How does top-down planning done?

Answer 1

Top-Down PlanningTop-down planning is referred to as strategy. Top-down project planning is focused on keeping the decision making process at the senior level. Goals and quotas are established at the highest level, and those at the top are not often willing to take advice or any guidance from lower level employees. Senior-level managers need to be as specific as possible when laying out expectations since those following the plan are not involved in the planning process. Because employees are not included in any of the decision making process and are often only motivated through either fear or incentives, moral can become an issue.

With top-down planning, management must choose techniques to align projects and goals. Management holds the sole responsibility for the plans set forth and for the end result. This way of thinking assumes that management knows best how to plan and carry out a project, thus not taking advantage of talented employees who may have more experience with certain aspects of the project. Some see the top-down planning process as a way to make a plan, and not about who develops the plan. It allows management to divide a project into steps, and then into still smaller steps. This continues until the steps can be studied, due-dates can be accurately assigned, and then parts of the project can be assigned to an employee. However, the focus is on long-term goals, and the here-and-now goals can get lost. Often, this approach is applied best to very small projects.