So, why plan?
To create the future and achieve desired results (i.e. goals, objectives) by the proper and most efficient use of available and sometimes limited resources

In general two main types of planning are identified: activity planning and allocative planning

Activity planning relates to the setting of monitorable timetables and schedules for the implementation of pre-set activities.

The more complex and contentious side of planning is allocative planning, which is making decisions as to how an organization, including health care service organizations use resources for the future.

Planning as an activity carried out by an organization depends on factors related to the organization, its constitutional structures, type of organization (i.e. private or public), professional attitudes, external factors such as legislative control. For the organizations dealing with health care services, provision planning depends also on how the term "health" is viewed. In the narrowest concept of health it is seen as a measure of the state of physical organs of the body. An individual is unhealthy if there is a malfunctioning of a part of the body. A broader, but related, definition sees health as the ability of the body as a whole to function. In contrast, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as "a state of physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". It sees the health of an individual or community as being concerned not only with physical and mental status, but also with social and economic relationships.

Thus, an organization's view of health will affect the choice of planning activities. For example, the narrowest definitions are closely associated with a medical model of health, in which the role of health services is seen as paramount in restoring the functioning of the unhealthy body. Wider concepts suggest that much broader interventions, including community empowerment and anti-poverty measures, are necessary to promote health.

Further, methods of planning and decision making depend also on the type of organization: private or public. For example: the Armenian health care system includes both private and public types of organizations. The aims of the organization are often different leading to different plans. The primary goal of public sector institutions is improvement of the health of the community by meeting health needs. Private sector health care providers, by contrast, have as their objective the making of profits by responding to health demands. The Ministry of Health has wider responsibilities in the individual health promotion of citizens. These responsibilities define a particular form of health planning, which is broader and qualitatively different from that undertaken by other organizations. Thus public sector plans provide the opportunity for a more holistic and balanced view of health and its promotion. Private firms, by contrast, are only concerned with their own provision of services. Private firms as well as non governmental organizations operate within a context and environment controlled by the regulatory function of the state. This includes the setting of standards, fee levels, location of services, etc. The state has the dual role of planning its own direct service-provision activities together with its regulatory functions towards other health- service providers.

Finally, planning is not solely the production of a plan by an organization. Planning is concerned with change and is a political process. To be effective, a decision-making organization must take into account the broad picture including the environment in which it exists and functions.

We now know in general why planning is done and why it is necessary to plan. The next important question to discuss is how to plan or planning approaches.