ABSTRACT
Perhaps the most significant of recent government initiatives in education and training has been the attempt to implement systematically and comprehensively a rational planning model. Although there are variants of the model, the differences between them are largely ones of terminology. Strategic plans, corporate plans, development plans and business plans are some of the names used to describe the several manifestations of the model. At heart the model is concerned with four basic functions which constitute an interactive cycle:
• determining what an organisation shall do by formulating priorities and objectives;
• translating these into operational plans, each of which is defined in terms of more detailed objectives;
• systematically assessing whether the plans have been implemented economically, efficiently and effectively;
• using the results of the assessment to adjust, modify or change the plan; and provide a basis for determining the next phase of the planning cycle.
