Book excerpt: Nature and concept of business planning; A conceptual and operational model of corporate planning; The importance of comprehensive planning; Top management's role in planning; The process of developing plans; Organizing for corporate planning; The network of corporate aims - I and II; Appraising the future environment for planning; Nature and development of business strategies; Business policies and procedures; From strategic planning to current action; Tools for more rational planning; Rationality in planning; Older tools for making more rational planning decisions; The systems approach to decision-making; Newer quantitative techniques for rational decisions; Management information systems; Computers and management information systems; Planning in selected; Financial planning; Diversification planning; Research and development planning; Planning in other functional areas; Concluding observations: the current state of the art and the future of comprehensive corporate planning; References; Index.