Examining Strategies for Equality & Diversity in Organizations: A Case Study on M&S
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This research explores the role of strategies in executing equality and diversity within organizations, using a case study on Marks and Spencer. It examines the concept, advantages, and strategies for implementing equality and diversity, and provides recommendations.
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Table of Contents TITLE: “To examine the role of various strategies which will support in executing equality & diversity within the organisation.” A case study on M&S..............................................................1 INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1 TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1 P1 Project aims and objectives....................................................................................................1 P2 Project Management Plan......................................................................................................2 P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart...........................................................................3 TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6 P4 Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research................................6 TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9 P5 Examine research and data by using appropriate tools..........................................................9 P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations......................................................................14 TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................14 P7 Reflection.............................................................................................................................14 CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15 REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16
TITLE: “To examine the role of various strategies which will support in executing equality & diversity within the organisation.” A case study on M&S. INTRODUCTION Equality as well as diversity within the organisation refers to provide value to equality, human rights along with diversity among the workplace as well as in the overall society. This as a result assist in promoting equal job opportunities to the staff members without any kind of discrimination with the employees. In order to implement equality & diversity practices within the business entity in an effective manner, managers are required to adopt various types of policiesand strategies.Thisas a result assist in accomplishingorganisationalgoals and objectives in an appropriate manner(Boekhorst, 2015). In order to conduct this research effectively,chosenorganisationisMarksandSpencer.ItisaUKbasedmultinational organisation developed in the year 1884. It is the report which includes research objective, aim which is associated with equality & diversity within the organisation. Along with this, it will includes different types of research methods used by the investigator along with PMP, WBS, Gantt Chart. Apart from this, appropriate recommendations will be provided by the investigator at the end of this research. TASK 1 P1 Project aims and objectives Research aim: “To examine the role of various strategies which will support in executing equality & diversity within the organisation.” A case study on M&S. Research Objectives: To determine the concept of both equality as well as diversity within the organisation To examine various advantages of equality & diversity gain by Marks and Spencer To identify different strategies and policies which help in executing equality & diversity within the organisation. Research Questions: What is the concept of both equality as well as diversity within the organisation? 1
What are various advantages of equality & diversity gain by Marks and Spencer? What are the different strategies and policies which help in executing equality & diversity within the organisation? P2 Project Management Plan The Management plan is evaluated as the personal documentation which is doing the working of blueprint for the people who are involved the research project. This is also an important factor in order to know about the time duration of each activity. The plan consists of various strategies which can support in the overall implementation of the activities. The different factors of PMP includes risk, cost, time, quality, communication and resources(Cottrill, Denise Lopez andHoffman, 2014). In context of the current research the researcher has executed effective Performance management system. The different factors of the plan are evaluated below as: Cost:Thistermreferredtothemonetaryvaluewhichisbeingusedforthe development of the services in the project. In context with the research the investigator requires to have some monetary funds in order to carry out their investigations in rightful manner. In the present research the investigator needs£ 40 for execution of business activities. The amount which has been selected is sufficient in order to perform the investigation thus gaining effective results. The budget is set for every business activity at the initial phase so that future plans can be planned out according to the budget. Scope:This is a vital factor in every form of research as it helps in describing about the desired scope in the actual life phase and zone of business. In relation to the present form of research the scope factor is very wide forMarks and Spencer to carry out their investigation on both the smaller and larger scale of the similar sector(Drews and Van den Bergh,2016). When the research is completed effectively then there will be large number of opportunities for business. This will also result in developing new business direction for industry thus enhancing their overall business shares. Time:This factor is described as the potential amount of the time which is being used for the completion of the project. The time duration for each business activity is set according to the availability of the business resources. For the current research the time period which is required is 6 months in order to complete the project effectively within the feasible solutions can be easily attained for the business. 2
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Quality:It is another essential element where researchers need to maintain the overall quality of research. Thiscan be done by collecting all the required information and data from well known andauthenticatedweb sites(Durlak,2015).Along with this, investigator need to gather all the informationbyadopting authentic sources, respondents and secondary methods for maintaining the quality of information in an effective and appropriate manner. Communication:In order toexecuteall theresearch workinan effective and appropriate manner, positivecommunicationneedsto be there. All the people associated with the research required to communicate all the information within stipulated time frame. In reference to current research which is conducted on the topic ofequality&diversity withinorganisation,investigatoradopt some methods which includes mobile phones, email, regularbasis meetings and many more(Galpin, 2014). This will assist in developing new and innovative strategies so that research will be conducted in an appropriate manner. Risk:For doing any kind of work there is some risk associated with that work. In the present research one of the main risk which is linked with the investigation is that there might misuse of the information gathered fromrespondents. Thismight affect the overall authenticity and reliability which might create negative impact on the outcome of research. Alongwith this,that maycreatesnegative image of the company at the competitive marketplace which affects the overall profitability of the organization. Resources:Itis the research which is mainly conducted on the topic ofequality and diversitywithintheorganization requires ample number ofresources.Some of the most essential and significant resources includes land, labour, equipment, capital and many more. This as a result assist researcher in order to conduct the whole research in an effective manner and produce positive outcome within stipulated time frame(Glatthor, 2018). P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart Work Break down structure The work breaks down structure is evaluated as the most effective method of dividing the overall components of larger types of projects into smaller ones in order to achieve effective results in short time durations. The overall working is break down into the way it can be easily managed. Dividing of the overall working into the team members results in enhancing business productivity and achieving cost effective results for business organisation(Israel, 2017). 3
Gantt chart This term is evaluated as the presentation of the activities into the form of graph that can be easily completed by the employees against the desired time frame. This is evaluated as the visual form of presenting the graphs. In other words, it is mainly breaking of the components of the project which had to be covered into fixed time period. The task is represented on both the horizontal and vertical axis. The dependencies among different business activities is also evaluated by this type of Gantt chart. This is an important factor for an organisation in order to keep an update on the overall activities of the project and the additional resources required to complete the project on time. 4
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TASK 2 P4 Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research While conducting a research, investigator adopt various methods and tools in order to gather information and data. With the assistance of these tools, effective output will be produced so that research objective will be fulfilled. Therefore, by using research methodology in an appropriate manner, researcher will be able to attain goals and objectives of the company will be accomplished(Quinlan, 2019). Some of the key essential methods used by researcher in the present research are as follows: 6
Primary research Primary research refers to an in depth study about the facts and data by the investigator. It is the method where raw or fresh data is collected by the researcher in an effective manner. Such type of information is being collected by using questionnaire, survey, personal interview, observations and many other sources(Mukhopadhyay and Gupta,2014). This is the method which is quite time consuming and costly way to gather required information. Secondary research Apart from primary research, another method for collecting information and data is secondary methodology. It is the method which includes all the secondary method such as books, articles, journals and other secondary sources for collecting information in an effective manner. It is considered as low cost method with the help of which required data and information will be gathered(Long,2016). Researcher opt this method so that they can effectively gather all the data and information within stipulated time frame in order to conduct the research in an effective manner. Inthe context ofpresent research,it has been said thatinvestigatorin this research adopt both primaryandsecondary methodfor research so that required information and data will be collected so that research will be conducted effectively. This will assist in developing positive outcome in an effective manner which creates ample number of opportunities for the company. In case of primary research respondents use questionnaires method where total number of respondents are 50. And on the other hand in case of secondary method, researcher use all the secondary sources such as websites, online sources, books, journal and many more so that positive outcome will be produced within given time frame. Qualitative research Itreferstoa marketinvestigationmethodinorder to collect all thenon numerical data andinformation whichwill used to enhance theunderstanding ofopinions and reasons. Allthe data which is collected by using this methodology includes behaviour of human ina specific situation.Thisisthemethodwhichconsistsofobservation,personalinterview,group discussions and many more. Allthe questions which are going to be asked by using this research methods includes open ended questions which are in the form of semi structured manner (Kumar, 2019). Quantitative research 7
On the other hand, quantitative research refers toa systematicmethodofgatheringallthe numericalinformationanddatawhichincludesstatisticalaswellasmathematicaldata. Quantitative research isthe method of data collection generallyusedby the investigatorwhen populationsizeis large. It is the methodology whichincludes online survey,sampling methods, online polls, correlation research, cross sectional surveys andmanymore. Along with this it is the method where researchers useclose ended questions. In order to examineoverallcollected data andinformationresearcherswilladopt qualitativemethodof research so that they will be able to gather all the authentic data. Furthermore, it will produce positive results which is based on perception of human being. Questionnaire:Itreferstothesetofamplenumberofquestionswhichare developed byresearcher so that they will be able to grabmaximumdatafrom their respondents in an effective manner. In the present research, it has been said that total number of respondents are 50 chosen by researcher to conduct the investigation appropriate (Harland,2014).Alltheserespondentsselectedbyresearchersarestakeholdersand employees ofMarks and Spencer. Questionnaire Q1) Do you know about the concept of equality & diversity at the organisation?Frequency a) Yes40 b) No10 Q2) Do you agree with the statement that practices which are associated with equality as well as diversity gave various benefits to the organisation? Frequency a) Agree30 b) Disagree20 Q3) Do you think, by implementing equality & diversity practices helps Marks and Spencer in order to accomplish their business objectives? Frequency a) Yes35 b) No15 8
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Q4)Accordingtoyourviewpoint,whatarethemainadvantagesof implementing equality and diversity practices gained by Marks and Spencer? Frequency a) Quick achievement of goals and objectives15 b) Better workplace environment15 c) Higher growth opportunities20 Q5) Which one of the following is one of the best strategy adopted by Marks and Spencer by which they can easily execute equality as well as diversity practices within the organisation? Frequency a) Effective leadership style25 b) Top to down approach10 c) Raise employee participation within the organisation15 Q 6) Do you think by executing equality as well as diversity practices within the organisation affect operational functions of Marks and Spencer? Frequency a) Agree45 b) Disagree5 Q 7) According to you, what is the main issue faced by staff members of Marks and Spencer within the organisation? Frequency a) Anxiety within the company16 b) Demoralization among staff members14 c) Inappropriate guidance by top management team20 Q8) Do you think, implementation of equality & diversity practices helps Marks & Spencer in order to retain their staff members for a long period of time. Frequency a) Agree42 b) Disagree8 9
TASK 3 P5 Examine research and data by using appropriate tools Q1) Do you know about the concept of equality & diversity at the organisation?Frequency a) Yes40 b) No10 Interpretation:From the above presented graph when it was asked to respondents about of equality and diversity in organisations there was a positive response of 40 respondents out of 50. The remaining 10 respondents negative view and they responded by negative answer that they have no idea about the concept of equality and diversityorganizations. Q2) Do you agree with the statement that practices which are associated with equality as well as diversity gave various benefits to the organisation? Frequency a) Agree30 b) Disagree20 10
Interpretation: Above mentioned graph represent that it was that 50 respondents that agree with concept of equality diversity is benefits for organisation as a whole. There was a positive response of 30 respondents as they to this question and other 20 out of total 50 had a negative response as they denied to this statement. Q3) Do you think, by implementing equality & diversity practices helps Marks and Spencer in order to accomplish their business objectives? Frequency a) Yes35 b) No15 11
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Interpretation:From the above it is clearly that implementation of equality and diversity in the workplace will help the organisation in accomplishment of business objectives majority of the respondents what is 35 out of 50 positive viewpoint on this question. So interpretation is that implementation will be helpful achievement of organisational objectives. Q4)Accordingtoyourviewpoint,whatarethemainadvantagesof implementing equality and diversity practices gained by Marks and Spencer? Frequency a) Quick achievement of goals and objectives15 b) Better workplace environment15 c) Higher growth opportunities20 Interpretation: Above shows that it was asked to respondents about major advantages of practices related with equality in the workplace, 15 respondents had a view that it will lead to achievement 12
of 15 it will lead to better environment in the workplace and remaining 20 view that it will lead to higher opportunities for growth. Q5) Which one of the following is one of the best strategy adopted by Marks and Spencer by which they can easily execute equality as well as diversity practices within the organisation? Frequency a) Effective leadership style25 b) Top to down approach10 c) Raise employee participation within the organisation15 Interpretation: From above mentioned graph when it was asked to respondents about one of strategy which can be adopted by marks frequency and Spencer so that policies related to diversity & Equality can be executed in the organisation 25 respondents said that effective style of leadership is best strategy, 15 had a view that increase in employee participation is b participation is a relevant strategy and remaining 10 respondents top to down approach is the best strategy which should be adopted by the organisation. Q 6) Do you think by executing equality as well as diversity practices within theFrequency 13
organisation affect operational functions of Marks and Spencer? a) Agree45 b) Disagree5 Interpretation:From the graph it can be said that when asked about of equality and Diversity practices currency organisation and its effect on operational function of Marks and Spencer 45 respondents agree to this view point and other 5 disagreed to this question. Q 7) According to you, what is the main issue faced by staff members of Marks and Spencer within the organisation? Frequency a) Anxiety within the company16 b) Demoralization among staff members14 c) Inappropriate guidance by top management team20 14
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Interpretation: From the above represented craft it can be that when it was questioned 50 respondents the major issue with faced by the total workforce of marks frequency and Spencer there was no majority answer by the respondents. As 16 respondents felt that it is the anxiety in the company which is a major issue,14 respondents had a view that there is be demoralisation among the staff members is also a main issue meaning 20 respondents out of total 50 felt that there is appropriate guidance by top management team in organisation which leads to facing of some of issues by employees in company. Q8) Do you think, implementation of equality & diversity practices helps Marks & Spencer in order to retain their staff members for a long period of time. Frequency a) Agree42 b) Disagree8 15
Interpretation:From above graph interpreted that implementation of various practices related to equality and Diversity will help Marks and Spencer in retaining their staff members for a longer period of time. There was a positive response of 42 respondents out of total 50 which means that majority had a response to this question. Remaining 8 respondents had negative view to this question as they disagreed that equality and Diversity practices of Marks frequency and Spencer can be helpful in retaining their staff members for a longer duration of time in the organisation. P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations Withthe help of above mentioned analysis it has been concluded that there are some suggestions made with the assistance of data analysis. These recommendations if adopted properly within the workplace of Marks and Spencer by the management team of thecompany gain various opportunities(Flick, 2015). Some of the most significant recommendations which is given by the investigator to the management team of the company are as follows: At first, ithasbeenrecommended tothetop authority ofMarks&Spencerthatthey must followeachand everyaspects of business ethics. Itmust also includes practices related to equalityaswelldiversitywithin the organization. Thisasa resultsupport companyina positive manner in order to develop healthy and safe working environment for the staff member so that they can perform their task appropriately. 16
Alongwith this, it has also been advised to the managers ofMarks and Spencerthatthey mustconductmeetings on aregularbasis for their employees. These meetings helps in resolving issues and problems which is related to employees demotivation and anxiety which can be overcome by them by developing new strategies and policies. Atthe end it has been recommended to the owners and top management teams of Marks and Spencer to implement practices related toequalityas well as diversitywithinthe workplace. Along with this required training and development session need to be given by them to their staff members so that their understanding and knowledge will be increased in an appropriate manner(Cacchione, 2016). TASK 4 P7Reflection Whileconducting the whole research, it has been identified by me that I have faced ample number of issues and problems related to this research. It has been observed by me that my communication skill as well as time management skill is not appropriate which might affect the overall authenticity and results of the research in anegative manner. When I was gathering information from respondents my communication skill is improved by each passing time which provides me opportunities in near future. Along with this when I was conducting the research in feel nervous as I was not being able to manage everything properly. But at the end of research my time management along with my management skill is improved in a positive manner(Barnham, 2015). In order to conduct the research in an effective manner various activities need to be performed by researcher so that positive outcome will be produced. One of the biggest and most toughest activity is collecting information from respondents.It is a process which required lot of effort, time, cost and patience. As I was very nervous about this, it might create negative impact on my performance.There are various things which went wrong such as overall cost of the research is increased which was estimated at the time of conducting research. CONCLUSION Withtheassistance of above stated research, it has been concluded that equality & diversity practices plays very essential role in an organisation as they provides positive response 17
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from the employees.Thisreportconsistsof variousstrategiesneeded by the management team in order to retain their potential candidates for longer period of time. Along with this, it has also been said that each and every business organisation need to promoteequality&diversity practicesso thatamplenumber of opportunitieswillb gained by them in an effective manner. In thisreport,investigatoradoptedqualitativemethodofresearchalongwithprimaryand secondary data collection method. With the help of this investigator produce positive outcome within stipulated time frame. Along with this questionnaires method provide authentic data and information to conclude the overall analysis in an effective and appropriate manner. 18
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