Islamic HR Challenges in Modern Organizations

This assignment delves into the complexities of integrating human resource (HR) management practices within contemporary organizations while upholding Islamic principles. It examines various scholarly articles and resources that shed light on this topic, focusing on the unique considerations and potential conflicts that arise from these two influential frameworks.

DEVELOPING MARKETING
STRATEGY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.......................................................................................................................................................3
1.1..........................................................................................................................................................3
4.1..........................................................................................................................................................3
1.2..........................................................................................................................................................4
2.1..........................................................................................................................................................4
TASK 2.......................................................................................................................................................6
1.3..........................................................................................................................................................6
2.2..........................................................................................................................................................6
TASK 3.......................................................................................................................................................7
3.1 .........................................................................................................................................................7
4.1..........................................................................................................................................................8
4.3..........................................................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Organizational strategy comprises the goals and objectives of a business in a structural format.
Marketing strategy is considered as the base pillar for any plan (Abuznaid, 2009). The report will
investigate mission and vision, objectives, plans and strategies of “Mark & Spencer” (M&S) which is a
well settled brand in the market of clothing. There are many key factors that impacts on environment of
the organization . The report will also include strategic and marketing plans along with its approaches
and evaluation followed by the implementation of same over the corporation culture.
TASK 1
1.1
Strategies are the mechanisms used in achieving objectives, mission and vision of the
organization. Strategy is the outer frame according to which each and every plan within corporation is
prepared. They have many impacts on each and every functional area of the corporation. Like any other
firm, strategy of “Marks and Spencer” is having a high impact on its marketing plan. Company is using
high pricing strategy as it mostly deals in luxurious products (Ahmad, 2009). As per high pricing
strategy, organization will have to target the high level income group and also people who are having
high purchasing power. Accordingly, age category should will be considered as age defines the
purchasing habits. Company will have to make use of advertising mediums depending on the strategy
such as business magazines and internet.
Firm can also use low pricing strategy, for instance, “Penetrating pricing” to attract large
customer base. This is an initial stage model and benefits the organization while it keeps its first
footsteps in the target market for introducing fresh arrivals. The whole operational structure gets
affected from the strategies put in use and a need arises for company to update accordingly. Hence,
marketing plans too need modifications timely. In penetration pricing policy, products are launched at a
low price in market so as to retain new customers, so the marketing plan should be made according to
the strategy (Ali, 2010). A group of middle income should be targeted in this plan. Local mediums of
advertising and promotions can be put in use to reach at the maximum level of population.
Marketing plan
Market research:- At first, manager of the organization recogniezs product value and strategies of
business organization to face competition.
Planning:- After recognizing actual market position, strategies are prepared for implementing action to
increase productivity and profitability of organization.

Developing action plans:- Under this process, developing strategies are performed through effective
coordination of each employee regarding team building and proper working efficiency to reach out the
set goals.
Evaluation:- In this process, manager of the entity evaluates organization's performance critically. It is
helpful for creating balance and incraesing efficiency of business to strength business and competitive
strategies.
4.1
Strategy means a structural format of plans and procedures. So, strategic objectives are the
goals to be achieved for successful and smooth functioning of any business organization. These goals
should be prioritized as per their importance in the long-run of business activities. “Marks and
Spencer” being a multinational brand has adopted a well-built structural format for achieving its
strategic objectives (Andonova and Zuleta, 2007).
Plans plays a crucial role as it supports in attaining strategic objectives of an organization within
stipulated time period and predetermined budget in the desired manner. For example: marketing
innovative products in the target market is one of the strategic goals of firm. Through proper planning,
company will have the knowledge of all prerequisites for launching new product or innovation in the
market. A plan should be prepared with considering the points such as target market, pricing policy for
new arrival, promotional activities and advertising techniques as well as the place product with its best
effect over customers can be launched (Gary, 2011). A plan also prepares organization for competitor’s
strategies. So accordingly, company will make its move to beat the competition. Including this,
marketing plan is essential for reaching out strategic objectives efficiently. In this regard, marketing
manager of Marks and Spencer recognizes place for managing inventories and providing products to
customers in easy and convenient manner. However, under this process, place related to producing
effective services of consumer is concentrated that is helpful for strategic management of organization
also remains helpful for achieving customer satisfaction at high level. It influences productivity and
profitability of entity for providing effective services and making place in competitive market.
1.2
Marks and Spencer has made a positive and strong brand image in market with the help of its
effectual plans and strategies. Following are some of the vital components which are essential for a
marketing plan of organization:-
 Research is the initial step before making any business plan. So, in case of marketing plan, the

first step to be taken is to conduct the market research. It serves as the base for plan. An
organization should have proper knowledge regarding factors like income level of customers,
their purchasing habits, current market position and size of target area.
 Another element is segmentation and targeting (Gaughey and Gunasekaran, 2007). A
corporation should focuses on target market including all categories of customers on which the
plan is prepared.
 Positioning is the third important component in company's marketing plan. Perception of
consumers towards the brand of organization defines its actual position in the minds of target
customers. Plan should be attractive and eye-seeker in order to capture attention of the target
market. Competition is the biggest threat faced by any organization. Company should be well
known about competitor’s plans and strategies used by them like about marketing and
promotional tactics and the target market aimed by them.
However, through above mentioned process, it is determined that different ideas are egenrated
for analyzing market position and product value for facing competition and sustaining its position in
market. It is interrelated with effective marketing strategies as well maximum level of consumer
satisfaction can be obtained. In this regard, several techniques are applied for attracting consumers and
sustaining good reputation of firm in market for long term efficiency. For this process, using
advertising techniques are required for online marketing and increasing in demand that imapcts on
productivity of entity.
2.1
As strategic business objectives are the main components for smooth functioning of an
organization, plan also goes side-by-side with these goals (Keating and Olivares, 2007). Without proper
plan, no objective of any business enterprise can be fulfilled. Competition is an approach of comparing
business performance with other company's activities which provides similar facilities. It is useful for
generating different ideas to make place in market and increasing strength for facing competition
effectively.
Following table contains the analyzed summary of importance of plans in components of strategic
objectives:
Market research Market research is the survey carried out on
customer’s needs, tastes, preferences and habits.

Survey also includes strategies and plans which
are to be adopted by the competitors. Market
research plays a significant role in developing
the plans and strategies of organization. It is
important because it gives total knowledge about
the customer’s preferences and needs and thus,
prove to be helpful in producing goods
accordingly.
Market segment It is one of the most significant factors as it helps
the corporation in knowing targeted audience. If
company is well aware about the market in
advance then it will be easier for them to develop
the plans accordingly (Lin, Peng. and Kao,
2008). Cost of operations will also be reduced as
organization comes to know about exact budget
that has to be spent.
Positioning Position of brand defines the image of product in
the minds of customers. Positioning is important
as if the brand image is good then company can
launch new products on higher price and vise-
versa if the products are not so popular,
organization needs to do changes and
modification.
TASK 2
1.3
A successful business is totally based on high risk factor which is a key constituent of an
organization and also, a main component in the long-run success of corporation. Risk is a double-edged
sword that should be taken in such a way that there will not be any chances of self-harm. Professional
and a proper formatted plan should be made to tackle the risks. Although, all harms cannot be identified

in advance but a strong shield can be built in order to face the obstacles (Mathis and et.al, 2016).
Potential or the capabilities of a business should be increased and for the same, strategies must be
developed accordingly.
The selected audience or the target market can become a risk for M&S in order to achieve
company’s objectives. A miscalculation or an incomplete research report can create issues for the
marketing plan. Not concentrating much on customers and about their needs and wants can prove to be
problematic. “Marks and Spencer” should prepare a complete survey report including consumer’s
needs, wants, perceptions, views and thoughts regarding the products of corporation. Branding is also
one of the particular forms of list of the risks which can be faced by a company. Mostly, this problem is
in the case of new launch of firm who just have settled their first footstep in the market. Customers take
time to build their perceptions and views and to have trust on the product. So, this is an issue of risk
mostly for new products in the business line. Modernization and globalization have brought many
drastic changes and trends in the market which just keep on updating and changing day-by-day
(Petrescu and Simmons, 2008). Marks and Spencer needs to keep this factor on priority basis so as to
keep themselves run smoothly in the market with competitors and also, to retain the existing customers
and attract new ones.
There are risks occur for implementing marketing plan such as improper market plan,
imbalanced production and distribution of products, obtaining uncertain changes and risks related to
marketing strategies that is considered as a challenge for Marks and Spencer. It is determined that
analyzing systematic market research and preparing strategies are task for gaining customer attraction
towards services provided by firm. In this regard, business and competitive strategies get impacted.
However, marketing manager of entity can overcome these risks through reducing volume and
handling pressure effectively. In accordance to this, it is required for organization to following on
prepared strategies to reach out set objectives.
Tracking the success is an important and tough task and the corporation should have a defined
path in advance to reach at its final objectives and goals. If organization would not have any type of
tracking system then it can create problems as risks cannot be predicted and accordingly, corrective
measures cannot be taken. This mechanism shows the reason because of which sale’s graph fluctuates
and plans and strategies are used. Thus, in order to make a marketing plan successful, it has to first
identify all risks and need to take steps in order to remove the same.
2.2
Methodologies and systematized plans used in order to reduce the effects of risks is known as

mitigation. Risk reduction is a system which can be used by “Marks and Spencer” in order to face and
tackle the upcoming threats and barriers. This mechanism proves itself as a cover or a shield which
protects and prepares the organizations from risk factors (Phillips, 2009). Target market is the most
common risk factor faced by an organization and in order to tackle from this threat a corporation
should use a set of systems and strategies. The company should set a team of experts or researchers to
carry out a survey on the audience's tastes, preferences, likes, needs, demands and wants. Hence, it is
obtained that target market is crucial for reducing risk occurs at workplace regarding marketing plan.
Under this process, proper research, segmentation and position of products is done effectively to gain
customer satisfaction and providing them required services to increase in demand and increasing
business as well competitive strategies of firm.
Establishing high goodwill and a strong brand image of the product in market and in minds of
customers is the toughest task for a business entity. Building trust and a positive thinking about brand is
very much important in order to become successful. It will be valuable for long term sustainability of
organization to increase competitive strategy. In this regard, various advertising tools are utilized for
attracting customers and maintaining their attraction towards brand effectiveness. Firm needs to carry
out the promotional activities in such a way that it should leave a great impact on the minds of
customers. Apart from that, new innovations should be brought up regularly in order to retain the
existing customer base of Marks and Spencer. Change in marketing trends and human tastes and
preferences is one of the biggest risk factors for organization. Tastes and habits of consumers keep on
changing on regular basis, thus, in order to cope up with the issue, corporation should keep on updating
its marketing data and research. They should have a proper knowledge about the changing trends in
market as well as in policies and norms regulated by the government.
Goals and objectives of firm are planned in advance by the management team. Accordingly,
way to reach there, expected duration of reaching along with the systems and mechanisms to be used in
this process should be defined by the team (Quader, 2007). A proper research should be carried out on
tracking system in order to check whether is the plan proves to be fruitful or not.
TASK 3
3.1
Following is systematic construction of the marketing plan of “Marks and Spencer” which is
explained below:
According to the structural format the “Objectives” are considered to be the first most
component in the list of the marketing plan of the organization (Sims, 2007). They are the base pillars

as without defining the goals, the path to reach them can't be framed out. Main objective if the
organization is to achieve the largest market share as compared to the past era. It is approximately
estimated to be more than 10% from the last five years. Profit maximization have been as always the
basic motive but in addition to this the customer satisfaction to the extreme limits should be added to
the priority list. Moreover environment degradation have become a social and global issue, so
considering that the organization should launch new Eco-friendly innovations and products. Health is
wealth and this is one more important objective which should be introduced in the marketing plan.
“Marks and Spencer” being a premium products brand seller, is using the “High pricing
strategy”. According to this strategy the organization should target the high income group and
population with high purchasing power. Creating a new market share in a totally different region by
using penetrating pricing policy can be proved more useful for the organization. Bringing innovations
and improvements in the products and also launching supportive brands to enhance the quality and
image of the existing goods. Competitive strategies are designed by carrying out a survey on the
competitors SWOT analysis and thus using their weaknesses as plus points for the organization and
developments in the business on the basis of their strengths.
A company's performance and its image is based on the products and the outputs. So the goods
should be designed or produced in such a manner that they are able in satisfying the needs and desires
of the customers. The organization is in producing premium and luxurious products and should
innovations in the same in order to retain the target market. The company should launch some
environmental friendly products (Svelik and Starrov‐Costea. 2007). While producing these goods they
should take in notice that while consumption the products should not create any harm to the health of
the customers and the environment.
Promotional activities are the most important factor in influencing the target market. The
organization should adopt the promotional activities according to the products and its value or the
image. For instance , the premium products should be promoted through the means of business
magazines, internet, hoardings social media and also the organization can appoint a promotion team to
do the advertising personally.
Pricing is the most connective component of a marketing plan. Management team of the
organization decides the price of a product . “ Marks and Spencer” being a premium product seller
should mainly focus on producing and selling of luxurious items. Pricing plans should be prepared by
taking into consideration the buyers habits and purchasing power.

Marketing manager of Marks and Spencer prepares marketing plan related to a systematic
planning procedure can describe as:-
Preparing market plan:- At first, systematic market research is conducted to increase
profitability and gaining customer satisfaction at high level. It includes overall identification of entire
business performance.
Setting objectives and planning for further operations:- After analyzing actual business
performance, marketing manager of retail sector organization sets target and prepares planning
including decision for business operations in further years. Therefore, effective planning strategies is
obtained to be implemented to gain effectiveness. In addition to this, product quality and expenses are
foretasted for increasing business and competitive strategies of firm efficiently.
Pricing:- After manufacturing and determining the product's factor, price determination is
obviated that includes demand based, competition based determinants. In this regard, as per the entire
tools, price for affordable and adequacy is recognized through this planning procedure.
Place:- Under this system, place to provide goods and services to customers easily are analyzed.
Therefore, different techniques are used for determining place to produce products in easy and
convenient manner. Including this, for online marketing, providing goods and services in proper timing
according to order is decided for gain proper customer satisfaction.
Promotion;- Through this system, after determining all marketing essentials and launching
product in market, goods are promoted to increase in demand through advertising techniques such as
TV, radio, newspaper, magazine etc. Therefore, promotion and advertisement of products is obtained to
increase productivity and profitability of firm at large scale.
4.1
Following is the survey of marketing team of “Marks and Spencer” which is carried out on the
basis of above constructed plan to get the approval of management team:
“SWOT” analysis is carried out by the marketing team for plan (Utherford and Holt, 2007).
The motive of survey was to find out strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of competitors.
The four pillars (S.W.O.T) of analysis are explained respectively. Strengths of competitors are kept on
top priority in this list. Marks and Spencer has built a strong goodwill in the eyes of customers. The
second strength is their substitutes and complementary products who play a supportive role in
promoting their main offerings. The weakness is that employee turnover is quite high which increases
the cost of operations which leads to unnecessary increase in the prices of products. Third element in

SWOT analysis is opportunities that firm has in the markets where it is operating. Building and
expansion of a new target market for the launch of new product in developing countries is from one of
the upcoming opportunities for competitors along with bringing diversification in existing products.
Fourth pillar is the threats which Marks and Spencer has associated with its business. Intense
competition is the most common threat faced by firm. Apart from that, changing trends of market also
affect the performance of organization. On the basis of above analysis, plan is made accordingly which
suits the business environment and will get comfortably settled in the structure of the business
operations of the corporation.
The other particular in this survey is the ways in which weaknesses of competitors have been
converted into strengths. As the competitors are facing high rate of employee turnover, so Marks and
Spencer should focus on retaining staff and its workforce. In order to do so, firm should launch some
incentive schemes regularly, carry out motivational training, building good relations with employees by
one-on-one communication process and involving and engaging them in decision making process. This
will increase their interest in the work because they will feel themselves as an important part of
organization's culture. Other weakness is intense competition from its rivalries. “Marks and Spencer”
should build the strategic objectives according to the weakness of competitors so as to turn them as a
plus point for itself. One more weakness of the firm is less diversification in product’s range. So now,
organization should focus on producing a wide and diversified range of different brands on a fair price.
Diversification will bring an increase in the share of target market of organization.
Thus, actual market value of organization is obtained by using SWOT analysis tool that includes
strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat for marketing strategies. Including this, various aspects
are recognized for making place of products in market. However, strength presents positive factor to be
maintained as well weaknesses to be reduced. Moreover, opportunities to be grabbed and threats to
overcome. Therefore, proper business structure is created through this analysis to increase its
competitive and marketing strategies.
4.3
Marketing plan of “Marks and Spencer” is evaluated on the basis of following points:
Professional advice A team of professionals is hired by each and
every business organization. They are the
authorities who provide expert advice on the

decisions related to managerial activities. Team
will carry out an internal survey on the plan
which will include the components such as
budget that must be within the prescribed limits
given by organization. Plan should be
environmental friendly and must be suitable
with the working culture of corporation. Along
with that, it shouldn't have any kind of negative
impacts on the working process of employees
and other operational activities in enterprise.
They can also provide consultancy in proper
utilization of resources for the betterment and
success of plan. Moreover, for better
improvements, expert’s advice will be fruitful
for the plan.
Top management’s suggestions Managerial teams can also provide their
valuable thoughts and ideas in the evaluation of
plan as they are the most knowledgeable
authorities in organization who possess the
information and details regarding operational
structure of business entity.
Reviews from the marketing plans
implemented in past
This is the best way of self-checking. The
marketing team should cross refer the plans
made in past. This will improve their quality of
research and they will get to know their
mistakes and improvements required.
Customer’s survey A research can be carried out by targeting
customers. In this survey, focus should be
given on the reviews of target people and
clients. A remark column should be maintained
in order to record reviews for the betterment of

plan.
Hence, by following above mentioned tools and advice are beneficial for enhancing marketing
and competitive strategies of entity. Through these techniques effective customer satisfaction and
valuable position of organization in market can be determined for long term period. Thus, profit
maximization and high level of demand for goods and services can be obtained efficiently.
CONCLUSION
In the above report, importance of marketing is discussed and major emphasis is given on the
ways to make a marketing plan successful. The report has explained about the marketing plan, its tool
and implementation. It has been shown here that for the growth and success of company, it is necessary
to opt an effectual marketing strategy. A proper marketing plan is useful for carrying out business in a
smooth way. Customers are considered as the king of market and therefore, it is necessary to do the
promotion of products and services so that clients can approach corporate easily. Thus, report has
assessed that for increasing the sales of a particular product and service, it is essential to have a good
marketing plan.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Abuznaid, S., 2009, “Business ethics in Islam: the glaring gap in practice”, International Journal of
Islamic and Middle Eastern Finance and Management, 2(4), pp. 278‐88
Ahmad, K., 2009, “Leadership and work motivation from the cross cultural perspective”, International
Journal of Commerce and Management, 19(1), pp. 72‐84
Ali, A., 2010, “Islamic challenges to HR in modern organisations”, Personnel Review, 39(6)
Budhwar, P. and Mellahi, K., 2007, “Introduction: human resource management in the Middle
East”, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(1), pp. 2‐10
Andonova, V. and Zuleta, H., 2007, “The effect of enforcement on human resources practices”,
International Journal of Manpower, 28(5), pp. 344‐53
Gary, D., 2011. Human Resource Management. Pearson Education India
Gaughey, R. and Gunasekaran, A., 2007, “Enterprise resource planning (ERP): past, present and
future”, International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems, 3(3), pp. 23‐35
Keating, M. and Olivares, M., 2007, “Human resource management: practices in Irish high‐tech start‐
up firms”, Journal of Management, 28(2), pp. 171‐92
Lin, C. Peng, C. and Kao, D., 2008, “The innovativeness effect of market orientation and learning
orientation on business performance”, International Journal of Manpower, 29(8), pp. 752‐72
Mathis, R. and et.al., 2016. Human Resource Management. Cengage Learning
Petrescu, A. and Simmons, R., 2008, “Human resource management practices and workers' job
satisfaction”, International Journal of Manpower, 29(7), pp. 651‐67
Phillips, J., 2009. Accountability in Human Resource Management. Routledge
Quader, M., 2007, “Human resource management issues as growth barriers in professional service firm
SMEs”, Journal of Services Research, 7(2), pp. 115‐61
Sims, R., 2007. Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities.
IAP
Svelik, I. and Starrov‐Costea, E. 2007, “Connecting human resources management and knowledge
management”, International Journal of Manpower, 28(3/4), pp. 197‐206
Utherford, M. and Holt, D., 2007, “Corporate entrepreneurship: an empirical look at the innovativeness
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[Accessed on 12th August 2016]