Marks and Spencer Business Analysis

The assignment provides an in-depth analysis of Marks and Spencer's business operations. It discusses the company's organizational structure, which is characterized as flatter, and how it helps to meet innovative products and services in the country. The report also examines the impact of Brexit on the company's profitability and competitiveness. Furthermore, it touches upon the threat of substitute products and the importance of implementing innovative characteristics to maintain a competitive edge.

Management and
organisation

INTRODUCTION
In every business, management activities assists to focus on accomplishment of goals and
objectives. In this regard, arrangement of factors of production, assembles and organisation of
the resources integrates resources effectively (Wild, 2017). It produces maximum output with
employment of resources in business. Present study based on Marks and Spencer which is
successful retail sector business in the country.
In order to focus on the present report, it covers brief introduction to the enterprise to
develop more effectiveness in the business. Furthermore, it includes organisational structure that
assists to operate functions to develop more effectiveness at workplace. At last, porter five forces
has been implemented to assess competitive results at workplace.
TASK 1
Briefly introduce to the organisation
Marks and Spencer started their operations and functions from 1884 with partnership of
Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. They are working as British Multinational retailer so that
they are specialised in selling of clothing, home products and luxury food products. The chosen
business is first retailer that make tax free profits to took company and operate in different areas
of the world in successful manner. The company also moved in different areas of open market
where they can increase profits easily (Bradley, 2016). Main emphasis of the company is
producing qualitative products and services to measuring effective system in the country.
Furthermore, M&S began selling Christmas Cakes in 1958. Efforts of the chosen
business also helps to improve quality and hired different employees who possess special skills
and qualities. After 1959, the company started to expand their business in Canada so that there
are around 47 total stores across the country. In this way, the chosen company continuously
expanded their functions and operations to look upon more profits and revenue gaining to
maintain loyalty at workplace (About Marks and Spencer, 2018). As a result, they concentrate on
the restructuring that is more profitable and effectiveness.
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TASK 2
Organisational structure of the company and analysis how this structure can helps to company
functions effectively in the business
Marks and Spencer adopted flat organisational structure in which limited level of
management work between administrative level and front line employees. In this structure, the
chosen business encourage their employees in decision making process so that they can increase
desired level of results. Changes in the chosen business created their functions with several
numbers of layers so that process successfully delayering to contact more responsibilities. It
enables to take quick decisions when it is required to attain more effective. In this structure,
employees of the selected business have more accountability that prepared to explain and justify
decisions in appropriate manner (Brewster, 2017). As a result, they can work for business
development and shows appropriate working with more than 3000 employees.
Along with this, in Marks and Spencer staff members possess special qualities so that
according to roles, they are looking for customer needs and requirement that assists to focus on
the managing work performances in appropriate manner. Staff members are working in
marketing and accounts department so that changes in the business can be consider successfully
to possess appropriate roles and responsibilities which can be lead to motivate employees of the
organisation. Franchise also develop to increase training of employees. In order to adopt flatter
enterprise, it is important to fulfil higher expectations of staff members in positive consideration.
Succession management and individual performances also move from one job to another.
Managers have planned of replacement in which experienced staff possess work with right skills
and competencies (Wild, 2017).
Hence, in Marks and Spencer there are three different level has been considered that
assists to accomplish desired level of results in flatter structure. For instance, trainee managers
who work on A level to undertake 24 months of training. Graduate people also join the business
so that in 12 months of training they need to be work to increase positive experience. In addition
to this, experienced managers who have knowledge of retail business undertake 3 months of
training to understand work of the chosen business.
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TASK 3
One modern management approach that helps to the business
In order to determine one modern management approach, it can be stated that systems
approach is one of the best aspect that appeared to tried and unify prior school of thought. This
approach implemented in Marks and Spencer with contribution of several people. They viewed
that the organisation consider organic and open system that is composed of interacting and
interdependent part. As a result sub system has been integrated into a unity or orderly (Lush,
2014). System approach is based on the generalisation that everything is inter-related and inter-
dependence. System is composed with interaction, forms and unitary whole. A system is simply
assemblage or combination of different things and parts that forming a complex whole.
One of the important characteristics that is composed of hierarchical of sub-systems. It is
the important parts forming major systems. For instance, in Marks and Spencer can be consider
to be a successful system in different national economies that are considered as sub system. Each
national economy is composed of its various industries so that in the chosen firm system is
composed of sub-system of production, marketing, finance and accounting (Greenwood, Oliver
and Meyer, 2017). Basic features of this model management approach can be seen in following
manner:
 System consist interacting element in which set of inter related and inter dependent parts
arranged in a manner to produces unified.
 Several sub-system should be studied in their inter relation so that isolation from each
other successfully develop.
 Organisational system has a boundary that determines internal and external parts to
accomplish more desired level results.
 Marks and Spencer is dynamic system so that it is responsive for the environment to
make changes in the enterprise with appropriate consideration.
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TASK 4
Porter five force model for industry analysis and show one innovative strategic objective of the
company
Porter five forces model is holistic strategy framework which assists to look upon
decisions to analysis present competition. In this regard, following elements in the present model
include to focus on the present study: Threat of new entrants (High): In the market, there is high threat of new entrants
towards Marks and Spencer. This is because, there are several businesses continuously
enter in the market with bringing innovation to create new ways to do business and put
pressure on the company. Bargaining power of suppliers (Moderate): Almost all the retail sector businesses
buying raw material from the UK. Therefore, suppliers in the market have dominant
position which decrease margins from the organisation (Greenwood, R., Oliver, C. and
Meyer, 2017). In this context, it can be stated that powerful suppliers create major impact
on the Marks and Spencer and their productivity as well. With the help of building
efficient supply chain with multiple suppliers, experimenting with product design also
using with different material that used to develop significant advantages. Bargaining power of buyers (High): Furthermore, buyers of the chosen business also
possess high bargaining power because there are different retail sector businesses
operating in UK. It put more pressure on the chosen business to increase profitability in
long term context. In order to reduce this impact, the chosen business building large base
of customers so that it assists to reduce bargaining power of buyers that provides several
opportunities in the firm to streamline sales and production process (Stark, 2015). New
product also reduce defection of existing customers of Marks and Spencer so that they
can communicate benefits with customer attraction. Competitive rivalry (High): In the UK market, there are different competitive rivalry are
maximum who compete with each other and meets to attain competitive advantages.
Therefore, Marks and Spencer suffer in term of profitability. In addition to this, there are
several substitutes are exists in term of high competition. As a result, it is important to
take overall long term profitability in the organisation. In this regard, rivalry also reduced
among existing players in particular industry so that it drive with prices and decrease
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overall profitability. With the help of building sustainable differentiation and compete in
better way, the chosen business will able to communicate intense rivalry among existing
people (Agolla, 2018).
 Threat of substitute products (Moderate): When new product and services meets with
similar customer needs in different way. Profits of the chosen business get affected.
Therefore, it is important to implement certain innovative characteristics that need to be
offers with value proposition. As a result, uniquely there are several things has been
successfully presented in industry (Howells and Scholderer, 2016).
In the context of current innovative strategic objective, it can be stated that in the chosen
business after Brexit they implement qualitative elements to increase and produce more
profitability at workplace.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that Marks and Spencer successfully operated
in different areas of the world from 1884. They consider flatter organisational structure that
assists to meet with innovative products and services in the country. With the help of system
modern management approach, they can increase more creative results at workplace.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Agolla, J.E., 2018. Modelling the relationship between innovation, strategy, strategic human
resource management and organisation competitiveness. African Journal of Business
Management. 12(14). pp.428-438.
Bradley, G., 2016. Benefit Realisation Management: A practical guide to achieving benefits
through change. Routledge.
Brewster, C., 2017. The integration of human resource management and corporate strategy. In
Policy and practice in European human resource management (pp. 22-35). Routledge.
Greenwood, R., Oliver, C. and Meyer, R.E. eds., 2017. The Sage handbook of organizational
institutionalism. Sage.
Howells, J. and Scholderer, J., 2016. Forget unlearning? How an empirically unwarranted
concept from psychology was imported to flourish in management and organisation
studies. Management Learning. 47(4). pp.443-463.
Lush, A., 2014. Fundamental personal information management activities–organisation, finding
and keeping: A literature review. The Australian Library Journal. 63(1). pp.45-51.
Stark, J., 2015. Product lifecycle management. In Product Lifecycle Management (Volume 1)
(pp. 1-29). Springer, Cham.
Wild, T., 2017. Best practice in inventory management. Routledge.
Online
About Marks and Spencer. 2018. [Online] Available through:
<https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/aboutus>.
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