Planning: Planning is deciding in advance what to do and how to do. It is one of the basic functions of management.
Though planning is an important tool of management, yet it is not a solution to all the problems.
Planning may fail due to its limitations such as:
(i) Planning leads to rigidity: A plan is drawn with specific goals to be achieved within a specific time period. Once a well defined plan is drawn manager may not be able to change it. They do not have flexibility to be able to cope with the changed circumstances.
(ii) Planning is a time-consuming process: Sometimes plans to be drawn up takes so much of time that there is not much time left for their implementation.
(iii) Planning reduces creativity: Planning is done by the top management. Middle and lower management are neither allowed to deviate from plans nor they are permitted to act on their own. They only carry out orders. This hampers the initiative or creativity of the subordinates.