Marks and Spencer: Strategy, Enterprise and Innovation

RUNNING HEAD: MARKS & SPENCER
STRATEGY, ENTERPRISE AND INNOVATION

MARKS AND SPENCER 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Analysis of the organization’s resources and capabilities..........................................................2
Competitive advantage...........................................................................................................2
VRIO Analysis.......................................................................................................................2
Value chain analysis...............................................................................................................3
SWOT analysis.......................................................................................................................4
External environment analysis...................................................................................................6
PESTEL analysis....................................................................................................................6
Industry analysis.........................................................................................................................7
Porter’s five forces model......................................................................................................7
PARTS model........................................................................................................................8
Value net model.....................................................................................................................9
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................11

MARKS AND SPENCER 2
Introduction
In this report, Marks and Spencer is chosen to fulfil the given requirements. Marks and
Spencer is based in United Kingdom. Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer founded the
company in the year 1884. It is a recognized multinational company offering wide variety of
food, clothing, and homeware (Marks and Spencer , 2019). It is a leading company as it has
1463 stores in 57 countries (Marks and Spencer, 2019). It is included in the ‘Lifestyle and
Retail’ sector and forms the part of top innovative companies in the United Kingdom (Fast
Company , 2019). The initial section of the report focuses on the resources and capabilities
that provide competitive advantage to the Marks and Spencer Company. Additionally, it also
involves the application of VRIO, Value chain and SWOT analysis. The next section
emphasizes on determining the key drivers of change in the external environment (United
Kingdom) and their impact on entrepreneurial activities of Mark and Spencer. In order to
identify changes and analyse the external environment, Porter’s five-force model, PARTS
and Value Net Model is applied. The key purpose of the report is to upgrade the knowledge
based on the given title. It also provides an opportunity to apply the managerial concepts on a
real life organization named Marks and Spencer.
Analysis of the organization’s resources and capabilities
Competitive advantage
It refers a company's ability to outperform rivals due to unique, high demand, or superior
quality products or services (Noe, 2017). Following are the points helping the M&S in
gaining competitive advantage.
1. It provides excellent customer service. Through digital channels, it provides 24*7
services resulting in early solution of customer’s queries and problems (M&S
Careers , 2018).
2. Innovation is highly essential to gain competitive advantage (Bessant & Tidd, 2011).
It lays prior attention towards brand management and innovation. Thus, it helps the
M&S in acquiring a place in the mind of the customers (Hodgon , 2017).
3. It has initiated the use of sustainable practices in its business activity. Thus, it helps
the M&S in emerging as a sustainable organization (Marks and Spencer , 2019).

MARKS AND SPENCER 3
VRIO Analysis
This framework evaluates the resources of a business organization. These are as follows:
1. Financial resources
2. Human resources
3. Material resources
4. Non material resources (SMI, 2019)
Considering the human resource of the M&S, their total employees are around 80000
(Corporate.Marksandspencer, 2019). Its human resource is considered as its strength as they
assist the brand in offering quality service to its customers. Its human resource fulfils all the
four criteria of VRIO analysis. It is ‘valuable’ as it helps the M&S in generating revenue and
efficiently dealing with the customers. It is ‘rare’ as it employees highly skilled and educated
individuals that has the capacity to raise the revenue of M&S. It is inimitable as it provides
specific trainings to its human resource based on their personal development. Thus, making it
difficult for the competitors to attain employees similar to M&S’s (Glassdoor, 2019). Lastly,
it is organized as the M&S has developed effective rules, policies, and organization structure
that enable maximum utilization of its Human resource. Thus, M&S’s human resource
provides sustained competitive advantage to the brand.
Value chain analysis
It involves division of various activities of a business and analysing their contribution
towards the final product. As per the Value chain analysis, business activities are divided
under two heads:
1. Primary activities
2. Support activities (Business Jargons , 2019)
M&S primary activities include inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing,
sales, and service. Considering marketing, M&S is highly engaged in promoting its products
via digital channels. It also develops the use of social media like Facebook and Instagram. It
has developed its profile to easily connect to its potential customers and provide them
information about current offers, discounts, and coupons on its products. It performs such
activity to attract customers and retain their attention (Joseph, 2019).
Human resource management, infrastructure, and technology are considered as M&S’s
support activities. This is because they assist in performing the primary activities.