Management Planning at Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman is one of the largest defense contractors in the world. This paper will focus on the Electronics Sector of the company, specifically the handheld laser systems division. The laser systems sector employs roughly 900 employees and produces hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenue. A company this size requires unique planning and organization in order to fulfill its goals and objectives. During the planning process, the management at Northrop Grumman takes many factors into consideration. An important part of the planning process is to set the company’s goals. These goals are then further analyzed and divided among various parts of the company. The laser sector has a certain amount of revenue that should be created yearly, mandated by corporate managers. The management team in the laser sector then divides that sector wide revenue into separate departments within the sector. When making these divisions, management considers these three questions: What was the department capable of producing last year? What has changed since then? With these changes considered, what is the department now capable of? Looking back at the history of a company can tell management many helpful things. Information such as past productivity can help management come up with approximate goals for the future. Looking at the past can also allow management to take into account changes that have been made since then. Relevant changes can include resources such as part availability, personnel changes, procedural changes, and more obscure factors like employee morale. When looking into the past management can use these factors to influence necessary change and to estimate future capabilities of the department. Legal issues are an important part of the planning process. In 2002 Northrop Grumman was sued by an employee over an issue of relocation assistance and benefits, promised, but not paid, by Northrop...