The Planning Process (1)

The Planning Process

Student’s Name

Institution’s Name

Date

The Planning Process

Contingency Planning

Based on the interview, contingency planning requires sound or rational decision making. Decision is made in each management level to ensure that business or organization goals are attained. Sound or rational decision making is considered as a prime function of management. Managers carry out the role of decision making every day, addressing all issues from daily operational problems to long-term strategic planning. Managers are expected to make the most viable decision in different situation which include when the situation is uncertain, when it is certain, when there is high risk, or when the situation is ambiguous. Contingency refers to anything which happens outside the normal range of operations which might adversely influence the ability of organization to operate (Pradhan, 2016). Contingency planning therefore refers to being well prepared to handle extra ordinary events. It is an essential part of consistent operations planning. Contingency plan is a framework on how to handle with rare events. It is purposed to allow a company to go back to its normal operations as fast as possible following unanticipated event. Effective contingency planning requires effective decision making which ensure that a viable strategy is employed to address emergency situations.

Creativity and Critical Thinking Relation with Contingency Planning

According to the respondent, contingency planning focuses on emergencies or catastrophic occurrences. To be able to plan for a problem or an occurrence that is beyond normal, one has to be creative. A manager has to be able to imagine extra ordinary things that can happen in the business, organization or line of operation to be able to plan for it. Creative thinking will assist in identifying both possible negative and positive extreme situations that can take place in the organization. Creative thinking based on the respondent view also assist one to imagine the extent to which such occurrences can impact the organization normal operations. With this level of creativity, a manager can employ critical thinking to make judgment on how those situations can be handled in case they occur. The two assist the manage in risking events that can take place which are beyond normal happening, deciding on how to handle those events in case they happen to take place, and deciding on the best measures they can employ to prepare ahead of time to minimize their effect in the organization operations (Ruggiero, 2007).

Integration of Creativity into Own Planning Process

Effective contingency planning involves the employment of original or imaginative ideas, particularly in when one is the managerial role where the rest anticipate that the manager will handle the problem effectively. As a manager, I am therefore bound to employ creativity to come up with a plan that can be employed to handle any unusual event in the organization. I will do this by employing both convergent and divergent thinking. In divergent thinking I will consider multiple views or possibilities that can happen in different situation at different time or at the same time. I would then consider developing multiple possible solutions to the identified issues, raised questions, or events. The answer that seems to be more viable will be employed in planning. In the convergent thinking, I will consider one answer to be the only correct answer or the only possible solution to an identified problem or occurrence. This aspect will be employed especially in a situation where the answer is obviously viable for the raised question or the identified problem (Ruggiero, 2007).

Creativity and its Relationship to the Decision-Making Process

In this interview I learnt that effective decision making requires creative mind. Creative mind normally generates new ways of solving an identified problem at ease. One does not need to over think since it end up being so hard to come up with a viable solution. Actually overthinking closes individual mind from generating simple more viable solution which can only be possible when one think creatively. Creativity assist the decision maker to think outside the box and think wide, considering the simplest viable solution to the most complex viable solution. When one is creative, it is very easy to imagine of more interesting, unique approaches to the problem and thus, making it easier to come up with the most viable solution to a problem or decision on how to handle the problem.

Key Steps to Contingency Plan

The contingency planning main steps involves identifying abnormal events that may happen in an organization. This should be followed developing a preparation plan on how to handle those events in case they happen on how to prevent them from happening or on how to minimize their effect when they happen. This involves listing all possible solutions. This followed by the analysis of the provided solutions and identifying the most viable solution. Response planning is then carried out where the identified most viable solution is used to create a plan on how the event may be handled in case it take place. The plan is then implemented to enhance the organization level of preparedness (Pradhan, 2016).

References

Pradhan, G. M. (2016). Contingency planning an approach of crisis decision making. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(2), 1-7.

Ruggiero, V. R. (2007). The art of thinking: A guide to critical and creative thought (8th Ed.). New York: Pearson Longman.