Planning Ethically (planning in the business)

From the moment we wake until we go to sleep, we plan whether consciously or subconsciously. Some plans are ordinary, almost second nature, done without much thought, but because there are choices and sequential steps necessary in the accomplishment of a goal, there is a planning process involved. There are different approaches to planning, and not all require a panel of executives or meetings to initiate, develop, and implement. There are circumstances in which planning is spontaneous in response to current events, and there is planning that requires weeks, month, or in some cases years to develop and implement. The development of any plan depends on one factor, the goal. Granted, some things just either happen or fall to fate, but in business that simply cannot be the plan. The Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (2002) defines a plan as method of achieving something: a way of carrying out a design and planning is to devise procedures or regulations for in accordance with a comprehensive plan for achieving a given objective.

Leithiinae

Geissler tubes from the 1911 Webster's New Interna...

Sextant

Providing a definition for, and identifying planning, is the easy part, the hard part comes from the actual process of planning. Amazingly, in just about everything we do, business or personal, there is a degree of planning required to get anything done; there is a plan for planning. Innately there are aspects in planning which are applicable to either an individual or a business. In the planning phase, deliberations of ensuing legalities, ethical implications, and possible societal obligation are probably more relevant in the business world than on an individual level, but the fundamentals remain the same. Many good ideas or plans never leave the concept stage because of liabilities and risks. A multifaceted aspect common to both individual and business planning is accountability. As an individual there...