Evaluating the Effects of Globalisation on Marks & Spencer's Business

This report provides a detailed analysis of the impact of globalisation on Marks & Spencer, a leading retail company. The report begins with an introduction to globalisation and its effects on businesses, followed by a project management plan that outlines the project's aims, objectives, scope, and co...Read More

Managing a Successful
Project

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1 Project aim and objective.......................................................................................................1
P2 Project management plan.......................................................................................................2
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart...........................................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................3
P4 Research Methods..................................................................................................................3
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................4
P5 Appropriate tools and technique............................................................................................4
P6 Recommendation...................................................................................................................8
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................9
P7 Reflection...............................................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
.......................................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Globalisation is the process through which interaction and integration of individuals,
economies, cultures and governments take place. It largely focuses upon removal of trade
barriers so that flow of goods and services can easily take place between different countries of
the world (Hirst, Thompson and Bromley, 2015). Globalisation results in economic and social
development of country by increasing foreign direct investment and liberalising the trade
policies. This assignment is based upon Marks & Spencer so as to gain knowledge about the
impact of globalisation over the operations and functions of company. Marks & Spencer is a
leading retail company that deal in providing day-to-day products to people across the globe.
This assignment will cover aims and objectives on the basis of which project management plan is
made. For collecting information, research has been conducted by using various methods. In the
end, recommendations are provided on the basis of conducted research.
TASK 1
P1 Project aim and objective
Background of the Research
Globalisation is an ongoing process through which the beliefs and cultures of diverse set
of people and economies are integrated. This term is largely related to removal of trade barriers
to facilitate easy movement of goods and services across different countries (Baldwin and
Lopez‐Gonzalez, 2015). Marks and Spencer is a multinational corporation headquartered in City
of Westminster, London and deals in a large variety of products ranging from home
commodities, luxury food products, clothing etc. The main reason behind conducting this
research is to gain information about globalisation and its impact upon entity as the organisation
is considering to expand in European markets.
Aim
“To identify the impact of Globalisation on increasing trade of goods and services across
borders” A case study on Marks and Spencer
Objective:
 To examine Concept of globalisation
 To identify main factors behind increasing trade across borders of goods and services
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 To evaluate Relationship between globalisation and increasing trade of goods and
services across borders.
Research Questions
 What is the concept of globalisation?
 What are the main factors behind increasing trade across borders of goods and services?
 Define relationship between globalisation and increasing trade of goods and services
across borders ?
P2 Project management plan
It is a primary source of data which is use in execution of project. It is major product of
project planning phase which is very important to define, integrate, coordinate and prepare
various activities that are related to planning (Sassen, 2018). This project defines manner in
which a particular plan is executed, controlled, monitored and closed. It mainly helps every
individual who is connected with that project to have access detailed information about it.
Cost: This is the most essential factor while conducting the research as it provides the
overall cost of carrying out all the activities of project in a structured manner. For conducting
this research, the cost is ascertained to be approximately 15K.
Time: Yet another important aspect for carrying out a research is time frame for the
project. In relation to this, the time frame decided for this project is 6 months.
Scope: It is an essential element of research as this gives an insight into the concept of
globalisation and its impact upon the operations of company. Since Marks and Spencer is
looking for carrying out expansion in European markets, thus this research provides a brief
scenario of the route through which this will take place (Deresky, 2017). Also, conduction of this
research will help in providing recommendations for any necessary changes that need to be
brought in the plan.
Quality: Marks and Spencer is provide high quality products to its retailers and
customers while exporting all of its products in international market.
Communication: In this, Marks and Spencer should build up positive relationship with
Suppliers and retailers so that they can deliver best product to customers.
Risk: The main risk which can occur during international trade is chances of theft as
products are transported in bulk in operating which are very expensive. There are possible
chances that it might be misused by anyone.
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Resources: Researcher have mainly used human resource as well as technical support in
order to collect required details for completing this research in effective manner.
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart
Work breakdown Structure
The work breakdown structure is a process of dividing complex projects into manageable
and simple tasks. There are some structure used by an organisation to illustrate work breakdown
structure to their employees like tree structure or list and tabular structure. This structure helps an
business entity in giving visibility to important and risky work efforts and it will also helps in
illustrating the relationship between activities and deliverables (Croucher, 2018). It is a crucial
step for an organisation to manage a project effectively and efficiently.
Gantt chart
It is graphical representation of duration of tasks. It is basically a type of horizontal bar chat
which illustrates project scheduled. This chart includes start and ending dates and summary of
particular project. Gantt chart contains various activities like start and end dates for tasks, project
milestones, dependencies between tasks and individual assigned to each tasks. This chart is
widely use in organisations for project management. Gantt chart befits companies for scheduling,
monitoring, managing and monitoring of tasks and certain resources (Stromquist and Monkman,
2014). This chart help project manager to ensure that project is duly completed in given time
frame.
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4

TASK 2
P4 Research Methods
Primary research methods: Primary data is a first hand information which is collected
by investigator directly from its respondents. There are many methods of collecting primary
data .i.e. questionnaire, personal interview and surveys. This data provides high level of accuracy
to the researcher as data collected by an investigator is relevant in accordance with the research
topic (PRIMARY VS. SECONDARY MARKET RESEARCH, 2017). It also gives an realistic view
to the researcher for its research topic.
Secondary research method: Secondary data is a data which is collected previously but
used by the researcher in its current research topic. The secondary data is cheaper and faster to
access as compared to primary data. It saves time, efforts and money of the researcher and also
adds value to the research topic (Steger, 2017). This type of data is collected for different
research purpose, which further used by investigators on its research topic.
Qualitative Research
This method of research are mainly designed to find out the behaviour and thinking of
any set of target populations with reference to any particular topic. This research is basically
concerned with understanding. Quality research beliefs on observance and flexibility. It is very
complex to understand what human think hence, this method makes understanding of people
much easier to evaluate and communicative. This mode of research simply allow to collect data
from non numeric group and helps to make decisions with detailed judgement.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research are high structured method which includes data like surveys and
questionnaires. In this method there are closed ended questions and numerical data from which
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results have to be take (Meyfroidt and et. al., 2013). This method basically focus on describing
on tendency of a population. This research uses collections of data, numbers to formulate any
facts in research.
TASK 3
P5 Appropriate tools and technique
Questionnaire
Q 1) Are you aware with the concept of Globalisation?
a) Yes
b) No
Q 2) Specify the major factors which contributes towards globalisation?
a) Technological change
b) Economies of scale
c) Difference in tax rates
Q 3) What are the main elements that have resulted in globalisation?
a) Demand of Consumer
b) Communications
c) Liberal government control
Q 4) Do you think globalisation changes business process.?
a) Yes
b) No
Q 5) What are the major tool that helps in executing globalisation?
a) Foreign Direct Investment
b) International trade
c) Removing trade barriers
Q 6) Does globalisation impacts on enhancement of knowledge of citizens?
a) Agree
b) Disagree
Q 7) What are the benefits of Globalisation for Marks and Spencer?
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a) Improves sales
b) Enhancement in usage of technology
c) Increases profitability
Q 8) What are the major challenges of globalisation?
a) Increase in risk factor
b) Climate change
Q9) Recommendation
7

Data analysis
Theme 1: Concept of Globalisation
Q 1) Are you aware with the concept of Globalisation? Frequency
a) Yes 17
b) No 13
Interpretation: As per the above mentioned graph, it has been analysed that, out of 30
respondents 17 are aware with the concept of globalisation. Remaining 13 people said that they
did not know about concept of globalisation. Those persons who are in favour defined that,
globalisation benefits easily availability of products and services across the globe and those who
denied said that globalisation leads to increase in competition and make difficult for small
companies to survive in large market.
8
a) Yes b) No
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18 17
13

Theme 2: Benefits of Globalisation for Marks and Spencer
Q 2) What are the benefits of Globalisation for Marks and Spencer Frequency
a) Improves sales 13
b) Enhancement in usage of technology 9
c) Increases profitability 8
Interpretation: As per the above mentioned graph, it has been analysed that
globalisation increases profitability of Marks and Spencer. In this context, 13 respondents out of
30 has said Yes, globalisation increases profitability of Marks and Spencer. On the other hand, 9
respondents out of 30 believes that it increase sales of Marks and Spencer because globalisation
increases customer reach, whereas 8 out of 30 respondents said Yes that, it increases the use of
technology in Marks and Spencer as it is essential for an organisation in be competitive in a
global market.
9
a) Improves sales
b) Enhancement in usage of technology
c) Increases profitability
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Column B

Theme 3: Major factors which contributes towards globalisation
Q3) Specify the major factors which contributes towards
globalisation?
Frequency
a) Technological change 12
b) Economies of scale 6
c) Difference in tax rates 12
Interpretation: As per the above mentioned graph, it has been analysed that out of 30
appellant 12 respondents are in favour of technological factor that helps in contribution towards
globalisation. Technology benefits companies to interact with large number of population. On
the other hand, 6 respondents believes that economies of sale are more cost advantageous for
enterprises because it helps them to obtain scale of operations with low cost of input. Whereas,
12 respondents believes that difference in tax rates is major that contributes towards
globalisation because it difference in tax of different region benefit companies to save more
capital.
10
a) Technological change
b) Economies of scale
c) Difference in tax rates
0
2
4
6
8
10
12

Theme 4: Main elements that have resulted in globalisation
Q 4) What are the main elements that have resulted in globalisation? Frequency
a) Demand of Consumer 12
b) Communications 10
c) Liberal government control 8
Interpretation: Interpretation: According to the above mentioned graph, it has been
interpreted that 12 out of 30 respondents has considered liberal government control as the main
element for globalisation. On the other hand, 10 respondents out of 30 believes consumer
demand as an crucial element for globalisation because it helps an organisation in increasing
their customers reach in a global market, whereas 8 respondents out of 30 considers
communication as an main element because it helps in trading beyond domestic boundaries that
would only possible through communication between two economies.
11
a) Demand of Consumer
b) Communications
c) Liberal government control
0
2
4
6
8
10
12

Theme 5: Globalisation changes business process
Q 5) Do you think globalisation changes business process.? Frequency
a) Yes 16
b) No 14
Interpretation: As per the above mentioned graph, it has been evaluated that 16
respondents out of 30 said Yes, they believes that globalisation changes business process of
business entities operating at a global market because there is some technological advantages as
companies are trading internationally. On the other hand, 14 respondents out of 30 believes that
it helps in gaining technological advance but they also needs workforce that can handle
technological advances in their work environment. `
12
a) Yes b) No
13
13.5
14
14.5
15
15.5
16
16
14

Theme 6: Major tool that helps in executing globalisation
Q 6) What are the major tool that helps in executing globalisation? Frequency
a) Foreign Direct Investment 12
b) International trade 10
c) Removing trade barriers 8
Interpretation: In according to the above mentioned report, it has been interpreted that
12 respondents out of 30 believes that foreign direct investment is a major tool for globalisation
execution, whereas 10 respondents out of 30 considers removing trade barriers as an crucial tool
for globalisation. On the other hand, 8 respondents out 30 said Yes to international trade.
13
a) Foreign Direct Investment
b) International trade
c) Removing trade barriers
0
2
4
6
8
10
12

Theme 7: Globalisation impacts on enhancement of knowledge of citizens
Q7) Does globalisation impacts on enhancement of knowledge of
citizens?
Frequency
a) Agree 20
b) Disagree 10
Interpretation: As per the above mentioned graph, it has been analysed that out of 30
respondents 20 appellant are agreed with the fact that globalisation impact on enhancement of
knowledge of citizens. As globalisation allow different types of firms and companies to enter
into different countries this will benefit employees to enhance their abilities and skills. Whereas,
10 respondents disagree with the fact that globalisation benefits knowledge of citizens. Because
globalisation decreases wages of workers and if any companies who are facing economic
depression enter into any different country then it will become a threat
14
a) Agree b) Disagree
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
20
10

Theme 8: Major challenges of globalisation
Q 8) What are the major challenges of globalisation? Frequency
a) Increase in risk factor 25
b) Climate change 5
Interpretation: As per the above mentioned graph, it has been evaluated that out of 30
respondents 25 appellants said that religious conflicts are one of major challenge of
globalisation. Because in different geographical locations there are different kinds of religious
person so it will become hard for companies to functions in any country without hurting felling
of people. Whereas, 5 respondents said that climate change is major challenge of globalisation
because it hinder production process.
15
a) Increase in risk factor b) Climate change
0
5
10
15
20
25
25
5
Column B

P6 Recommendation
From the above research report, it has been recommended that to formulate the expansion
of operations of company across globe, Marks and Spencer should bring innovations in its
existing range of products and services. Also, company should accumulate changes in the
commodities it currently provides to consumers so as to correlate with the culture, needs and
requirements of the new countries that it would explore as a result of the process of globalisation
(Timmer and et. al., 2015). Furthermore, company should use extensive marketing tools and
techniques so as to gain widespread acceptability from people of European markets. Besides this,
Marks and Spencer can consider using various market entry modes like Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) or joint venture so as to successfully expand in new markets.
TASK 4
P7 Reflection
From the above mentioned research report, it has been analysed by me that this research
was highly beneficial in assessing the concept of globalisation and how it helps in taking the
business to a larger scale and collaborating with diverse set of people and cultures. I have used
primary and secondary research methods which provided me the required information about the
concerned topic of study. On the other hand, I even faced certain difficulties while collecting
information from people by way of questionnaire as many people straightforwardly declined to
answer the questions while some other answered them without much interest in the study.
Overall, the research helped me in ascertaining the views from various sources about
globalisation.
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned discussion, it can be concluded that the concept of
globalisation is immensely beneficial for large scale organisations so that they can tap the
advantage of new markets and customer segments. Also, it has been analysed as per the
questionnaire that majority of respondents agree in relation to globalisation being essential and
important for those organisations that wish to expand in new market globally. Besides that, it can
be observed that globalisation largely helps in removal of trade barriers and liberalisation of such
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laws and regulations which restrict the movement of goods and services from one country to
another.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Hirst, P., Thompson, G. and Bromley, S., 2015. Globalization in question. John Wiley & Sons.
Sassen, S., 2018. Cities in a world economy. Sage Publications.
Deresky, H., 2017. International management: Managing across borders and cultures. Pearson
Education India.
Croucher, S., 2018. Globalization and belonging: The politics of identity in a changing world.
Rowman & Littlefield.
Steger, M. B., 2017. Globalization: A very short introduction(Vol. 86). Oxford University Press.
Meyfroidt, P., and et. al., 2013. Globalization of land use: distant drivers of land change and
geographic displacement of land use. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability.
5(5). pp.438-444.
Timmer, M. P., and et. al., 2015. An illustrated user guide to the world input–output database:
the case of global automotive production. Review of International Economics. 23(3).
pp.575-605.
Baldwin, R. and Lopez‐Gonzalez, J., 2015. Supply‐chain trade: A portrait of global patterns and
several testable hypotheses. The World Economy. 38(11). pp.1682-1721.
Stromquist, N. P. and Monkman, K., 2014. Defining globalization and assessing its implications
for knowledge and education, revisited. Globalization and education: Integration and
contestation across cultures. 1. pp.1-21.
Online
PRIMARY VS. SECONDARY MARKET RESEARCH. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.mymarketresearchmethods.com/primary-secondary-market-research-
difference/>
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LOGBOOK
Project Logbook for the
chosen organisation:
Continental consulting limited
Name of the learner: Name of the Supervisor:
Project Title: Managing Business
Successful
Date:
Update of weekly research/ tasks
achieved (Account for a minimum
of six weeks with dates)
 What have you completed?
 Did you fulfil Task
requirements?
 Are you on track and within
deadlines set?
 Did you need to make any
changes to your project
management plan?
Comments
This project is emphasizing
impact of Globalisation on
increasing trade of goods and
services across borders
Yes
Yes
Yes
Any risks and / or issues
identified?
 Did you identify risks/issues
with a lack of skills required
for undertaking research
tasks?
 Did you identify any
additional risks/issues that
have an impact on the
project management plan?
No
No
19

Problems encountered
 What barriers did you face?
 How did you overcome
them?
I have faced problem related
to funds which were not
sufficient according to the
need of the project
New Ideas and change of project
direction
It will contribute in growth of
organisational performance
What Have I learnt about myself
this week?
 How did I feel when I had to
deal with tasks/problems?
 Did I find it useful to
complete the tasks?
 How well have I performed?
What did I contribute?
 What can I improve on next
week?
I was very confused at the
time of dealing with problems.
Yes
I have placed my overall
efforts for executing this
research in effective manner.
My work have been appraised
by seniors as they were
satisfied by my performance.
I have to work on weakness
for the future.
Tasks planned for next week
 Which tasks are priority?
 Have you set aside sufficient
time for completion?
My major priority was to
analyse core areas where firm
can improve its command for
future growth.
Yes
Project plan status to date (on,
ahead, behind)
Up to date
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Supervisor comments to address
Signature of the Supervisor and
date:
Template for Performance Review
Template to be attached with the
report by the learner:
1. What was the Project supposed to accomplish?
This project is emphasizing impact of Globalisation on increasing trade of goods and
services across borders
2. Did the project succeed in its aims/ how do you know?
Specifically, please outline any evaluation and assessment
undertaken.
Yes, the project achieved its goals and objectives to analyse impact of
globalisation in increasing trade of goods and services.
3. What things do you think worked well and why? Evaluate all
aspects of the project (e.g initial inception, project activities and
project outcomes) from a range of perspectives.
I have placed my overall efforts for executing this research in effective
manner. My work have been appraised by seniors as they were satisfied
by my performance.
4. What problems emerged during the project and how were they
tackled? Was there timely identification of issues and resolution
during the project process?
I was not able to collect relevant information from respondents as they
were less interested giving information.
5. What did you learn from undertaking the project?
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I had learnt several things about information collection process through
research as well as communication approaches.
6. How would you rate your performance as a management
consultant leading the project?
I will give rate 8 out of 10 to myself.
7. What strengths and weakness of your performance did you
identify?
My core strength area are communication and research approaches
while as major weaknesses are time punctuality and decision making at
a time.
8. How will this inform and support your continuous professional
development?
Through this research I analyse several tools and techniques which
assist me in future research procedure.
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