Kim Allred is relatively new as a caretaker, having been promoted only two months before and before her promotion, she had worked for the company for 7-years as a sales specialist in office equipment. There is no doubt that she is a whiz at selling office equipment. Because of her accepted expertise in the field, it was natural for her to be promoted when the supervisory opening in office equipment sales became available. Yesterday, Kim received a memo from her boss, Ed Jackson, stating that all departmental plans for the next fiscal year were due by the end of the month, which was 10 days away. She immediately went into a panic. She had never prepared a formal plan, and she had no idea what was required. After worrying over the matter for a day, Kim decided that the best thing to do would be to ask Ed for some guidelines.

Kim: Ed, yesterday I received your memo regarding next year's plan. I've never prepared a formal plan, and frankly, I don't even know where to start.

Ed: Calm down, Kim. I apologize for forgetting that this is your first go-around in the planning process. What I am looking for is a plan for attaining the objectives that we agreed upon for your department last month. In other words, the ABCs of how you plan to accomplish each objective.

Kim: In other words, you want a written explanation of just how I expect to accomplish each objective. Just how detailed should this plan be, and what format are you looking for?

Questions
1. How would you answer Kim's questions if you were Ed Jackson?
2. How would you go about preparing this plan if you were Kim Allred? (Suggest a framework for Kim to follow.)
3. Do you think Kim's initial reaction to the planning process was unusual? Why or why not?