3. 
Everyone who
has a part to play in the project, including outside organizations,
participates.
4. The responsible brand product or project manager prepares the plan himself.19
While any of these approaches may work in a particular company or situation, it is again important to recognize that the overall responsibility must be of the responsible marketing manager, that is, the brand product or project manager who ultimately has the line responsibility for implementing the project. As Michael E. Naylor, General Motors' general director of corporate strategic planning, said, "Planning is the responsibility of every line manager. The role of the planner is to be a catalyst for change—not to do the planning for each business unit."20
Alternative Planning Approaches
Aside from the responsibility for the physical preparation of the marketing plan and for the absolute necessity of top management and/or upper management of the marketing organization's involvement in it, there are various approaches that can be taken in any planning process. These are top-down planning, bottom-up planning, or a combination of top-down/bottom-up.
The Marketing Plan and Planning Process
Who Does Planning?
Many different "stakeholder groups," all of which have a stake in the plan even though outside the marketing organization, may be intimately involved in the planning process, including top corporate management, the corporate planning staff, other corporate staff groups, business unit top management, business unit planning staff, other business unit staff, and other business unit line management.IB But there are only four basic alternatives for the preparation of the marketing plan:
1. Functional marketing executives prepare the plan.
2. A special planning staff group prepares the plan.
Top-down Planning
Top-down planning, as the name indicates, is planning accomplished at the top of an organization whereby the objectives, the analysis of the situation, the marketing strategies and tactics, implementation and control, and virtually all other main elements of the marketing plan are designated by top management of the marketing organization. Lower-level organizations and functional organizations such as sales, advertising, marketing research, and so forth prepare derivative plans or simply implement what has been directed by top management planners.
Bottom-up Planning
Bottom-up planning works the other way. Lower-level organizations, either together or individually, prepare the marketing plan in detail including all elements indicated previously. It is then reviewed and approved or rejected by top management.
64 Top-down/Bottom-up
The Marketing Manager:
Tasks and Responsibilities The top-down/bottom-up combination denotes planning which may be initiated at either end of the organization. Two different approaches may be used to achieve this combination. In one instance a plan is initiated at either end of the organization and then is sent to the opposite organizational level for extensive modification and reworking. It is then returned to where it was initiated for additional work. Depending on the situation, additional cycles may follow. In its final form, the plan is approved by top management. Alternatively, top management representatives are integrated temporarily into a lower-level organization to achieve a top-down/bottom-up combination simultaneously. Again, the final product is approved at the top rung.
Each alternative approach has advantages and disadvantages. Top-down planning is usually quicker since lower-level organizations need focus only on implementation of what top management desires. On the other hand, the top-down approach to planning frequently excludes important inputs from lower-level organizations.
Bottom-up planning also has advantages and disadvantages. It is much more participatory, and, therefore, those who must ultimately implement the plan regard the plan as being more their own rather than dictated by someone else far removed from the situation. On the other hand, the bottom-up plan may reflect the prejudices and needs of the lower-level organization preparing it. Also, there is a greater danger with bottom-up planning that the marketing plan will not reflect the corporate perspective of top management. Finally, if the plan is not approved, there is much frustration felt by the planner and the line manager responsible for the planning at the lower level organization.
But even a combination of top-down/bottom-up does not have all the advantages with none of the disadvantages. Simultaneous participation of top management and lower-level managers may still inhibit the input from lower-level managers. Recycling from one end to the other of the organization for extensive modification involves both frustration for changes made by the other end of the organization as well as the time that it takes to do this.
Selecting a Planning Approach
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