Planning

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Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the capacity to think ahead - as a prime mover in human evolution. [1] Planning is a fundamental property of intelligent behavior.[ citation needed ] It involves the use of logic and imagination to visualize not only a desired result, but the steps necessary to achieve that result.

Contents

An important aspect of planning is its relationship to forecasting. Forecasting aims to predict what the future will look like, while planning imagines what the future could look like.

Planning according to established principles - most notably since the early-20th century [2] - forms a core part of many professional occupations, particularly in fields such as management and business. Once people have developed a plan, they can measure and assess progress, efficiency and effectiveness. As circumstances change, plans may need to be modified or even abandoned.

In light of the popularity of the concept of planning, some adherents of the idea advocate planning for unplannable eventualities. [3] [4]

Psychology

Planning has been modeled in terms of intentions: deciding what tasks one might wish to do; tenacity: continuing towards a goal in the face of difficulty and flexibility, adapting one's approach in response implementation. [5] : 89  An implementation intention is a specification of behavior that an individual believes to be correlated with a goal will take place, such as at a particular time or in a particular place. Implementation intentions are distinguished from goal intentions, which specifies an outcome such as running a marathon. [5] : 89 

Neurology

The striatum; part of the basal ganglia; neural pathways between the striatum and the frontal lobe have been implicated in planning function. Schizophrenia PET scan.jpg
The striatum; part of the basal ganglia; neural pathways between the striatum and the frontal lobe have been implicated in planning function.

Planning is one of the executive functions of the brain, encompassing the neurological processes involved in the formulation, evaluation and selection of a sequence of thoughts and actions to achieve a desired goal. Various studies utilizing a combination of neuropsychological, neuropharmacological and functional neuroimaging approaches have suggested there is a positive relationship between impaired planning ability and damage to the frontal lobe.

A specific area within the mid-dorsolateral frontal cortex located in the frontal lobe has been implicated as playing an intrinsic role in both cognitive planning and associated executive traits such as working memory.

Disruption of the neural pathways, via various mechanisms such as traumatic brain injury, or the effects of neurodegenerative diseases between this area of the frontal cortex and the basal ganglia, specifically the striatum (corticostriatal pathway), may disrupt the processes required for normal planning function. [6]

Individuals who were born very low birth weight (<1500 grams) and extremely low birth weight are at greater risk for various cognitive deficits including planning ability. [7] [8]

The other region activated in planning process is default mode network which contributes to activity of remembering the past and imagine the future. [9] This network distributed set of regions that involve association cortex and paralimbic region but spare sensory and motor cortex this is make possible planning process disruption by active task that uses sensory and motoric regions. [10] [11]

Neuropsychological tests

Animation of a four disc version of the Tower of Hanoi Tower of Hanoi 4.gif
Animation of a four disc version of the Tower of Hanoi

There are a variety of neuropsychological tests which can be used to measure variance of planning ability between the subject and controls.

Screenshot of the PEBL psychology software running the Tower of London test PEBLTowerOfLondon.png
Screenshot of the PEBL psychology software running the Tower of London test

Test participants with damage to the right anterior, and left or right posterior areas of the frontal lobes, showed no impairment. The results implicating the left anterior frontal lobes involvement in solving the Tower of London were supported in concomitant neuroimaging studies which also showed a reduction in regional cerebral blood flow to the left pre-frontal lobe. For the number of moves, a significant negative correlation was observed for the left prefrontal area: i.e. subjects that took more time planning their moves showed greater activation in the left prefrontal area. [14]

Planning theories

Business

Post-it Notes on a whiteboard, articulating a plan Planning the strategy (15009726734).jpg
Post-it Notes on a whiteboard, articulating a plan
Example of planning process framework Planning proces.gif
Example of planning process framework

Patrick Montana and Bruce Charnov outline a three-step result-oriented process for planning: [15]

  1. Choosing a destination
  2. Evaluating alternative routes
  3. Deciding the specific course of the plan

In organizations, planning can become a management process, concerned with defining goals for a future direction and determining on the missions and resources to achieve those targets. To meet the goals, managers may develop plans such as a business plan or a marketing plan. Planning always has a purpose. The purpose may involve the achievement of certain goals or targets: efficient use of resources, reducing risk, expanding the organization and its assets, etc.

Public policy

Public policies include laws, rules, decisions, and decrees. Public policy can be defined as efforts to tackle social issues via policymaking. [16] A policy is crafted with a specific goal in mind in order to address a societal problem that has been prioritized by the government. [17]

Public policy planning includes environmental, land use, regional, urban and spatial planning. In many countries, the operation of a town and country planning system is often referred to as "planning" and the professionals which operate the system are known as "planners".

Personal

Planning is not just a professional activity: it is a feature of everyday life, whether for career advancement, organizing an event or even just getting through a busy day.

Alternatives to planning

Opportunism can supplement or replace planning. [18] [19]

Types of planning

See also

References

  1. ↑ Suddendorf T, Corballis MC (June 2007). "The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel, and is it unique to humans?" (PDF). The Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 30 (3): 299–313, discussion 313–51. doi:10.1017/S0140525X07001975. PMID   17963565. We maintain that the emergence of mental time travel in evolution was a crucial step toward our current success.
  2. ↑ Friedman, Elisha M. (6 July 2017) [1933]. Russia in Transition: A Business Man's Appraisal. RLE: Early Western Responses to Soviet Russia (reprint ed.). Abingdon: Taylor & Francis. p. 61. ISBN   9781351618625 . Retrieved 27 January 2024. One of the cardinal doctrines of the Marxian system is the necessity for planning. [...] Lenin was the genius back of the Soviets' ideas of a planned economy.
  3. ↑ Read, Steven R. (1990). Planning for the Unplannable: Branches, Sequels and Reserves. School of Advanced Military Studies, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Coffey, William R. (10 March 2011). Industrial Emergency Planning: Planning for the Unplannable. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. ISBN   9780470053669 . Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  5. 1 2 Bieleke, Maik; Keller, Lucas; Gollwitzer, Peter M. (2021-01-02). "If-then planning". European Review of Social Psychology. 32 (1): 88–122. doi: 10.1080/10463283.2020.1808936 . ISSN   1046-3283.
  6. ↑ Owen, AM (Nov 1997). "Cognitive planning in humans: neuropsychological, neuroanatomical and neuropharmacological perspectives". Prog Neurobiol. 53 (4): 431–50. doi:10.1016/s0301-0082(97)00042-7. PMID   9421831. S2CID   69523.
  7. ↑ Harvey, JM; O'Callaghan, MJ; Mohay, H (May 1999). "Executive function of children with extremely low birthweight: a case control study". Dev Med Child Neurol. 41 (5): 292–7. doi:10.1017/s0012162299000663 (inactive 2 August 2025). PMID   10378753.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2025 (link)
  8. ↑ Aarnoudse-Moens, CS; Weisglas-Kuperus, N; van Goudoever, JB; Oosterlaan, J (Aug 2009). "Meta-analysis of neurobehavioral outcomes in very preterm and/or very low birth weight children" (PDF). Pediatrics. 124 (2): 717–28. doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2816. PMID   19651588. S2CID   18012434.
  9. ↑ Buckner, Randy L. (2013-09-30). "The brain's default network: origins and implications for the study of psychosis". Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 15 (3): 351–358. doi:10.31887/dcns.2013.15.3/rbuckner. ISSN   1958-5969. PMC   3811106 . PMID   24174906.
  10. ↑ Lejko, Nena; Tumati, Shankar; Opmeer, Esther M.; Marsman, Jan-Bernard C.; Reesink, Fransje E.; De Deyn, Peter P.; Aleman, André; Ćurčić-Blake, Branislava (March 2022). "Planning in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: an fMRI study" (PDF). Experimental Gerontology. 159 111673. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2021.111673 . ISSN   0531-5565. PMID   34958871.
  11. ↑ Shulman, Gordon L.; Fiez, Julie A.; Corbetta, Maurizio; Buckner, Randy L.; Miezin, Francis M.; Raichle, Marcus E.; Petersen, Steven E. (1997). "Common Blood Flow Changes across Visual Tasks: II. Decreases in Cerebral Cortex" (PDF). Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 9 (5): 648–663. doi:10.1162/jocn.1997.9.5.648. ISSN   0898-929X. PMID   23965122. S2CID   25599950.
  12. ↑ Welsh, MC; Huizinga, M (Jun 2001). "The development and preliminary validation of the Tower of Hanoi-revised" (PDF). Assessment. 8 (2): 167–76. doi:10.1177/107319110100800205. PMID   11428696. S2CID   27931772.
  13. ↑ Anderson, JR; Albert, MV; Fincham, JM (Aug 2005). "Tracing problem solving in real time: fMRI analysis of the subject-paced Tower of Hanoi". J Cogn Neurosci. 17 (8): 1261–74. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.139.8424 . doi:10.1162/0898929055002427. PMID   16197682. S2CID   7567982.
  14. ↑ Shallice, T. (1982). "Specific impairments of planning". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences. 298 (1089): 199–209. Bibcode:1982RSPTB.298..199S. doi:10.1098/rstb.1982.0082. PMID   6125971.
  15. ↑ Barron's Management, Barron's Business Review book fifth edition: Patrick J. Montana and Bruce H. Charnov
  16. ↑ Yalmanov, N. (2021). "Public Policy and Policy-Making". Kne Social Sciences. doi: 10.18502/kss.v5i2.8400 .
  17. ↑ Knoepfel, Peter; Larrue, Corinne; Varone, Frédéric; Hill, Michael (2011). "Public policy". Public policy analysis. pp. 20–37. doi:10.1332/policypress/9781861349071.003.0002. ISBN   978-1-86134-907-1.
  18. ↑ For example: Faludi, Andreas (1987). A Decision-centred View of Environmental Planning. Urban and Regional Planning Series. Vol. 38. Oxford: Elsevier (published 2013). p. 208. ISBN   9781483286488 . Retrieved 2018-07-11. Plans which do not allow for [accommodating the public and private interest in land development] will be neglected. So the effect is the opposite of what is intended: opportunism.
  19. ↑ Hammond, Kristian; Converse, Timothy; Marks, Mitchell; Seifert, Colleen M. (1993). "Opportunism and Learning" (PDF). Machine Learning. 10 (3): 279–309. doi:10.1023/A:1022639127361. S2CID   14604957.

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