Influence of Culture and Management Style on Marks and Spencer

This report discusses the influence of culture and management style on the business functions and strategies of Marks and Spencer, a major British retailer. It explores the company's vision, leadership style, management practices, and organizational culture. The report also provides recommendations for the company's future growth and success.

REPORT
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INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Brief history of business..............................................................................................................3
Vision, leadership style, management practices and organisational culture................................4
Manner in which culture and management style influence their business functions and
strategies of Marks and Spencer..................................................................................................6
Recommendation.........................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Leadership and management style a most important tool with the help of which business can
increase their workplace performance and can fulfil organisational objectives in a well defined
manner. With the help of leadership and management styles leaders and managers with an
organisation can effectively encourage and motivate employees towards high end performance.
In this report Marks and Spencer is being considered which is one of the largest British retailing
organization. In addition to the formative discussion has been made on company vision,
leadership style and management practices. Lastly recommendation is being provided.
Brief history of business
Marks and Spencer is having one of the richest retail history collections in all over the
world. The company was founded in the year 1884 by Michael Marks, a Polish refugee and Tom
Spencer Michael. Marks came to England and get settled in market town of Leeds in North of
England (Kirchwey, 2019). He then started his own market stall and characterized the entire
item as per according to the price. But after the penny section of a stall started to flourish then he
stop selling products as of expensive range. In order to grow the business Michael needed a
partner then, Tom Spencer who was then senior cashier become his partner in the year 1894
which leads to the rise of Marks and Spencer’s. The company headquartered in London, United
Kingdom and currently serves in more than 1463 locations. In addition to this organisation is
having more than 8787 employees and it become one of the largest British retailer in the year
1998 and currently having net income of £37.3 million (2019).
Vision, leadership style, management practices and organisational culture
Marks and a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Westminster,
London is having speciality in selling high quality products related to beauty products,
accessories, beverages, furniture, clothing, food and home products. Company effectively offer
this services with a vision as to offer inspirational quality products and services to their
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customers. In addition to this main vision of company is to focus on developing a sustainable
business that will effectively delight their customers (Marks & Spencer. 2019). It has been seen
that this company is currently having online trade in 21 markets with the help of their own
websites in different country with their own franchise partners. The main vision of company is to
build a future that is simpler, multi-channel, and relevant and focus on delivering sustainable
returns.
Marks and Spencer is taking use of transactional leadership style. Company is effectively
committed towards achieving organisational goals while ensuring high performance and offering
best effective services to their customers. Within M&S leaders are visionary who effectively
inspire as well as influence team members and individuals towards best effective performance. In
addition this, with the help of transactional leadership style leaders effectively increases
organisation performance by encouraging and motivating employee with different type of reward
system. With the help of this leadership style each and every employee are dedicated towards
defined routine tasks and get motivation with number of reward system. In addition with this
leaders guide, supervise and provide formative directions to every employee with an aim to
encourage and involve employees actively into creative projects as to further organisational goals
in best effective manner (Organisations & Behaviour – HND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
2014/2015).
Marks and Spencer is committed towards delivering exceptional and extra ordinary
products and services to their customers, for this company ensure that best effective management
practices undertakes within organisational structure. Management is termed as a coordination of
individual as to achieve organisational goals with the help of valuable resources. These resources
include raw materials, employee’s skills, experience and knowledge, customers, suppliers and
capital. In addition to this Marks and Spencer are mainly dedicated towards decisional roles
while informational and interpersonal roles are mainly undertaken by top managers and CEO of
entity. While as per according to situation different type of managerial role get played by
managers in company. Further it has been identified that Marks and Spencer mainly emphasize
upon employees and provide them different type of rewards benefits and incentives while having
regular control upon their work. In this company offer two types of benefits in order to motivate
their employees that include financial reward, like permanent discount, bonus and more and
learning and performance training that further lead towards high level of responsibilities.
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Company take use of the theory X and Y of Mc Gregor within which employees get
characterized into two groups. Within theory X employees are mainly termed as lazy and get
motivated by financial rewards and incentives, while in theory Y employees are involved and
likely to contribute their contribution towards organisation and they delegated with
responsibilities and further training are offered to them in order to develop their skills that duly
motivates them.
This has been identified that each and every organisation have their own set of culture
that include different type of beliefs and values that are shared by its members organisational.
Culture is termed as a powerful element as it automatically leads towards shaping the manner
member sees their world. Organisational culture is a set of attitudes and believes of both
management and employees that usually aid to influence behaviour and decision making in
organisation (González, C., 2019). Marks and Spencer is a customer driven culture in which
organisation really efforts towards improving Customer service, employee right people, market
research and training. It has been identified that company is fiercely moving towards adopting
and trying to update the technology e- commerce. It has also been identified that there is a
positive culture within Marks and Spencer in which workers and staff communicate well.
Company is dynamic and they always look towards change and new ideas.
Figure 1“Theory X and Theory Y” of Mc Gregor
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Manner in which culture and management style influence their business functions and strategies
of Marks and Spencer
Marks and Spencer offer their services in best effective manner by considering all the
related individuals of organisation such as customers, stakeholders, employees and more.
Company ensure that they provide qualitative products and services to their customers and
ensure there is positive and healthy culture in their organisational structure which focuses on
employees and motivate them with different type of rewards in order to increase their
performance with an aim to make effective enhancement in organisational success. The culture
of M&S is customer driven culture in which company effectively move towards improving
consumer services including market research and training, updating technology e –commerce. It
has been further analysed that Marks and Spencer follow consultative management style in this
leaders and managers consult with others before undertaking any decision. For instance
managers and leaders firstly concern Marketing department if they are looking forward to launch
a product rather than to rushing straight into launching the products. In this leaders and managers
undertake Consulting decisions of marketing department. It has been identified that marks and
Spencer’s sometime take advantage of mixture of marketing style, for instance Marks and
Spencer is consultative and as per according to situation they take use of Democratic
management style. This has been identified that as per according to the situations Marks and
Spencer take use of different management style this allow them to take best outcome from any
situation and further gained maximum advantage.
Thus as per according to the above mentioned evaluation it has been analysed that culture
of Marks and Spencer is customer driven that effectively influence their number of business
functions. For example in order to satisfy customers in each and every situation company
undertake different type of decisions, for example if economy is unstable in any region where
their function Marks and Spencer tend towards offering their products and services to customers
at affordable prices range in order to satisfy their needs and services with of high-quality
offerings (Thomson, D., 2019). In this different types of strategies and policies have been frame
by leaders and managers in order to ensure that customers get satisfied in effective way. Further
it has been identified that management style of company is consultative. In this leaders and
managers effectively ensure that each and every related personal is being engaged in decision
making process and further their consultations are being undertaken. For this company ensure
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engagement of every related individual in order to gain maximum advantages from the situation.
For example company ensure that stakeholders have democratic right to engage in the decision
making process and are authorised to have every necessary and required information related to
the organisation decision that influence them in any way.
Recommendation
In the world fierce competition Marks and Spencer is required to adopt change in a
continuous manner and further undertake use of updated technology and innovation in their
organisational culture as to effectively stimulate growth. In this leaders of organisation is being
recommended to take advantage of democratic leadership style as to effectively encourage team
members in order to participate in decision making process it further lead towards creating a
form of share leadership in which each and every individual in team are tend towards to share
their opinion knowledge and experience related to situation and project. This further helps in
allowing new ideas without any judgement. Democratic leadership style is being recommended
to company to solve Complex problems in a well defined and further stimulate team based
relationships which is important for company in order to face any situation together and solve
any problem in a best effective manner and further work harder towards organisational
profitability. This leadership style company can improve each and every individual knowledge
and experiences and create higher level of job satisfaction. Further company is being
recommended to take advantage of bureaucratic management style in order to ensure that task
and roles get followed as according to the organisational structure in order to fulfil company
goals in a best effective manner. Further Marks and Spencer is recommended to increase their
Global presence and international marketing stability. In this company is required to engage in
more International franchising relationship as to increase success of their brand. Along with this,
company is recommended to take use of different types of mode of entry all around the world in
order to expand their business. Marks and Spencer can open more of their stores through
franchise agreement and can offer their services in developing countries. This will allow
company to effectively satisfy more of the customers from different geographical location in best
effective manner. In addition to this company is recommended to make more of the investment
in publicity and advertisements and expanding their digital presence with the help of different
type of social media tools. This will help company to effectively satisfy their customers in more
effective manner while ensuring high profitability.
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CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report has been concluded that with the help of different types
of best effective leadership and management style organisation can effectively able to stimulate
their business growth in a more developing level. Company is required to expand their services
with the help of taking their business to more International Heights. In this with the help of
franchising and other entry mode company can significantly mark the presence in international
platforms and can further increased their profitability.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Kirchwey, K., 2019. Marks & Spencer, 1969. Raritan, 39(1), pp.133-154.
Bekzat, A.B., Zholamanova, M.Z. and Musakhanova, M.A., 2019. RECENTLY USED
CLOTHING AND FASHION INNOVATIONS AND TECHNIQUES USED IN THE
FIELD. In Вопросы развития мировых научных процессов (pp. 29-30).
Jones, P. and Comfort, D., 2019. Stories and Retailer Brands: A Study of the UK’s Leading
Retailers. Indonesian Journal of Contemporary Management Research, 1(2).
Pishgooie, A.H., Atashzadeh‐Shoorideh, F., Falcó‐Pegueroles, A. and Lotfi, Z., 2019.
Correlation between nursing managers’ leadership styles and nurses' job stress and
anticipated turnover. Journal of nursing management, 27(3), pp.527-534.
Douketis, J.D., Spyropoulos, A.C., Duncan, J., Carrier, M., Le Gal, G., Tafur, A.J., Vanassche,
T., Verhamme, P., Shivakumar, S., Gross, P.L. and Lee, A.Y., 2019. Perioperative
management of patients with atrial fibrillation receiving a direct oral
anticoagulant. JAMA internal medicine, 179(11), pp.1469-1478.
González, C., 2019. Transnational board interlocks: The influence of degree of
internationalization and psychic distance. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management.
Thomson, D., 2019. Managing allergens in a digital world. Perspectives in public health, 139(6),
pp.289-291.
Online
Marks & Spencer. 2019. [Online]. Available through< Marks &
Spencerhttps://www.comparably.com/companies/ms/mission>
Organisations & Behaviour – HND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 2014/2015. 2014. [Online].
Available through< https://laetitiastuder.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/leadership-
management/>
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