Raw Material-producing Industries

FARMS AND RANCHES

These provide our grains and other foodstuffs, milk cotton and cloth-making fibers, fruits and vegetables, rubber, hemp, leather, wool, and cattle and beef.

FOREST

These provide our lumber and other resources for a while variety of associated products, such as paper. Wildlife and game animals provide many raw materials as well as some food products.

MINES

These provide our goal, oil, copper, gold and silver, marble and other stones, ores of many kinds, diamonds, uranium, and even salt and other resources used to manufacture many products for industries and consumers.

WATERS

Our lakes, rivers, and oceans provide fish and other water-grown foods. Beach sand is used for making glass products. Waterfalls and dams in waterways provide hydroelectric power. And our drinking water comes from surfaces water or from drilled wells.

          This list makes it clear that our business world could not exist without its supplies of natural resources. The continued adequate supply of these raw materials is a matter of deep concern to nations and to individual industries. For this reason industries which use large amounts of ores, for example, try to secure the right to use existing mines in the future, just as timber companies seek the right to use our forest. They and our government support reforestation programs to make sure that timber supplies will not run out. In addition, programs to maintain the fertility of farmlands and to encourage the efficient growth of agricultural products are supported by both government and private organizations.
          In this great day of polyester fabrics, recycled paper, and other synthetic products, we must note the importance of raw materials that are produced by chemical processes. Our polyester clothing is made by applying oil by-products to other materials, and chemicals are used to recycle basic paper products. The recycling of aluminum cans is another example of how we reuse raw materials today.
          However, even if we had an unending supply of natural resources, we still would not have the final products we need. Resources must be converted into products through manufacturing processes, the next key segment of the business world

Organizing

In most modern factories a worker does not carry out the entire job of making a finished product. Even in a simple operation like making wheelbarrows, one group of workers forms the bodies, another group attaches the rear braces, another adds the axles, another puts the wheels on, and still another fastens on the handles. And this kind of group effort also goes into the manufacturing of the wheelbarrow's basic parts. It's up to management to organize all these activities into a single effort.

A Continuous Activity

          No modern business can depend for long on past success. New, positive plans are needed at all times, and existing plans must be re-examined often. Good plans must be clearly understood by all flexible enough to meet changing needs and objective in all their parts.
          Planning never ends, because the business world is always changing. Some plans may not be successful because conditions change, or opportunities develop, or there is a need to expand or contract, or laws and regulations may change. Such things may force a firm to change established plans at any time. It is a well-recognized fact in business as in life that the sooner we discover our problems, opportunities, and the need for change, the sooner we can take action. Thus, the search for problems, opportunities, and needs is an essential part of planning. And that never ends.

Which Managers Plan?

          To some degree, planning is the responsibility of managers at all levels. Even so, basic decisions are not made by all managers. Top management carries the responsibility for making most long-range plans. But top management also must approved the yearly short-range budget, as well as other short-range plans.
          Any managers may receive a planning assignment at any time Middle management is responsible for developing most of the short-range plans mentioned above. And supervisory managers contribute to short-range plans for their areas of responsibility by suggesting ways to solve technical problems or by establishing practices and standards. Then, too, any managers or other employee may make suggestions to the firm - through the suggestion box or other established ways; these can make a significant contribution to future planning decisions.

Short-Range Planning

Short-range planning involves setting the guidelines for achieving the firm's objectives. Some short-range plans may be very broad, such as establishing a procedure manual to be followed by all departments in the firm. Operating rules, standard practices, and safety programs are other areas that require short-range planning. And every large firm has at least one short-range plan each year - its budget. Keeping within an approved budget is one measure of the efficiency of management in a department, a branch factory, or the entire organization.