Leadership and Management Style in UK Assignment

CONTEXT OF BUSINESS

INTRODUCTION
Leadership is known as the ability and capabilities of the managers to lead its workforce
in the organisation. The major motive of leaders and mangers in the company is to form plans
for achieving the goals in the best achievable manner. This is usually done by making
appropriate plans for leading the workforce of the organisation. There are different kinds of
leadership and management styles which can be used by leaders to extract better work from the
employees(Bridge and O'Neill, 2012). These styles generally include- autocratic, bureaucratic,
etc. The organisation chosen for this report is M&S which is a multinational retail organisation
of UK. This report will majorly cover history and summary of business, leadership and
management style. The various strategies used by the organisation for achieving their goals and
objectives will also be discussed in this report.
1 A brief history and summary of the business and its rationale.
Marks and Spencer is the multinational British company which majorly deals in luxury
clothing and food products. The organisation is currently operating its business in different parts
of the world with the motive of satisfying need and demand of its potential customers. Its
headquarter is located in London and its was established by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer
in 1884.
History
Marks and Spencer is one of the most successful multinational organisation of United
Kingdom. In the 20 century organisation was only dealing with British made goods. In 1928
organisation was selling its products by the name of St Michael but after some years its name
was changed to Marks and Spencer. Organisation is successfully operating its business at the
local and international market from past many years. Marks and Spencer is operating its business
in Canada, India, France, etc(Brock and et. al., 2013).
Summary of the business
M&S is a well established multinational organisation which mainly deals in food,
clothing and home products. Total revenue of the firm is approximately £10.6 billions. Marks
and Spencer is more than 1000 stores which are present in all over the world and there are
approx 85000 employees working in the organisation. Marks and Spencer is also involved in
various kinds of CSR activities. The major motive of the firm is to provide better satisfaction to
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customers. The products and services are generally made according to the current preferences of
the customers. By doing this Marks and Spencer is successful in achieving competitive
advantage.
Rationale of the study
M&S is the multinational organisation which is successfully running its business in
different parts of the world. Marks and Spencer is one of the best organisation which has
successfully established its business within limited period of time. Example of M&S will be best
suitable for analysing its internal environment in the best possible manner. By implementing
various management and leadership theories management of the organisation will be successful
in achieving the targets within limited period of time(Chan, Gaaloul and Tata, 2011).
2 Discuss the vision, leadership style and management practices along with the various strategies
used in the organisation.
Vision of M&S
Vision of the organisation is to increase and expand its business in the best achievable
manner. Major vision of M&S is to make goods and services according to the need of customers,
so that better competition can be given to the competitors which are operating their business in
same type of industry. Organisation wants to set a benchmark for its competitors at the domestic
and international market(Viio, 2011).
Leadership and management style used by M&S.
Major reason behind the growth and success of Marks and Spencer is its plans and
strategies made for managing and every activity in the systematic and coordinated manner.
Management of the organisation focuses on using various leadership and management styles to
achieve the goals within prescribed time period. Some of the major leadership and management
style used in Marks and Spencer are discussed below-
Autocratic leadership style- In this type of leadership style power of taking decisions in
the organisation lies only with the leader or manager. In this employees and other team members
are not liable to take vital decisions for the effective working of organisation. Major
disadvantage of this style is it can lead to increase in demotivation among the employees(Crane
and Matten, 2016). This is because employees are not liable to contribute their efforts in making
plans and strategies. This increases the chances of conflicts and misunderstanding among the
superior and subordinate of the organisation.
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Consultative leadership and management style- In this style the views and ideas of the
employees are taken into consideration by the top management of the organisation. In this
managers and leaders tries to listen and consult with its subordinates before deciding the future
course of action. Suggestions are generally collected by using newsletters, suggestion box,etc.
Democratic leadership and management style- In this style vital decisions are taken by
involving each and every member of the team. Every member and employee is responsible to
take decisions for the overall development of the organisation. Feedbacks are also collected from
employees so that better plans can be made for the future.
Consultative leadership style is being used in M&S for taking logical and vital decisions
of the organisation. This means suggestions and ideas of the employees are also taken into
consideration by the top management of the company(De Maio and et. al., 2016). For example –
if M&S is planning to expand its business in a new country than employees will also be involved
for taking vital decisions for the same. By using this organisation will be able to increase its sale
and profitability in the best achievable manner. Democratic leadership style is also used by the
management of organisation but this depends upon the current situation. Whereas Laissez-faire
management style is only used when organisation is supposed to take decisions for solving
complex problem of M&S.
Different strategies made by using theories
Management is the process in which decisions are taken for controlling each and every
task of the company. In this plans and strategies are made for using the available resources in the
best possible manner. The major functions of management includes- planning, organising,
staffing, directing, etc. For managing the task of organisation plans are made according to the
current and past situation. With the help of management strategies motivation level of the
employees can also be increased. The management theory used in Marks and Spencer include-
Theory X and Y(Dickson and et. al., 2012). According to Theory X some of the employees are
lazy and also are not dedicated to work in the efficient manner. These type of employees are
motivated by providing them various financial rewards. Whereas according to Theory Y some of
the employees in M&S will be hard working and loyal towards their work. Their motivation
level can be increased by appraising them.
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3. Analyse how above has been achieved and implemented by organisation.
The major motive of Marks and Spencer behind implementing leadership and
management theories is to achieve the targeted goals the best achievable manner. Organisation
operates its functions at the global level to it becomes necessary for the management to plans
strategies accordingly. This is done by using leadership and management styles in the systematic
manner. It also leads in sustaining in the market for prescribed time period and achievement of
competitive advantage(Gardner, 2010). Bureaucratic and consultative leadership style is used for
managing the internal environment of the organisation. This in task and responsibilities to
employees are assigned according to their skills and capabilities. As by doing this organisation is
able to complete the task within limited period of time. Theory X and Y is also used in Marks
and Spencer to motivate the employees to perform better. By using this theory organisation
manages to provide financial and non financial incentives to this employees according to their
need and performance(Saleem, 2015). Training and development programmes are also arranged
for employees so that their overall productivity is increased. In laissez-faire style decisions for
the operations and activities of the organisation are taken by skilled and experienced employees
of the organisation. For taking decision for the development and betterment of organisation
views and ideas of employees are also taken into consideration. As with the help of this new and
innovative ideas are used for giving tough competition to the competitors. Motivation level of
the employees is also increased which leads to achievement of their goals and objectives(Raja
and Palanichamy, 2011). Use of all these theories and practices helps the management of Marks
and Spencer in creating and maintaining positive environment in the organisation. This means
with the help of such styles chances of conflicts and disputes among the employees can be
reduced. Analysis of the competition level can also be done by implementing these theories. As
the employees will contribute in the analysis and implementation of new strategies for increase
in sustainability and better performance of the organisation. This will also lead to analysing the
current need of the buyers in the domestic and international market(Teece, 2010).
4. Recommendation as an improvement.
It is very much essential for the organisation to have proper plans for managing complex
task of the company. As with the help of this growth and development of Marks and Spencer can
be easily attained. Leaders are the individual who have ability and capabilities to convince and
motivate employees to perform better. It is the responsibility of manager to make plans for
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improving relationship among superior and subordinate. As by doing this goals of the company
will be achieved in the best achievable manner. The major characteristics of leader are
mentioned below-
Personality- It is very essential that the leader and manager of organisation is have good
and attractive personality. Manager of the organisation need to understand need of its
employees, so that successful position can be attained.
Knowledge- Leaders and managers must also have adequate knowledge about each and
every activity of the organisation. As with the help of this characteristics they will be able to
know what methods can be taken for the effective functioning of Marks and Spencer.
Communication- With the help of this characteristic leader and manager of M&S will be
able to communicate vital information of the organisation in a better and coordinated manner.
Motivational skill- Leader and managers must also know appropriate and innovative
ways to motivate and encourage its employees. The employees of M&S are motivated than they
will be able to contribute in the growth and success of organisation.
Decisive skill- This type of need is also essential for the manager as with the help of
these needs better decisions can be taken for the overall development of the organisation. This
skill help leader and manager to make best use of their power and responsibilities in guiding
employees to complete the task.
It has been recommended to M&S to make plans for using democratic leadership style.
As with the help of this style leader and managers will be able to involve its subordinates in the
process of decision-making. Theory X and Y can also be used by the manager of organisation to
enhance and increase the motivation level of its employees. Financial and non financial
incentives can also be provided to employees for rewarding them for the better work done.
CONCLUSION
From the above given report it has been concluded that leadership is one of the most
important factor which helps every kind of organisation in achieving its goals and objectives.
Various types of leadership and management styles can be used by the top management of the
organisation for taking better decisions. As with the help of these styles and theories plans can be
made for sustaining in the market for longer period of time. Theory X and Y, Vroom expectancy
theory, contingency theory, etc. can be used to enhance the skills of employees.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bridge, S. and O'Neill, K., 2012. Understanding enterprise: Entrepreneurship and small
business. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Brock, C., and et. al., 2013. Satisfaction with complaint handling: a replication study on its
determinants in a business-to-business context. International journal of research in
marketing. 30(3). pp.319-322.
Chan, N.N., Gaaloul, W. and Tata, S., 2011, August. Context-based service recommendation for
assisting business process design. In International Conference on Electronic Commerce
and Web Technologies (pp. 39-51). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Crane, A. and Matten, D., 2016. Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
De Maio, C., and et. al., 2016. A framework for context-aware heterogeneous group decision
making in business processes. Knowledge-Based Systems. 102. pp.39-50.
Dickson, M.W., and et. al., 2012. Conceptualizing leadership across cultures.Journal of world
business. 47(4). pp.483-492.
Gardner, B.D., 2010. Improve RN retention through transformational leadership styles.Nursing
management. 41(8). pp.8-12.
Raja, A.S. and Palanichamy, P., 2011. Leadership styles and its impact on organizational
commitment. Asia Pacific Business Review. 7(3). pp.167-175.
Saleem, H., 2015. The impact of leadership styles on job satisfaction and mediating role of
perceived organizational politics. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 172.
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Teece, D.J., 2010. Business models, business strategy and innovation. Long range
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Viio, P., 2011. Strategic sales process adaptation: Relationship orientation of the sales process
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