Q.Plans are prepared for a specific period of time, may be for a month, a quarter or a year. At the end of that period, there is a need for a new plan to be drawn on the basis of new requirements and future conditions. The feature of planning reflected in the above lines is: (A) Planning is futuristic (B) Planning is continuous (C) Planning is pervasive (D) Planning is a mental exercise

The passage describes how plans have a fixed time horizon (month, quarter, year) and must be renewed when that period ends, adapting to fresh requirements and changing conditions. This cycle of plan → execute → new plan captures the essence of planning as an ongoing process.

Concept: Planning Is Continuous

Planning never stops because the business environment is dynamic. Once a plan's tenure expires, managers must formulate the next plan based on updated information and goals. This creates an unbroken chain: each plan leads into the next, ensuring the organization always has direction. …

The question asks you to identify which characteristic of planning is illustrated when organizations repeatedly create new plans as old ones expire. To see why continuity is the right answer, think about what happens in practice: a business doesn't plan once and stop. It plans for Q1, executes, then plans for Q2 based on what it learned and what changed. This never-ending cycle is what makes planning a continuous process.

Let's examine each feature mentioned in the options and see which one the passage actually describes.

1. Planning is futuristic means that planning is forward-looking — it deals with future events, forecasts, and goals rather than past performance. While the passage does mention "future conditions," the emphasis is not on the forward-looking nature itself but on the repetition of the planning activity. Every plan looks to the future, but that's not the distinguishing feature being highlighted here.

2. Planning is continuous captures the idea that planning is an ongoing, never-ending process. Once a plan for a given period (month, quarter, year) is completed and executed, a new plan must be prepared for the next period. The passage explicitly states "there is a need for a new plan to be drawn" after each period ends, and this happens "on the basis of new requirements and future conditions." This cyclical renewal — plan, execute, re-plan — is the hallmark of continuity in planning.

3. Planning is pervasive means that planning occurs at all levels of an organization (top, middle, lower management) and in all departments (finance, marketing, operations, etc.). The passage says nothing about the spread of planning across hierarchies or functions; it focuses solely on the temporal aspect — the need to keep planning over successive time periods. …