identification of opportunities
Implementation 9
Feed back
Definition of planning :
(a) Translating the vision/mission (clarifying, strategy setting and gaining consensus)
(c) Business Planning (by all parts of the organisation, setting targets, aligning strategic
(d) Feedback and learning (articulating the shared vision/mission, supplying strategic
(1) set targets for long term objectives to be achieved in the following four perspectives:
customers (to achieve our vision/mission, how should we appear to our customers)
learning and growth (how to sustain the ability to change and improve)
10
The four perspectives together build consensus around the organization’s vision and
strategy and translate these into operational terms which will guide operational planning
This also requires a communication and linking process, during which management
ensures communication of their strategies up and down the organization and link it to
Managers at all organization levels can now use the (ambitious) goals set for the four
perspectives under point (1) above, as the basis to allocate resources and set priorities.
Milestones are tangible expressions of managers’ beliefs about when and to what
degree their budgeted activities can and will affect the required changes in the four
perspectives of point (1) above. That way, milestones are also specific short term
Together, the four steps mentioned above will link strategy to actions and activities. For
appropriate effect/impact evaluation, these links must also be monitored in order to achieve
Traditional financial measures are now complemented with criteria from three other
important perspectives which make it possible to track financial results and at the same
time monitor the progress which is made in building operationally required organizational
capacities and capabilities as well as acquiring the non-financial assets which have been
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2.2.1 Characteristics of Business Planning
Clear relationship and linking of Strategic and Operational planning with Monitoring &
Evaluation.
Provision of shared understanding/learning for all parts of the organization
STRATEGIC
Environment Develop Strategy Preferred
PLANNING
and own internal Objectives discussions
(long term) Strategies
* includes
organizational change plans
Output, Required resources
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2.2.3 Importance of Planning
Planning is the first and most important function of the management. It is needed at every level
of the management. In the absence of planning all the business activities of the organization will
become meaningless. The importance of planning has increased all the more in view of the
increasing size of organizations in the absence of planning, it may not be impossible but certainly
1. Planning facilitates Decision making: Decision making means the process of taking decision.
Under it, a variety of alternatives are discovered and the best alternative is chosen. But it is
important to determine the objectives before the discovery of alternatives. Objectives are
determined under the process of planning. So, it can be said that planning facilitates decision
making.
2. Planning reduce risk of Uncertainty: planning is always done for future and future is uncertain.
With the help of planning possible changes in future are anticipated and various activities are
3. Planning reduces overlapping and wasteful activities: Under planning, future activities are
planned in order to achieve objectives. the problems of when, where ,what and almost decided.
This puts an end to disorder. In such situation coordination is established among different
4. Planning provides Direction: Under the process of planning the objectives of the organization
are defined in simple and clear words. The outcome of this is that all the employee’s important
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5 Planning establishes Standards for controlling: By determining the objectives the objectives of
the organisation through planning all the people working in the organization and all the
departments are informed about when, what and how to do things. Standards are laid down about
their work, time and cost. Under controlling ,at the time of completing the work, the actual work
done is compared with the standard work and deviations are found out and if the work has been
Planning is a process and plan is its outcome. Plan is a sort of commitment to accomplish all the
activities needed for the attainment of special results, from this point of view there are many
plans. The following study will help in understanding different kinds of plans.
1. Objectives: objectives are those end points for the attainment of which all the activities are
Undertaken.
To improve the communication system to hold regular staff meeting and publish a
newsletter.
To cross the 20,0 00 crore mark in turnover of soaps.
2. Strategies: Strategies refer to those plans which are prepared in view of the move of the
competitors and whose objective is to make possible the optimum utilization of resources.
3. Policies; Policies are those general statements which are decided for the guidance of the
employees while taking decision. Their purpose is laying down a limit within which a particular
14
work can be done or decision taken. Objectives decide what is to be achieved and the policies tell
4. Procedures: Procedures are those plans which determine the sequence of any work
performance. For example, the recovery of money from the debtors can be done in the following
order:
(a) Writing letters, (b) connecting on telephone, (c) Meeting personally,(d0 taking legal
action.
This is the procedure of collecting money from all the debtors. There is a difference between
policies and procedures.. There can be two policies of the organization regarding the recovery of
money from the debtors. (A) Tight collection policy, and (B) Lenient collection policy. Under
the first policy an effort is made to recover money from debtors is by treating him harshly. Under
the second policy the debtors will be given enough time for the payment of money while treating
him leniently.
5. Methods: Methods is that plan which determines how different activities of the procedure are
completed. Methods are not related to all steps but only to one step of the procedure. it is more
detailed than procedure . There may be many methods to do a particular work. After extensive
study, a method has to be selected from which a worker feels minimum fatigue, increase in
6. Rules: Rules till us what is to be done and what is not to be done in particular situation. In the
absence of rules there is no need to take any decision. Whatever is said in the rules has to be
followed without any thinking. For example, the rule “No smoking in the factory “is applicable
15
to everybody and it must be observed. Provision for punishment in case of non-observing of the
7 Budget: Budgets describe the desired results in numerical terms. A budget is that planning
which provides detailers about estimated money, material time and other resources for the
department’s budget gives estimated figures about the type of material that will be purchased, its
quantity, the time of purchase and the amount to be spent on it. Similarly, budget of other
8. Programmers: a programme means a single-use comprehensive plan laying down the what,
how who and when of accomplishing a specific job. Through program me the managers are
informed in advance about various needs so that there is no problem in future. The programmers
Integrating Forecasting into Management Functions There can certainly be no more important
activity in the business organization than the effective development of sales forecasts and
application of these forecasts to the organization’s various functional needs. Closs, Oaks, &
2) Forecasting systems that effectively interact with the corporate management information
system, and
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3) Recognition of the impact of forecasting management philosophy upon ultimate accuracy. A
substantial gap still exists between applications and what is both desirable and obtainable. An
examination of the forecasting and marketing literature suggests that a structure is needed
for handling the issues that the practitioner must address (Makridakis & Wheelwright, 1977).
Various functional areas or departments may need on-going information on forecasts and
forecasting accuracy, even though they are not allowed to make changes to forecasts. The
departments that are most often allowed to review forecasts are marketing, finance, production,
sales, and planning. Having access to the sales forecast information as well as the ability to
Behavioral and organizational issues exist when integrating the forecasting system into a
company. An important aspect of the behavior issue involves the interface between the preparer
of forecasts and the users of forecasts. A need exists for a clear definition of tasks and priorities
with regard to forecasting applications as well as a need for respect and understanding of each
other's position (Makridakis & Wheelwright, 1977). An important aspect of the organizational
issue involves differences among the needs of each department that uses the forecast (Makridakis
Because the sales forecast is the bonding tool that draws together the different line and support
functions, all of the components of the organization must use the same forecast and assumptions.
Forecasting demand is like forecasting weather. Sometimes the forecast or prediction fails
completely and sometimes it’s near the predicted value but still not the exact value. Often
17
scientists call forecasting as an educated guess, but even then forecasting helps us to plan our
trips and journeys and most importantly we as farmers make use of forecasting to plant, harvest
Forecasting in business forms the basis for budgeting and planning for capacity, sales,
production, inventory, manpower, purchasing and more. Forecasting allows the manager to
There are two major uses for forecasts. One is to help the Operations Manager plan the system
and the other one is to help him plan the use of the system. These are important concepts
Planning the system refers to planning long term plans about the type of products or services to
offer, what facilities and equipment to have, where to locate and so on and so forth. Planning the
use of the system relates to short range and intermediate range planning which means planning
inventory workforce resources, planning of purchasing and production activities, budgeting and
scheduling.
Business Forecasting is more than just predicting demand. Forecasting is also used to predict
profits, revenues, costs, productivity changes, prices and availability of energy and raw
materials, interest rates, movements of key economic indicators (GNP, inflation and government
Forecasting is not an exact science. Even with the availability of computers, and algorithms, it’s
unable to make an exact prediction it requires Experience, Managerial Judgment and Technical
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expertise. General Responsibility lies with the Marketing workforce but to this day not a single
marketing forecast has been created without the valuable contribution of the Operations side.
FORECAST:
•A statement about the future value of a variable of interest such as resource requirements,
1. Accounting, finance
2. Human resources
3. Marketing
4. MIS
5. Operations
6. Product / service design
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Applications of Forecasts
Accounting Cost/profit estimates
Finance Cash flow and funding
Human Resources Hiring/recruiting/training
Marketing Pricing, promotion, strategy
MIS IT/IS systems, services
Operations Schedules, MRP, workloads
Product/service design New products and services
Demand Management
Demand Management
Independent Demand:
Finished Goods/Services
B(4 C(2
D(2 E(1
D(3 F(2
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Independent Demand: What a firm can do to manage it?
Components of Demand
•Average demand for a period of time
•Trend
•Seasonal element
•Cyclical elements
•Random variation
•Autocorrelation
•Used to integrate the multi-tier or n-Tier supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors
and retailers.
•CPFR’s objective is to exchange selected internal information to provide for a reliable, longer
term future views of demand in the supply chain.
Web-Based Forecasting:
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Steps in CPFR
1. Creation of a front-end partnership agreement
2. Joint business planning
3. Development of demand forecasts
4. Sharing forecasts
5. Inventory replenishment
•Assumes causal system ( That same system that existed in the past will exist in future, where
as in reality unplanned events happen like tax rate increase, introduction of a competitors
product or service or natural disasters)
•Forecasts more accurate for groups vs. individuals naturally because forecasting errors in a
group tend to cancel out forecasting errors for individuals.
•Forecast accuracy decreases as time horizon increases indicating it is safe to make short range
forecasts instead of long term forecasts. If you can recall we had talked about Flexible and
Agile Corporations in the past.
•Timely. The forecast should be timely. Indicating that forecasting horizon should provide
enough time to implement possible changes. Capacity cannot be expanded instantly it requires
•Reliable. Forecasts should be reliable meaning that it should work consistently. A forecast
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that is partially correct will succeed at sometime and sometime fail making the end users
•Accuracy. Forecasts should be accurate. In fact it should carry the degree of accuracy, so the
users are aware of the limitations of the forecast. This will also help the end users to plan for
possible errors and provide a basis for comparing the forecast with other alternative forecasts.
•Meaningful Forecast should be expressed in meaningful units. Financial Planners will use
Rupees to show how much capital would be required; Mechanical Project Schedulers would
require Forecasts to carry the type of machines and crafts of technicians required.
always provides a chance to measure the variance between estimate and actual result at a later
stage.
•Simple to understand and use meaning that Forecasts should not be dependant upon usage
failure or limitation on the part of this can lead to an incorrect decision and less acceptance
•Determine the purpose of the forecast meaning what is the purpose and when will it be
required. This will provide the level of detail for resources required man, machine, time and
capital.
•Establish a time horizon. We already know that as time increases the accuracy of the
Forecast decreases
•Gather and analyze the appropriate data. It goes without saying that before a forecast can
be delivered data is required. The closer the real life data more realistic would be the forecast.
This may be the time when you would like to identify the important assumptions and
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suppositions.
fulfilling its basic purpose. This helps in re-examining the method, assumptions and validity of
•Qualitative Techniques which use subjective inputs and no numerical data. It relies solely on
soft information like human factors, personal opinion, hunches. Thus Qualitative Forecasts are
often biased and tilted towards what the management wants to predict.
•Quantitative Forecast involves the extension of the historical data. It sometimes make use of
forecasting technique that uses explanatory variables to predict future demands. Quantitative
•Judgmental - uses subjective inputs meaning that a judgmental forecast rely on analysis of
subjective inputs obtained from various sources, such as consumer surveys, the sales staff,
managers and executives, and panels of experts. These insights are not available publicly.
•Time series - uses historical data assuming the future will be like the past and depend on
developing relationships between variables that can be expressed to predict future values. Some
time series forecast try to smoothen out random variations in historical data. There are some
time series forecast which identify specific patterns and then may even extrapolate those
•Associative models - uses explanatory variables to predict the future for example demand for a
small car may be dependant upon increase in price of petrol or CNG. The analysis in this case
would employ a mathematical model that would relate the predicted variable with the predictor
variable or variables.
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Judgmental Forecasts Characteristics
•In the absence of enough time, it is easy to use qualitative type of forecast.
•In case of changing external environment economic and political conditions, organizations
•When introducing new products, services, new features, new packaging, judgmental forecasts
A. Judgmental Forecasts
•Executive opinions normally consist of a group of senior level managers from different
interfaces, used for long range planning and new product development. Advantage being the
collective pool of information from all divisions and departments, disadvantage being that one
person will dominate other interfaces, which can lead to erroneous forecasts.
•Sales force opinions have the advantage of being in direct contact with customers. The sales
force can detect the customers’ change of plan, However it suffers from the fact that it can not
differentiate between what the customer can do and will do. Current data of sales can often lead
to over pessimistic and overly optimistic forecasts, which then results in incorrect sales
projections.
•Consumer surveys are based on sample taken from potential customers. These type of
surveys require skill to develop, administer and interpret the results. Often fall
25
victim of the consumers irrational behavior of buying.
•Outside opinion which is a mix of consumer and potential customers. This kind of opinion is
now a days readily available through internet, telephonic surveys and newspapers. Its biggest
limitation is a fixed format which often fails to quantify the exact demand forecast.
•Delphi method: Managers and staff complete a series of questionnaires, each developed from
the previous one, to achieve a consensus forecast. Commonly used for Technological
forecasting, when to introduce a new technology. It’s a long term one time activity and has the
26
•Simple to use
•Virtually no cost
•Quick and easy to prepare
•Data analysis is nonexistent
•Easily understandable
Drawbacks
•Cannot provide high accuracy
•Can be a standard for accuracy
•Trend - long-term upward or downward movement in data often relates to population shifts,
•Seasonality - short-term fairly regular variations in data related to factors like weather, festive
parks.
•Cycle – wavelike variations of more than one year’s duration these occurs because of political,
worker strikes, or major change in product or service. They do not capture or reflect the true
behavior of a variable and can distort the overall picture. These should be identified and
•Random variations - caused by chance and are in reality are the residual variations that remain
after the other behaviors have been identified and accounted for.
Forecast Variations
27
C. Techniques for Averaging
•Moving average
•Exponential smoothing
•Moving average – A technique that averages a number of recent actual values, updated as new
•Weighted moving average – More recent values in a series are given more weight in
•The simple moving average model assumes an average is a good estimator of future behavior
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D. Associative Forecasting
Forecast Accuracy
• Error - difference between actual value and predicted value
• Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD)
Average absolute error
• Mean Squared Error (MSE)
• Average of squared error
• Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE)
• Average absolute percent error
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CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter is designed to ensure a proper inquiry, collection, measurement and interpretation of
method of data analysis that is capable of finding the necessary measures of the impact and role
of planning and forecasting on the success of a business organization. This chapter describe the
framework of the research, research design, population, sampling techniques and sample size,
Research design simply refers to the process of determining the structure and design of a
research. It is logical rather than been a logistical problem. According to Avwokeni, (2004:94)
research design is a plan of action on how the research questions of a study will be answer or a
plan of action on how the proposed hypothesis will be verified. Research design ensure that the
possible (De Vaus, 2009:9, 11). It can be likened to a type of building an architect intends to
build in terms of design, colour, shape rather than the work plan. There are basically four (4)
30
However, for the purpose of this study, the survey research design is adopted. A survey research
design uses both quantitative and qualitative method. The researcher choice of this type of
research resign is based on the fact that this method is good in obtaining data and because it is
the simplest, least cost alternative (Neumann, 2003). The survey research design is also prefer
the whole population under study or part of the population. A survey of the entire population is
referred to as consensus while a survey of part of the population is called a sample survey.
Population can be defined as any group of people, object or event which are similar in one or
more ways and which forms the subject of the study (Festing, 2006). For the purpose of this
study the subject, consist of business organization in the formal and the informal sector. These
et al, 2001:4). A sample on the other hand deals with a representation of the population or
universe under study (Bartlett et al, 2001:43). Sampling refers to a process of collecting
A sampling plan is the hypotheses test regarding an object that has been submitted for an
appraisal and subsequent acceptance or rejection (CQE, 2012:85). This stage determines the
form and quality of data that will be received. This is the action stage in the whole process of
sampling, sample size of 54 businesses is considered. The statistical method or formula for
31
determining sample size is adopted and these samples are to be selected using a simple random
sampling technique i.e. a probability sampling technique. For the purpose of this research, the
following elements of the population is regarded as eligible for inclusion in the sample
random sampling technique. A simple random sampling is a type of sampling technique in which
each element of the sample have the probability of been chosen (based on chance). A simple
random sampling will be used to select samples from the target population of the selected
commercial banks by assigning values to them e.g. A, b, c, d,1, 2 etc. and made a selection of
A sample size is the smaller group of sample chosen from the population that you actually
measured (Reaves 1992:8, Glen D. 1992). For a population that is unknown and infinite and
consist of a continuous variable Cochran 1997 and Bartlett et al, et al 2001:44 provide a
t 2 × s2
n o=
d2
32
n0 = sample size (output)
1.96 2 × 1.1672
n o= ¿¿
5.2318
n o=
0.0784
n o=66.73
If the sample size is greater than 5% of the population (i.e. 5% of 220 = 11) or the population is
relatively small the sample size can be adjusted using the Cochran 1977; Bartlett 2001; and
n0
n=
( n¿¿ o)
1+ ¿
N
N = population size
n = adjusted sample size
33
Therefore,
67
n=
( 67)
1+
220
67
n=
1.3046
n=51.4
To adjust for response rate Chadwick (2001) provide the following formular i.e
n n
−¿= ¿
%response
n 51
−¿= ¿
0.95
n−¿=54 ¿
Primary Data
Primary data refers to data that are specifically gathered for the particular research at hand. This
source supplement the secondary data source, the main mode of collection of primary data is
34
Secondary Data
The secondary sources of data are previously gathered data by another researcher other than the
Experimental data
This is data obtained by an experiment from artificial environment or field study.
For the purpose of this research work the primary sources of data collection will be used
a. Personal interview: The researcher gathers information relevant to his / her research
work from the respondent. The interview method is divided into two main parts. These
are the structured and the unstructured interviews. The structured interviewing involves
provisions of a set of questions properly lined up for supply to the respondents or the
person you are interviewing. It provides a guide for the respondent you are interviewing.
The unstructured interview is the one that has no specific format. The interviewer asked
the questioned randomly. The respondent has no access to the question before the
interviewer.
b. Questionnaire: This is the fully documented data collection instrument used whereby a
set of question was to be administered to a group of staff within the banks to answer.
Their responses formed the solid bases upon which the findings and conclusions were
35
drawn. The questionnaire can be open-ended (unstructured) questionnaire or close –
decide the aspect detail or length of his or her answer. It is known as the free answer or the free
response that call for response of more than a few words. In unstructured questionnaire, the topic
is established for the respondent, who is left to answer, as he/she likes. He has the choice of
answering the question either in short or lengthy form. The Closed ended or structured
questionnaire on the other hand helps keep the questionnaire on a reasonable length and thus
encourage response and validity in term of representativeness of the returns. This kind of
questionnaire is essential because it set a limit or some controls measure over the extent to which
the respondent could answer the questions. It is also refers to as the multi choice question as
respondent only need to tick, circle, insert a word and phrase or sentence in the blank space
In statistics, techniques for measuring differences or relationships and the extent of such
test, etc. for the purpose of this research, the chi-square test, simple percentage and correlation
3.6.1 CHI-square
Chi-square usually denoted x2 is used to measure the discrepancies existing between the
observed and expected values in a sample. The technique is also referred to as the goodness of fit
test. The method is used in determining the number of objects or responses that fall into two or
36
more groups in a research situation. It has no special attributes, but its values are restricted to
non-negative real numbers only. It only seeks to determine the probability that any differences in
both observed and expected number of cases falling in each cell of the cross-table occurred
because of sampling variations. The chi- square method will be used to test the hypothesis 1 and
to determine whether there is any significant difference or variations in the variables under study.
k
(fo−fe)2
x 2=∑ ij
j fe
According to Sidney (1956:25), the size of the degree of freedom (df) reflects the number of
observations that are free to vary after certain restriction have been made on the data. At a
predetermined level of significance, degree of freedom for contingency table x 2=¿(r-1)*(h-1) for
2×2 , 2× 3 , 3× 2. contigency table ,where r is the row number and h is the column number.
The level of significance varies, for example x20.0001, x2 0.01, or x20.05 etc.
x
%= ×100
n
37
Where:
X = frequency of response
n = total number of response
The tool of data analysis i.e. the chi square and simple percentage method of data analysis are
If the observation are independent (i.e. randomly selected). In this study the respondent who are
The cell must be mutually exclusive (i.e. each case can fall in one and only one cell)
The sample size is at least 30 (i.e.≥30) in this study the sample size is 54
The use of simple percentage is also justify on the basis of its ability to show the estimate or
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 INTRODUCTION
TABLE I
38
Administered
54 50 % 4 %
Total 54 50 92 4 8
Source: Field Survey, 2015.
Structure of Businesses
Sole ownership 30 60
Partnership 7 14
Total 50 100
Looking at the number of dependents of the respondents, the survey revealed that 136(32.2%)
have one dependant, 171(40.5%) have two dependants, 37 (8.7%) have three dependants, 34(8%)
have 4 dependants while 44(10.6%) have five dependants and above. Majority of the women
enterprises, 174 (41.23%) interviewed were between the ages of 31-35. This was followed by
the age range of 21-26 which is 155 (36.72%). It was observed that few of them are either too
young between ages 15 and 20 (4.26%) or too old between the ages of 40 and above 75
(17.78%).
39
No of dependants of the Age of the Respondents
Respondents
No of Age
dependants
1 13 26 15-20 7 14
2 14 28 21-26 10 20
3 12 24 31-35 15 30
4 7 14 40-45 6 12
background of the respondents. Few of the respondents 9(18%) were at the age range of 15-20
when they started business, 15(30%) were at the age range of 21-26 when they started their
business, 14 (28%) were at the age range of 31-35 when they started their business while 7(14%)
were between the age of 40 and 45 when their business started while 5(10%) of them were 46 old
and above when they started their business. Considering the respondents educational
qualification, majority of them 18 (36%) have WASSCE, 15(30%) of them are with OND
certificates, 11 (22%) are with HND/BSc certificates while only 4(8%) obtained MSc status in
their certification and only 2(4%) have other certificates which was not actually specified.
Table IV: Descriptive Statistics of Business Organization by Education and the Age they Started
Business
Age of Business Education Background of the Respondents
40
Variables Freq n=50 (%) Variables Freq n=50 (%)
15-20 9 18 WASE 18 36
21-26 15 30 OND 15 30
31-35 14 28 HND/BSc 11 22
40-45 7 14 MSc 4 8
46-above 5 10 Others 2 4
single, 5(10%) of them are divorced while 6(12%) of them are widow. Correspondently, or
12(24%) of them have two children, 10(20%) of them have three children, 8(16%) had 4 children
Single 16 32 1 18 36
Married 23 46 2 12 24
Divorced 5 10 3 10 20
Widow 6 12 4 8 16
5 and above 2 4
The majority of the businesses surveyed had prior experience in their fields of endeavour.
For example, out of the 50 business organization, 3(6%) of the respondents had less than
41
one year working experience, 8(16%) of the respondents has one year working
experience, 20(40%) of them worked two years, 6(12%) had working experience of three
years, while 8(16%) and 5(10%) had a working experience of between four and five
years respectively before they started their own personal business. In other words, out of
the businesses, more than half of them had related prior experience in their kind of trade.
The survey also revealed that 2(4%) of the respondents established their business in less
than one year ago, 3(6%) of the organization under the study started their business in the
last one year, 5(10%) of them started their business in the last two years, 45 (10.66%) of
them started their business in the last three years, 10(20%) started their business in the
last four years while 14(28%) of them started their business in the last six years and
above, 4(8%) of them started their business in the last six years and above
One yr 8 16 One yr 3 6
42
The study also showed that 32(64%) of them had between one to four employees in their
business when they started the business, 10(20%) of them had five to nine employees,
6(12%) employed ten to fourteen employees, 2(4%) of them employed fifteen to nineteen
employees in their organization when they started. On the other hand, 24(48%) of them
have between ten to thirteen employees in their business, 15(30%) fourteen to seventeen
employees in their business, 6(12%) had eighteen twenty-one employees in their
organization, 5(10%) had between twenty-two to twenty-five employees in their
organization.
Table VII: Descriptive Statistics of Respondents by Number of Employees engaged by them at the
Commencement and at Current
Variables Freq n=50 Per (%) Variables Freq n=50 Per (%)
No of employees No of employees
1-4 32 64 5-10 24 48
5-9 10 20 11-15 15 30
10-14 6 12 16-20 6 12
15-19 2 4 21-25 5 10
The number of employees at the start of the business and the current number are cross tabulated
and represented in the figure below. Enterprises in the study that started business with 1-5
employees had a higher rate of labour turnover when compared to those that started their
business with more than five employees. Figure 20 also shows that the number of establishments
that had 6-10 employees rose from less than two hundred to above two hundred considering all
the sectors used as case study of the research work. Graphically the above Table 4.7 can be
43
Figure 4.1: Number of Employees at Start and Current number of employees
300
300
200 200
100 100
Count
Count
0 0
Missing 1-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20 and above 6.00 Missing .00 10-13 14-17 18-21 22-25 26 and above 6.00
500
Current Employees
400
300
Employees at start
200
Counts
Number of Employees
44
Estimated Value of Initial Capital at the Commencement of the Business
Looking at the value of initial capital of the business at commencement, it can be seen from
Table VII that 26 (52%) of the respondents started their business with an amount that is below
N50,000, 14(28%) started their business with amount between N50,999 and N100,000, 5(10%)
of them started their business with N150,999-N200,000, 3(6%) of them had the estimated value
of their initial capital to be between N150,999-to N200,000, while 2(4%)of them started their
business with N2,000,999 and above. On the other hand, 37(74%) of the respondents’ capital
had grown to N1m, 9(18%) of them had their present capital stood at N1m- N5,000,000, 4(8%)
Table VIII: Estimated Value of Initial Capital at the Commencement of the Business
The estimates of initial capital of the business and the current capital are cross tabulated
and represented in the figure below. The diagram shows the business organization that
started with less than fifty thousand and those who had fifty thousand as capital at present
decreased tremendously. However the capital continued to rise but not at high rate as
expected. The graph shows four stages of capital investment for business at start up. (i) A
step increase and a sudden sharp fall in capital investment at the beginning for businesses
45
who started with less than fifty thousand; (ii) a relatively steady investment between fifty
and one hundred and fifty with (iii) elastic point at one hundred and fifty follows by (iv)
a steady increase in investment at two hundred thousand. In the same vein, the current
capital investment from less than fifty to one hundred and fifty thousand shows steady
increase in four stages with an elastic point at 200 thousand where it declines. This can
also be represented in a figure as in Figure 4.2
40
Current Capital
30
20
10 Capital at start
Counts
46
500
Current Annual Expenditure
400
200
Counts
Table IX
YES 50 100
NO 0 -
TOTAL 50 100
The result from table IX shows that out of the 50 respondents all of them at least knew what
planning and forecasting is all about. The level of knowledge is 100% within the management
47
Responses Frequency Percentage %
YES 50 100
NO 0 -
TOTAL 50 100
Very possible 2 4
Impossible 45 90
Possible 3 6
TOTAL 50 100
Table IX shows us that achieving organizational goal(s) cannot do without planning and
YES 48 96
NO 2 4
48
TOTAL 50 100
Base on the assessment above, it can be said that so far the success in an organization is basically
Question 6: Has your organization been able to implement planning and forecasting
effectively?
Table XI
Responses Frequency Percentage %
YES 32 64
NO 8 16
INCONCLUSIVE 10 20
TOTAL 50 100
From table xi above, business organizations has so far been able to implement planning and
forecasting system fairly effective as reflected. However, About 50% of business owner and staff
held that agreement of implementing planning and control as against 36% who held the opposite
view.
Question: Do you think that management skills play an important role in the
planning and forecasting process?
Table XII
Responses Frequency Percentage %
Strongly Agree 37 74
Agree 7 14
Disagree 6 12
TOTAL 50 100
49
From the study of research, it is clearly showed that the role of management skills is very
necessary in planning and forecasting as it plays a very important role in the planning process.
Question: Performance based pay is responsible for superior customer service delivery in our
organization
Planning and forecasting play a significant role in the success of a business
organization as they superceed any other managerial functions
Table XIII:
Variables Number of Respondent Percentage (%)
Strongly Agree 24 48
Agree 20 40
Neutral 2 4
Disagree 2 4
Strongly Disagree 2 4
Total 50 100
The table above indicates that 88% of the respondent strongly agree or agree to the above
statement that planning and forecasting help in the success of a business organization while 8%
disagree.
Strongly Agree 10 20
Agree 10 20
Neutral 10 20
50
Disagree 12 24
Strongly Disagree 8 16
Total 50 100
From the data indicate above 40% of the respondent strongly disagree/disagree and that planning
and forecasting aids the profitability of a business organization, 20 % of the respondent are
here is to subject them to relevant statistical test with a view to accept or reject them. In doing so
the hypothesis will be, pick one by one using the appropriate data analysis technique. The
hypothesis in this project work will now be tested using chi-square statistical analysis. The chi-
K 2
( Fo−Fe)
2=¿ ∑ ij ¿
Fe
X J
Accept the null hypothesis (Ho) if the calculated is less than the tab i.e. (
tab) .
Reject the null hypothesis (Ho) if the calculated is greater than the tab i.e. (
tab).
51
In testing the above hypothesis, data collected from response to question 7 and 8 is found most
appropriate;
4.3.1a:
Total 9 27 20 20 24 100
Note: the expected frequency in the bracket is computed using the following formula;
(Fo−Fe)2
Cell no.
Fe
Fo Fe Fo – Fe (Fo -Fe)2
1. 8 4.5 3.5 12.25 2.72
3 14 10 4 16 1.6
4 4 10 -6 36 3.6
52
5 4 12 -8 64 5.33
8 6 10 -4 16 1.6
9 16 10 6 36 3.6
10 20 12 8 64 5.33
X2 = 32.8
The critical value of chi square for 1% significance level for a 4 degree of freedom is given
as 13.28 and the calculated value of chi square is 32.8. Since the chi square calculated is
greater than the critical value of chi square at 4 degree of freedom. We do not accept the null
hypothesis (reject null hypothesis) that Planning and Forecasting have no significant impact
on business organization and conclude that Planning and Forecasting have a significant
impact on business organization
53
In testing the above hypothesis, data collected from response to question 9and 10 is found most
appropriate;
Total 34 30 12 14 10 100
Note: the expected frequency in the bracket is computed using the following formula;
(Fo−Fe)2
Cell no.
Fe
Fo Fe Fo – Fe (Fo -Fe)2
1. 24 17 7 49 2.88
2 20 15 5 25 1.67
3 2 6 -4 16 2.67
4 2 7 -5 25 3.57
5 2 5 -3 9 1.8
6 10 17 -7 49 2.88
7 10 15 -5 25 1.67
54
8 10 6 4 16 2.67
9 12 7 5 25 3.57
10 8 5 3 9 1.8
X2 = 25.18
13.28 and the calculated value of chi square is 25.18. Since the chi square calculated is greater
than the critical value of chi square at 4 degree of freedom. We reject null hypothesis and
conclude that planning and forecasting have significant impact on the profitability of business
organization:
55
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 SUMMARY
The attainment of goal(s) in an organization is the desire of every organization. Whether
profit or non-profit oriented. The concept of planning is deciding in advance what to do,
how to do it, when to do it and for who. It involves a known objective and proposing
course of action that will achieve them. Planning involves predictions and requires action.
Planning is done by setting up clear flexible, consistent and objective plans for the entire
organization and such plans much be known through the organization so that employees
For an organization to achieve her goal(s) there must be an effective planning and
forecasting, there must adherence to the set plans and the conformity to forecasting.
While planning is the starting point of the achieving organizational goal(s), very
and personnel inventory, the general or departmental manager makes an estimate of the
current material and human resources that will be able to do in the future and how many
more human and material resources the organization must hire to meet its goals
5.2 CONCLUSION
56
Planning is dealing in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it and who to do it. Planning
bridges the gap between where are and where we want to be, it makes it possible for things
happened. Although, the exact future on seldom be predicted and factors beyond control may
interfere with the best-laid plans unless there is planning events are left on [Link] is a
function of all managers although the characters and breath of planning will vary with their
authority and with their name of phonies and plans outline by their superiors. Planning is
unique in that it establishes the objectives necessary for all group efforts. Besides, plans must be
made to accomplish these objective or goal before the manager knows what kind of organization
relationship and personal qualifications are needed along which course subordiantes are to be
directed and led and what kind of control is to be applied. And of course, all the other managerial
managers. The making of forecasting and their review by manager compel thinking ahead
looking to the future and providing for it. Also, the very act of forecasting may disclose areas
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
As earlier said for effective performance of individual working together in a group the most
essential task is to see that purpose and objective method of attaining them are clearly
understood. If group effort is to be effective, people must know what they are expected to
accomplish.
Planning must be faced because it will not occur unless it is forced and the facilities
57
Planning is an intellectually demanding process. So it requires the conscious
determination of courses of action and the basing of decision on purpose, knowledge and
conclusion estimates lie there must be awareness when the plans are.
In period of change and world wide revival planning becomes matter of great urgency for
those who manage the resources of an organization or a nation, it is critical that every
Good planning must be organized because through appropriate grouping activities and
clear delegation of authority. Managers must be hold responsible for planning within
their area of authority. What is sometimes neglected is sufficient staff assistant’s to make
decisions for which they are responsible. Most managers should improve their planning if
managers have attainted to make sure that clear goals premises and policies are
communicated to those who must know or have them for environment effective planning.
It is understandable that all alert managers would want to have an adequate and effective
system of forecasting to assist that in making sure that event conform to plans.
The forecasting system should report such failures and should contain sufficient elements
of operations despite such failures. A complex programmer of managerial plans may fail.
The forecasting system should report such failures. In other word, if control is to remain
58
effective, despite failure or unforeseen changes of plans, flexibility is required in their
design.
The more planning decision is committed for the failure, the more important it is that
management constantly checks on events and expectations and redraw plans as necessary
59
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