Ways in which planning can be enhanced across organizational levels within higher education institutions are outlined, and examples of institutional planning are analyzed from centralized/decentralized perspectives. Generalizations about planning are drawn with particular attention to ways in which effective human planning behavior can be facilitated. The analysis is based on the following premises: planning must become a pervasive organizational activity; planning is not something apart from management; and planning needs to be understood and implemented as a sociopolitical activity as well as a technical activity. The following key behaviors are identified: (1) join and remain; (2) perform role dependably; (3) provide effort above the minimum; (4) exhibit adaptive, innovative behavior; and (5) perform cooperatively. The planning histories of the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford University are briefly considered. Three papers on planning by T. Michael Elliott, Loretta Glaze Elliott, and Thomas W. West and outlines of planning strategies and processes are appended. (SW)