Work Based Learning

This document discusses the concept of work based learning and its benefits for students and employers. It includes an evaluation of three management practices that impact employee performance, analysis of the business environment of Marks and Spencer, and a personal and professional development plan. The document also covers the subjects of leadership skills, management skills, and technical skills.

Work Based Learning

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Introduction to work based learning .........................................................................................3
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................3
Three management practices at workplace that have impact on employee performance ..........3
Business environment of the organisation .................................................................................4
SWOT analysis ...........................................................................................................................4
PESTEL analysis ........................................................................................................................5
Porter's Five forces model ..........................................................................................................6
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................7
Personal and professional development plan ............................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Work based learning is defined as the chance of an individual to discover things that
cannot be learnt within classroom. There are several benefits of work based learning to students
and one of it is it helps students in academic progress (Hildebrand, 2018). This is helpful in
learning how different things that people learn in classroom is connected to the real world.
Employers are benefited by reducing the training and recruitment costs. The following report is
based on the work based learning of an individual who is working in Marks and Spencer. In Task
1, there is evaluation of three management practices at workplace which influence employee
performance. It includes SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and Porter's five forces model
(Hamilton, and Webster, 2018). Moreover, in Task 2, there is personal development plan which
helps to know different business changes. There is explanation of new skills, knowledge and
competencies which are required at workplace.
Introduction to work based learning
Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational strategy that provides students with real-
life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their
employability." It is a series of educational courses which integrate the school or university
curriculum with the workplace to create a good environment.
TASK 1
Three management practices at workplace that have impact on employee performance
Within an organisation, there are various management practices that are adopted by
leaders for increasing the employee performance. The main practices are mentioned below - Training and development- There is huge importance of of training to companies and
this is a tool by which companies are able to build a productive and committed
workforce. Continuous training and development of employees is necessary as with the
technological advancement, it is need of employees to get training and work properly by
adopting these technologies. As a HR manager of Marks & Spencer, it is required to
provide training and development sessions to the employees on a regular basis so that
they will be able to enhance their skills and knowledge which provide them ample
number of opportunities at the workplace.

 Work life balance- Another essential element is work life balance which states that there
is an equilibrium between both personal and professional life of an individual (Gaganis,
Pasiouras, and Voulgari, 2019). It is very important for an individual person to maintain
equality so that they feel motivated and encouraged within the workplace and produce
high quality products and services. In the present context of Human Resource manager of
Marks & Spencer, it has been identified that with the help of effective training sessions,
employees feel motivated and maintain equal balance between their work life and
personal life. Therefore, it has been said that it is very essential for the management team
of the company to create positive working environment so that they can develop effective
work life balance.
 Reward system- It has been said that this is the factor which highly influences the
performance of individual working within the workplace. With the help of reward
system, it has been said that employees feel motivated and encouraged in order to
perform their business functions in an effective manner. This will develop a sense of
responsibility within staff members which leads towards the enhancement of their
efficiency and skills (Akhtar, 2018). In the present context of Marks & Spencer, it has
been said that by providing rewards to the employees as per their performance,
employees feel motivated which retain them for a longer period of time. Therefore, it has
been said that it is required by the managers to provide rewards to their staff members on
a regular basis.
Business environment of the organisation
SWOT analysis
The SWOT analysis of Marks and Spencer is listed below -
Strength Weakness
 Marks and Spencer is a well known
brand of UK and it has high brand
value (SWOT analysis of Marks &
Spencer, 2019).
 This company provides wide variety of
products to customers including fresh
 This company has drawback in market
as the organisation is out fashioned and
non trendy.
 The management of this company must
come up with new strategy so that it
can attract all age group by offering

veggies, fashionable clothing, etc.
 This has a wide range of brands e.g.
men's wear include different brands like
autograph, Blue harbour, Northcoast,
etc.
quality clothes.
 M&S follows old techniques and this
increases time and money for
accomplishing company targets.
Opportunity Threat
 Internationalism is the only thing which
helps companies to grow and M&S has
huge opportunity to expand it's business
in global market.
 This has opportunity by dividing
customers and establishing small shops
this will reduce the maintenance cost
and increase profits (Dey, 2019).
 M&S has threat of losing the scope in
business due to the competition.
 There is high competition in the retail
and clothing industry so M&S also has
big competitors like Tesco, Sainsburys,
etc.
It is analysed that M&S is a multinational company that operates successful business. The
managers working in this company must ensure that they have good leadership skills for
controlling and managing different business activities. A good manager is individual who is able
to analyse business opportunities and start working on maximising profits.
PESTEL analysis
This analysis is done for knowing various factors that affects functioning of a company
within a country. Before starting business, there are some elements which are considered such as
political, environmental, social, technological, economical and legal. The PESTEL analysis of
M&S is mentioned below -
Political factors – M&S operates in UK and this company faces free trade policies which
is benefit for this company. But after Brexit, there are various policies which are not applicable
to the company. Production cost of this company have raised after Brexit. M&S overseas outlets
will have to shut down or increase prices by losing consumers.
Environmental factors – The marketing strategy of M&S is to promote this company as
a luxury brand (PESTEL of Marks and Spencer, 2019). They are highly concerned regarding

environmental factors. This company promotes sustainable retail industry on multiple occasion
and vows to be careful regarding production processes.
Social factors – M&S is a household name and this company is existing in market since
many years. This brand is generally associated with brand with past. This company has lose
brand position as it is recognised as brand for old people and not offering products to new
generation or youngsters.
Technological factors – Retail stores nowadays are changing and they are adapting new
technologies. The recent change within the retail stores is self checkout. There are multiple
channels introduced in M&S for increasing the usage of AI based checkout in future.
Economical factors - The present market trend in UK is shifting from giant retail to
smaller retail stores. Such stores are providing lower markup price and this allows M&S to retain
a premium status. The majority of population in UK is preferring to local retail store and not on
premium products.
Legal factors - M&S is involved in various legal disputes. Such legal disputes have
made it hard for the brand to hold image at a constant stature by it's century long existence. One
of the legal issues of M&S is Franscati landlord issue. The change in trade laws of British after
Brexit is also an issue that affects this brand.
From the above analysis, it is concluded that PESTEL of Marks and Spencer explains
that this company is a well recognised organisation and it can easily expand it's business in
different countries (Luiz, Ganson, and Wennmann, 2019). All the above mentioned factors are
analysed so that there is no problem that company has to face while operating business.
Porter's Five forces model
The retailing market has high entry barrier as there is need of high investments required
for entering into market. M&S provides quality products to customers and they have to maintain
good reputation in market for attracting more customers. The Porter's five forces model is
mentioned below -
Threat of new substitute product - It is not easy to break loyal customers of M&S as
there is need of huge investments for entering into retail industry. The new entrants of retail
industry brings innovation in products, new ways of performing activities. The new entrants of
M&S provide products which are more innovative (Choy, and Chua, 2019). M&S has threat for

these new retailing companies. Different competitors are offering products at discounts,
attractive offers, and thus there is threat for M&S to retain customers.
Bargaining Power of Buyers - The bargaining power of buyers is significant and price
sensitivity of customer force retailers. The switching cost of customer is very low. There is need
for building loyalty and offering customers high quality products. This company is also
vulnerable to negative shifts in customer perception in UK (Porter's five forces of Marks and
Spencer, 2017). The competitors of M&S focuses on customer relationship so this company
needs to be vigilant and protect it's turf.
Bargaining Power of suppliers – The suppliers of M&S were British in late twentieth
century (Lam, and Wong, 2018). But competitive pressures have forced M&S to outsource and
reduce cost and this weakens power of suppliers. M&S focuses on private label and this gives
power over external suppliers.
Intensity of competitive rivalry - Competition is strong fro the retail sector from other
various supermarket chains for clothing, home wear and fashion products. The competition is
growing due to online sales increase. The loyalty membership cards are trends but they do not
work for supermarket chain. M&S is following low cost strategy and due to this, there is decline
in sales of clothing business of M&S. There is announcement of plans for opening new simply
food outlets which have upmarket positioning.
From the above analysis, it is analysed that Porter's five forces model is important for
analysing the threat that M&S has within the marketplace. After analysing the five competitive
forces, M&S strategists are able to gain knowledge about the impacts on profitability of the
company within retail industry (May, 2019). They are able to identify trends and how they
swiftly respond to exploit different market opportunities. After understanding the Porter's Five
forces model in great detail, M&S managers are able to shape these forces in their favour.
TASK 2
Personal and professional development plan
There are different skills and abilities that I have learnt while working in M&S. The
leadership skills and abilities which I have learnt in classroom, I got opportunity to implement
them within workplace. The management skills are defined as certain attributes and abilities

which an executive must possess for fulfilling specific tasks within the company. I have to
perform effectively within the company and adopting various skills and learnings. If I am skilled,
it will help me in relating my fellow co workers and knowing how to deal well with
subordinates. This helps in easy flow of business activities. It is important for me to have good
management skills in order to succeed and achieve goals and objectives within specified time
frame. I, as a manager have to foster good management skills and this will help me in propeling
vision and mission of the company appropriately. A good manager ensures that different parts of
the company are functioning cohesively. The personal development plan is prepared below:
SKILL CURRENT
PROFICIENC
Y
TARGET
PROFICIENC
Y
DEVELOPMEN
T
OPPORTUNITY
CRITERI
A FOR
JUDGING
SUCCESS
TIME
SCALE
1
. Team
working
skills
After working
in the
workplace, I
analysed that I
am not good at
working
effectively
with teams
(.Lim, 2018).
I have trust
issues and
cannot rely on
team mates for
accomplishing
the work.
I have to trust
my team
members so
that work is
done in an
efficient
manner.
All employees
are grouped
together and an
event is
organised where
they have to
share thoughts,
ideas and plans
(Cruess, Cruess,
and Steinert,
2019).
The
failure or
success of
this event
reflects
whether
there is
good team
work or
not.
28th
Decem
ber
2
. Leadershi
p Skills
I am not
confident and I
do not have
skills for
I have to
become a
skilled and
confident
Provide
motivation to
employees and at
times I should
The
satisfaction
of
employees,
2nd
January

distributing
work to my
team members
effectively.
leader who is
able to
delegate tasks
and activities
effectively.
lead team and
know how to
assign tasks to
different
subordinates.
the work
done by
them will
prove the
leadership
abilities.
3
.
Presentati
on Skills
I am not
confident in
giving
presentations
in public
To give
effective
presentations
with
confidence
To make good
presentation and
give it in front of
my seniors
Achieving
good
confidence
while
giving
presentatio
n.
4th
january
Technical
skills
It is important
for me to have
technical skills
for proper
functioning of
the company.
To provide
effective
results for the
business
operations.
To provide good
technical skills at
workplace.
Using
technical
skills while
working in
the
company.
6th
January
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion, it is analysed that work based learning is important part of
both employee and employer. This is helpful in implementing learnt skills into actual workplace.
The business environment shows what are the conditions in which business is operated. There
are different models which help in analysing the business environment of an organisation such as
PESTEL, SWOT and Porter's five forces model. There are some management practices which
managers adopt for effectively handling and managing business activities and employees
working in the company. After that personal and professional skills of the manager are
explained.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hamilton, L. and Webster, P., 2018. The international business environment. Oxford University
Press.
Gaganis, C., Pasiouras, F. and Voulgari, F., 2019. Culture, business environment and SMEs'
profitability: Evidence from European Countries. Economic Modelling, 78, pp.275-
292.
Akhtar, M., 2018. Strategic performance management system in uncertain business environment:
An empirical study of the Indian oil industry. Business Process Management
Journal, 24(4), pp.923-942.
Dey, S., 2019. Business environment.
Luiz, J.M., Ganson, B. and Wennmann, A., 2019. Business environment reforms in fragile and
conflict-affected states: From a transactions towards a systems approach. Journal of
International Business Policy, 2(3), pp.217-236.
May, M., 2019. Business Process Management: Integration in a web-enabled environment.
Pearson Education Limited.
Lam, J.S.L. and Wong, H.N., 2018. Analysing business models of liner shipping
companies. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 10(2), pp.237-
256.
Hildebrand, J., 2018. Bridging the gap: A training module in personal and professional
development. Routledge.
Choy, W.K. and Chua, P.M., 2019. Professional development. In School Leadership and
Educational Change in Singapore(pp. 69-86). Springer, Cham.
Lim, H.A., 2018. Service-Learning: Implications for the Academic, Personal, and Professional
Development of Criminal Justice Majors. Journal of Criminal Justice
Education, 29(2), pp.237-248.
Cruess, S.R., Cruess, R.L. and Steinert, Y., 2019. Supporting the development of a professional
identity: general principles. Medical teacher, 41(6), pp.641-649.
Online
SWOT analysis of Marks & Spencer, 2019.[Online]. Available
through:<https://www.marketing91.com/swot-analysis-of-marks-spencer/>
PESTEL of Marks and Spencer, 2019. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.marketingtutor.net/pestle-analysis-of-marks-and-spencer/>
Porter's five forces of Marks and Spencer, 2017. [Online]. Available through:<https://mba-
lectures.com/marketing/1620/porter-five-forces-analysis-of-mark-and-spencer-ms.html>