Managing a Successful Business Project: Equality and Diversity at M&S

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of equality and diversity practices within Marks & Spencer (M&S), a multinational retailer. It begins by establishing the project's aims, objectives, and research questions, focusing on the challenges of implementing equality and diversity in the workplace. The report then explores the concept and importance of equality and diversity through a literature review, identifying issues such as generation gaps, cultural barriers, and disabilities. A project management plan, including cost analysis, scope definition, and timelines, is detailed. The report utilizes a work breakdown structure (WBS) and a Gantt chart for project organization and scheduling. It further discusses research methodologies, including qualitative and quantitative approaches. The report examines data using appropriate tools and concludes with recommendations for overcoming equality and diversity challenges, followed by a reflection on the research process. The report aims to provide a practical understanding of managing equality and diversity in a business context.

Unit 6 - Managing a
Successful Business
Project

Table of Contents
TITLE: To analyse several issues and challenges that arises while implementing equality and
diversity practices at workplace. A case study on Marks & Spencer..............................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
P1 Project aims and objectives....................................................................................................3
Research aim:..............................................................................................................................4
Research Objectives:...................................................................................................................4
Research Questions:....................................................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
Concept and importance of equality and diversity......................................................................4
Various issues and challenges associated with equality and diversity practices at workplace...5
Ways to overcome issues related with equality and diversity.....................................................5
P2 Project Management Plan......................................................................................................5
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart...........................................................................7
..........................................................................................................................................................8
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................8
P4 Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research................................8
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................10
P5 Examine research and data by using appropriate tools........................................................10
P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations......................................................................13
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................14
P7 Reflection.............................................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

TITLE: To analyse several issues and challenges that arises while
implementing equality and diversity practices at workplace. A case study
on Marks & Spencer.
INTRODUCTION
Equality as well as diversity within the organisation means providing equal opportunities
to the individuals at both society and workplace. Along with this, it also assist in attaining
various opportunities & benefits which enhance the development of staff members in a positive
manner. While adopting practices which is related with equality & diversity, various issues and
challenges have been faced by the management team of the company. In the present research
report, M&S is chosen as the base company so that researcher will be able to conduct the
investigation in an effective manner (Glatthorn and et. al., 2018). It is the organisation which is a
multinational retailer company based in United Kingdom and is established in the year 1884. in
the present research, initially aim along with objectives is being developed by the researcher so
that investigation can be done effectively. Along with this, the report includes detail description
about PMP, WBS and Gantt Chart. Furthermore, discussion is conducted on what type of
research approach is best and most suitable for the researcher. At last, recommendations is give
by the investigator after conducting the whole research effectively.
TASK 1
P1 Project aims and objectives
Equality & Diversity is define as the terminology which comprehends fair and equal
opportunities to each individuals working within the workplace without focusing on any kind of
factor which might generate discrimination. From past few years, it has been said that one of the
most crucial function of an organisation is to protect their employees from any kind of
discrimination. Generally, discrimination is something against anything such as race, gender,
religion, sex, belief, sexual orientation and many more. It has been analysed that equality &
diversity within the organisation plays very important role in order to satisfy the requirements of
employees. Apart from this, large number of organisation deals with the problem of
discrimination which affect the overall performance of the company.

Generally, it is important for a business organisation such as Marks & Spencer that they
need to focus on such elements as they directly impact the profitability as well as performance of
the company. There are various kinds of laws and regulations implemented by the government of
UK so that equal and fair opportunities will be given to both male and female.
Research aim:
“To analyse several issues and challenges that arises while implementing equality and
diversity practices at workplace.” A case study on Marks & Spencer.
Research Objectives:
 To understand the concept and importance of equality and diversity.
 To determine various issues and challenges associated with equality and diversity
practices at workplace.
 To identify several ways to overcome issues related with equality and diversity
Research Questions:
 What do you understand by the concept and importance of equality and diversity.
 How to determine various issues and challenges associated with equality and diversity
practices at workplace.
 What are the ways to overcome issues related with equality and diversity.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Concept and importance of equality and diversity
As per the thought of (Barnham, 2015) it has been said that equality & diversity within an
organisation plays very essential role as it provide each and every employee equal and fair
opportunities to the staff members. By implementing effective equality and diversity practices,
employees feel motivated and encouraged because of no discrimination factor. Furthermore, it is
said that diversity is a concept which consist of age, gender, religion, colour, race and many
more. Apart from this, equality helps the current employees in order to gain various opportunities
and fair treatment within the workplace. This as a result, provide assistance to the organisation as
there performance will be increased on a continuous basis. Importance of implementing equality
and diversity practices among the organisation is that efficiency of staff members will be
increased which helps in gaining positive results.

Various issues and challenges associated with equality and diversity practices at workplace
According to the thought of (Boekhorst, 2015) it has been said that there are ample
number of issues and challenges which is linked with both equality as well as diversity within the
workplace. Some of these issues might arise within the organisation which affect the whole
result in a negative manner. Therefore, it is essential to reduce such kind of negative issues from
the working environment so that positive result will be developed within limited time frame.
These issues might be generation gap, cultural as well as language barrier, physical and mental
disabilities and many more. Hence it is required by the management team to examine their
working environment on a regular basis so that if any kind of situation arise at the workplace
might be resolved within the time period. It has also been analysed that all these issues as well as
challenges highly affect the overall performance of the staff members along with the
performance of organisation at the competitive marketplace. Along with this, employees feel
satisfied as they get fair and equal opportunities within the organisation.
Ways to overcome issues related with equality and diversity
As per the thought of (Cacchione, 2016) it is said that there are various methods which
help in reducing the issues and challenges arise within the organisation which is associated with
equality and diversity. It has been said that managers need to communicate each and every
information with their staff members in an effective manner so that their might not be any kind
of confusion arise among the employees. Along with this, every individual will be able to share
their thoughts and views freely and have equal opportunities for the development. This will help
in increasing the overall efficiency of staff members, which provide positive result by developing
high quality products and services.
P2 Project Management Plan
Project management plan refers to an essential written document also known as blueprint
which provide positive assistance to the company in order to perform the investigation in an
effective and appropriate manner. This is the plan which includes various policies, plans and
strategies mainly aid in conducting all the business functionality within given time frame and in
an effective manner. Some of the most essential factors are going to be discussed as follows:
 Cost: It refers to the total number of amount used by a company so that they will be
able to produce high quality products and services in order to satisfy the needs and
wants to customers. In references to the current research, it is said that researcher

needs adequate amount of funds so that they can conduct their investigation in a
positive manner and produce required outcomes effectively. Furthermore, there are
mainly three types of costing techniques which are budgeting, cost breakdown
structure, cash fellow statement and many more. In the context of present research,
researcher require total amount of £90 in order to conduct the investigation in an
appropriate manner.
 Scope: It is the another important factor which includes the actual scope of present
investigation in context of both real life and business. In reference to the current
investigation, the scope of this research is quite wide in context of M&S as well as to all
those MNC's who mainly perform their functions within the same sector (Cottrill, Denise
Lopez and Hoffman, 2014). At the end of this research, investigator will be able to gain
ample number of opportunities at the marketplace which is accomplished by M&S.
 Time: Another factor is time which is required to complete the whole research in an
appropriate manner. It has been analysed that time of the research is decided by the
team before starting the research so that all the task will be attained within given time
frame. In the context of present research, in order to complete the whole
investigation total time is taken by researcher is 6 months. This will help in
producing positive result within given time frame.
 Quality: It is very essential to maintain the quality of all the collected information
and data so that they can produce positive outcomes. These data and information is
gathered from different authentic sources. It is essential for the researcher to keep all
the information confidential so that no one get harmed by any kind of outcomes.
 Communication: Along with this, it is very important to communicate each and
every information with the team members so that the research will be conducted in
an appropriate manner. In reference to the current research it is required by the
researcher to use specific tools and techniques so that necessary information will be
communicated effectively (Drews and Van den Bergh, 2016). For this, mobile
phones, emails, regular meetings and many more need to be conducted by the
researcher on a continuous basis. With the help of this, researcher will be able to
communicate all the strategies with their team members in an effective manner.

 Risk: One of the main risk which is associated with the research is that all the
information which is gathered by the researcher is not authentic and affect the whole
research. This will impact the gross working & reputation of organisation at the
marketplace. Hence, it is required for the researcher in order to conduct the whole
investigation in an appropriate manner.
 Resources: The current investigation is done for M&S on a wide topic of equality &
diversity at the organisation which needs various resources to complete the research. It
consist of some resources such as land, labour, capital and so on. All these available
resources helps in conducting the whole work effectively and appropriately.
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart
Work-breakdown structure- This tool is being used for dividing the larger activities
into smaller part so that work can be easily finished according to the requirement. This is
beneficial in order to organise team work in managed ways. As the activities are subdivided so
members of the team can easily be executing their working according to their set targets. This
tool is useful in order to manage all the assigned task in given time so that detailed information
about the project can be easily achieved ( Durlak, 2015). The breaking of task into small
components results in enhancing overall business productivity thus enhancing business growth.
This is a beneficial tool as employees work according to the set time and they can easily achieve
their target by completing their allotted task.

Gantt chart- This tool is used for graphical presentation of different activities which had
to be completed at the allotted time this is also known by the name of the visual presentation.
The activities are divided according to work for limited period of time. In relation with the
research project the investigator uses this tool in order to delegate their overall working to the
member of the team according to their desired capacity. The project can be planned and executed
in systematic manner thus achieving success in their operation. The project which are of small
size are being planned and executed so that they can be completed ion desired time. This chart
helps in identifying the starting and ending date of the given project. The other name of this chart
is bar graph on which reflects relationship of activities with their plan status.
TASK 2
P4 Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research
The research methods are valuable in order to collecting data from different sources
which are valid and generate effective results. This results in ensuring valid outcomes for the
investigation. The two different method which are used by the researcher are quantitative and
qualitative form which are evaluated below as:
Qualitative method- The data which is being collected is being measured with the
concept of theories. The various methods used for qualitative research are evaluated below as:

Interactive methods: This factor is useful in order to formulate theory and procedures
which are being useful for designing of research, interpretation of data and analysis purpose.
Interviewing- This is form of qualitative research which is focused on executing
intensive type of interview for the individuals and the respondents are very small in number in
order to know their perception on a particular idea.
The major benefit of conducting the interview method is linked with knowing the opinion
of different persons with regards to their opinion and suggestion On the other side the
disadvantage is that is very time consuming method and also include huge cost.
Quantitative method- This is the systematic method in which data is collected, analysed
and performance is done by using tools & techniques related to maths. The different type of
method included in qualitative form are described below:
Structured observation- In this method the data is being collected by the investigator
without any direct contribution of applicants ( Flick, 2015)
Questionnaire survey- This factor consists of various research questions so that
information can be easily gathered from the respondent.
For collection of data from the participant’s questionnaire tool is being utilized as the
major benefit of using this method is that it is not very expensive and large population sample
size is used. On the other way the disadvantage is that opinion of respondent while filling
questionnaire can be biased thus making the process complex.
Questionnaire
Q1) Do you understand the concept of equality & diversity at the workplace? Frequency
a) Yes 25
b) No 5
Q2) According to your point of view, do you think implementing equality &
diversity practices creates issues and challenges within the organisation?
Frequency
a) Yes 20
b) No 10
Q3) What are the main issues faced by executing equality and diversity within Frequency

the organisation?
a) Generation gap 10
b) Mental and physical disabilities 8
c) Gender equality 12
Q4) What benefit will be gained by managers of M&S with the assistance of
implementing equality and diversity at the company?
Frequency
a) Attract & retain potential employees 8
b) Enhanced performance 12
c) Create positive working relationships 10
Q5) Which one is the best strategy adopted by the management team of M&S
in order to execute equality & diversity at the workplace?
Frequency
a) Treating everyone fairly 10
b) Providing training to current staff members on diversity issues 10
c) Review organization equal and fair employment policy 10
Q6) In what manner, equality & diversity practices affect the performance of
staff members?
Frequency
a) Positive manner 20
b) Negative manner 10
Q7) Which one is the main responsibility of the management team of M&S in
order to equality & diversity within the organisation?
Frequency
a) Legal Mandate 10
b) Employer Commitment 10
c) Training 10

TASK 3
P5 Examine research and data by using appropriate tools
Theme 1: Understanding about the equality & diversity concepts
Q1) Do you understand the concept of equality & diversity at the workplace? Frequency
a) Yes 25
b) No 5
Interpretation: It can be understood from above diagram that when it was asked to 30
respondents regarding the concept of equality and diversity in organisation. It was seen that there
was a positive response of 25 respondents and other remaining 5 had a negative view because
disagreed that they are not having an understanding of concept of equality and diversity.
Theme 2: Issues & challenges about implementing equality & diversity at workplace
Q2) According to your point of view, do you think implementing equality &
diversity practices creates issues and challenges within the organisation?
Frequency
a) Yes 20
b) No 10
Interpretation: From above represented graph it is analysed that when it was questioned to
respondent regarding various issues and challenges which are emerging because of
implementation of equality and diversity practises it was seen that 20 of them had a yes to this
question on the other hand remaining 10 respondents had a negative view point.
Theme 3: Issues faced by management team while managing diversity and equality
Q3) What are the main issues faced by executing equality and diversity within
the organisation?
Frequency
a) Generation gap 10

b) Mental and physical disabilities 8
c) Gender equality 12
Interpretation: From above graph it can be said that when it was asked to respondents regarding
various issues which organisation will face when they will be executing equality and diversity
practises there were different view points such as 10 respondents felt that generation gap will be
a issue, 12 of them had a view that gender equality is also a issue which organisation can face
and reaming 8 felt that physical and mental disabilities is also a issue which can act as a barrier.
Theme 4: Benefits gain by m&s with the assistance of equality & diversity
Q4) What benefit will be gained by managers of M&S with the assistance of
implementing equality and diversity at the company?
Frequency
a) Attract & retain potential employees 8
b) Enhanced performance 12
c) Create positive working relationships 10
Interpretation: From above graph it can be concluded that researcher asked to all the
respondents about what will be overall benefit which will be gained by mangers in M & S when
there will be equality and diversity practises implemented. Majority that is 12 respondent had a
feeling that it will lead to enhanced performance. 8 respondents felt that it will be very helpful in
attracting and retaining of employee shaving required potential. This leads to a conclusion that
overall performance can also be improved because of such practises which are related to equality
and diversity in organisation.
Theme 5: Strategies adopted by management team in order to implement equality and
diversity at the workplace
Q5) Which one is the best strategy adopted by the management team of M&S Frequency