Strategic Management: M&S Case Study

This report provides an overview of strategic management in the context of Marks and Spencer (M&S). It covers topics such as M&S background information, methods of development, leadership style, and change management. The report also discusses M&S's sustainability program, Plan A, and provides recommendations for the future.

Strategic Management

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
M&S - Background Information......................................................................................................1
Methods of Development.................................................................................................................2
Leadership Style...............................................................................................................................3
Change Management.......................................................................................................................4
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RECOMENDATIONS...............................................................7
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Strategic management is an important component for a company because it provides
direction and helps in ensuring that the work is done in an effective manner. For the report
purpose the company taken is; Marks and Spencer Plc. M&S was established in 1884 by Michael
Marks and Thomas Spencer. The company has nearly 80,000 employees working for it and have
helped it in conducting various business activities in an effective manner (Key Facts, 2021). As
of now, Marks and Spencer currently has 1,519 stored globally and operates in approximately 62
markets internationally.
M&S - Background Information
The company is one of the UK’s leading retailer. The brand focus on bringing quality and
great value in food items, clothing and different home based products to millions of customers
around the world. The main objective of company is the transformation programme, making
company special again into the market, restoring the business into sustainable manner, high
return growth in upcoming years. Company have set nine pillars and aimed them to work out in
three phases (Annual Report 2020). The pillars are :
 Modify the leadership
 Create great accountability
 Growing as digital retailer
 Reconstructing the ranges and customer profile in clothing line
 Protect the brilliancy and modernising the food line
 Reconstructing High Returning growth at international level
 Making a standard quality store that fit for the prospect
 Streamline the food and clothing and home supply chains
 Minimize the operational cost
These key pillars are divided into phases to achieve them strategically. These are
Bringing back the basics, Moulding the future and making company special in the market. Thus
phases include, restoring the primary of the organisation and infrastructure to reform the
company into a low-cost, more privatize, faster and digital business. Company have made plans
to improve relationship with their suppliers to ensure that their products maintain the standard
and quality provide the appropriate platform that promote growth in the later.
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Methods of Development
Marks and Spencer is a brand that is widely known for the variety of its products as well
as service across the world. It can be said that the growth of the company externally is much
more than it is internally. Due to this, the company has been facing a lot of issues lately. For
example, the customers are facing issues with the service. Also, the employees are not
committed or engaged to their jobs due to which their overall performance along with the
position of the company is getting affected. Therefore, the company is now planning to adopt
various methods in order to develop its overall business (Andreeva and et.al., 2018). Marks and
Spencer can close the stores whose lease is about to end and instead, set up new stores. Apart
from this, the company is planning on changing the format of its stores so that customers get a
seamless shopping experience. The company can also provide training and development to its
employees so that they get an opportunity to develop new skills and at the same time, enhance
their existing knowledge.
The methods of development that have been described above, are of significance as they
will help the company in enhancing its overall business. Not only this, the company will also get
to learn and implement new strategies so as to stand out in the market. Marks and Spencer has
also set up a strategic alliance with Ocado, under which the later’s aim is to become a joint
venture. Marks and Spencer acquired half of the retail operations of Ocado, which is one of the
largest online retailers in the world. This partnership will help in strengthening the brand of
Marks and Spencer. This partnership has a strategic significance to the respective company
because it will be able to develop its business further and also, reach out to a greater number of
customers in an effective manner. Also, this partnership has provided Marks and Spencer with a
food delivery service for the very first time (de Lourdes Marques, Alledi Filho and Pereira,
2018). Each of these methods is important for the company and has helped it in developing
important strategies in order to stand out in the market and gain a competitive advantage. This is
because, for example, by providing training, Marks and Spencer will be able to enhance its
overall performance and this is because the employees will be committed to and engaged in their
respective jobs.
Therefore, it can be said that there are various positive effects of the company’s methods
of development. For example, the managers as well as leaders within the workplace are able to
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take more informed decisions and promote teamwork within the workplace. Due to this, they are
able to reach out to a greater number of potential customers.
Leadership Style
Leadership in organisation refers to managing of an organisation, where leaders who
assume their responsibility to take charge of the company and play a significant role in
maintaining the overall operations of the company. In early of 19th century, there were have
been studies on focusing on personality traits and behaviour of individuals and what traits or
qualities make them different from others to identify as a leaders. And then later on different
behavioural theories, contingency theory, and attribution theory have begun to study the
leadership theories at organisational level (Dess and et. al., 2019).
In the company, the Chief Executive has extensive experience on all parts of the business
that is more than 25 years in the company. By 2016 announcement was made that Steve was
promoted to Chief Executive Officer at the company. Company's organisational culture influence
it leadership style within the company. M&S known as the most engaging, involving workplace
in UK retail sector. The company emphasize on fast working pace, commission organisation and
organisational structure considered as flat which provide opportunity for every people of M&S.
The structure is set down on following basis:
 Changing the organisation design to a equally accountable businesses to manage
ownership and pace.
 Making receptive, empowered and business leaders who are close to the front-line.
 Lay down the view of the units back at the heart of the business.
 Create a culture of ordinary communication.
 Working on such organisation structure that greet difference in opinions, problems and
also respects all employees equally.
Archie Norman is the Chairman of Marks and Spencer and he has a coaching style of
leadership. This type of leadership style involves facilitating the employees within the company
and understanding their individual motivations. The Chairman of the company has always
encouraged the employees to share their ideas and thoughts (Ertek and et.al., 2017). The
employees within the company consider Archie Norman to be a good leader.
Leadership style follows in the company is Transactional leadership,also termed as
managerial leadership. This type of leadership emphasis on the role of individual in the
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organization, supervision and group performance of the company's employees at each level.
Leaders who adopt this type of style in leadership, they focus on assigned tasks and use
award and can reprimanded if needed to inspire their employees. In transactional leadership
works in a way, in which award and reprimanded are based on the functioning of the employees
in organisation. It is the duty of leader to check on the relation between authority in person and
their subordinates share good communication. That means, one have to give something in return
of something. When employees perform well as tasks delegated, they receive rewards. If
employees performed bad or not up to the expected mark, they can be punished in some way.
Laws, regulations and standards are important in Transactional type of leadership.
Due to transformation in leadership at M&S, the new designation at higher levels and
organisational efficiency have enhance the flow of upcoming talent with proficiency in key areas
such as design, technology and data will increase the ability to deliver sustainable growth for all
the company's stakeholders. Now the role of the employees are more clear. Company have
developed few set of objectives that have made similar behaviours, with required training to help
employees. The welfare of those objectives are now being understand. The new ethics can help
in strengthening the governing process which support sectional policies, technical and standard
procedures which assist and protect the stakeholders of the organisation. Situational leadership is
another type of leadership wherein the manager or leader adopts the most appropriate leadership
style based on the situation within the workplace. This is a common type of leadership that is
usually observed among leaders across different companies, including Marks and Spencer.
Change Management
Change Management term means to the altering or changing people, groups, companies
and projects from one position to another position. On business point of view this refers to a
process of changing the overall extent of the company in a way that it can meet changes and able
to fulfil the objectives. There are number of benefits of change management, that is it help to
increase the chances of a companies to stay on their schedule which in return can lead to high
return on investments and realization of numerous benefits. Change management is an
continuing process which means it takes time to fully developed (Belyh. 2019). It involve all the
employees of the company and sometimes any changes thus affecting these people also as they
are part of the whole process. There are different popular change management models are there.
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As per organization's need leaders must analyse them and try to draw out why it require the
changes and how these changes will benefit them.
Change Kaleidoscope
The Change Kaleidoscope was developed by Balogun and Hope Halley and it comprises
of an outer as well as inner ring. This model is basically developed to assist the process of
change management within the company (Karpenko and et.al., 2019). The outer ring in the
model explains the organizational contextual features, whereas the internal ring includes the
change of path, change style, change point as well as change roles.
Time – It is the duration between which the change needs to be implemented within the
organization.
Scope – Scope refers to the degree of changes that can be separated into transformation
as well as realignment.
Preservation – It comprises of the different assets of the business and other characteristics
that the company needs to retain during the change process.
Diversity – The level of differences among the different employees across the various
departments.
Capability – This refers to the capability of the company to implement change and its
ability as well.
Capacity – The number of resources that are needed in order to implement the change in
an effective manner.
Readiness – The level of awareness among employees to adopt themselves to change and
implement the same.
Power – The power required to initiating the process of change in the workplace.
The components of inner ring are as follows –
Change Path – The different types of changes that are categorized based on different
factors such as nature, adaptation and reconstruction.
Change start point – The point from where the change is initiated such as top down,
bottom-up changes and pilot sites etc.
Change Style – The way in which change is managed within the company and this can
include collaboration, direction, participation etc.
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Change Target – There are three types in which change is categorized such as output,
behaviour as well as values.
Change Levers – This consists of the change lever and level of intervention that is need
for the change to be implemented effectively (Karpenko and et.al., 2019).
At M&S the leader have analyse the changes and proposed that these new transitions will
reduce layers in management. With effective use of technologies, their insight will empower
organisation management roles more promising on the customer and may enable increased time
on the shop floor. Under this new changes, every store manager will have full authority in
manage customer service, profit and loss and ownership. Therefore this can lead a high
performing employees and can ensure the standard of the brand.
Sustainability
M&S's Plan A is sustainability program which making way to building upcoming
sustainable future. The plan is to become a business which qualify their users to have a positive
impact on communities, well-being and different parts of the world where company performs.
Plan A of the company is years of sustainability transformation program that has been refurbish
many times (2010, 2014 and 2017) to reflect the evolution of the organisation. It is the risks and
opportunities that make environment for the company. The Plan A of Marks and Spencer have
divided into three areas that planed to focus i.e. People, Product and Planet. Each areas have it
sub focus areas such as:
People area;
 Respecting every individual rights and fight modern slavery
 Promote employment and so on.
Product
 Maintain raw materials
 Less wastage in food etc.
Planet
 3Rs in packaging of the product
 No wastage and much more
The company has developed Plan A in order to implement effective strategies that are
sustainable. The main objective of this plan is to ensure that the overall negative impact on the
environment is reduced to a great extent. The company aims to convert the packaging of most of
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its products to sustainable packaging. Besides this, Marks and Spencer has also ensured that the
greenhouse gas emissions is reduced. This strategy is important for the company because the
customers are increasingly becoming conscious about the environment and the harm caused to it.
Therefore, they are looking for products that are sustainable and not very expensive for the
customers as well. As a result, the management of the company has developed the Plan A to
ensure that all business operations are sustainable up to a significant level in the coming five
years.
CONCLUSION AND FUTURE RECOMENDATIONS
From above report it is observed that company is much more focused on its business than
ever before. The pandemic situation worked as a opportunity for M&S. Company is dedicated to
be prove fruitful with their new change management model. And believed to have success in the
upcoming years of the business. Since M&S is the leading company in the UK and therefore it
have competitive position in clothing and lingerie market which is remarkable but its position in
the food market seem not good enough. The respective company is also recommended to
promote team building in the workplace. This will help it in increasing its overall performance as
well as gain a competitive advantage in the market. Therefore, company need to be focus on their
food section also. M&S for their sustainable prospective growth and to maintain its competitive
advantages company can more focus on introducing more quality products and increase its
number of stores in different locations. Company needs to maintain the prices of their products
and invest more in marketing. The company is also recommended to make sure that the
employees do no show any resistance towards the change. This is because it can affect the
overall quality of the company’s performance in the market. Also, with the help of sustainable
strategy, the company will be able to attract a greater number of people.
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REFRENCES
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management of stakeholders in civil construction. Brazilian Journal of Operations &
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Eden, C. and Ackermann, F., 2013. Making strategy: The journey of strategic management.
Sage.
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semantic networks. Information Systems Frontiers, 19(1), pp.165-185.
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integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
Karpenko, L. and et.al., 2019. Strategic management of entrepreneurship based on smart
technologies. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 22(5), pp.1-6.
Parnell, J. A., 2013. Strategic management. Sage.
Stead, J. G. and Stead, W. E., 2013. Sustainable strategic management. ME Sharpe.
Online
Annual Report 2020 - Marks & Spencer. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/annualreport>
Belyh. A., 2019. Major approaches models of change management. [Online]. Available
through:< https://www.cleverism.com/major-approaches-models-of-change-management/
Key Facts. 2021. [Online]. Available through:<
https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/investors/key-facts >.
Tugby. L., 2018. Retail Week Live: M&S boss Steve Rowe on Its digital transformation.
[Online]. Available through:<https://www.retail-week.com/stores/mands-boss-steve-
rowe-on-its-digital-transformation/7028584.article?authent=1
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