Case study on Marks & Spencer

MANAGING A
SUCCESSFUL
BUSINESS PROJECT

TITLE
“How multinational organisations improvise their recruitment, selection and training
procedures for employees to attain International requirements? A case study on Marks &
Spencer.
INTRODUCTION
Management of a enterprise project in successful way is an essential factor for a company
to gain competitive advantage over rival firms in a successful manner. Timely completion of
project and associated activities assures that high revenues and profits can be attained
(Armstrong, Landers and Collmus, 2016). In context with business organisations, efficient
recruiting, training and selection process help a company in hiring capable employees. This
assignment report is prepared in respect with M&S that's a renowned multinational firm, with
main office registered in Westminster, London. It is a renowned company which is successfully
operating at international level providing home product, food items and clothes to their
customers. This assignment is going to include about different objectives and aim behind this
project along with a proper project management plan. Beside this, WBS and Gantt chart is
prepared along with data analysis. Also, recommendations are given so that company can get
wide advantages from this project.
TASK 1
P1 Suitable aim and objectives for concerned project
Background of report:
The main target of initiating this project is to identify if improvements in the hiring,
selecting and training procedures of company can benefits them in meeting international needs or
not. For this project, selected company is M&S which is successfully performing their business
operations in global context. Concerned organisation is further thinking of expanding their
business in international market so they are carrying out modifications in their training,
recruitment and selection procedures. This is going to assist the company in hiring right
candidate so that business goals can be attained properly.
1

Aim:
“To determine advantages of improvements in training, recruitment and selecting
processes of working staff to attain international standards”. A case study on Marks & Spencer.
To carry out some improvements in their training, selection and recruitment processes, M&S is
going to train their employers and adopt some methods. In these methods, different activities
and tests will be performed which will benefits the company in recruiting and selecting only
those candidates which are capable to perform organisational work in a systematic manner. Other
than this aim of company is to carry out improvements in on the job and off the job training. By
this, skills of employees can be improved considerably. This all is going to help M&S in
achieving their aim of earning high revenues and objectives in a timely & efficient manner.
Objectives:
 To determine concepts related with globalisation, recruiting, training and selection.
 To acknowledge the benefits of appropriate selection, training and recruitment processes
of M&S.
 To identify advantages of recruitment procedures in meeting requirements at international
level.
Questions:
 What do you acknowledge by globalisation, recruiting, training and selection?
 What are the benefits of appropriate selection, training and recruitment processes of
M&S?
 What is the advantage of recruitment procedures in meeting requirements at international
level?
P2 Project management plan involving factors of risks, communication, time, scope, quality,
resources and other aspects
Management plan for a project can be stated as an official document that is formulated by
a project manager so that project activities can be control and monitored in appropriate context.
This is defined as a document which involves different project planning documents and
baselines. For project started by M&S, PMP is stated below:
Cost : It is depicted as the money which is required by a company so that project
operations and activities can be performed in specific and timely manner. It involves the
2

monetary value of material, human efforts and other resources which will be needed to
accomplish project. In relation with M&S, needed cost by company is 3000 pounds. In context
with the researcher, required cost for working on project is 120 pounds (Chang, Walters and
Wills, 2013).
Scope: For M&S, scope of concerned project is very large as it assists the company in
hiring capable employees which will advance their capabilities further by getting appropriate
training. This will help M&Sin becalming market leader in global context. Also, Scope of
research is high as knowledge of the researcher is going to enhance while working on this project
which will assists in attaining high growth in future.
Time: It is stated as total time that is needed by project team and manager to accomplish
project in a proper manner. Company has estimated time period of 5 months to complete this
project whereas researcher needs a time period of 4 weeks to gather all the required information
for this research by self exploration and collecting opinion of respondents.
Quality: It is states as efficiency of project activities and operations so that standardised
results can be acquired. In context with M&S, company is needed to use advance technology and
tactics so that skills of employees can be improved considerably (Fageha and Aibinu, 2013). By
this project will be accomplished with high quality work. In case of researcher, by using tactics
like interviews, observation, questionnaire, high quality and relevant information can be
collected so that research can proceed effectively.
Communication: This is explained as the way through which individuals associated with
project team can interact to share all details and information of project. In relation with
M&S,project manager can communicate with team members and other persons through web
conferencing, video conferencing, voice call, e-mails, phone conversations, SMS etc. From
researcher's perspective, appropriate interaction tools are social media, phone calls, SMS, e-
mails.
Risk: These are depicted as the issues and uncertainties which can act as a barrier in the
success of a project. Different risks can be acknowledged by M&S while working on this project.
Some of these risks are lack of funds, culture difference, language barrier etc. other than this,
main risk which are identified by researcher for this work is lack of skills and money, time
mismanagement and shortage of informatory sources etc.
3

Resources: It includes those elements which are needed by a company so that activities
associated with project can be performed with full efficiency. In case of company, main
resources which are required is modern technology, skilled employees, proper investment and
funds (Glukhov, Ilin and Levina, 2015 ). From perspective of researchers, major resources which
are needed is money, internet, books, Journals, etc.
P3 Gantt chart and WBS to formulate timelines and stages of project completion
Work breakdown structure
WBS is a process that benefits in dividing a large and complex project into small
sections which can be easily managed. This is a structure which aims to bifurcate large projects
into small parts in accordance with their priority so that important tasks can be accomplished
first. WBS will benefits M&Sin performing their project activities in an organised manner so that
high efficiency can be maintained (Scott, Ditroilo and Marshall, 2017).
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Gantt chart
5

This Gantt chart is described as a visual chart which defines the start and ending of a
project systematically. It is referred as a graphical representation of a project that includes
several tasks, resources, milestones and dependencies associated with project. By using this
graphical chart, manager in M&Scan acknowledge the time they are required to spend on a
single activity (Springer, Lee and Deng, 2013).
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TASK 2
P4 Perform a research by implementing quantitative and qualitative research tactics
Research methodology is described as process that helps a researcher in performing
research activities in a specific order. Due to this, high results are attained in accordance with
time. This methodology is going to benefit the researcher in taking right decisions so that
satisfactory outcomes can be achieved.
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Qualitative research: It is referred as a naturalistic inquiry which benefits a researcher
in acknowledging social phenomena in systematic order. Under this research methodology,
information and data is gathered through conversational communication and open ended
questions. Techniques involved in this method are observations, questionnaire, focus groups etc.
Quantitative research: In this research method, various numerical information, facts and
data are converted into statistics so that information can be collected in an organised way.
Researcher can use mobile phone, paper surveys, structured interviews to gather needed
information. Here opinion of respondents are quantified so that relevant facts can be collected
(Martini, Pareto and Bosch, 2013).
Primary method: This is a technique to collect information in which new or raw facts
and data are collected via interacting with respondents. This method of data collection involves
techniques like interviews, telephonic conversation and questionnaires.
Secondary method: Under this method to collect data, information is collected via
already existing resources. In this kind of method, researcher gathers facts and information by
using magazines, journals, books, internet etc. In relation to this research, secondary data is
going to be concentrated through books and internet (Springer, P., 2015).
Research sample: Sample for research is referred as a group which are selected from
millions of population so that their opinions can be acknowledge about a topic. To perform this
research, 50 respondents are selected on random basis. For this research, researcher has use
questionnaire method to collect data. Out of 50 people, 35 individuals are customers and other
are employees in Nestle.
employees.
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Questionnaire
Q1) Did you acknowledge concepts linked with recruitment, selection, training and
globalisation?
A)Yes
B) No
Q2) Do you believe appropriate recruitment activities assists firms in attaining higher
success?
A) Yes
B) No
Q3) Do you believe global needs can met by M&S by adopting efficient recruitment
methods?
A) Yes
B) No
Q4) What is the main merit for M&S while internationalising their business?
A) Enhanced profits
B) Talented staff
C) Increased brand reputation
Q5) What kind of employee training will help M&S in enhancing capabilities of
workforce?
A) Job training in working hours
B) Job training after working hours
Q6) Recommend several ways to deal issues faced by M&S while improving their training,
selection and recruitment processes....
Quantitative question
Q1) How improvement in recruitment process helps M&S in competing at international
market?
A) Meeting needs of customers desirably
B) Attaining high profits
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Q2) What is the main issue faced by a firm during globalisation of business?
A) Lack of capital
B) Shortage of talented staff
C) Language barrier
Q3) How improvements in selection of influence functionality of M&S in earning
business objectives?
a) Achieving high revenue
b) Improved reputation of organisation
Qualitative Questionnaire Frequency
Q1) Did you acknowledge concepts linked with recruitment,
selection, training and globalisation?
A)Yes 43
B) No 7
Q2) Do you believe appropriate recruitment activities assists firms
in attaining higher success?
Frequency
A) Yes 35
B) No 15
Q3) Do you believe global needs can met by M&S by adopting
efficient recruitment methods?
Frequency
A) Yes 36
B) No 14
Q4) What is the main merit for M&S while internationalising their
business?
Frequency
A) Enhanced profits 19
B) Talented staff 15
C) Increased brand reputation 16
10

Q5) What kind of workforce training will assists M&Sin enhancing
capabilities of workforce?
Frequency
A) Job training in working hours 30
B) Job training after working hours 20
Quantitative questionnaire
Q1) How improvement in recruitment process helps M&S in competing at international
market?
A) Meeting needs of customers desirably
B) Attaining high profits
Q2) What is the main issue faced by a firm during globalisation of business?
A) Lack of capital
B) Shortage of talented staff
C) Language barrier
Q3) How improvements in selection of influence functionality of M&S in earning
business objectives?
a) Achieving high revenue
b) Improved reputation of organisation
TASK 3
P5 Analyse data and facts by using appropriate techniques and tools
Theme 1: Concepts linked with recruiting, selection, training and globalisation
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Q1) Did you acknowledge concepts linked with recruitment, selection,
training and globalisation?
Frequency
A)Yes 43
B) No 7
Interpretation: In accordance with depicted picture, Out of the total of 50 respondents,
43 persons acknowledge the facts which are linked with training, globalisation, recruitment and
selection. Other 7 people do not have any idea about this concept.
Theme 2: Appropriate recruitment procedures assists firms in achieving high success
Q2) Do you believe appropriate recruitment activities assists firms in
attaining higher success?
Frequency
A) Yes 35
12
A)Yes B) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
43
7
Frequency

Q2) Do you believe appropriate recruitment activities assists firms in
attaining higher success?
Frequency
B) No 15
Interpretation: As per shown graph, this can be acknowledged that from 50 people, 35
persons are in favour that recruitment process helps in attaining high success whereas other 15
individuals have different opinion regrading this.
Theme 3: International needs can met by M&S by improving recruitment methods
Q3) Do you believe global needs can met by M&S by adopting
efficient recruitment methods?
Frequency
A) Yes 36
B) No 14
13
A) Yes B) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
35
15 Frequency

Interpretation: As per shown bar picture, from 50 respondents, 36 persons are in favour
that international demands of customers can be accomplished by improving recruitment process
whereas other 14 people do not feel same.
Theme 4: Main merit for M&S while internationalising their business
Q4) What is the main merit for M&S while internationalising their
business?
Frequency
A) Enhanced profits 19
B) Talented staff 15
C) Increased brand reputation 16
Interpretation: In context with depicted picture, it is identified that from the total of 50
individuals, 19 respondents considers internationalising business assist in increased profits. 15
14
A) Enhanced profits
B) Talented staff
C) Increased brand reputation
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20 19
15 16
Frequency

respondents believes it will helps in working with talented staff and other 16 people feel this will
assists in increasing brand reputation.
Theme 5: By different workforce training capabilities of workforce are increased
Q5) What kind of workforce training will assists M&S in enhancing
capabilities of workforce?
Frequency
A) Job training in working hours 30
B) Job training after working hours 20
Interpretation: As per the opinion of 50 people, 30 persons feels on job training is the
best way to improve the working abilities of employees whereas other 20 people thinks that best
way to train employees is off job training.
15
A) On the job training B) Off the Job training
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
30
20
Frequency

Quantitative questions
Q5) How improvement in recruitment process helps M&S in competing at international
market?
Factor Explanation
A) Meeting needs of customers desirably By improving the recruitment methods of company
like internal and external ways, only skilled
employees will be the part of company. Due to this,
fulfilling the requirements of consumers in a proper
manner will be easier.
B) Attaining high profits Due to improvements in recruiting, efficient and
skilled employees will be selected by company. By
this, working productivity of company will improve
and attaining high profits will be attainable.
Q6) What is the problems faced by a company during globalisation of business?
Factor Explanation
A) Lack of capital Due to the shortage of funds and finance, M&S can
face issue while internationalising in a new country.
Shortage of capital can hinder business operations
considerably.
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Q6) What is the problems faced by a company during globalisation of business?
B) Shortage of talented staff Due to lack of skilled and talented employees, M&S
can face difficulties while operating in a new region.
C) Language barrier This is another barrier which can be faced by M&S
while globalising in a new country. Due to
unfamiliarity with local and national language,
company will face issue in developing a bond with
potential customers of company. This can restrict the
popularity of company in international market.
Q8) How improvements in selection influence functionality of M&S in earning
business objectives?
Factors Explanation
a) Achieving high revenue Due to selection of only capable and talented
individuals, all work of organisation whether simple
and complex will be performed in a challenging way.
Due to this, advantage over rival companies will be
gained which will assists in achievement of high
revenues.
b) Improved reputation of organisation As efficient employees will be selected by company,
customers will be served in more efficient manner.
This will benefits the company in improving their
reputation in both national and international markets.
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P6 Mention desired recommendations after research & data analysis to attain meaningful
conclusions
As per above carried out data analysis, there are some facts and information which can be
recommended to the management and manager in M&Sso that they can achieve high growth
while operating in international market. Some of these recommendations are given below:
 Manager of the organization is recommended to adopt both during job and after job
training techniques to improve the working potential of staff. This will help M&Sin
having access to capable working staff.
 Business owner in M&Sis recommended to train their recruiters on regular basis so that
only capable and deserving candidates can be hired as employees.
 M&Sis given the recommendation of adopting modern technology and investing high in
business so that training of employee can be performed smoothly.
CONCLUSION
As per above discussed report, it can be concluded that managing a project successfully is
important for a firm to achieve high profits. Aims and objectives of project species a target
which is needed to be achieved by a company. With the help of activities like Gantt chart, WBS
and data analysis, important work and information can be accessed in a systematic manner. By
adopting given recommendations like investing high in training etc. a company can meet
international requirements properly.
TASK 4
P7 Reflection on different values identified during research to gain expected objectives
To gather required facts and knowledge, I have used both secondary and primary
techniques. This benefits me in getting relevant data in a simplified manner. By performing this
specific research, I was able to acknowledge the merits of improved recruitment, training and
selection process in success of organisation. While working on this research was time
management and communication skills. I have faced issues because of lack in analytical and
research skills along with shortage of funds. By overcoming these issues, I was able to
accomplish research on time and achieve high results.
Competency Ways by which I developed in Benefits of further
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this field improvements in this field
Analytical skills I have developed by analytical
skills by observing people near
me, reading books, asking
queries and practising hard to
improve my problem solving
skills.
This skill will benefit me in
taking right decisions and
resoling issues of team mated
while working in a group so
that effective results can be
gained.
Research skills These skills can be developed
by performing a targeted
internet search, reading about a
topic from different sources
like books, articles, journals
etc.
It will help me in gathering
only relevant data so that
effectiveness of my work can
increase and I can achieve wide
experiences for futuristic
growth.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Armstrong, M. B., Landers, R. N. and Collmus, A. B., 2016. Gamifying recruitment, selection,
training, and performance management: Game-thinking in human resource
management. In Emerging research and trends in gamification(pp. 140-165). IGI
Global.
Chang, V., Walters, R. J. and Wills, G., 2013. The development that leads to the Cloud
Computing Business Framework. International Journal of Information Management.
33(3). pp.524-538.
Fageha, M. K. and Aibinu, A. A., 2013. Managing project scope definition to improve
stakeholders’ participation and enhance project outcome. Procedia-Social and
Behavioral Sciences. 74. pp.154-164.
Glukhov, V. V., Ilin, I. V. and Levina, A. I., 2015, August. Project management team structure
for internet providing companies. In Conference on Smart Spaces .(pp. 543-553).
Springer, Cham.Keil, M., Lee, H. K. and Deng, T., 2013. Understanding the most critical skills
for managing IT projects: A Delphi study of IT project managers. Information &
management. 50(7). pp.398-414.
19

Martini, A., Pareto, L. and Bosch, J., 2013, June. Improving businesses success by managing
interactions among agile teams in large organizations. In International Conference of
Software Business (pp. 60-72).
Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.Patanakul, P., 2015. Key attributes of effectiveness in managing
project portfolio. International Journal of Project Management. 33(5). pp.1084-1097.
Scott, D. J., Ditroilo, M. and Marshall, P. A., 2017. Complex training: the effect of exercise
selection and training status on postactivation potentiation in rugby league players. The
Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. 31(10), pp.2694-2703.
Špundak, M., 2014. Mixed agile/traditional project management methodology–reality or
illusion?. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences. 119. pp.939-948.
Young, T. L., 2016. Successful project management. Kogan Page Publishers.
Kendrick, T., 2015. Identifying and managing project risk: essential tools for failure-proofing
your project. Amacom.
Buttrick, R., 2018. The project workout: The ultimate guide to directing and managing business-
led projects. Routledge.
Wen, Q. and Qiang, M., 2019. Project Managers’ Competences in Managing Project Closing.
Project Management Journal. 50(3). pp.361-375.
Online
What is a project management plan?. 2016. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.4pmti.com/blog/project-management-plan/>
20

Appendix 1
Project Logbook for the chosen
organisation:
Name of the learner: Name of the Supervisor:
Project Title: “How do multinational
companies improve the recruitment, selection
and training of their employees to meet
International requirements? A study on
Nestlé.
Date:
Update of weekly research/ tasks achieved
(Account for a minimum of six weeks with
dates) What have you completed?
 Did you fulfil Task requirements?
 Are you on track and within deadlines
set?
 Did you need to make any changes to
your project management plan?
Comments
I have worked on determining if
improvement for training, selection and
recruitment will be done whether it assists in
achieving international requirement.
Yes
yes, my work is on right track
No
Any risks and / or issues identified? Did you identify risks/issues with a
lack of skills required for undertaking
research tasks?
My analytical and research skills are weak

Did you identify any additional risks/issues
that have an impact on the project
management plan?
No, I did not face
2

Problems encountered What barriers did you face?
 How did you overcome them?
Lack of money
I have taken help from my parents, tutor and
friends
New Ideas and change of project direction No
What Have I learnt about myself this week? How did I feel when I had to deal with
tasks/problems?
 Did I find it useful to complete the
tasks? How well have I performed? What did
I contribute? What can I improve on next week? How might this learning apply in the
future?
I feel very bad and my motivation level was
low.
Yes, this benefits me in learning the right
way to conduct research
I have delivered by best performance
My skills to perform research efficiently can
be improved more next week.
It will assists me in performing future
research
Tasks planned for next week Which tasks are priority?
 Have you set aside sufficient time for
completion?
Gathering of Data and analysing it
By formulating a time schedule
Project plan status to date (on, ahead, behind)
Supervisor comments to address
3

Signature of the Supervisor and date:
Performance Review
What was the project supposed to accomplish?
Research is performed to identify if improvement in procedures like recruitment, training and
selection allow a company to attain success in global market or not.
Did the project succeed in its aims? How do you know? Specifically, please outline any
evaluation and assessment undertaken.
Yes, various objectives and associated aim for this project are attained. To evaluate them
questionnaire is prepared.
What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all aspects of the project (e.g. initial
inception, project activities and project outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
Collection of required data and analysing works well because of systematic questionnaire
filling by employees and customers. Different work done in project was creating objectives and
aims for project, working in accordance with Project Management Plan, formulating
questionnaire and analysing of data.
What problems emerged during the project and how were they tackled? Was there timely
identification of issues and resolution during the project process?
Lacking in analytical and research skill was faced. To overcome this issue, I have used
internet, read books and watch online sessions.
What did you learn from undertaking the project?
I have acknowledge appropriate method to recruit, select and train workers so that productivity
of company can increase.
How would you rate your performance as project manager?
4