Culture and its impact on Strategy

Culture and its impact on
Strategy

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................................3
Critically evaluate the concepts on which current perception of international organizational policy and
strategy are based....................................................................................................................................3
Critical analysis of the impact of political structures, culture, language, religion and beliefs, social
customs, ethnicity, ethos and geographical location of current perceptions on international
organizational strategy.............................................................................................................................4
Determine how to maximize organizational effectiveness and strategy by using findings of political and
ethnographic study exploit outcomes.......................................................................................................6
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................................7
Critical assessment of the roles of religion, political structures, cultural norms, ethnicity, ethos, the
concept of ’the State’, business and economic models and globalization in the development of
international organizational policy and strategy......................................................................................7
Critical evaluation of how the roles of religion, political structures, cultural norms, ethnicity, ethos, the
concept of ’the State’, business and economic models and globalization affect the process of decision-
making and enable a view of international organizational policy and strategy........................................8
Task 3.......................................................................................................................................................10
Critical evaluation of stakeholders’ structures, their power and status..................................................10
Arguments for discussion with stakeholders and influencers that challenge the current state on thinking
and structures.........................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Organizations that operate both nationally as well as internationally come across different
complexities that can impact their overall business activities as well as performance. Culture is
one of the important components for an organization as it comprises of assumptions, values,
norms etc. Besides adding intrinsic value to the organization, there are various economic as well
as social benefits that are provided by culture. The culture of an organization has a significant
impact on the organization’s strategy. If an organization is able to align its strategy with its
culture, it will be able to balance its success in an effective manner (Bennett, 2017). Strategies
within an organization keep on changing based on different projects that it undertakes.
Companies that have a stable culture, are able to implement their strategy smoothly.
Organization chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer, which is a British multinational
retailer of household and clothing products. The company was founded by Michael Marks and
Thomas Spencer in the year 1884. The report evaluates the conceptual grounds on which the
current perception of international organizational strategy is based. There is also an assessment
of the roles of religion, political structures, ethnicity etc. in the development of organizational
policy as well as strategy. Lastly, a critical evaluation of the different stakeholder structures,
their power and status is also included in the report.
Task 1
Critically evaluate the concepts on which current perception of international organizational
policy and strategy are based
Organizational policy as well as strategy of companies that operate internationally, are
based on certain concepts. Policy can be referred to a set of rules as well as regulations that form
the base of an organization’s important decisions. While developing its international strategy, a
company takes into account various concepts. Marks and Spencer is an international company
having operations across the world and therefore, its international organization policy and
strategy are based on various conceptual grounds (Benyamini, Gozlan and Weissman, 2017).
Like the policy of the organization is based on the cultures of the different geographic locations
that the company operates in. This is because different countries have their own cultures and
policies. Therefore, the company ensures that its organizational policy is in line with the cultures

of the different countries. Besides this, technology is another concept on which the current
perception of international organizational policy of Marks and Spencer is based.
The political activity as well as stability of the different countries can also have an impact
on the organization policy as well as strategy, internationally. Marks and Spencer takes into
account all these factors to make sure that the implementation of its organization policy is
effective and successful. Different countries have different laws and legislations that can affect
the overall business operations of a company if it fails to comply by it. Therefore, it can be said
that legislations and laws can act as another important conceptual ground on which current
organizational policy as well as policy of the respective company is based.
The international strategy of Marks and Spencer is based on exporting its products to its
different retail stores across the world. Transportation is among the most important conceptual
grounds that ensures that the business strategy of the company is functioning effectively (Boone,
Roets and Roose, 2018). There are many factors or conceptual grounds that can have an impact
on the organizational strategy of a company. If the size of a company is large and complex, like
Marks and Spencer, it will have to formulate its organizational strategy in such a way that it not
only proves out to be successful, but also helps in managing the customers across different
locations in the world. This is because the strategy of a company plays a major role in the overall
success of a company and helping it gain a competitive advantage against the competitors.
Managers at Marks and Spencer adopt democratic style of learnership, wherein they encourage
their team members to share their ideas and provide suggestions during the process of
formulation of strategy as well as policy for the company and that how should they be deployed
within the country as well as across international boundaries.
Critical analysis of the impact of political structures, culture, language, religion and beliefs,
social customs, ethnicity, ethos and geographical location of current perceptions on international
organizational strategy
The organizational strategy of a company can be referred to as the combination of actions
that a company intends to implement in order to achieve its future goals. The international
organizational strategy of a company can be affected by various factors like, political structures
of the different countries, religion and beliefs of people, culture, language, customers, ethnicity
as well as geographical location (Bulus, Hamid and Lim, 2017). The political structure of a