Developing Individuals, Teams and Organisations: A Case Study of Marks & Spencer

This assignment explores the key skills, knowledge, and behaviours required by HR professionals, using a case study of Jane Cambridge, an HR Officer at Marks & Spencer (M&S). It analyzes the differences between individual and organizational learning, highlighting the need for continuous professional development to achieve sustainable business performance. The assignment also examines the contribution of high-performance working (HPW) to M&S's competitive advantage and explores various approaches to performance management that foster a high-performance culture and commitment.

Developing Individuals, Teams and Organisations
M&S

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................2
LO1...................................................................................................................................................3
A- DETERMINATION OF THE APPROPRIATE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND BEHAVIOUR REQUIRED
BY THE HR PROFESSIONALS.........................................................................................................3
B- PERSONAL SKILLS AUDIT OF JANE CAMBRIDGE......................................................................5
C- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR JANE CAMBRIDGE...............................................6
LO2...................................................................................................................................................8
D- ANALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT, INDIVIDUAL
AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING..............................................................................................8
E- NEED OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING IN ATTAINING
SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE..................................................................................11
LO3 & LO4......................................................................................................................................13
HPW CONTRIBUTION IN THE ATTAINMENT OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BY M&S AND
DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TO ATTAIN HIGH-
PERFORMANCE CULTURE AND COMMITMENT........................................................................13
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................18
1

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1- HPW Elements................................................................................................................14
Figure 2- Performance Management Approaches........................................................................17
2

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1- HR Officer (KSB).................................................................................................................5
Table 2- Professional Development Plan.........................................................................................8
3

INTRODUCTION
The human resource department is one of the most important departments for any
organization as their success largely depends on the performance, skills and behaviour of the
HR individuals. In this assignment, the behaviour, skills and the knowledge that is required by
the HR professionals are described. A personal skills audit has been done to analyze the roles of
an HR Officer along with a professional development plan. There are certain differences
between the organizational and individual learning which are analyzed along with the need for
professional development and continuous learning a sustainable business performance is
described.
The contribution of the high performance working (HPW) in gaining a competitive advantage by
a UK based organization named Marks and Spencer (M&S) along with the different ways
collaborative working, performance management and effective communication that supports
the commitment and high performance in the M&S are evaluated in the form of an essay.
4

LO1
A- DETERMINATION OF THE APPROPRIATE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND
BEHAVIOUR REQUIRED BY THE HR PROFESSIONALS
The continuous growth and the promotion of the M&S depend on the HR department of the
company where the HR Officers continuously look after the attainment of organizational
objectives. The HR Officer of the M&S performs effectively with the help of skills, knowledge
and behaviour.
SKILLS
There are different skills that must be possessed by the HR Officer of the M&S like the
management, communication, technical, negotiation etc. which are gained through training
and experiences (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017).
KNOWLEDGE
HR officers must have known about the system and the processes, HR and legislation policies
which help them to gain a concept of various activities of M&S.
BEHAVIOUR
The behaviour of the HR Officers must be friendly with the other employees and they must
interact properly with other and their behaviour should include the critical thinking and
collaborative working (Navimipour, et al. 2015).
SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOUR DETERMINATION (KSB)
Some of the roles of the HR Officers in the M&S include-
Table 1- HR Officer (KSB)
ROLES KSB COMMENTS
Working effectively with the
different departments and
implements procedures and
S+K System knowledge required
5

policies
Promoting a culture of
diversity and equality in the
M&S
B Behavioural factors need to
be considered
Communicating with the
people for implementing the
policies related to health and
safety and staff performance
S Skills are required
Recruitment of effective
employees through proper
scrutiny and preparing
handbooks
S+K Skills and knowledge required
Looking after the
remuneration, promotion and
other benefits along with
salary issues (Lussier and
Hendon, 2017)
S+K Skills and knowledge required
Taking care of employment
laws and contracts
K Knowledge of system and
laws required
Deliver training to employees S Skills required
Dealing with the employee
grievances
S+K Skills and knowledge required
6

B- PERSONAL SKILLS AUDIT OF JANE CAMBRIDGE
An audit of the personal skills of the HR Officer of M&S named Jane Cambridge has been done
in order to analyse her strengths and weaknesses and what are skills that requires
improvement and can be developed are explained. There are some procedure based on which
the auditing the skills by the Jane Cambridge can take place that includes- Objectives and aims
to define in the first stage, identification of the risk factors, research process based in the
different areas of improvement, development of strategy to attain organizational objectives
and finally collecting the reviews and feedbacks in order to enhance the audit (Hollenbeck, et
al. 2018).
JANE CAMBRIDGE DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING NEEDS
Communications Skills
Jane is not able to properly communicate with the other employees in the M&S during her
presentations as she has little experience in delivering the training sessions. Jane needs to
improve her skills of drafting the employment contracts. Jane is good at writing reports and
producing material to support presentations (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014.).
Supervisory Management
Jane possesses less experience in handling a team and assigning them duties so she can be able
to do proper supervisory management if some roles and responsibilities are assigned to her in
M&S (Hasson, et al. 2014).
Information Technology
While working as a Human Resource Officer Jane is not able to create a database of the
employees through online software and she lacks knowledge of using specialist HR Software.
Whereas, she is proficient in the usage of the internet, email, PowerPoint and Microsoft Office
(Bratton and Gold, 2017.).
Problem Solving
7

Jane possesses good problem-solving skills through the use of verbal reasoning skills but she
needs to explore more while gathering ideas to solve employee problems (Ulrich and Dulebohn,
2015).
8

C- PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR JANE CAMBRIDGE
With the help of the personal skills audit of the Jane Cambridge, the training and development
needs required by her are analyzed which can be developed over the time which can be
developed over the time and defined as below (Bailey, et al. 2018)-
Table 2- Professional Development Plan
Needs for Development Development
type
Time Duration Implemented
Through
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Database Usage Training
Needed
2-3 months Manager
HR software Training
Needed
1-2 months Manager
Excel spreadsheet Training
Needed
20 days Manager
COMMUNICATION SKILL
Drafting contract of
employment
Training
Needed
1-2 month Manager
Taking notes for
disciplinary hearings
Training &
self-learning
needed
1-2 month Manager
Interviewing Workshop
required
10-15 days Staff
Resolving complaints Workshop and
training
needed
2-3 month Manager
PROBLEM-SOLVING
SKILLS
The capability of handling Workshop 2-3 months Manager
9

the complex tasks and
skills of verbal reasoning
required
10

LO2
INTRODUCTION
There are various differences between the organizational and individual learning which are
being analyzed in this report based on the different learning styles. The need for the continuous
learning and the professional development has been also analyzed to attain sustainable
business performance in the M&S.
D- ANALYSIS OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT,
INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
LEARNING PROCESS
It is a process in which the employees of the M&S along with the organization are able to gain
the different insights that can help them in acquiring the new concepts. There are different
types of mental models available that are available that can help in the organizational learning
and due to insights gained the behaviour of the individuals gets impacted. The employees of
the M&S store their experiences with the help of the organizational learning which gets lost if
employees migrate from the M&S (Solnet, et al. 2015).
TRAINING PROCESS
In order to enhance the behaviour, skills and the knowledge of the employees a process called
training is performed where the employees are being prepared by the HR Officers to efficiently
perform their job role which will improve their performance in the current tasks.
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
A process in which a high sense of responsibility is developed amongst the individuals and they
are being motivated to continuously improve their work is known as the development process
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which is never restricted. The focus of development is not on individual job and abilities but on
the career possibilities (Goetsch and Davis, 2014).
The development and the training processes are completely different from one another as their
motives are also different. The aim of the training is to develop knowledge and skills in the
individuals and the aim of the development is to attain a competitive advantage with the
choices of the organization and individuals. A development is a time taking process whereas
training gets completed in a short duration. M&S uses the development process to provide
quality products to the customers and offers training to the employees to enhance their skills
and knowledge (Mabogunje, 2015).
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL LEARNING
ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING INDIVIDUAL LEARNING
Everybody needs to be motivated for the
collective learning for which collective efforts
are required.
High level of motivation along with the self-
commitment is required in the individual
learning
Seriousness is the factor that is required in the
individuals for the attainment of mutual goals
which is the vision in this learning (Dixon,
2017).
Self-driven passion is required for the
fulfilment of self-needs.
It can be done with the aid of the
professionals having knowledge in this field
Individual learning can be done through the
teaching, learning sources along with the self-
study
Fewer efforts are given by individuals as
everyone has the same practices and the
learning stages
Higher efforts are required as the decision
making is tough in individual learning (Revans,
2017)
12

There are different styles of the individual learning used by the employees of the M&S-
Kinesthetic Learner-
This type of learning is based on doing the repetitive tasks that are based on the knowledge,
skills and the actions. The number of times a task is performed by M&S employees the more
deep learning is gained (Mesoudi, et al. 2016).
Visual Learner-
Individuals of M&S can gain knowledge and skills based on their visionary sense and thus can
become a master in the book reading and notes making tasks.
There are different forms of the organizational learning that includes-
Personal Mastery
The goals of the company and its ambition are decided by which mutual benefits are attained
by employees and M&S (Zhao and Chan, 2014).
Shared Vision
The company motive is recoded based on the shared vision of the individuals and M&S by
which both of them gets motivated.
Team Learning
A shared vision is reflected between the M&S and its employees and wide level of learning
helps in the group development.
Mental Model
A physiological appeal is made to the individuals to create a broader awareness related to the
demands of the M&S (Zhao and Chan, 2014).
System Thinking
The system constituents parts of the M&S are interrelated and are focused in this holistic
approach and knowledge of the system can be gained that how the system of M&S performs
over the time(Mesoudi, et al. 2016).
13

E- NEED OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING IN
ATTAINING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
In the workforce of the M&S continuous learning principle is applied so as to develop the
organization and its employees and for which focuses majorly on employee retention rather
than hiring new employees. In order to implement the continuous learning different
presentations, seminars, and development programs are organized for the employees of the
M&S by the HR Officers that can help in the attainment of the individual as well organizational
growth. M&S seeks that the employees’ knowledge is up to date with the recent technologies
in the market that can help in their professional development. With the help of the continuous
learning, the skills of the individuals are enhanced that makes M&S a successful company. The
personal growth of the individuals will also be enhanced.
There are certain theories given that are utilized by the M&S in the continuous learning and in
the attainment of sustainability that includes-
HONEY AND MUMFORD LEARNING STYLE
The learning in this style is based on the different stages that include the planning, reviewing,
experiencing and concluding which is as similar to the Kolb’s learning cycle. A competitive
advantage can be gained by M&S by the help of this learning style by Alan Mumford and Peter
Honey. The employees can develop better relationship with its customers (Surjono, 2015).
KOLB’S LEARNING STYLE
Kolb’s learning cycle helps in the continuous learning of the employees of the M&S and also in
the skill development in the following ways-
Concrete Experience
New experiences are being reinterpreted by the learner’s based on their existing and past
experiences or situations that have been encountered by them (Wilkinson, et al. 2014).
14

Abstract Experience
With the help of an existing abstract concept, linking of new of various methods by reflection a
new idea of learning is developed
Reflection Observations
Keen observation of the skills is done by the employees of the M&S which led to the attainment
of new experience which is being done by the learners by their virtue of experience (Kolb,
2014).
Active Experimentation
The prevailing theories are used by the learners to design the new concepts and theories with
which the learners are able to come up with better results and observations
Apart from these learning styles, there is a need for continuous learning of the organization and
individual learning because of the following points (ALQahtani and Al-Gahtani, 2014.)-
 It helps in the improvement of the performance of individuals in current job
 It Helps in the sustainable performance
 Prepared the employees for the further advancements
 Enriches the work experiences of the employees
15

LO3 & LO4
HPW CONTRIBUTION IN THE ATTAINMENT OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE BY
M&S AND DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TO
ATTAIN HIGH-PERFORMANCE CULTURE AND COMMITMENT
A set of management practices that are being adopted to create an environment in the
organization where the employees hold a high responsibility and have greater involvement is
known as the High-Performance Working (HPW). It is a combination of the work structures HR
practices, skills, commitment, flexibility and other processes of maximizing the knowledge of
the employees (Katzenbach and Smith, 2015). The different components and the elements that
involved in the HPW of the M&S includes- an increased opportunity to the employees to
participate in the decisions, training of the employees, incentives to the employees along with
the technology that is used in the M&S to manage its business. The employees of the M&S are
motivated due to this system that helps in the enhanced communication between the
employees, work transparency and development of trust for the attainment of organizational
objectives. The engagement of the employees in the different operations of the M&S helps the
organization to gain a competitive advantage in the retail industry (Jiang and Liu, 2015).
Figure 1- HPW Elements
[Source: Creating and Maintaining High-Performance Organizations, 2017]
16

In order to understand the high-performance work in depth, a scenario of the M&S is
considered where the company might face the different technological changes as the trends
and technology are getting enhanced in the market. This led to enhanced quality of products of
the M&S and the reduced cost which can be done by the practice of the HPW culture in the
organization where the employees will be engaged in the decision making and their skills and
knowledge will be improved to adapt three changes. The HR Officers selects the most
appropriate employees, develop their skills and knowledge through the training programs and
offers them incentives, rewards and the job security (Buchanan and McCalman, 2018). In order
to improve this situation in the M&S employees are engaged in the work through the idea of
sharing, work recognition, employees meeting and rewards. The production process of the
products of M&S is made fast and cost reduction mechanism is applied. HPW led to the analysis
of the strengths and the weaknesses of the company and it also provides economic and
individual benefits. The HPW provides several other benefits like- improved return on the
investments, reduced complying by the legal laws, improved sick and other leaves benefits and
the better relationship of M&S with its customers (Grant, 2016).
Under the HPW, the employees of the M&S are continuously motivated to improve their
performance and to work with high dedication for the attainment of the competitive advantage
and the goals of the company as well as individuals. The employees of the M&S are happy and
satisfied due to the implementation of high performance working in the organization which
makes them satisfied and improves their performance and hence the overall growth of the
M&S. The company is implementing several policies and strategies based on the changing
technological needs of the market which the employees of M&S sometimes resist but this
employee resistance can be overcome by the development of new approaches of culture
management, development of a sense of urgency, vision and the mission development and
communicating it to the employees along with the empowering of the workforce (Albrecht, et
al. 2015).
17

HPW have resulted in the captive advantage, proper information flow and a collective
cooperation in the M&S that had led to the attainment of the employee personal goals. This has
also resulted in the reduced communication barrier between the employees at different levels
and enhances the team performance. The new employees are easily able to gather knowledge
from their seniors and apply it in the workforce. A good teamwork high-performance results
and collective cooperation results from the HPW and team services and upright communication
can also be evaluated (Van Dooren, et al. 2015).
The employee skills, effectiveness and performance are measured by the application of the high
performance working by the performance management and proper communication. Certain
approaches to measuring the individual performance area defined as below-
COMPARATIVE APPROACH
The employees of the M&S are being compared with one another based on the certain
parameters and they have ranked accordingly.
ATTRIBUTE APPROACH
The certain skills of the M&S employees like the problem solving, creativity, judgment and
teamwork are used to measure the performance of the individuals.
RESULT APPROACH
The performance of the employees is measured by their performance in the previous tasks and
they are either declared pass or fail in this approach (Buckingham and Goodall, 2015).
QUALITY APPROACH
A desired performance of the individuals is obtained by their quality of work and the regular
feedbacks which helps in the assessment of their performance.
BEHAVIOURAL APPROACH
18

The performance of the employees of M&S is also measured based on their behaviour they use
while performing the different tasks and while communicating with the customers that can be
assessed by the help of a model named Anchored Rating Scale model.
Figure 2- Performance Management Approaches
[Source: Dey and Giri, 2017]
The employee’s performance in the M&S is based on the compassion of their performance
during the last year that helps in the analysis of the employees’ strengths and weakness that
can further improve their performance. This led to the development of effective HPW culture
and some other approaches are also used in M&S to gain a competitive advantage, attainment
of the organizational and sustainability of the organization which are-
FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION
In order to carry out the operations of the M&S successfully different policies and structures are
implemented under the functional integration.
VERTICAL INTEGRATION
19

In order to define the vision and the mission of the organization along with the administration
values, a proper flow of information is maintained in the organization and support to the
individual and team is extended.
GOAL INTEGRATION
In the goal integration, the goals of the company and individuals are being decided based on
the current and the future needs of the company.
HUMAN RESOURCE INTEGRATION
The HR professionals are being assisted in the various functions like the employee motivation,
task assessments, employee empowerment, and employee training in the human resource
integration (Arnaboldi, et al. 2015).
Thus the different approached of attaining the high-performance culture in the M&S along with
the judgments on how it can help in the high performance and commitment is evaluated.
20

CONCLUSION
Thus, as an HR Officer, there are different skills, knowledge and certain behaviour is required
along with an inclusive learning in to drive a sustainable business performance in the M&S. The
skills of the Jane Cambridge have been analyzed with the help of a personal audit and a
professional development plan has been made to identify and fulfil the training and
development needs. Organizational learning is different from the individual learning in various
ways which are being analyzed. Finally, the contribution of high performance working in the
attainment of competitive advantage in M&S has been analyzed.
21

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