Managing a Successful Business Project: The Impact of Digital Technologies on Morrisons

This report examines the impact of digital technologies on the business operations of Morrisons, a leading UK retailer. It explores the role of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, and the Internet of Things in enhancing efficiency, customer experience, and competitive advantage. The report analyzes data collected through surveys and interviews with Morrisons employees, highlighting the challenges and opportunities associated with digital transformation. It concludes with recommendations for Morrisons to optimize their use of digital technologies and overcome implementation hurdles.

MANAGING A SUCCESFULL BUSINESS PROJECT
1

Table of Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................3
LO1....................................................................................................................................4
LO2....................................................................................................................................8
LO3..................................................................................................................................12
LO4..................................................................................................................................20
Reference List..................................................................................................................21
2

Introduction
Digital technologies are essential factors for the development of leading business
organization. They help the organizations in gaining competitive edges by enhancing
the efficiency of their business activity. Most of the business organizations are inclined
towards incorporating the latest technologies in order to enhance their productivity and
market performance. Morrisons is a popular retailer of UK that provides their consumers
with excellent customer services and tries to satisfy their requirements and needs. The
company keeps updating and modifying their technologies so that they are able to
enhance the shopping experience of their consumers. This report will evaluate about
the impact and role of digital technologies on the different business activities of
Morrisons. Technologies assist the company in reducing their chances of manual errors
while helping the management in enhancing the operational activities of the
organization.
3

LO1
Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario [P1]
Project overview
Morrisons is a popular retailer of UK having their headquarters located at Bradford,
West Yorkshire, England (Groceries.morrisons.com, 2018). They provide their
consumers with products such as groceries, books, clothing, drinks, DVDs, Magazines
and more. The company was founded in 1899 and provides employment to around
132,000 people. In the year 2017, the company generated revenue of about GB£16,317
million. This study focuses on the significance of digital technologies such as Artificial
Intelligence, Cloud Computing, and Internet of a Thing, Social Media, Mobile application
and more on the different business activity of Morrisons. Detail analysis regarding the
role of these technologies in enhancing the business of the company will be discussed.
Aim
This study is aimed at analyzing the impact and effectiveness of the technological
advancements on the various business activities of Morrisons.
Objective
 To recognize the digital advancements used by Morrisons
 To understand the effectiveness of digital advancements on the functional and
operational activities of Morrisons
 To identify the challenges and problems faced by the management of Morrisons
while incorporating the technologies
 To provide accurate recommendations that will be beneficial in eliminating the
challenges and issues faced by the management.
Produce a project management plan that covers aspects of cost, scope, time,
quality, communication, risk and resources [P2]
Project plan
The researcher will be conducting a survey with the employees of Morrisons to gain
information regarding the effectiveness of technologies in their organization. In order to
cover aspects such as communication, time, cost, scope, quality, resources and risk the
researcher has implemented a project management plan. It is evident that the
technologies are advancing and modifying at a rapid rate. The leading firm are required
to update and incorporate latest digital advancements in order to sustain in the
increasing competitive market. The management of Morrisons make use of advanced
technologies for their production, administration, storage, operational and distribution
departments. Digital technologies help the company in increasing its customer’s base
and allow them to enhance their brand image and value in the existing market (Ford,
2014).
4

Performance, Quality, Cost and Time objectives
Activities Cost Time
(Hours)
Cost/hour
(£)
Total Cost
(£)
Cost is essential for analyzing regarding the
latest technologies
12 9 108
Qualitative and quantitative methods will be
used for collecting the data
74 8 592
Analyzing the study data 24 7 168
Drafting final report 46 11 506
Total 1374
Table1: Performance, Quality, Cost and Time objectives
(Source: Created by the learner)
Risk: The researcher identified some risks during the research project. As a student
conducted this project, there was a lack of financial funds. Due to short deadline, that
research could not analyze the data in a detailed manner. In depth, study of data or
secondary research was not conducted in order to meet the deadline.
Smart objective
Specific To achieve all the objectives and aims of
this project, it will assist to improve the
results of the study.
Measurable Accurate data collection will help in
acquiring all the objectives of the study
within the stated deadline.
Achievable The objectives and aim of this study is
achievable a all the required data will be
collected with the help of genuine
resources.
Realistic Aligning the stated objectives and
timeframe of the study
Time Around 3 months
Table 2: SMART objectives
5

(Source: Created by the learner)
Produce a work breakdown structure and a Gantt chart to provide timeframes and
stages for completion [P3]
Work breakdown structure
Tasks Name Durati
on
Start Finish
Effectiveness of technologies on the functional
activities of Morrisons
77 1-08-
2018
16-10-
2018
1 Initiating the research project 22 1-08-
2018
22-08-
2018
1.
1
Identifying the appropriate study topic 1 1-08-
2018
1-08-
2018
1.
2
Developing major objectives and aims of the study 4 2-08-
2018
5-08-
2018
1.
3
Determining the scope of the study 7 6-08-
2018
12-08-
2018
1.
4
Framing the timeframe 5 13-08-
2018
17-08-
2018
1.
5
Identifying the resource requirements 5 18-08-
2018
22-08-
2018
2 Conducting the research 21 23-08-
2018
12-09-
2018
2.
1
Recognizing the research methodology 2 23-08-
2018
24-08-
2018
2.
2
Identifying the research processes 4 25-08-
2018
28-08-
2018
2.
3
Compilation of resources data 3 29-08-
2018
31-08-
2018
2.
4
Preparing survey questionnaires and interview
questions
2 1-09-
2018
02-09-
2018
2.
5
Taking interview 1 03-09-
2018
03-09-
2018
2.
6
Collecting the study data 2 04-09-
2018
05-09-
2018
2.
7
Conducting qualitative research 4 06-09-
2018
09-09-
2018
2.
8
Response collection 3 10-09-
2018
12-09-
2018
3 Findings and Analysis of the research 19 13-08-
2018
1-10-
2018
3.
1
Gathered quantitative responses 5 13-09-
2018
17-09-
2018
3. Analysing the qualitative data 4 18-09- 21-09-
6

Start
Wed
06-06-
18
Finis
h
Thu
20-
09-
18
11
Jun
'18
18
Jun
'18
25
Jun
'18
02
Jul
'18
09
Jul
'18
16
Jul
'18
23
Jul
'18
30
Jul
'18
06
Aug
'18
13
Aug
'18
20
Aug
'18
27
Aug
'18
03
Sep
'18
10
Sep
'18
17
Sep
'18
Effectiveness of
technologies on the
functional activities of
Morrisons
Wed 06-06-18 - Thu 20-09-
18
Initiating
the
research
project
Wed 06-06-
18 - Thu 05-
07-18
Conducti
ng the
research
Fri 06-07-
18 - Fri
03-08-18
Findings and
Analysis of
the research
Mon 06-08-18 -
Thu 30-08-18
Conclusion
and
recommend
ations
Fri 31-08-18 -
Thu 20-09-18
Today
2 2018 2018
3.
3
Representing the finding as graphical forms 6 22-09-
2018
27-09-
2018
3.
4
Explaining the data acquired through qualitative
evaluation
4 28-09-
2018
1-10-
2018
4 Conclusion and recommendations 15 2-10-
2018
16-10-
2018
4.
1
Providing recommendation 8 2-10-
2018
9-10-
2018
4.
2
Deciding the dates for presentation 5 10-10-
2018
14-10-
2018
4.
3
Ending the project 2 15-10-
2018
16-10-
2018
Table 3: Work breakdown structure
(Source: Created by the learner)
7

GANTT CHART
Task Name Duration
Effectiveness of technologies on the functional activities of
Morrisons
77 days
Initiating the research project 22 days
Identifying the appropriate study topic 1 day
Developing major objectives and aims of the study 4 days
Determining the scope of the study 7 days
Framing the timeframe 5 days
Identifying the resource requirements 5 days
Conducting the research 21 days
Recognizing the research methodology 2 days
Identifying the research processes 4 days
Compilation of resources data 3 days
Preparing survey questionnaires and interview questions 2 days
Taking interview 1 day
Collecting the study data 2 days
Conducting qualitative research 4 days
Response collection 3 days
Findings and Analysis of the research 19 days
Gathered quantitative responses 5 days
Analysing the qualitative data 4 days
Representing the finding as graphical forms 6 days
Explaining the data acquired through qualitative evaluation 4 days
Conclusion and recommendations 15 days
Providing recommendation 8 days
Deciding the dates for presentation 5 days
Ending the project 2 days
02 07 12 17 22 27 02 07 12 17 22 27 01 06 11 16 21 26 31 05 10 15 20
June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018
8

LO2
Carry out small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research
methods appropriate for meeting project aims and objectives. [P4]
For the present topic the researcher has decide to use mixed approach for data
collection. The primary data collection method will assist the research in collecting fresh
and accurate data. The secondary data will help in supporting and justifying the results
of the primary data collected for the study.
Quantitative Data Collection Method
For collecting quantitative data, the researcher has considered to conduct a survey with
around 50 employees working for Morrisons organization. The researcher will analyze
the responses of the employees in order to conclude the results of the study.
Q1. Please specify your age.
Age Bracket Number of
respondents
Total Employees Percentage of
respondents %
18 to 27 14 50 28
28 to 38 18 50 36
39 to 48 12 50 24
48 Above 6 50 12
Table 4: The responses of the employees on their age
Q2. Please specify your gender
Options Number of
respondents
Total number of
employees
Percentage of
respondents
Male 22 50 44
Female 28 50 56
Table 5: Gender of the participants
Q.3 what are the different types of technologies that are presently being used by
your firm?
Options Number of
respondents
Total number of
employees
Percentage of
respondents
EMV chip cards 4 50 8
Cloud computing 10 50 20
Email 15 50 30
Self Checkout 13 50 26
9

Kiosk
Digital assistance 8 50 16
Table 6: The Technologies that are used by the organization
Q4. How far do you agree that digital advancements are significant for increasing
the productivity and revenue generation of your business organization?
Options Number of
respondents
Total number of
employees
Percentage of
respondents
Strongly agreed 9 50 18
Agreed 12 50 24
Neutral 2 50 4
Disagreed 15 50 30
Strongly
disagreed
12 50 24
Table 7: Response about efficiency of digital technologies
Q5. Do you agree that digital technologies are beneficial for increasing the
efficiency of the company and help in gaining competitive advantages?
Options Number of
respondents
Total number of
employees
Percentage of
respondents
Strongly agreed 14 50 28
Agreed 11 50 22
Neutral 5 50 10
Disagreed 12 50 24
Strongly
disagreed
8 50 16
Table 8: Response of participants regarding the contribution of digital
advancements in revenue generation
Q6. What were the major challenges and issues faced by the management post
implementation of digital advancements?
Options Number of
respondents
Total number of
employees
Percentage of
respondents
Lack of
acceptance of
new
developments
11 50 22
Monetary
challenges
14 50 28
Complicated
system
10 50 20
10

Lack of skilled
and
knowledgeable
employees
15 50 30
Table 9: Challenges occurred by company while implementing technologies
Q7. What methods can be incorporated in order to overcome the problems and
challenges?
Options Number of
respondents
Total number of
employees
Percentage of
respondents
Introducing skill
development and
training programs
18 50 36
Implementing
models and
theories of
change
management
10 50 20
Lean management
during the
implementation of
changes
12 50 24
Improving the
communication
process
10 50 20
Table 10: Suggestions for overcoming the challenges
Qualitative Data Collection Method
The researcher has conducted an interview with the Human resource and Marketing
manager of Morrisons. This interview allowed the researcher in getting g minute details
regarding the impact of digital advancements on the operational activity of the
organization. The qualitative data collection helps in providing a detailed analysis and
contributes greatly towards enhancing the outcome of the research study.
Q1. Did the technological advancement influence the business outcome of your
organization?
Human Resource Manager: The Human Resource Manager informed that the digital
technologies played a great part in enhancing their performance. They were able to
reach out to more skilful, experience and knowledgeable candidates with the help of
technological advancements. Skilled candidates’ helps in bringing new ideas to the firm
that are beneficial for the growth of the organization. The technologies helped them in
storing important data regarding the clients and the employees in a more secure and
manageable manner. They are able to manage their daily activity and routines in a more
11

organized manner. The operational efficiency of the firm has increased as the chances
of manual errors reduce to technology.
Marketing manager: The Marketing Manager admitted that technological development
has helped them in making their marketing activities cost efficient. They are able to
promote about their services and offers with the help of online medium that helped the,
in reaching out to increasing audience and they are able to increase their customer
base. Due to online advertisement, the brand image of the company has improved.
Technology assisted them in interacting with their consumers and they are able to
understand the needs and requirement of their consumers that helps them in
introducing new products.
Q2: What are the strategies and steps that will be implemented by you in order to
overcome the difficulties and challenges that are associated with the latest
technological advancements?
Human Resource Manager: The Human Resource Manager stated that their
employees were unable to understand and cope with the digital advancements and due
to lack of knowledge and advancements the organizations performance is hampered.
So in order to overcome the situation they will train their employees so that they can
gain adequate information on how they can efficiently use the technologies to make
their work simpler and effectively. The training will provide guidance to the employees
on the ways they can make effective use of technology and allow them to understand
the value and importance of technological advancements.
Marketing manager: The Marketing manager admitted that due to implementation of
digital advancement the expenditure of the company has increased significantly. So in
order to overcome the monetary challenges they will try to advertise about their services
in a cost efficient manner with the help of internet. They will try to reach out to their
customers on social media and email services. This will help them in increasing
interaction and understanding their customers in cost effective manner.
12

LO3
Analyse research and data using appropriate tools and techniques [P5]
Q1. Please specify your age
18 to 27 28 to 38 39 to 48 48 Above
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Number of respondents
Figure1: Age of the respondents
Finding and Analysis
As per the statistics, it was observed that around 18% of the participants belonged to
the age group of 28-38 years. 14 belonged to the age bracket of 18-17 years while 12%
were between the age group of 39-48 years. Some of the participants were above the
age of 48. This statistic indicates that people belonging to various age groups took part
in the survey. This diverse age group will help in analyzing the result of the survey in a
more detailed manner. It will allow the researcher to understand the research topic from
a number of perspectives.
13

Q2. Please specify your gender
Male Female
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Number of respondents
Figure2: Response of the participants regarding their gender
Findings and Analysis
As per the graphical representation, it can be analyzed that around 22% of the
participants were male while 28% of the participants were female. These figures
indicate that both the gender took part in the survey. However, the majority of female
participants were more as compared to the males. This will be beneficial for the study
as it will allow the researcher to gain opinion of both the gender and will help in
enhancing the outcome of the research topic.
14

Q.3 what are the different types of technologies that are presently being used by
your firm?
EMV chip
cards Cloud
computing Email Self Checkout
Kiosk Digital
assistance
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Number of respondents
Figure 3: The technological advancements implemented by the organization
Finding and Analysis
The graphs above helps in analyzing that around 15% of the employees stated that their
organization makes use of email technology in order to communicate and interact with
their consumers. 10 of the employee stated that the company makes use of Cloud
Computing in order to secure all the data of the consumers so that they are able to gain
the trust of their consumers. Around 13% of the employee’s informed that their firm uses
the self-checkout system so that their customers shopping experience can be enhanced
and they are loyal towards their firm. 8% of the respondents acknowledged that their
business organization utilizes digital assistance in order to reduce the chances of
manual error and provide their customers with better and satisfactory services.
15

Q4. How far do you agree that digital advancements are significant for increasing
the productivity and efficiency of your business organization?
Strongly
agreed Agreed Neutral Disagreed Strongly
disagreed
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Number of respondents
Figure 4: Impact of digital technology on the efficiency of the company
Findings and Analysis
As per the survey it was observed that around 9 of the respondents strongly agreed that
digital technologies play a vital role in enhancing the revenue generation and helps in
increasing the productivity of their organization. This fact was supported 12 respondents
who agreed stating that the revenue of the company has significantly increased after the
implementation of the technological advancements. 2 respondents did not possessed
any idea regarding the impact of technology while 12 of the participants strongly
disagreed and stated that technological advancements have no impact on the revenue
or productivity of their firm. However, it was noted that majority of respondents 15
respondents disagreed and informed that technological advancements are not at all
helpful in enhancing productivity or increasing the revenue of the organization.
16

Q5. Do you agree that digital technologies are beneficial for increasing the
revenue generation of the company and help in gaining competitive advantages?
Strongly
agreed Agreed Neutral Disagreed Strongly
disagreed
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Number of respondents
Figure 5: Impact of digital technology in increasing the revenue of the company
Finding and Analysis
As per the graphical representation it can be analyzed that 14 respondent strongly
agreed to the fact that technologies have enhanced their efficiency and allowed them to
gain competitive edges from major competition firms. 11 participants agreed to the fact
stating that implementation of technologies shave helped them in reducing errors and
have increasing their functioning capabilities. However, 12 of the respondents disagreed
stating that technological advancements were time consuming and confusing. Around 8
of the respondents strongly disagreed stating that the technologies did not assist them
in enhancing their efficiency or played any role in providing their firm with competitive
edge.
17

Q6. What were the major challenges and issues faced by the management post
implementation of digital advancements?
0
4
8
12
16
20
Number of respondents
Number of respondents
Figure 6: Issues faced by the organization in implementation of the technologies
Findings and Analysis
As per the graphical representation, it can be observed that 11 participants informed
that lack of acceptance of any kind of change was one of the major barriers in the post
implementation of digital technologies. 14 of the participants admitted that due to lack of
necessary fund they were unable to implement the required technological
advancements, as the technologies were quite expensive. Majority of the participants 15
of them said that due to lack of knowledgeable and skilled employee they were unable
to fully utilize the latest advancements. These were the few major challenges faced by
the organization.
18

Q7. What methods can be incorporated in order to overcome the problems and
challenges?
0
4
8
12
16
20
Number of respondents
Figure7: The recommendation to overcome the challenges
Findings and Analysis
As per the survey it was evident that in order to overcome challenges certain steps were
required to be adopted by the management 18 of the participants suggested that the
form should introduce special training program that will focus on increasing the
technological area and knowledge of the employees. 10 of the respondents stated that
the management should implement models and theories of change in order to manage
the new changes. 10 of the participant stated that improving the communication system
of the firm would help them in enhancing the challenges associated with the
implementation of the digital technologies.
19

Communicate appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data
analysis to draw valid and meaningful conclusions [P6]
As per the survey that was conducted by the researcher with the employees of
Morrisons, it was evident that majority of the employees were unable to understand the
importance of technological advancement. They informed the researcher that the
technological advancement did not assist in enhancing the productivity or revenue
generation of the company. It is recommended that the management should try to
organize a proper meeting in which they should explain their employees the impact of
the technology they should provide them with data before the implementation the
technologies and compare it with the data after the technologies have been
implemented in their firm. This will allow the employees to gain adequate information
about the ways technologies are benefitting the firm. This will also encourage them to
make use of the potential technology in order to improve the performance of their
organization. It is noted that due to lack of knowledge and skills most of the employees
of the firm are unable to utilize the technologies in an appropriate manner (Piotrowicz
and Cuthbertson, 2014). This issue can be easily resolved with the help of training
program that will allow the employees to gain important knowledge regarding the digital
technology. The training program should educate the employee the way they can make
use of technologies and increase the productivity of the firm that will help in increasing
the profit revenue of the firm.
20

LO4
Reflect on the value of undertaking the research to meet stated objectives and
own learning and performance [P7]
While working on this project I was able to improve some of skill and qualities that will
prove beneficial for me in the coming future. I was able to gain detailed information
regarding the latest technological advancement. The information helped in me in
increasing my knowledge about the ways technologies are changing the way business
are conducted. I was able to learn that technologies are necessary for the development
of any business firm. This project helped me in improving my research skills; I explored
the internet, read number books, article ad journals in order to find relevant and
accurate data for the completion of the study. I was able to gain information regarding
the technologies that are presently used by the retailers of United Kingdom in order to
increase their business opportunity and remain in the competitive market environment.
Digital technologies are important in order to improve the shopping experience of the
customers and help the firms in gaining the loyalties of their consumers.
In order to enhance the quality of the study I tried to collect the most genuine and
accurate data by conducting a survey with the employee of Morrisons. The survey
helped me in improving my analytical and decision-making skill. It allowed me to
understand the opinion of the employees. Their opinions helped in analyzing about the
technologies and the issue that were faced the in utilizing the technologies. I also
conducted an interview with the managers of the firm in order to understand their
perspective regarding the technologies. The interview helped me to work on my
communication skills, and I was able to understand the different ways that the
technological advancements were influencing the business of the organization. the
survey and interview helped me in shaping the study and concluding the significance of
the study. It helped me in achieving all the objectives and aims of this study.
21

Reference List
Ford, J.K., 2014. Improving training effectiveness in work organizations. Psychology
Press.
Groceries.morrisons.com. (2018). Morrisons | Online Shopping | Food, Drink & More To
Your Door. [online] Available at:
https://groceries.morrisons.com/webshop/startWebshop.do [Accessed 31 May 2018].
Piotrowicz, W. and Cuthbertson, R., 2014. Introduction to the special issue information
technology in retail: Toward omnichannel retailing. International Journal of Electronic
Commerce, 18(4), pp.5-16
22