Managers are often told that formal planning helps. It is useful to examine whether this is good advice. Thus, I … applaud this effort to study marketing planning in New Zealand. Nevertheless, I find it difficult to accept the conclusions … drawn by the authors of “Marketing Planning in New Zealand” (MPNZ). I am concerned with the definition of marketing planning …

Individuals and organizations have operated for hundreds of years by planning and forecasting in an intuitive manner … those problems. However, informal planning and forecasting are expensive activities; this raises questions about their … superiority over informal planning and forecasting. Furthermore, critics of the formal approach claim that it introduces rigidity …