Phase 1—Basic financial planning: Managers initiate serious planning when they are requestedtoproposethefollowingyear’sbudget.Projectsareproposedonthebasisofvery little analysis, with most information coming from within the firm. The sales force usuallyprovidesthesmallamountofenvironmentalinformation.Suchsimplisticoperational planning only pretends to be strategic management, yet it is quite time consuming. Normal company activities are often suspended for weeks while managers try to cram ideas into the proposed budget. The time horizon is usually one year.