Planning refers to thinking in advance about objectives, activities, timing, and responsibilities. It involves setting objectives, analyzing internal and external factors, identifying alternative courses of action, evaluating alternatives, selecting a plan, implementing it, and following up. Planning premises are the assumptions that influence alternative results and include internal/external, tangible/intangible, controllable/uncontrollable factors. Types of plans include objectives, strategies, policies, procedures, budgets, and programs. Strategies are flexible plans to optimize resources in response to competitors. Policies provide general guidelines for employee decision making. Strategies differ from policies in their flexibility, role of competitors, and purpose of addressing recurring vs. unique problems.