CSR Practices of Marks and Spencer: An In-Depth Analysis

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of Marks and Spencer's (M&S) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. It begins with an introduction to CSR and its importance for sustainable business development, then focuses on M&S's practices, highlighting their Plan A program, which addresses waste management and sustainable resource use. The essay examines M&S's economic responsibilities, including fair wages and employee well-being, as well as its ethical commitments, such as recycling programs and donations to various organizations. Furthermore, it explores M&S's environmental responsibilities, such as reducing plastic bag use and promoting low-carbon products. The essay concludes by emphasizing how CSR strengthens leadership, enhances brand image, and fosters creativity within the company. The references include various academic journals and books that support the analysis of M&S's CSR activities.

Context Of Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFRENCES...................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Corporate social responsibility is the efficient business practice adopted by company in
favourable of environment, economic and social factors to achieve the long term sustainable
development. It helps the business to enhance its image and motivate the business owner to
safeguard the interest of surrounding where business is operated (Aguinis and Glavas, 2012). To
better understand the essay Marks and Spenser has been selected which is multinational retail
store of UK. It basically offer clothing, home décor product as well as food items in both
national and internation market. This essay comprises of importance to manage the
responsibility, sustainably and behave ethically to handle social, cultural, economic and
environmental issue.
MAIN BODY
Marks and Spenser was established in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spenser
which is basically into retail sector and its headquarter is in United Kingdom. The company offer
supreme quality of fashion stuff as well as stylish home ware items. It operate in more than fifty
seven countries and has around fourteen hundred retail store which has made it one of the
leading retailers in its home country. Further, selected company has successfully build good
supply supply relationship to manufacture high quality and unique design product (Cheng,
Ioannou and Serafeim, 2014).
Corporate social responsibility include three category such as economic, social and
environment responsibility that helps in the sustainable development of company (Brammer,
Jackson and Matten, 2012). Thus, company apply all the aspect in a balanced way to build the
effective image of business and prioritise all the thing effective. In context to Mark and Spenser
has adopted Plan A as a corporate social responsibility activity that helps in the management of
waste as well as sustainable use of raw material (Crowther and Seifi, 2018). As Marks and
Spenser is one of the leading company due to which it makes most of the dealing from its online
platform that is via website. It include the various category of product for men, women and
children, home decoration product and so on. Moreover, company is making significant effort to
grab the attention of customer through digital media as it provide convenience to customer, save
the consumption of fuel which is non renewable resources as well as try to keep control on the

pollution rate. Thus, it is a possible effort made by company to achieve sustainable development
by handling the issue of social, economic and environment successfully.
Economic responsibility of the company is to safeguard the interest of its shareholder as
well as employee who helps the organisation to achieve its objective successfully. Herein, Marks
and Spenser abide by the laws which are made in favour of their staff like company take the care
of heath and safety of employee by providing them suitable environment to work. Along with
that respected company offer fair wages to their worker due to which large pool of employee are
the part of company. Hence, the company strengthen the team and make effort to retain the best
talent.
Ethical responsibility is to look for the welfare of environment and group as it help the
business to cut the cost, increase efficiency as well as perform thing effectively. Marks and
Spenser makes effort to eliminate the wasteful activity where the resources are optimum utilised.
Along with that company recycle the clothes of customer with Oxfam company and donate to the
needy people. The company makes the donation to various organisation like the Newlife
organisation that basically treat the ill children and the surplus cloths are donated to the Shelter
organisation in order to support the homeless people. As the company is into food sector as well
so date expired food is donated to the unprivileged group with the help of Food share.
Environment responsibility is necessary for the company to take precaution for the
external environment where it run its business (Kim, Park and Wier, 2012). So respected
company avoid the use of plastic bags and replace it with paper bags. It reduces the emission of
energy, carbon di oxide and develop low carbon product. The company has made Plan A and
take measure to avoid the unnecessary wastage and sending of waste to landfill.
Corporate social responsibility helps in building of effective leadership in the
organisation as it strengthen the relationship between leader and employee. Herein, Marks and
Spenser has launched Plan A to initiate CSR activity due top which employee feel that they work
in desirables organisation which look for the interest of each and every group. Thus, its leads to
strong commitment of an existing employee in the organisation along with that it attract the new
talent in the company.
Moreover, indulgence into CSR helps to enhance the brand image of company and leads
to increase in creativity. Further, leader and member inspire the better way of doing work by
solving the problem through the creative idea of leaders as well as its follower. Therefore, it

leads to productivity and develop new as well as better way of doing work that helps to reduce
turnover as well as absenteeism rate (Kitzmueller and Shimshack, 2012).
CONCLUSION
From the above essay it has been determined that investing in CSR activities help the
company to attract the interest of all stakeholder such as investor and customer because even
they want the company to make investment in such activities. Thus, the company must make
significant effort to address the environment, economic as well as ethical issue tahat help in the
sustainable development.

REFRENCES
Books and Journal
Aguinis, H. and Glavas, A., 2012. What we know and don’t know about corporate social
responsibility: A review and research agenda. Journal of management. 38(4). pp.932-
968.
Brammer, S., Jackson, G. and Matten, D., 2012. Corporate social responsibility and institutional
theory: New perspectives on private governance. Socio-economic review. 10(1). pp.3-
28.
Cheng, B., Ioannou, I. and Serafeim, G., 2014. Corporate social responsibility and access to
finance. Strategic management journal. 35(1), pp.1-23.
Crowther, D. and Seifi, S. eds., 2018. Redefining Corporate Social Responsibility. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Kim, Y., Park, M. S. and Wier, B., 2012. Is earnings quality associated with corporate social
responsibility?. The accounting review. 87(3). pp.761-796.
Kitzmueller, M. and Shimshack, J., 2012. Economic perspectives on corporate social
responsibility. Journal of Economic Literature. 50(1). pp.51-84.