Limitations of Planning:
Planning leads to rigidity: In an organisation, a well-defined plan is drawn up with specific goals to be achieved within a specific time but managers may not be in a position to change it.
(i) As the business environment is dynamic managers need to be given some flexibility to cope up with the changed circumstances.
(ii) The plans are rigid in nature and have to be complied with throughout the organisation.
(iii) Such rigidity of plans may be internal as well as external.
(iv) Internal rigidity relates to plans, policies, programs, rules, and methods, etc.
(v) External rigidity relates to political, industrial, technological, legal and economic changes, etc. Example: A super speciality hospital has five branches in a city. Whatever the top management of the hospital decides the head of the branch of the hospital and their subordinates have to follow. Though on occasions they know they could have done better on their own but the plan laid out provides rigidity to their approach.
(vi) Planning may not work in a dynamic environment: Planning is based on anticipation of future happenings and since future is uncertain and dynamic so the organisation needs to adapt itself to changes. However, planning cannot foresee the future events effectively.
(vii) The environment in which a business survives is dynamic as it keeps on changing. The dynamic environment may sometimes lead to failure of plans.
(viii) It is difficult for an organisation to access future trends, the taste of customers, natural calamity, competitors' policies and effects of changes in the different components of the environment. Example: Nestle, a very successful producer was very proactive in deciding strategies for Maggi noodles. Maggi noodles were in a lot of demand but they were off the shelf due to political and legal dimensions. This was due to the high content of lead in Maggi noodles.