SWOT and PESTLE Analysis of Marks and Spencer

This report provides a detailed analysis of the internal and external environment of Marks and Spencer through SWOT and PESTLE analysis. It also evaluates the changes in PESTLE factors that influence the opportunities and threats of the company. Additionally, it recommends leadership styles for Marks and Spencer based on Daniel Goleman's leadership model.

Context of Business

INTRODUCTION
Business environment is being considered as an encircle of various factors which has a
huge impact on business in various orientations. It comprises of various decisions which have
been taken by the higher authorities and what they are trying to achieve(Andone and
Frydenberg, 2019). It is very important for an organisation to monitor their objectives and
prepare a track to achieve all these objectives. In order to understand the business context in a
proper manner Marks and Spencer has been taken into consideration. The respective company is
a well known multinational British retail company, which was founded in 1884 by Michael
Marks and Thomas Spencer. The headquarters of the firm is situated in London, United
Kingdom and in the present time they have around 959 stores all across the nation. The company
have a well known brand image all across the globe. The following report is going to evaluate
the internal as well as external analysis of the company by conducting SWOT and PESTEL
analysis respectively. This report also provide the information about the change in macro
environment factor influence the opportunities and threat if the respective company. Afterwords,
different business leadership style has been elaborated in order to under the impact on these on
an organisation.
TASK
Performing SWOT and PESTEL analysis : -
SWOT analysis :- this analysis is being considered as the most important strategic management
technique which are used by the organisation in order to analyse that what is suitable for the
company right now(Boffa and Maffei, 2019). With the help of this tool, the organisation is able
to understand their overall strength and opportunities and along with this get the in-depth
information about the weaknesses and threats which are faced by the company. This tool not
only assist the company in reducing their risk but also help in developing the strategic plans for
the competitive market. In context to the Marks and Spencer SWOT analysis has been discussed
below : -
Strengths : -
This factor describes as what an organisation excels and what are the factor which makes
them different from their competitor. These are basically the internal positive attributes like

strong image of the brand, loyal and potential customer's base, etc. These attributes provide the
provide the competitive advantage to the company over their rivals in the market. In relation to
the Marks and Spencer, the global presence of the company is being considered as the most
important strength of the company because of the vast line of product and 138 years of
experience in the retail field. In addition to this the impressive marketing strategies and Research
and development of the company are able to acquire the loyal customer base and help in
developing a reputable brand image of the company in the market.
Weaknesses : -
The weaknesses of the organisation stop them in performing their functions and operation
at optimum level (Dinh and Hilmarsson, 2020). This factor is related to those areas where
company lacks. In order to become more competitive in the market it is very important for the
firm to overcome from these weakness. This factor comprises of bad brand image, weak supply
chain management, inadequate stock and many more. In relation to the Marks and Spencer, relay
on manpower is being considered as one of the most important weakness of the company. The
company heavily depend on manual operation due to which cost of producing the goods has been
increases and also it's very time consuming. Along with this the company also suffer from the
poor supply chain management system due to which the company is not able to fulfil the demand
of the consumer. The non availability of the products in the stores leads to decline in sales and
loss of brand image.
Opportunities :-
This factors comprises of those favourable factors which help the firm to grow and
developed in the competitive market(Dobrovič and et. al., 2021). These factors not only help the
organisation in garbing the potential customers but also help in enjoying the competitive
advantage over their competitors. In context to the Marks and Spencer, the company have an
opportunity to enhance its online presence which help them in competing with the online
competitors like eBay and Amazon. In addition to this, the management of the company also
have to paid focus on the market segmentation in order to identify the need and demand of the
consumer which help in incresing the profitability.
Threats :-
This factor comprises of those unfavourable factors, which have the potential to harm the
different functions of the organisation and also hamper the performance of the company. In

context to the marks and Spencer, financial issues before Brexit has been faced by the company
because of the instability with in the economy. Moreover to this, stiff competition in the retail
sector is also being considered as one of the most important threat for the company. In order to
overcome from this issue the management of the company have to make proper strategies and
policies.
PESTLE analysis :- this analysis is being considered as a tool or framework which help the firm
in identifying and monitoring all the external factor which have a huge impact on the different
functions of the company. The management of the Marks and Spencer is going to utilize this
framework in order to understand the impact of the external factors on the decision making and
different functions of the organisation. With the help of this, in-depth knowledge has been gain
by the company which help them in developing the proper strategies and plans. In context to the
Marks and Spencer this analysis has been discussed below :-
 Political Factors :- this factor is being considered as one of the most important element
of this analysis. In this factor such as government policies, regulation and de-regulation
of the tax policies, stability of the government and many more has been comprises
(Komljenovic and et. al., 2019). These factors not only affect the functioning of the firm
but also hinder the overall productivity. In context to the Marks and Spencer, unnecessary
losses has been incurred by the company due to Brexit, which impacted their sourcing
cost. In addition to this, changes in the tax policies also had a bad impact on its
operations.
 Economical factor :- this factor comprises of economic growth, unemployment and
employment rate, inflation rate, interest rates and many more which has a huge impact on
the overall operations of the business. These factors are not controlled by the firm. In
context to the Marks and Spencer, the management of the firm highly impacted by the
Brexit as well as COVID 19 pandemic. Management has been forced to increased the
price of the product because of instability in the currency. Due to this conflicts has been
arises between the company and customers.
 Social Factor :- this factor includes such as demographic, attitude and behaviour of
consumer, opinion and social-culture changes and many more which not only affect the
operations of the company but also reduces its efficiency. In context to the Marks and
Spencer, backlash has faced by the company from its customers due to excessive chain of

product recalls. Moreover to this, the company is not able to identify the need and
demands of the consumer and not able to stay trendy in the competitive market.
 Technological factor :- this factor is totally related to the new ways of producing the
goods and services and identifying an effective distribution channel which improves the
functioning of the business operations(Krawczyk-Sokolowska, Pierscieniak and Caputa,
2021). In context to the Marks and Spencer, a suitable technology partner has been
identified by the management of the company which not only strengthen its online
presence but also innovate their production process. This ultimately saves the cost.
 Legal Factor :- this factor comprises of laws related to the health and safety, equal
opportunities, rights of consumer and employees and many more. If the management of
the company don't want any legal repercussions from the government then they should
have to follow all the laws. In context to the Marks and Spencer, different types of issues
has been faced by the company because of change in the Britain’s trade laws post Brexit.
The supply chain management of the company has been negatively affected by this.
Along with this, management have been forces to reduce its production which result in
declining of sales.
 Environmental Factors :- this factor is also being considered as most important factor
because of less availability of raw material, carbon foot prints and pollution target which
are set by the authorities of nation(Kucharčíková, Mičiak and Hitka, 2018). In context to
the Marks and Spencer, a green policy has been developed by the company which help
them in expanding into environmental friendly product. Due to this brand image of the
company has been boost and customer base has also been increased.
Evaluating changes in PESTEL factors that influence the opportunities and threats of
Marks and Spencer.
From the above PESTLE analysis it has been seen that, there are different types of factors
which affect the functioning of the Marks and Spencer. The company is not able to perform at
optimum level due to which market share and profitability of the firm has been affected.
Different types of factors has been elaborated below :-
 Political:- due to Brexit different types of issues like disruption in the supply chain
management, increase in the production cost and many more has been faced by company.
This negatively impact on the performance of the company. Along with this, the

opportunity for the M&S for expanding their business all across the globe has been
hinder because of this factor. The company is not able to increase its customer base. To
over come from these negative effects the company is going to utilize its reputation and
years of experience which help them in attracting more customer base.
 Economical:- after the arisen of COVID 19 and due to Brexit the management of the
M&S has been forced to increase the price of its product. An instability in the currency
has also been seen due to this(Osuszek and Ledzianowski, 2020) . A threat has been
created by this for the M&S as it put strain on the respective company to remain
competitive in the market. In order to overcome from this issue, the reputation of the
brand and years of experience has been utilized by the company in order to attract the
various supplier. This open various option in front of the company which result in
reducing the cost of goods.
 Social:- the popularity of the M&S has been decreases over a period of time because the
management of the company is not able to fulfil the need and demand of the current
customer base. The brand awareness and the sales of the company has also been effected
because company is not able to target the potential customers. Issues related to the
product recall has been faced by the company which result in trust of the customer over
the brand. A threat has been created for the M&S, as their rivals attracts their potential
customer. In order to understand the needs of the consumer, years of experience has been
used by the company and to overcome from the problem of decreasing potential customer
base the company is going to utilize its global presence.
 Technological:- it is very important for the M&S to paid focus on their online stores. In
comparison to their competitor the online presence of the company is very low. It is very
important for the company to paid focus on the use of new technology. This not only help
them in making their operations automated but also provide opportunity to them to
reducing their cost of production and saves their time. In order to overcome from these
issues the M&S is going to utilize the R&D department. They develop the effective ways
which help the company in eliminating the requirement of man power. In addition to this,
more focus has been paid on their online stores in order to increase the potential customer
base which ultimately increases the brand image and profitability of the company.

Evaluation and recommending leadership styles for Marks and Spencer.
Leaders is being considered as those individuals, who have the ability to identify that
how the things can be improved and how to motivate the employee's in order to achieve all the
set objectives of the firm(Sharma, 2020). The leaders of the company work in order to covert the
vision of the organisation into reality. For this different types of leadership style has been utilized
by them to motivate the individuals within the company. With the help of these styles guidance
has been provided by them to subordinates and help in developing an effective working
environment. Daniel Goleman's leadership styles has been discussed below :-
Meaning
This leadership model states that there are different types of leadership style which
enable the leaders of the company to maintain the effective working environment. It is very
important for a leader to posse an ability, to change the environment of the firm through
emotional intelligence. The six emotional leadership style of this theory has been discussed
below:-
 Affiliative leadership:- this leadership style helps in developing harmonious working
environment within the company. This not only help in eliminating the negative
ambiance within the team members but also help in creating a balance among them.
With the help of this leadership style leaders of the company can focus on resolving the
conflicts and promote the collaboration with in the team.
 Democratic leadership:- in this style the leaders of the company appreciate the
collaboration of the individual in a team (Song and et. al., 2019) . The employees of the
company must be included by leaders in the decision making process of the company.
When the leaders of the company depend on the expertise of the employees, at that time
this style has been used by them.
 Commanding leadership: in this style the leaders of the company give specific task to
their employees and expect that the task should be completed within the set time limit
without any questions and complaints. This types of styles has been utilized by the
leaders when there is short duration of time to complete the task.
 Pacesetting leadership:-in this style the leaders of the company paid focus on the result
and high quality work. The leaders of the company expect that the employees of the
company carry out the task with utmost productivity and within the given time frame.

 Authoritative leadership: in this leadership style, the leaders of the company focus on
the energizing the team in a very positive manner so that they achieve the organisational
objectives. Along with this understanding has been promote by them which help in
developing good relation with the subordinates.
 Coaching leadership: in this style, the leaders of the company paid emphasis on identify
the strength and weaknesses of their employees(Thabet, Ghannouchi and BenGhezala,
2021) . The leaders encourage their employees in order to develop new skill and
knowledge with in them. Moreover to this, they paid focus on how the long term goals of
the company has been achieved and how the employees contributes in this.
In order to overcome from the effect of Brexit, high product rate, decrease in sales and
potential customer, the management of the M&S have to adopt the authoritative leaderships
style. With the help of this leadership style the leaders of the company can effectively motivate
the individuals of the company. During the time of pandemic when the employees of the
company need guidance and direction this style play an important role. A motivated team always
work with utmost productivity which ultimately increases the sale as well as the customer base.
Evaluation corporate social responsibility of Marks and Spencer.
In order to improve the brand image of the company or improve the stakeholder value it
is very important for the firm to perform the social responsibility. Firms who are socially
responsible adopts the policies which promote the social well-beingness and reduced the
pollution(vom Brocke and et. al., 2021). The CSR is basically a self regulating business model
which which are utilized by the firm in order to fulfil al these responsibilities. The different types
of social responsibility has been discussed below :-
 Ethical responsibility: this responsibility is related to the welfare of the employees
within the organisation. In addition to this, this also promote the ethical practices for the
supplier. By fulfilling all these responsibility the gender, race or religious discrimination
among employees and management has been effectively eliminated. In addition to this,
this also promote fair and appropriate wages has been given to the employees so that
they can live a better standard of life. In context to the M&S the management of the
company have to focus on developing healthy relationship with their workers and
supplier. This keeps them always satisfied which result in increasing the sales.

 Philanthropic responsibility: this responsibility is related to the humanity and paid
focus on supporting unprivileged individuals(Xheneti,Karki and Madden, 2019). In order
to fulfil this responsibility various donation has been given by the company to the charity
at the national and international level. In context to the marks and Spencer, the
higher authorities of the company not only promote the charities but also volunteer them.
Different types of food product as well as the fund has been provided by the firm to
multiple humanitarian organisation to provide them support.
 Environmental responsibility: this responsibility is related to the increase in pollution
and scarcity of resources over a period of time. It is very important for the organisation to
paid focus on all the environmental laws and the carbon foot print which are target by
them. In context to the M&S, the management of the company always paid focus on the
their environmental obligations. This ensure that the different functions of the business
on the environment. Moreover to this, they also assist the various environmental
organisation by giving them funds and charity(Zagirniak, Kratt and Zagirnyak, 2020)..
CONCLUSION
From the above report it has been concluded that in order to operate all the functions of
the business in an effective manner it is very important for an individual to understand the
context of business. In order to grow in the market it is very important for the management of the
company to make proper strategies. Proper tools like SWOT and PESTEL has been concluded
in this report which help in understanding the business environment in a very effective manner.
This report also conclude the use of strengths and opportunities in order to negate threats and
improve upon weakness. The Daniel Goleman's leadership styles has been concluded in this
report in order to motivate the employees. Furthermore, this report concluded the CSR which
have a positive impact on the brand image and relations with their stakeholders.

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