Importance and Influence of CSR in business strategies of the Marks and Spencer firm

The report discusses the importance and influence of CSR in business strategies of the Marks and Spencer firm. It includes SWOT and PESTEL analysis, evaluation of leadership styles, and critical evaluation of the CSR initiatives of the company. The report concludes that the company's CSR initiatives are commendable and reflect its commitment to sustainability, diversity, and social responsibility.

Importance and
Influence of CSR in
business strategies of
the Marks and Spencer
firm

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................2
Perform a SWOT and PESTEL analysis for chosen business................................................2
Evaluate how the changes in pestle factors influence the opportunities and threats of the
business...................................................................................................................................5
Different styles of leadership..................................................................................................6
Critically evaluate the corporate social responsibility of the chosen organisation................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Environment is build of several factors. It means that there are several factors which effect the
business operations and those factors come under the concept of business environment. It is
necessary for the business organisation to develop the effective strategies in order to survive the
business in changing or dynamic environment. Corporate Social Responsibilities are also an
important concept in business as it leads to the future sustainability and growth of organisation
(Aichhorn, N. and Puck, J., 2017). The chosen organisation for this report is Marks and Spencer
which is a British multinational brand dealing with food products, clothing and home products.
Its headquarter is located in London, England, United Kingdom. The report describes the micro
and macro factors that affect a company's performance. In addition, the report describes how
companies approach their strengths to ignore threats and weaknesses that affect opportunities in
highly competitive markets. There are various leadership styles that help the company to fulfil its
mission as well as the appropriate leadership styles that are recommended. In addition to this, it
also deals with the corporate social responsibility of respective organisation.
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TASK
Perform a SWOT and PESTEL analysis for chosen business.
SWOT and PESTEL analyses are consider as the important tools or frameworks which help the
business organisation in knowing about the internal and external business environmental factors
which affect the operations of a business organisation.
SWOT analysis of Marks and Spencer
Strengths Weaknesses
 • The company's portfolio has a vast
range of products. Marks & Spencer's
grocery product innovation and
diversity are key strengths that help
businesses gain a competitive
advantage by increasing sales. This
also helps the company gain most of its
market share.
 Marks & Spencer's clear brand image
is an important strength as the company
has been on the market for decades and
still maintains a premium position. This
positive image of Marks & Spencer
helps the company attract loyal
customers and maintain good
intentions for successful expansion.
 Marks & Spencer's clear brand image
is an important strength as the company
has been on the market for decades and
still maintains a premium position. This
positive image of Marks & Spencer
helps the company attract loyal
customers and maintain good
intentions for successful expansion.
Marks & Spencer's poor supply chain
scalability is a major drawback facing the
company in operations management. As a
result, the company is unable to respond in a
timely manner to customer needs, resulting in
negative reviews, comments, and company
credibility (Ashraf and et. al., 2020).
Opportunities Threats
 • With the growing trend among
consumers for a healthy and organic
diet, the company has a great
opportunity to renew its confectionery
and snack product lineup. This helps
businesses get the concentration of
 It has been found that the garment and
food industry is highly competitive and
Marks & Spencer needs to address this
threat. Otherwise, you will lose your
position in the market.
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their new client stand and boost sales.
 • The technology under development
gives the company a great opportunity
to develop marketing strategies that
can reach customers around the world.
PESTLE analysis of Marks and Spencer
 Political Factors: This comprises the factors that are influenced by the country's political
difficulties and events. Political issues include tax rules, trade restrictions, and importing
and exporting, all of which are relevant to the company's operations and profitability.
Marks in Spencer, for example, has operations all over the world, thus the rise of Brexit
has had a comparatively unfavourable influence and challenges on the company's
confectionary and snack sales. Due to Brexit, Marks and Spencer was only permitted to
import and export to UK countries with low tariff levies on trade, allowing the
corporation to gain more cash from its items (Astrachan and et. al., 2020). Following an
analysis of the issue, it was recommended to Marks & Spencer that they import and
export its confectionary and snack items to nations with low taxes, resulting in lower
inventory cost and larger profit margins.
 Economic Factors: These are the elements that affect the country's economy, such as the
economic rate, employment rate, and gross domestic product, among others. Because
Marks and Spencer is based in the United Kingdom, which enjoys effective economic
stability, the image of layers working in that country is unaffected by economic
conditions. Marks & Spencer's confectionery and snacking items were severely impacted
by the recession, but the company has had a beneficial impact on sales and operations as
the economy has improved.
 Social Factors: The social elements are related to the social expectations of the society in
which the firm operates, and include consumer buying behaviour, customer trends, and
more. In the case of Marks and Spencer, the decline in confectionery and snack sales was
due to changing customer preferences in the particular segment, with customers
increasingly seeking organic and healthy fresh snack food snack items (Catanzaro,
Messeghem, and Sammut, 2019). As a result, Marks and Spencer's product needs to be
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revamped in order to increase frequent demand for the products from customers. Marks
and Spencer's new organic and confectionery and snack assortment is proving to be a
huge success.
 Technological Factors: These are the elements that contribute to a company's innovation
as a result of technical improvement. In order to stay competitive in the current business
environment, it is critical for Marks and Spencer to promote innovation through the use
of technology for the purpose of implying a direct effect on business activities (Crane
and et. al., 2017). In the case of Marks and Spencer's confectionery and snack items, the
company should improve the sales of their food products by maximising the use of digital
marketing strategies and providing service through an online delivery system. Marks and
Spencer teamed up with Ocado to launch online delivery of its food products, which has
had a favourable influence on the company.
 Legal Factors: In order to run a successful business, it is critical to obtain all necessary
legal permits. Similarly, Marks and Spencer's operation in the food industry necessitates
strict adherence to food and safety regulations. There is a stringent legal requirement that
must be met in the case of confectionary and snack food items, since customers read
every single product description in order to stay fit and eat healthy. Because there are
various laws that indicate organic food requirements, Marks and Spencer is able to
maintain all food and safety standards in their organic confectionary and snake food
items, allowing their company to achieve trust and credibility.
 Environmental Factors: Because of the rising concerns of government, customers, and
businesses about environmental safety and protection, the environment and its stability
has become the most essential part of the external environment. Marks and Spencer sells
organic confectionary and snack foods made with environmentally friendly ingredients,
as well as packaging that is 100 percent recyclable (Fuad and Sinha, 2018). This gives the
company a big edge of growing in a sustainable way while also improving the company's
CSR. This has a good impact on the brand's image and reputation, as well as assisting the
company's growth.
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Evaluate how the changes in pestle factors influence the opportunities and threats of the
business
From the above overview of internal and external elements that influence Marks and Spencer's
functions. It is covered in the following paragraphs:
Base Changes Opportunity/ Threat
Political Factor Brexit This issue poses various
dangers, as changes in laws
have resulted in changes in
policies, making it harder for
the firm to survive in the
market for the long term.
Economical Factor Changes in labour cost It will be tough for the
company to re-hire its
employees at greater salaries.
Social Factor Determine the needs and
wants
In relation to this component,
the corporation has the option
to identify the needs of their
target market in order to meet
them.
Technological Factor Advancement of technology The organisation must seize
possibilities while
strengthening their
technological system for the
purpose of continuously to
supply their products and
services.
Environmental Factor Changes in environment It is an opportunity for the
firm to consider the needs of
the environment in order to
save it via the use of various
strategies.
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Legal Factor Changes in policies With all of the positive
changes, the organisation now
has the possibility to grow
their operations into foreign
area. When policies are
formed, it will be difficult for
the organisation to implement
them, which could result in
significant costs.
Different styles of leadership
There are several types styles of leadership which are to be adopted by the business organisations
as per their requirements. Below mentioned are some styles of leadership:
 Authoritarian leadership: It is defined as that style of leadership that allows a leader to
set goals and set expectations. As an example, when a leader has been the most educated
member of the team, a one-person show can be successful. When the team members are
unclear about the direction, this form of leadership is applied (Golesorkhi and et.
al.,2019). Because it allows Marks and Spencer's leaders to save time when making
decisions about the company's operations. It aids in the execution of a strategy, so
that errors can be avoided. Participative leadership style: It is a grounded and democrat philosophy since it involves
team members in the decision-making process, which aids the organisation in motivating
their employees and producing better results. The teammates were also committed and
eager to share their thoughts while also using their knowledge to the firm's management.
It is used to foster staff innovation and to assist Marks and Spencer in achieving a high
level of productivity.
 Delegative leadership style: This leadership style emphasises on distributing ideas to
team members so that they can use their minds to fulfil the task that has been assigned to
them (Gugler, 2017). This is another successful method that is capable of taking
responsibility and prefers to involve every group member in the task. Disagreement
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among members has the potential to break and divide a group, resulting in low
motivation and morale. This promotes employee innovative thinking throughout the
organisation. It's also utilised to foster a positive work atmosphere that benefits both the
company and the employees, resulting in the development of a good brand image.
The participatory leadership style is recommended for Marks and Spencer since it is the most
unique approach of guiding team members. Companies that use participative management will
find it easier to make decisions based on their input over time. This also aids the company in
motivating its personnel while also involving them in the decision-making process. The leader,
rather than the group as a whole, makes the final choice in this type of leadership style. This
form of leadership style benefits the manager since it is very concerned with the staff and ensures
that they are fully involved at all times.
Advantages:
 Boost team morale: This sort of leadership encourages team members to speak up and as
a result, their staff take a more active role in the business's future.
 Encourage collaboration: Employees are given the freedom to collaborate in order to
achieve their objectives by devising an effective plan. The partnership assists the
organisation in contributing to increased morale and improved communication among
team members within the organisation. As a result, the company has developed a healthy
work environment.
 Team members are ready to accept the conclusion: understanding that each team
member has a say in the decision-making process gives them more confidence in the
ultimate result, regardless of the leaders' decision.
Critically evaluate the corporate social responsibility of the chosen organisation.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a sort of global private sector self-regulation that
enables a firm to donate to philanthropic societal goals by volunteering or funding morally
minded activities. It is regarded as a kind of corporate self-regulation, ranging from voluntary
decisions at the individual company level to required screening at the regional, national, and
worldwide levels (Jin and Hurd, 2018). Marks and Spencer is committed to managing its csr
policies in order to help people and communities while supporting equality, diversity, and
inclusion. Companies are fighting human and animal smuggling, and the business is doing
everything possible to lessen the impact of aviation on the environment.
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The corporation is also assisting the personnel in order for them to be motivated to work inside
the organisation while receiving adequate features from Marks and Spencer, allowing them to
easily satisfy their livelihood. The company is well-known since it used to help its employees'
well-being in all areas, from physical health to mental resilience to financial health and social
support. This company used to improve staff awareness campaign on a routine basis so that they
could maintain healthy overall health (Magnusson, Westjohn and Sirianni, 2019). The company
has also established a section that assists and encourages personnel who are struggling with
physical or mental challenges.
The organisation has also made an effort to encourage its employees to value and celebrate
diversity. The organisation has also improved gender parity by collaborating with schools and
universities to provide possibilities in all fields of study. The government has also established
gender pay gap law, which requires companies with more than 250 employees to declare their
gender and bonus disparities (Luo and Bu, 2018). The government receives the same information
from Marks and Spencer. The company also seeks to help local communities so that they can
participate to their living, either explicitly or implicitly.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that the, in the case of Marks and Spencer, it is
vital for the company to analyse the internal and external elements that influence their
operations, as well as to evaluate the many approaches that can be used to influence the
opportunities and dangers that exist in the competitive market. The organisation can use a variety
of leadership and management styles while weighing the benefits and drawbacks of each. Every
sort of business organisation should have a corporate social responsibility programme or
application that assists them in environmental protection. Every corporate organisation must seek
to protect the environment in which they conduct their activities.
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