The principles of recordkeeping and storage are the same,  however,  you  must  be  familiar  with  the warehouses  and  their  location  system. There are no sharp differences between standing a watch ashore and standing a comparable watch aboard ship. The essentials remain the same. Personnel are still supervised,  security  of  spaces  and  materials  are maintained, and logs are kept of occurring events. The details,  which  vary  considerably  from  station  to  station, are   always   carefully   stated   in   a   specific   supply department  instruction. MANAGEMENT    TECHNIQUES When the elements of management techniques are applied to the operating procedures, the result is an efficient  and  progressive  organization.  These  elements include   planning,   organization,   and   control.   The following information describes these in more detail. PLANNING The  most  important  element  of  management techniques  is  planning.  Plans  are  methods  devised  to achieve a goal. Plans are the road maps for the players to follow. In the Navy, all plans fall into one of the three groups; strategic plans, standing plans, and single-use plans. Strategic plans are those that will take place in 2 or 5 years. Type commanders and commanding officers use  strategic  plans  to  set  the  mission  and  objectives. Standing plans are those the Navy uses for recurring or long-range activities. Standing  plans  include  the United  States  Navy  Regulations  (Navy  Regs),  Standard Organization  and  Regulations  of  the  U.S.  Navy, SECNAVINSTs, OPNAVINSTs, or technical manuals. Supervisors use the standing plans to determine routine work  requirements  within  the  division  or  section. Single-use plans are those used for short-range nonrecurring  activities.  As  the  supervisor,  you  should excel in this area of planning and use it as part of your daily activity. To determine the short-range plans, use the strategic and standing plans as references. The time devoted to planning any type of operation will result in dividends in terms of the time and effort saved later. To develop an effective plan, you must first have  accurate  information  concerning  past  and  present procedures.  One  of  the  mistakes  often  made  by individuals  when  reporting  to  a  new  assignment  is  to neglect this essential element and begin making changes before they understand the existing system. Some tasks may  appear  strange  when  a  person  is  new  to  an assignment  and  may  even  appear  pointless.  However,. it is wise not to act on the first impression. It is best to become acquainted with the reasons for performing tasks in a specific way before making rash decisions for change. The ideal situation, although often not the case, is to report to a division or section before the detachment of  your  predecessor.  This  gives  you  an  opportunity  to observe   performance   and   procedures   before   you actually take charge. When this is not the case, planning before acting becomes even more important. The first step in planning is to determine the exact functions and mission of the office or division for which you   are   assuming   responsibility.   You   must   also determine how its functions fit into the overall mission of the activity. You should already be familiar with some  procedures  gained  by  experience  from  previous assignments  or  from  general  knowledge  of  the  AK rating. Personnel To make job assignments efficiently, it is important that you become acquainted with the personnel who will be working for you. Find out about their training and experience.  Become  familiar  with  their  individual  skills and  traits  of  personality.  Review  each  individual’s service record and look at the past work habits of each person (past evaluations will indicate some of these traits). When you are setting up a new office, you will have  to  make  immediate  decisions  regarding assignments.  In  an  office  or  unit  already  established, you probably will not make any changes in individual duty assignments until you have made an assessment of personnel  traits. Workload The   main   sources   of   information   concerning projected  workload  are  the  mission  and  functions described  in  the  supply  department  organizational manual  or  from  directives  issued  by  the  local  command or from higher authority. After   determining   what   responsibilities   your section is expected to perform, you should next consider how your work assignments relate to the overall mission of  the  activity. You  must  become  familiar  with organization  charts,  organizational  manning  structure, billets  authorized,  and  the  personnel  available  to perform  those  tasks  assigned. 1-8