Role of Line Managers and Leaders in Employee Development: A Case Study on Marks and Spencer

Research Proposal Form
Student Name: ................... Student ID: .................
Centre Name: .....................
Tutor: ................................ Date: ..............
Unit: .................................
Proposed Title: “Role of line managers and leaders in employee development. A case study
on Marks and Spencer.”
Section One: Title, objective, responsibilities
Introduction
Talent management is a significant component for any organization as it can contribute to
the overall success as well as growth. Talent management involves various HR processes
such as attracting, selecting as well as retaining employees within the workplace (Bani-
Hani, 2021). Apart from this, the different activities that are included in talent management
include performance management, learning and development, employee engagement,
recruiting as well as workforce planning. Noth line managers as well as team leaders play a
significant role in the overall development of employees. Organization chosen for the
respective report is Marks and Spencer, which is a leading retailer of clothing as well as
household products. The company is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and was
founded by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer in the year 1884. The company has a
large base of customers and operates across different geographic locations. The report
explains
Research aims
“To analyse the role of line managers and leaders in employee development. A case study
on Marks and Spencer.”
Research objectives
 To analyse the role of line managers and leaders in employee development.
 To understand the importance of talent management in the workplace.
 To identify the talent strategies that Marks and Spencer can implement to attract

and retain people.
Research questions
 What is the role of line managers and leaders in employee development?
 What is the importance of talent management in the workplace?
 What talent strategies can Marks and Spencer implement to attract and retain
people?
Section Two: Reasons for choosing this research project
Reasons for choosing the project (e.g links to other subjects you are studying,
personal interest, future plans, knowledge/skills you want to improve, why the
topic is important):
The primary rationale for undertaking this research is to analyze the role of line managers
as well as team leaders in employee development. this is because they can significantly
contribute to their overall success as well as performance (Festing and Schäfer, 2021).
Another rationale for the research is to understand the importance of talent management in
the workplace as well as the different strategies that the chosen organization can implement
in order to attract as well as retain people.
Section Three: Literature review
Use of key literature sources to support your research question, objective or
hypothesis:
Role of line managers and leaders in employee development
Line managers and leaders within an organization play a significant role in the
overall development of employees. For instance, they analyze the learning as well as
training needs of the employees and provide them with appropriate opportunities. Also, the
managers provide constructive feedback to their team members as this helps them in
developing an understanding about their individual strengths as well as areas of
improvement (Nangia and Dudeja, 2021). As a result, the employees can work on their
weaknesses in order to strengthen the same. Another important role played by the line
managers is that they motivate the employees in order to enhance their skills as well as
existing knowledge. The line managers and leaders act as mentors to the team members
and design employee development activities that are relevant and would be helpful for

them in enhancing the overall performance.
Importance of talent management in the workplace
Talent management is crucial for any place of job because it helps an organization
in attracting as well as maintaining personnel which might be high performing. Employees.
Not simplest this, effective talent, control inside the workplace lets in the employees to feel
engaged in addition to prompted towards their jobs. This leads to a boom within the basic
performance as well as productiveness of the employees as well as the enterprise. This is
also because the employees get an opportunity to develop new skills and enhance their
respective skills (Pocztowski, Pauli and Miś, 2020). Because of this, they can consider
staying with the company for a longer period of time rather than looking for opportunities
with the competitors. It can be said that talent management is important for both the
organization as well as the employees and ensures a higher level of performance within the
market.
Talent strategies can Marks and Spencer implement to attract and retain people
In order to attract as well as retain people, there are various talent strategies that the
chosen organization, Marks and Spencer can implement. For instance, the company can
conduct effective training so that the employees are able to enhance their overall existing
skills as well as develop new knowledge. Apart from this, detailed job descriptions should
be developed in order to make sure that only qualified and experienced candidates are
selected for the job. Marks and Spencer should measure the performance of the employee
from time to time so that any issues or problems are identified. Also, open communication
have to be maintained with the personnel in order that they may be capable of interact with
each different in an powerful manner. Therefore, it is able to be said that those are some of
the techniques that Marks and Spencer can enforce with a view to appeal to in addition to
maintain experienced candidates.
Section Four: Activities and timescales