Self‐taught planning

An important component of an effective corporate planning system is the training of line and staff managers in planning concepts and techniques necessary for effective planning at the corporate level. Planning is an action word for a powerful line‐management process; planning is a function of management, in the sense that any management activity has an element of planning as an essential component. A corollary is that many members of planning staffs do little planning in the course of their work; instead they perform staff and consultant services to support the planning of line managers. Thus it is the line managers who operate the firm whose need to learn about planning is most urgent.