Planning provides the fundamental foundations of an effective and efficient organization. Planning plays a crucial role in any organization and supports the internal functioning of a company. It provides “an invaluable framework” (Mokwa, 1987) and a basis for action that facilitates the achievement of goals and ultimately guides an organization to success. The positive implications that planning can have on a business are many, many and far-reaching. There are a number of processes and components involved in planning that must all be used in synergy by managers for an organization to successfully achieve its objectives. The benefits of planning range from: increased employee motivation as a result of a clear vision, to the broad benefits of improved resource allocation and the subsequent increase in resource efficiency resulting from well-organized logistics. Despite this, the business can still be successful with limited planning or by adopting a form of 'informal planning', however it cannot be disputed that adopting formal planning techniques will allow an organization to operate more effectively, in an organized manner and ultimately function at a higher level. level that allows him to excel, succeed and thrive in today's highly competitive business environment. Planning is an extremely complex and comprehensive process, involving a series of interrelated and interconnected components. These can be distilled into 3 main areas: strategic, tactical and operational planning. Strategic Planning A “key component [of planning] is strategic planning” (Porter 1998). Michael Porter established that formulating a successful, competitive strategy must include consideration of four key elements:1. “The strengths and weaknesses of the company… the center of the paper… the organizational environment. For this to happen, there must be a manager or management team assembled with skills and capabilities. Ultimately, if organizations fail to plan they put themselves in a disadvantageous position where they are more susceptible to volatile and ever-changing external and internal environments. . On the contrary, however, through the critical analysis of various sources, it is possible to identify the limitations of formal planning, but ultimately the role of informal planning cannot be ignored since the benefits it provides outweigh the potential disadvantages and if planning is adopted a holistic and systematic approach, and the implementation of such a plan, it will consequently "provide a fundamental foundation" (Mokwa, 1987) that an organization can use to improve its performance, efficiency and overall effectiveness.