Developing Leadership and Management Skills for Organizational Performance: A Case Study of Marks and Spencer

This report analyzes and compares leadership and management skills, key performance metrics, and organizational leadership and management performance in the context of Marks and Spencer, a British multinational retailer. It provides insights into how effective leadership and management skills can improve organizational performance.

Developing Leadership
and Management
Skills

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
Analysis and comparison of leadership and management......................................................1
Key performance metrics of organizational sector/market/industry......................................4
Organizational leadership and management performance.....................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
References:.......................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
The art of motivating a group of individuals for acting in order to achieve the common
goals and objectives is defined as the leadership. In the context of business, it can be defined as
the process of directing employees through the strategy of meeting the needs of organisation.
Where as the management is defined as the process of planning, organising, staffing, directing
and controlling all the functions of organisation in order to attain the organisational goals and
objectives. The person who perform the function of leadership is known as leader and the person
who perform the function of management is known as manager. In the context of a business
organisation, it is necessary to have all the relevant skills in leaders and managers in order to
perform the functions of leadership and management in an effective and efficient manner (Cole,
2018). The skills of leadership and management are the capabilities of individuals which help the
oversee processes, guiding initiatives along with steering all the employees to attain the desired
goals and objectives. The chosen organisation for this report is marks and Spencer which is a
British multinational retailer of food products, clothing and home products. It is a public
company serving customers worldwide and it was incorporated by Michael Marks and Thomas
Spencer in Leed in 1884. it's headquarter is located in London, England, United Kingdom.
Currently, more than 959 stores are working across the United Kingdom. This report include the
analysis and comparison of leadership and management along with the key performance metrics
of organisational sector. In addition to this, it also deals with the organisational leadership and
management performance.
TASK
Analysis and comparison of leadership and management
Leadership is defined as the art of motivating and guiding the individuals in order to
attain the common goals and objectives in the particular situation. The skills of a leader helps the
individuals in developing the confidence and passion, so that the work can be performed
effectively. In simple words, it can be explained as a procedure of inspiring others to perform the
specific tasks. By performing leadership skills, leaders can add special character for influencing
the people working in the organisation so that they can move in the defined direction (Esoimeme,
2020). Management is defined as the set of various beliefs which are related to the purpose,
organising, directing, planning and controlling the activities or functions of a business
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organisation and applying these beliefs in connecting informations, finance and human for the
purpose of achieving the organisational goals and objectives in an effective and efficient manner.
The process of management focus on the achievement of organisational goals and objectives.
Due processes are being followed by the managers at work place. Several guidelines are also
developed which state that how to achieve the goals. The manager and leaders of Marks and
Spencer are working effectively by coordinating with each other which leads to the achievement
of organisational goals and objectives in an effective and efficient way.
In the context of Marks and Spencer, both management as well as leadership are the
essential elements in the procedure of offering the products to their customers. Both the concepts
are alike in some aspects but quite they are different in their performance, services and view.
Management is found as a wide concept in which the leadership is evaluated as an important
factor. The leaders of Marks and Spencer plays the role of defining the directions to their sub
ordinates to follow along with ensuring that the management skills must be used by them
(Gardner, Chongwony and Washington, 2018). Leaders are requires to adopt few managerial
skills and the managers are require to perform their work by the use of some leadership skills.
Below mentioned table is showing the comparison of leadership and management:
Basis Leadership Management
Vision creation Leadership develop with the
vision. Leaders provide
directions with the passionate
attitude in order to achieve
the decided vision.
Management develop the
procedure in order to achieve
the vision through planning
and budgeting.
Focus Leaders are found as more
risk taker because they
majorly focus on the changes
in approaches of doing the
things. It also leads to bring
the changes in the entire
organisation (Golensky and
Hager, 2020).
Management majorly focus
on introducing stability in the
business organisation. It also
help the management in
maintaining the day to day
working of operations.
Strategy The directions have been set Managers perform the
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by the leaders and they work
with their sub ordinates in
order to achieve the goals.
function of administration.
They develop the strategies
related to the day to day
planning and running of
business organisation.
Power People are being influenced
through their leaders. Leaders
adopt several styles that have
been adopted by the other
people.
Managers perform their
functions by running on their
subordinates. They get their
pay for getting the work
done.
Design Leaders develop several new
principles and guidelines
along with bringing the
changes in their policies.
Through the use of these
strategies and policies, they
move from one point to
another.
Management develop the
policies and procedures
which are being adopted by
the entire organisation to
complete the task (Grubaugh
and Flynn, 2018).
Below mentioned are the several theories of management which the managers are required to
apply: Contingency Theory: This theory state that all the issues and problems in a business
organisation are different. Hence, there is no a single leadership style which can suit for
all the situation. It is necessary for the leader to select the leadership style as per the
requirement or situation. Situational leadership theory: This theory is similar to the contingency theory as it is
also known as the two factor theory which majorly focus on the two factors i.e. task
behaviour and relationship behaviour. This theory state that the leaders should develop
their skills as per the best suited task.
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 Transformational leadership theory: According to this theory, the leaders are required to
focus on establishing the effective relationship with their followers. It state that the
leaders should have the features of charismatic and inspiration, so that they can influence
their sub ordinates to perform their functions in more effective and efficient manner. Behavioural Theory: This theory majorly focus on the action and behaviour but not on
the qualities and traits. The action and behaviour of leaders perform more effective rather
than the task which they perform as a quality or skills (Jamieson and Donald, 2020). As
the leaders perform effective actions, the subordinates follow them more effectively.
Key performance metrics of organizational sector/market/industry
The parts of the organisation that explain what the company wants to achieve and how long it
will take to get there are known as key performance measures. The company will be aware of
their outcomes as a result of this, and will be able to accomplish their goals and objectives.
Marks and Spencer is the organisation chosen for this report to investigate how their
management and leadership qualities contribute to their overall performance. Marks and Spencer
operates in the retail industry, providing customers with groceries services. With the passage of
time, Marks and Spencer has expanded their market and expanded into new areas such as home
products and food products. The corporation employs over 475000 people and has around 6500
outlets. The corporation used to assess their key performance indicators with the Corporate
Steering Wheel, but now they use the six KPIs. The organization's top important performance
metrics are financial, customer, and operational. These are the KPIs:
 Sales
 Profit
 Operating cash flow
 Customer recommendation
 Colleague recommends
 Trusted partnership
The company's key performance indicators have been decreased in order to focus more on what
matters most to them rather than on the others. The company also wants to lessen its complexity,
as utilising a steering wheel is quite difficult due to the numerous indicators. These six KPIs
must be carefully conveyed by Marks & Spencer in order to gain buy-in and engagement across
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the entire organisation. Marks and Spencer is a food retailer based in the United Kingdom. Key
performance indicators are measured in quantity so that a firm may compare its performance to
that of its competitors and then more effectively use leadership and management abilities in their
organisation (Lehtonen and et. al., 2018). The organisation also measures their KPI on an annual
basis to ensure that their theories and talents are correct.
Organizational leadership and management performance
There are several changes take place in the business world because of dramatically turn in
the global economy and this change will appear over the years. It is getting essential for both
leaders as well as managers of the Marks and Spencer must accept change and begin using their
leadership and management talents in order to improve the organization's performance in a more
effective and efficient manner. The organization's executives are employing their golden rules in
order to excel in their roles and effectively manage the workforce. The golden rules that Marks
& Spencer's leaders follow in their practises are as follows: Leadership is defined as the process
of acquiring new skills and expanding one's knowledge. They also believe that power is a tool
that they can employ to raise their productivity, which in turn will increase their sales and profits.
Managers and leaders at Marks and Spencer are constantly learning new ideas that they may
utilise in their organisation and use to achieve the goals and objectives that they establish. Marks
and Spencer's effective and efficient performance is produced since they have the ability to
achieve unmatched success and build their business. Marks & Spencer's leaders are so ambitious
that they developed a powerful firm based on their abilities, where the brand itself says a lot and
leaves a positive impression on people's minds (Majid, 2020) (Parvin, 2019). The company's
managers manage its human and material resources in such a way that they achieve a
competitive advantage. In this dynamic environment when everything is unclear, the company
with their individual skills can succeed.
Here are some of the guidelines set by Marks & Spencer's leaders and managers that have an
impact on the company's performance:
 They test their bench strength on a regular basis so that mishaps and unanticipated
situations can be dealt with using their prospective skills.
 They communicate their vision, objective, and company philosophy to their followers
and subordinates, which helps them to survive and creates a trusting environment.
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 They provide future leaders and managers with training and mentoring so that they can
operate effectively in the future.They apply the strategy of learning things while doing.
This method had such an impact that there was a significant vocal exchange of
information.This section of the report discusses how Marks and Spencer's leadership and
management skills assist them improve their organisational performance. Profit margins
and market growth both increase as a result of this.
 Enhance employee performance: Marks and Spencer's leaders and managers treat each
and every employee fairly, regardless of their job title. This enables the company to keep
and recruit staff for a longer period of time. Employee loyalty to their managers and
leaders has also improved as a result of their superior communication skills. They also
give their employee an incentive based on the transactional theory. As a result, the
employee's attitude toward work improves. Employees at Marks and Spencer believe in
their leaders and managers to the point where they try to apply their skills in day-to-day
operations.
 Helps in creating the performance strategy: It is critical for the Marks & Spencer
employee whose team is on its way over. As a result, it is the leader's responsibility to
inform employees of what needs to be done in order to achieve the desired outcome. As a
manager, they must ensure that all resources are properly managed and controlled. As a
result, Marks and Spencer's leaders and managers perform their jobs so well that they
don't need to take a step back to manage their company's performance. This employee is
on track, and their ideas and tasks are helping them achieve their objectives. This allows
the entire team of various departments to be focused on their goals.
 Increase sale: With the support of the plan that their executives and managers employ,
the company's sales are expanding day by day. The consistency theory is the leadership
theory that the leaders have learned. As a result, they are able to solve the business
problem while also boosting employee morale in the face of adversity. Managers also
employ the theory of behaviour, as seen by their actions and behaviours, which ensured
that all items were ready on time. As a result, all of these skills assist Marks and Spencer
in expanding their sales over time. They analyse the employee's performance over time
and apply the theories that are most appropriate for that particular individual or condition.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that The bar for employee performance is set by
leadership and management skills, which helps the organisation improve its overall performance.
The Marks and Spencer corporation is also able to meet their six key performance criteria with
the support of their leaders and managers, according to the findings. They have both greatly
aided the organisation, as a result of which the company has extended its operations in numerous
sectors and is now one of the largest retailing companies in the United Kingdom. With the use of
quantitatively measured strategic performance, company leaders may determine where they need
to encourage their employees, and managers can learn about areas where training and
development are required. Leaders are the best at communicating with their employees so that
motivation is enhanced and they can work to their maximum capacity. Those leaders and
managers who do not have the ability to be powerful, to be able to dominate others, and to have
excellent communication skills are not in a position to survive the uncertainty that arises while
they are working. If an organisation wants to be profitable, it must invest in the growth of its
leaders and managers. It was also determined that having an effective leader and manager,
whether small or large, is critical for organisations to survive in such a changing market.
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References:
Books and Journals
Cole, K., 2018. Leadership and Management: Theory and Practice. Cengage AU.
Esoimeme, E.E., 2020. Using the risk-based approach to curb modern slavery in the supply
chain: The Anglo American and Marks and Spencer example. Journal of Financial
Crime.
Gardner, J., Chongwony, L. and Washington, T., 2018. Investigating instructional design
management and leadership competencies-A delphi study.
Golensky, M. and Hager, M., 2020. Strategic leadership and management in nonprofit
organizations: Theory and practice. Oxford University Press.
Grubaugh, M.L. and Flynn, L., 2018. Relationships among nurse manager leadership skills,
conflict management, and unit teamwork. JONA: The Journal of Nursing
Administration, 48(7/8), pp.383-388.
Jamieson, M. and Donald, J., 2020. Building the engineering mindset: Developing leadership and
management competencies in the engineering curriculum. Proceedings of the Canadian
Engineering Education Association (CEEA).
Lehtonen and et. al., 2018. International nursing: Nurse managers' leadership and management
competencies assessed by nursing personnel in a Finnish hospital. Nursing
Administration Quarterly, 42(2), pp.164-174.
Majid, J., 2020. The Power of Celebrity as a Medium of Coercing Behaviour-A Marks and
Spencer’s Case Study. Journal of Business and Social Science Review, 1(3), pp.29-38.
Parvin, A., 2019. Leadership and management in quality assurance: insights from the context of
Khulna University, Bangladesh. Higher education, 77(4), pp.739-756.
Online
About Marks and Spencer, 2022 [Online] Available Through
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