INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The development of corporate planning in business is a post World War

II      Phenomenon. Before the period of the World War II, almost all business enterprises were carrying on their business affairs without stating any formal objectives or formal long range business plans. Usually business planning was confined to the lower organizational levels, mainly the functional or the departmental levels and they had only short-term plans which focused mainly on manufacturing product planning, materials ordering and receiving, and hiring of labor. Most companies used to have annual budgets or yearly financial plans to ensure their liquidity Imaga, (2000:1).

Since that period of World War II, higher level that is at the core body of the company level long-range, usually of 3 to 7 years period planning has assumed ever increasing importance. The development of business planning has been a revolutionary movement or as the technological revolution or even the revolution in life-styles due to income demonstration effects from time to time. According to Hberts, (1950), comprehensive business planning now covers long-range in the form of strategic planning involving the entire fabric of the organization and is the concern of the top-most management from where it descends to all. The scope of corporate planning covers not only the whole organization but every functional aspect of the organization. It takes into account the full environments in which the business operates and is a systematic assessment of a most comprehensive nature, leading to the realistic mapping out of long term objectives, strategic and operational plans Akpala (1990).

In corporate planning, top management is concerned with the future direction of the business as a whole, such decisions taken are long-term in nature and are bound to have far reaching implications on employment, the financing of the business and the types of products manufactured.

Thus, corporate planning involves major strategic decisions. It is against this background that this study is set to examine corporate planning with a view to determining its benefits and identifying its problems in Diamond Bank plc Nigeria Limited.

1.2    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Corporate planning often fails to achieve it's objectives in many organizations due to some Militating factors. The problem of poor planning which are usually defective due to lack of skills and expertise and reliable and accurate information on the sides of the managers, which will often leads to poor forecast and formulation of vague goals and objectives. Also poor policies and implementation strategies is yet another problem which in most cases leads to deviation of results from the sets goals, and poor feedback.

Finally, the very dynamic nature of the business environment which makes forecasting practically impossible, some times Jeopardizes the organizational policy. Lack of effective monitoring of plan implementation and review of results usually undermine even the most articulated corporate plan.

1.3      OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The      specific      objectives       of    the      study     include      the following:

1.                To determine the problem manager encounter in cooperate planning and suggest solution.

2.                To determine the strategic planning approach used by organizations and assesses its appropriateness.

3.                To evaluate forecasting methods used by corporate organizations.

4.                To determine the corporate planning approach use by organization.

1.4      RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following researcher questions were asked to elicit useful information to be able to deal with the subject matter.

1.                What are the problems managers' encounters in corporate planning?

2.                  What are the strategic planning approaches used by organizations and how appropriate are they?

3.                  What are the forecasting methods used by corporate organizations?

4.                What are the corporate planning approach uses by organization?

1.5    RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

H0: The problems managers encounters in corporate planning does not include lack of adequate and reliable information, poor structural policy framework, lack of adequate managerial skill and technical know-how.

H1: The problems managers' encounter in corporate planning does include lack of adequate and reliable information, poor structural policy framework, lack of adequate managerial skills and technical know-how.

H0: The strategic planning approach used by organization does not include analyzing the current status, examining the prospects of the future, setting the future course of strategy, putting a strategy to work, and evaluating and controlling strategy.

H1: The strategic planning approach used by organizations includes analyzing the current status, examining the prospects of the future, setting the future course of strategy, putting a strategy to work, evaluating and controlling the strategy.

H0: Historical trend analysis, quantitative methods, Brain storming, etc are not forecasting methods used by corporate organizations.

Hi:     Historical trend analysis, Quantitative methods, Brainstorming, etc are forecasting method used by corporate organizations.

H0: The corporate planning approach used by organizations does not include prescriptive and emergent approach.

Hi: The corporate planning approaches used by organizations include prescriptive and emergent approach.

1.6          SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study is on corporate planning: Problems and benefits. A study  of Diamond Bank plc. The major constraints of this study include;

Time Constraints: Due to limited time given for the study, the researcher could not visits places where relevant information necessary for the study could be obtained.

1.                Financial Constraints: The researcher has not enough money to embark on an in depth study of this magnitude. Because of financial constrain the researcher could not visit places where necessary information needed for the study could be obtained.

2.                Attitude of the Respondents: Some of the respondents were not interested in the questionnaire given to them because they feel they have nothing to benefit from the study.

1.7    SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

This research derives its significance from it's usefulness to management of small and big organization, governments and students. This work will be of great importance to the following group of people. The potential and prospective managers might find this work useful as a guide to better business initiative and management towards ensuring proficiency, efficiency and effectiveness.

1.                The policy making arms of the government could also appreciate this work and thus make good policies in favor of corporate planning development in Nigeria considering the role it plays in Nigeria economic development.

2.       Other researcher could as well find this work very useful for further research work    as a reference material.

1.8    BRIEF HISTORY OF DIAMOND BANK OF COMPANY

Diamond Bank Plc began as a private limited liability company on March 21, 1991 (the company was incorporated on December 20, 1990). Ten years later, in February 2001, it became a universal bank. In January 2005, following a highly successful Private Placement share offer which substantially raised the Bank's equity base, Diamond Bank became a public limited company.

Since the Bank was incorporated in December 1990, Diamond Bank has challenged the market environment by introducing new products, innovative technology and setting new benchmarks through international standards.

Today, Diamond Bank is best placed to respond to changing lifestyles and is leading the digital transformation in response to these societal shifts. For example, Diamond Mobile is Africa’s leading banking app and the first with touch ID.

Delivering an enhanced customer experience is fundamental to the Diamond Bank proposition. We aim to support our customers via our tailored services, such as Diamond Woman, so that they can manage their lives seamlessly whether on-the-go or in branch – in other words, we want to go ‘Beyond Banking’.

Overall, our people remain the key differentiating factor in providing this unique customer experience across all markets where we operate and we are fully committed to consistently attracting only the best people to maintain our competitive edge.

Diamond Bank has a retail-led strategy, meaning it is well placed to benefit from Nigeria’s attractive fundamental macroeconomic trends, particularly in the retail market.

The Bank also has a strong Corporate Banking offering that is helping to fuel growth across Nigeria through supporting businesses, redefining the country’s 21st-century economy.

The Bank serves over 150,000 businesses of varying size across diverse sectors including Corporate clients as well as MSME (Micro Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises), for which it provides value-adding banking solutions.

With a primary listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and GDRs on the London Stock Exchange, Diamond Bank’s footprints extend beyond Nigeria. It launched its first non-African subsidiary, Diamond Bank, UK, in 2013. As of January 2016, the bank operated over 271 branches of the group.

Diamond Bank has frequently been the partner of choice for leading international organisations such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the UK’s Department for International

Development (DfID), in order to deliver programmes targeting MSMEs and to promote financial inclusion.

The Carlyle Group, the global alternative asset manager, became a significant shareholder in November 2014 following its $147m investment in the Bank. This was a major milestone for Diamond Bank and a sign of confidence in the Bank’s strategy and market opportunity.

1.9    DEFINITION OF TERMS

1.                 Corporate Planning: This is decision support systems that holds and derives knowledge relevant to planning decisions that cut across organizational units and involve the entire fabric of the organization and is the concern of the top most management from where it descends to all, Karl (1998:14).

2.                 Management: This is defined as the process by which organizations resources of men, material and money are combined in such a way that goals and objectives of the organization are realized in an effective and efficient manner, Akpala (1990:44).

3.                 Corporation: This is a mechanism by which different parties contribute capital, expertise, and labuor to achieve mutual benefit.

4.                  Corporate Culture: This  is  the  totality  of  the  shared  beliefs,

values, norms and expectations by organizations members which are transmitted from generation to generation.

5.                 Planning: This is the act of determining in advance possible future work of actions.

6.                 Strategic Management: This is the process by which top management determine the long run performance of the organization by ensuring careful formulation, proper implementation and continuous evaluation of the strategy.

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