This document provides an overview of planning as a primary managerial activity. It defines planning as involving setting organizational goals, developing strategies to achieve those goals, and creating plans for work activities. The document discusses different types of goals and plans, including strategic vs operational plans and long-term vs short-term plans. Approaches to goal setting like traditional top-down goal setting and participative approaches like Management by Objectives are compared. Factors that influence planning like environmental uncertainty and manager's level in the organization are also covered.