Operations Management and Leadership in Marks & Spencer: A Case Study

Management & Operations
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task 1- Leadership. Management and Operations..........................................................................4
Task 2- Operations management and approaches...........................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................15
Reference List................................................................................................................................16
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Introduction
The role of management in any organization is to carry out the various activities regarding
decision-making and various policies. The policies govern the company and determine how well
the organizational structure will work. In the management structure, there is job allocation and
responsibility distribution based on the achievable targets in the long term and short term. The
role of operations is also a pivotal one as the business activities must be well-defined and
structured to make the most of the workforce. Operations and management together constitute a
major part of any organization and keep the company on track of growth. To maintain
sustainability in the ever-changing business scenario, it is important to incorporate all the key
aspects into the organizational structure and specifically lay planning.
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Task 1- Leadership. Management and Operations
1. Introduction to the organisation and its management structure.
The name of the organization is Marks & Spencer Limited, which is one of the leading retail
store chains in the UK retail business. It is a multinational retailer and has been in the market for
more than a century. The company started as a partnership between Michael Marks and Thomas
Spencer in the year 1884. The company has its headquarters in London, UK that is also the
country of its origin. The company specialises in the selling of clothing, food products and
luxury food products. In the current scenario, the company has presence over the globe with
retail stores all across the globe as mentioned by Drucker, (2017).
The management structure of M&S Ltd comprises of four executive directors and an eleven
person operating committee. The change in the management has been the result of slowdown in
the clothing department and the company is focussing on quicker decision making to address this
challenge. The international business department heads the environmental programme of M&S.
The operating committee is responsible for the day-to-day activities at the company as
mentioned by Drucker, (2012). The management structure is divide into the executive board,
audit committee, remuneration committee, nomination committee, disclosure committee,
property board, shares and dealing committee, fire, health, safety committee, business
involvement groups, customer insight unit and the business continuity committee. The executive
board is the highest authority and it is involved in every business activity of all the departments.
The second level of the management comprises of the audit committee that has the authority of
making the required public and financial decisions. The audit department is also responsible for
the risk management and the internal control in the organization.
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