Financehome The dangers of growing apart were recognized, but confidence was felt in the group structure and the experience of senior executives gained previously in working as a very closely knit team. This would enable the realization of the principal benefits of centralized policy making and the economics of joint services, without hampering the exercise of individual initiative in the separate companies. At certain stages of growth these companies work virtually as one operating unit for daytoday purposes and a highly flexible 'organic structure' makes possible changes in the degree of centralized and decentralized control during the growth period, the object being to maximize the drive needed to get a new activity to a viable level, while facilitating mutual assistance between product groups and minimizing overhead costs. Influenced by all these considerations the following policies were adopted with regard to personnel: (a) Promotions to senior positions were made from within the organization whenever possible, though the necessity was recognized of recruiting externally key people with special skills, experience, or ability. (b) Managers at all levels of the Company were given as much opportunity as possible to discharge their responsibilities as they thought best within the broad framework of agreed objectives. (c) The Company paid the fees of suitable training courses and conferences to encourage personnel to develop their potential abilities and some special training courses were also held during working hours. A library of technical and management books had also gradually been built up. (d) An attempt was made to keep executives throughout the Company informed on current developments partly by regular briefing through the line organization, and partly by special meetings and annual management conferences. The concept that, given a reasonable warning, growth could be planned and created resulted in Solartron using budgetary planning as a means of presenting the operating plan and monitoring progress relative to the plan. This approach was based on the conviction that the future could be V significantly influenced, and that the Gompany'sfortuneswere В dependent only in part upon unforeseeable factors. In particular, budgetary planning was considered to be a method for maximizing return on the various types of investment necessary for expansion, such as market development, research and product development, overhead organization, and plant and equipment. It enabled possible limiting factors such as selling capacity, production facilities, or finance to be spotted sufficiently in advance for corrective action to be taken, thus enabling a balance to be achieved and safeguarding the Company's investment in other resources. In broad outline, budgetary planning at Solartron comprised the following steps (ordered chronologically): (i) setting targets; (2) planning steps needed to meet these targets; (3) revising the plan in light of available resources; (4) monitoring current performance; (5) making changes in operations to meet the plan (and revising the plan) as operations proceeded. to buy a house