Strategic Management of Marks and Spencer

This report provides an in-depth understanding of the strategic management process of Marks and Spencer, focusing on the role of HR in achieving strategic objectives. It covers external and internal analysis, identification of competitive strategies, and strategic directions for the company. The report also includes an overview of Marks and Spencer, its external environment analysis using the Five Forces Model and PESTLE analysis, and internal analysis using the VRIO framework. The competitive strategies discussed in the report aim to help Marks and Spencer gain a competitive edge in the market.

STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................4
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................4
Overview about the organisation ...............................................................................................4
External analysis ........................................................................................................................5
Internal analysis .........................................................................................................................8
Identification of competitive strategies ....................................................................................10
Strategic directions ...................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ............................................................................13
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................15
Books and Journal ....................................................................................................................15

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Strategic management can be termed as an extremely significant competent that involves
the constant planning as well as implementation of strategies that can render growth as well as
development of the business enterprise. The human resources also play a vital role in the
assistance of the strategies formed by the business institutions. The aim of the report is to
provide clear and in depth understanding about the strategic management process of Marks and
Spencer and the efforts of its HR team in order help the firm to accomplish its strategic
objectives in an efficient manner.
INTRODUCTION
Strategic management can be defined as an integral process of management that
facilitates an appropriate path to the business enterprises so as to accomplish their long and short
team objectives. Strategic management allows the business institutions to acquire and optimise
strategic benefits over their potential competitors or rivals within the business environment. The
concerned report highlights upon the strategic management process of Marks and Spencer and
the contribution of HR personnel in the same (Ketchen and Craighead, 2020). The success and
the stability of the business firm depends upon the actions and behaviours of the manpower
facilitating their services in the same. Hence, it becomes very prominent for the human resources
to exercise competent and effective strategical operations within the business setting.
The respective report incorporates the external analysis as well as internal analysis of
Marks and Spencer. It reflects upon the determination of competitive strategies implemented by
the Marks and Spencer in the business environment. The report also details about the strategic
directions that can provide the necessary assistance in the development and expansion operations
of the business firm in the future run.
Overview about the organisation
Marks and Spencer is a British international retail business enterprise. The company was found
in the year 1884 the contribution and efforts of Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. The
respective business institution is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Marks and Spencer
is involved in the sale of lingerie, casual wear, mean wear, women clothing, beauty products and
services, children's wear, home appliances, food products etc. It is one of the leading brands of

the retail industry on the global platform. There are several competitors of Marks and Spencer
such as ASDA, Aldi, Tesco etc.
External analysis
External analysis can be characterised as form of assessment that focuses upon the
examination of the external business environment. The major objection of external analysis is to
determine the existing factors and forces that can potentially impact upon the daily operations
execut6ed by the business firm in the target market segment (Dzwigol, 2020). It is necessary for
Marks and Spencer to analyse the external business environment in order to ensure that the
existing business strategies of the respective firm is in alignment with the ongoing trends in the
external market. External environment can be further divided into two components i.e. Macro
environment and Micro environment.
Micro environment is ought to directly impact upon the business functioning and
procedures of the a particular enterprise. In order to understand the Micro environment, Five
forces Model can be taken into consideration.
Five forces Framework
Five forces model is a framework propounded by Michael Porter in order to facilitate the
business enterprises with an understanding and overview about the existing competition within
the their respective business industry. It also helps the business enterprises in the determination
of the estimated profitability that they can acquire through implementation and regulation of
their business strategy in the business environment.
The five forces framework of Marks and Spencer is as follows :-
Threat of new entrants
In retail industry, there is a high risk of new entrants. The new and emerging firm in the
perspective industry optimise upon great innovation, creative solutions, lower prices in order to
attract the customers to their their offering. The former can impose severe impacts upon the
business of Marks and Spencer's as the company will have to adjust its pricing , marketing and
operational strategies in order to retain the costumers in its respective firm (Hunger, 2020). It
will also need to implement various proposition in context to securing its competitive benefits
within the retail industry.
Bargaining power of suppliers

Suppliers play a very significant role in facilitating the operational functions of business
enterprises. Majority of the business firms operating in the retail industry are likely to acquire
their raw material from a number of suppliers. If , the supplier exercises their dominance power
and try to acquire high margin while negotiating with Marks and Spencer, it can lead to adverse
effects impact on the profitability of the firm (Bryson and George, 2020). Hence, the company
needs to effectively negotiate and manage the supplier margin in order to alleviate its profit
margin in the concerned business industry.
Bargaining power of buyers
Customers and Buyers also enjoy a great power over the profitability of a business firm.
The buyers often demands for discounts and lower prices on the products and service catered by
the business firm. Thus, the company is required to build a large customer base in order to ensure
that the bargaining power does not negatively impact upon the profit generation of the respective
enterprise.
Threat of substitute
There is a high possibility of other business firms providing the similar products and
services as provided by Marks and Spencer in the market. Hence, Markers and Spencer needs to
work upon enhancing and building a unique selling proposition that is different from the other
firms in order to capture large market share in the retail industry.
Rivalry in the industry
The existing competition and rivalry very within the retail industry can lead to the
decrement in the overall prices charged by the business firm as well as profit acquired by the
same (Keding, 2020). Marks and Spencer leads it business operations in highly competitive
bushiness industry. Hence, he prevailing competition of the same can result in the reduced
market position as well as profit margin in the long run.
Macro Environment is form of business environment that is generic in nature. The
respective environment does not impact a single organisation but affects upon the entire industry
or the economy as a whole. The macro environment can be characterised as an extremely
uncertain and dynamic environment. Hence, Marks and Spencer required to analyse and monitor
the same in an appropriate manner. This particular practice can help to identify the forces that
can lead changes in the entire scenario of the market environment and formulate retaliatory

strategies in accordance with the same. Pestle model will highlight upon the macro environment
of Marks and Spencer.
Pestle Model
Political
Marks and Spencer's can be affected due to constant fluctuation in the political stability of the
countries it operates in. The degree of corruption, the existence of bureaucratic environment, the
policies pertaining to trade regulation as well as tariffs can also impact upon the functioning of
Marks and Spencer in its target market.
Economical
The continuous alterations in the inflation rates, exchange rates, interest rates, labours costs, the
growth rate of the economy as well as the economic variables can lead to severe impact upon the
business regulations of Marks and Spencer.
Technological
Technological environment is an integral elements of the business enterprise as it helps the firm
to deliver innovative and standardised products and services to the target customers (Lynch,
2021). The technological advancement and development by the competitors can affect the work
operations as well as degree of efficiency of Marks and Spencer. Hence, the company is required
to be up to date with the the recent technology and applications of IT in order to lead creative
and efficient business functions in its concerned market domain.
Social
Social culture and norms impacts upon the facilitation of organisational culture within an
organisation. The demographics, literacy rates, traditions, norms, attitudes , preferences and
choices of the society provides necessary guidance to the business institutions in the regulation
of their organisational activities.(Almutairi and Sriramesh, 2020). Hence, the social factor is one
of the most major factors that Marks and Spencer needs to comply with.
Legal
Marks and Spencer is required to incorporate the legal framework and business laws in its
organisational structure in order to facilitate the business activities and functions without any
governmental intervention (Koval, 2020). Consumer protect laws, retail laws, discrimination
laws, health and safety legal procedures and as well as employability regulation acts needs to be
exercised respective institution in its organisational setting.

Environment
It is very important for Marks and Spencer to invest its efforts and contribute in the maintenance
of the natural environment. The company needs to regulate waste management operations in an
optimum manners so as to ensure that does not lead to adverse on the environment (Adeniran,
Jadah and Mohammed, 2020). Green products and services as well as recycable packaging
should be promoted by the business firm.
Marks and Spencer can also work towards the optimisation of renewable energy in order to save
the electricity and support the natural environmental conversational campaigns.
In order to effectively analysis the external as well as the internal environment, it is very
essential for Marks and Spencer to hire competent and efficient workforce. The recruitment and hiring of talent and skilled individuals will facilitate the firm in
systematic analysation of both internal and external business analysis in a productive
manner.
 A deep knowledge and understanding about the environment is required to assess the
same. The HR department of Marks and Spencer need is required to enhance the skills
set and motivation of the existing employees in order to achieve the goals associated
with internal and external examination of the business firm and the environment in
which it facilitates its commercial operations.
Internal analysis
Internal analysis can be defined as the core competencies of the business firm as well as the
viability of the same in the market environment.
VRIO framework provides an opportunity to the business firm to asses each of their potential
resources and determine whether they posses any competitive edge or not.
In order to facilitate the internal analysis of Marks and Spencer, VRIO framework can be applied
to the business setting of business firm.
VRIO TABLE
Resources Valuable Rare Inimitable Organisation
Finance Yes Yes Yes Yes
Employees Yes Yes No
Patent Yes Yes Yes No

Research and
Development
Yes No
Cost and
Expenditure
Structure
No
Valuable
 From the given table, it can be analysed that finance is a valuable resource to Marks and
Spencer as they assist the company in regulating business operations in a financially
sound manner.
 Employees are valuable to the business firm as they facilitate to achieve the goals and
objectives of the concerned business entity (Ioannis and Belias, 2020).
 Patents can also be termed as a valuable resource as it assists the firm in maintaining a
differential streak in the market.
 Research and development is also a valuable resource as it helps the firm to lead
innovation and new advancements in its exiting business operations. Cost and expenditure cannot be considered as valuable resource as they fluctuate
according to the market and does not provide any competitive benefit to the firm in
comparison to the given resources.
Rare
 Finance can be termed as rare resource for Marks and Spencer as adequate and optimum
finance is also acquired by few business firms.
 Employees can also considered to be the rare resources as they are highly skilled and
trained in order to help the business firm to accomplish its long and short term goals.
 Patents of Marks and Spencer are also rare in nature as they provide added advantages to
the business firm in the market environment. Research and development cannot be considered as the rarest resource as there are
various business organisation that have research and development department in their
concerned business setting.

Inimitable
 Finance can be termed as inimitable resource as they acquisition of the same is facilitated
through years of hard work.
 Patents can also be characterised as inimitable resource as they are very difficult to be
copied and taken reference from by other business institutions. Employees are imitable in nature as other business organisation can also hire competent
and highly qualified employees by serving better salaries , competition , perks and
benefits to the same.
Organisation
 Finance can be stated as an organised resource as they are extremely strategical in nature.
The main objective is to invest the fancies in profitable venture through which return on
investment can be facilitated and the firm can earn more revenue in the future run. Patent cannot be considered as an organised resource as Marks and Spencer is not able
capitalise upon them in significant and reliable manner.
From the above assessment, it can be examined that the most necessary and important
resource for Marks and Spencer can be termed as its Financial resource. Hence, the HR department should try its best potential to ensure that the employees are
able deliver brilliant and exceptional performances so as to help the firm to enhance its
revenue generation and acquire high percentage of finances.
 The HR department can facilitate advance training and development programs within
the organisation in order alleviate the efficiency as well as accuracy of the employees
and help them to complete the given tasks in an appropriate manner.
Identification of competitive strategies
The competitive strategies assist the business firm in giving a tough competition to their rivals in
regard with acquisition of better financial position as well as an enhanced market share in their
respective industry(Pröllochs and Feuerriegel, 2020). It very essential for every business
enterprise to formulate and implement competitive strategies so as to obtain a competitive edge
in the market environment and acquire a dominant position in the same as well.
Porters generic strategy provides the much needed insights about the application of the
competitive strategies by a business institution in order to optimise the competitive benefits in

its respective business domain. In order to determine the generic strategies of Marks and
Spencer, Porter's generic strategies can be taken into consideration.
Cost Leadership
The respective strategy highlights upon the requirement of the business entity to acquire
the majority of the market share in order to capitalise upon the cost leadership within the same.
The concerned strategy reflects upon reducing the cost of expenditure in order to acquire the
respective benefits associated with the same.
Marks and Spencer can also optimise upon the same by focusing on mass production and
operation of the goods and services catered by the same. This will help to reduce the overall cost
of manufacturing and help the firm to achieve more benefits in the concerned market
environment. The productivity of Marks and Spencer will also enhance with the adoption of cost
leadership component in its market domain. The utilisation of the resources as well as increase in
the efficiency exhibited by the employees is also facilitated with the incorporation of cost
leadership strategy.
Differentiation
Differentiation is a form of strategy wherein the business enterprise focus upon
introducing products that have different or unique and innovative proposition .The respective
strategy helps the firm to differentiate its organisational offering from the other rivals and gain
an additional competitive perk among its concerned industry. Marks and Spencer should also
concentrate upon manufacturing and producing goods and services that have not been
introduced before in the market (Semko and Altukhova, 2020). The respective strategy can help
the Marks and Spencer to create a new market wherein there are less number of competitors and
optimise the its differential and innovative capabilities in order to attain greater profits. Marks
and Spencer will have to exercise a very intensive research and development process in order to
introduce a new concept innovational elements in its current line of products and services. The
optimisation on the respective strategy allows Marks and Spencer to provide quality and supreme
products to its customer base.
Focus Strategy
The major objective behind the incorporation of the focus strategy is to cater to a niche
or small segment of market. The prospectus is to provide quality and affordable products to the
market segment in order to enhance the loyalty of the same towards the brand. The idea is to

provide something different and specific to the customers through which the company is able to
please them and retain them in an effective manner.
The major decision needs to be implemented by Marks and Spencer that whether it has to opt
cost focus strategy or differentiation focus strategy. It can be stated that the enhanced focus
upon serving the specific group can helps to attract the same towards the firm in a deliberate
manner. In context to Marks and Spencer, the company needs to focus on adopting the
differentiation focus strategy in order to lead the market in prominent manner and gain the
support of the customers by providing them with creative products and services in the market.
From the above analysis of Marks and Spencer Generic strategies, it can be stated that
differentiation is the most suitable criterion for Marks and Spencer to acquire lead in the
market environment.
Human Resource Department can also contribute in the same as well (Nadikattu, 2020). The
HR personnel can ensure that the employee are provided with an open communication
environment wherein they can brainstorm and come up with innovative concepts and ideas.
These creative ideas and specifications can be integrated in the products and services delivered
by the firm. Thus, helping the company to capitalize upon its talent in an optimum way and
regulating the innovative measures to provide very unique products in the market
environment.
Strategic directions
Strategic direction can be characterised as the plans and procedures formulated by the business
entities in order to align their focus towards the attainment of their future goals and
aspirations(McGee and Channon, 2021). Strategic direction guides the management about the
necessary strategical step that it needs to exercise in the environmental setting in order to
capitalise upon the existing opportunities prevailing in the business environment.
Ans-off Matrix can be taken into utilisation in order to direct the strategies of Marks and Spencer
in an proficient manner.
Market Penetration
The respective strategy highlights upon the penetration in the existing market in order to enhance
the income generation of the respective business enterprise. In order facilitate the penetration in
existing market, it is necessary for Marks and Spencer to focus upon producing products and

services that are low cost but high in quality. The focus of the business firm is to increase the
sales and operation of the organisational offering in the existing markets.
Product development
Marks and Spencer can also work towards the development of new products and services that
provide value proposition to the customers in the market segment. The introduction of fresh
products and services in the existing market environment can boost the business of Marks and
Spencer and allow the same to provide advance and improved products to the target customers.
Market development
Marks and Spencer can also strive to create a new market for its exiting products and service by
facilitating the products to a diffident form of market segment (Mamatova and Pavliuk, 2020).
The company can also lead its expansion by entering into local as well as international market
domain.
Product diversification
The respective business organisation can also diversify its products range in order enter new
business domains and try to leverage upon the same in an effective manner. Marks and Spencer
can think about expanding its food products range order to increase the scope of market in the
concerned domain . The respective strategy will help to create vast range of offering for the
company and the company will be able to expand its market in new and profitable directions as
well.
From the examination of the Ans-off matrix, it can be stated that in order to facilitate a
competent and strong strategic direction, the HR department of Marks and Spencer will have
to appoint effective team leaders who can facilitate the right guidance to the employees in
order to execute the strategies in accordance with preplanned notions.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
From the evaluation of above information, it can be concluded that the strategic
approaches of Marks and Spencer are quite commendable. The company believes in formulation
of relevant as well as reliable strategies that are ought to provide multiple benefits to the business
organisation in the long term. The Human resource management of Marks and Spencer supports
the strategical process as well as management functions of the company. The HR department
maintain an employee workforce that is flexible, adaptable and skilled enough too suit the
uncertainties and adjust to the changing dynamics of internal and external business environment.

It can be recommended that the company should concentrate upon diversification
strategies in order to expand its operations in new market and capitalise upon the same to
enhance its overall global revenue to the maximum. Moreover, Marks and Spencer can also align
its strategic team to work towards building strategic plan relating to the merger and acquisition
so as to partner with innovative ventures. The respective strategy will help Marks and Spencer in
acquisition of more customer base. It will also lead to enhancement of the popularity of the firm
in the countries that have not been capitalised before by the concerned business entity. Hence, it
can be stated that their is a huge scope for growth and expansion for the respective firm in the
upcoming business years.

REFERENCES
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