Analyzing Strategies for Equality & Diversity: M&S Case Study Report

This report presents a case study on Marks & Spencer, examining the role of various strategies in executing equality and diversity within the organization. The introduction defines equality and diversity and highlights their importance in promoting equal job opportunities. Task 1 covers project aims, objectives, a project management plan (PMP) including cost analysis, scope, time management, communication, and risk assessment, along with a work breakdown structure and Gantt chart. Task 2 involves small-scale qualitative and quantitative research, while Task 3 analyzes the research data and provides recommendations. The PMP details cost considerations, scope, timeframes, and communication strategies. The research objectives focus on understanding the concepts of equality and diversity, identifying advantages for M&S, and examining strategies for implementation. The report includes detailed cost breakdowns, time schedules, and communication plans to ensure the project's successful execution. The research aims to provide valuable insights and recommendations for implementing effective equality and diversity practices within M&S.

Managing a successful
business project

Table of Contents
TITLE: “To examine the role of various strategies which will support in executing equality &
diversity within the organisation.” A case study on M&S. .............................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................3
P1 Project aims and objectives...............................................................................................4
P2 Project Management Plan..................................................................................................4
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart......................................................................8
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................11
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................11
P4 Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research.........................11
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................14
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................14
P5 Examine research and data by using appropriate tools...................................................14
P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations..................................................................22
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................23
P7 Reflection........................................................................................................................23
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................24
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................26

TITLE: “To examine the role of various strategies which will support in
executing equality & diversity within the organisation.” A case study on
M&S.
INTRODUCTION
Equality as well as diversity within the organisation refers to provide value to equality,
human rights along with diversity among the workplace as well as in the overall society. This as
a result assist in promoting equal job opportunities to the staff members without any kind of
discrimination with the employees. In order to implement equality & diversity practices within
the business entity in an effective manner, managers are required to adopt various types of
policies and strategies. This as a result assist in accomplishing organisational goals and
objectives in an appropriate manner (Boekhorst, 2015). In order to conduct this research
effectively, chosen organisation is Marks and Spencer. It is a UK based multinational
organisation developed in the year 1884. It is the report which includes research objective, aim
which is associated with equality & diversity within the organisation. Along with this, it will
includes different types of research methods used by the investigator along with PMP, WBS,
Gantt Chart. Apart from this, appropriate recommendations will be provided by the investigator
at the end of this research. All these elements are going to be covered in an effective manner so
that positive outcomes will be produced.
In the present report, Marks & Spencer is chosen as the base company which was
established in the year 1884 by Michael Marks & Thomas Spencer in the marketplace of Leeds.
The company mainly deals in home, cosmetic, accessories and clothing products across the
whole wide world.
TASK 1
INTRODUCTION
It is the section which includes three topics which are aim as well as objective, project
management plan, Gantt chart and work breakdown structure. All these factors assist in
producing positive and required outcomes within stipulated time frame and in appropriate
manner. Along with this, the chosen organisation is M&S under which the whole research is
conducted.
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P1 Project aims and objectives
Research aim:
“To examine the role of various strategies which will support in executing equality &
diversity within the organisation.” A case study on M&S.
Research Objectives:
 To determine the concept of both equality as well as diversity within the organisation
 To examine various advantages of equality & diversity gain by Marks and Spencer
 To identify different strategies and policies which help in executing equality & diversity
within the organisation.
Research Questions:
 What is the concept of both equality as well as diversity within the organisation?
 What are various advantages of equality & diversity gain by Marks and Spencer?
 What are the different strategies and policies which help in executing equality &
diversity within the organisation?
P2 Project Management Plan
Project refers to an activity which is done by individuals in order to create unique goods
and services which creates values to the organisation. The Management plan is evaluated as the
personal documentation which is doing the working of blueprint for the people who are involved
the research project. This is also an important factor in order to know about the time duration of
each activity. The main purpose of PMP is to identify the overall outcome of the project how
effectively positive outcome will be achieved. The plan consists of various strategies which can
support in the overall implementation of the activities. The different factors of PMP includes
risk, cost, time, quality, communication and resources (Cottrill, Denise Lopez and Hoffman,
2014). In context of the current research the researcher has executed effective Performance
management system. The different factors of the plan are evaluated below as:
Cost: This term referred to the monetary value which is being used for the
development of the services in the project. In context with the research the investigator
requires to have some monetary funds in order to carry out their investigations in rightful
manner. The amount which has been selected is sufficient in order to perform the investigation
thus gaining effective results. The budget is set for every business activity at the initial phase so
that future plans can be planned out according to the budget. It has also been said that there are
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various cost controlling methods used by researcher which includes budgeting, cost
breakdown structure and cash fellow statement. Along with this, each and every task need to
be performed in such a manner that the pre defined cost does not get hamper. In the current
research, it has been said that total cost which is required by the investigator in order to
complete the whole research in an effective manner is £90.00.
 Budgeting : It refers to the procedure where a plan is prepared by the investigator in
order to identify the required amount so that the project will be completed in an effective
manner. With the help of this plan, investigator will be able to identify the amount
needed to complete the research in an appropriate way.
Budget of Current Project Plan
Identify & create the topic £10.00
Preliminary investigation for information £20.00
Locate raw material online £10.00
Develop notes £5.00
Clarify all the issues and problem £5.00
Review some literature £12.00
Create Instrumentation Plan £10.00
Data collection £18.00
Total £90.00
 Cash flow statement: It refers to a financial statement which shows how modifications in
the income and balance sheet account affect all the cash as well as cash equivalents in
both positive and negative manner.
 Cost breakdown structure: It is one of the most effective and useful approach with
the help of which each and every element required to conduct the research breaks
down into smaller one. Along with this, it is used by researcher in order to compare
the real costs with the budgeted one.
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Scope: This is a vital factor in every form of research as it helps in describing about
the desired scope in the actual life phase and zone of business. In relation to the present
form of research the scope factor is very wide for Marks and Spencer to carry out their
investigation on both the smaller and larger scale of the similar sector (Drews and Van den
Bergh, 2016). When the research is completed effectively then there will be large number of
opportunities for business. This will also result in developing new business direction for industry
thus enhancing their overall business shares. Output of the research is that it has been identified
that the there is still a situation within the society where equality and diversity within the
workplace. In order to reduce the negative impact, mangers of the company need to develop
strategies and policies so that positive outcomes will be produced.
Time: It is considered as the adequate time frame consumed for conducting particular
activity or task. This factor is described as the potential amount of the time which is being
used for the completion of the project. The time duration for each business activity is set
according to the availability of the business resources. For the current research the time
period which is required is 6 months in order to complete the project effectively within the
feasible solutions can be easily attained for the business. In order to conduct the research
effectively various strategies was conducted so that the research produce positive outcome
in an effective manner and within given time frame.
Communication Matrix:
Communication Purpose Medium Frequency Audience
Discovery of
topic in respect to
the formulated
interest.
Introducing and
determining the
project.
Through face to
face
communication.
Once Project team
along with
individuals which
are indulge.
Regular basis
team meetings
Assessment of the
project's status
Face to face. Two time in a day Project team as
well as lecturer.
Quality: It is another essential element where researchers need to maintain the
overall quality of research. This can be done by collecting all the required information and
data from well known and authenticated web sites (Durlak, 2015) . Along with this,
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investigator need to gather all the information by adopting authentic sources, respondents
and secondary methods for maintaining the quality of information in an effective and
appropriate manner. It is essential to maintain the quality of research therefore, investigator
adopt quality control methods along with control charts and many more. These methods
assist in controlling and maintaining the overall quality of the research as well as output of
the research.
If talking about quality of the research, it is very essential to examine all the factors
effectively. For maintaining as well as controlling the research quality, it is required by the
management team to adopt unique techniques and tools. Some of these techniques are flow
chart, control chart, quality control and many more. Control chart refers to a graphical
representation used to identify the procedure which alters on a regular basis. In this, all the
information is being plotted in timely order. Furthermore, flow chart assist in workflow of a
specific task or project. In addition to this, quality control chart is a graphic chart which
help in identifying whether all the task meeting the pre defined expectations or not.
In the current research, quality control chart is chosen by the investigator which will
assist in fulfilling all the quality linked requirements in an specific period of time.
Communication: In order to execute all the research work in an effective and
appropriate manner, positive communication needs to be there. All the people associated
with the research required to communicate all the information within stipulated time frame.
In reference to current research which is conducted on the topic of equality & diversity
within organisation, investigator adopt some methods which includes mobile phones, email,
regular basis meetings and many more (Galpin, 2014) . This will assist in developing new and
innovative strategies so that research will be conducted in an appropriate manner.
Organisational Structure : In order to accomplish the research in an effective
manner on the chosen topic of “To examine the role of various strategies which will support
in executing equality & diversity within the organisation”, investigator considered
functional structure. This will help in implementing equality as well as diversity practices in
an effective manner within the workplace of Marks & Spencer.
Risk: For doing any kind of work there is some risk associated with that work. In the
present research one of the main risk which is linked with the investigation is that there
might misuse of the information gathered from respondents. This might affect the overall
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authenticity and reliability which might create negative impact on the outcome of research.
Along with this, that may creates negative image of the company at the competitive
marketplace which affects the overall profitability of the organization. Some of the risk
which is associated with the present research includes technical, project related risk, external
as well as internal risk which might affect the whole outcome of the investigation in an
effective manner. In references to the current investigation, it has been analysed that there
are ample number of risk which are external, technical, project related and many more. All
these risk might be resolved in an effective manner by adopting best and most suitable
approach.
Resources: It is the research which is mainly conducted on the topic of equality and
diversity within the organization requires ample number of resources. Some of the most essential
and significant resources includes land, labour, equipment, capital and many more. This as a
result assist researcher in order to conduct the whole research in an effective manner and produce
positive outcome within stipulated time frame(Glatthor, 2018). With the assistance of all these
resources researcher will be able to produce positive as well as required outcome within given
time frame. Along with this, resources will assist in attaining pre defined targets within stipulated
given period of time. Type of resources : For conducting the whole research in an effective manner on a given
topic, investigator mainly consider all the employees of Marks & Spencer (human),
various research based journals and articles (material), questionnaire (equipments), P&L
and other financial account of Marks & Spencer (financial information) and many more.
 Origin of resources : For conducting a investigation in an effective and appropriate
manner on the topic “To examine the role of various strategies which will support in
executing equality & diversity within the organisation” which support the managers
while implementing equality and diversity practices within Marks & Spencer. For this,
organiser need to considered internal as well as external information & data in order to
bring favourable results.
P3 Work breakdown structure and Gantt chart
Work Break down structure
The work breaks down structure is evaluated as the most effective method of dividing the
overall components of larger types of projects into smaller ones in order to achieve effective
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results in short time durations. The overall working is break down into the way it can be easily
managed. Dividing of the overall working into the team members results in enhancing business
productivity and achieving cost effective results for business organisation (Israel, 2017).
Gantt chart
This term is evaluated as the presentation of the activities into the form of graph that can
be easily completed by the employees against the desired time frame. This is evaluated as the
visual form of presenting the graphs. In other words, it is mainly breaking of the components of
the project which had to be covered into fixed time period. The task is represented on both the
horizontal and vertical axis. The dependencies among different business activities is also
evaluated by this type of Gantt chart. This is an important factor for an organisation in order to
keep an update on the overall activities of the project and the additional resources required to
complete the project on time. With reference to the current study, investigator has developed an
effective Gantt chart which will provide guidance to each research team member about every
activity and available time for it. The proposed Gantt chart for the study is stated as below:
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TASK 2
INTRODUCTION
Apart from the above section, in the second section, research methodology is includes
where all the methods, tools and techniques used by researcher are going to be discussed in detail
manner. This will assist in identifying whether the research is conducting positively and not.
P4 Small-scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research
While conducting a research, investigator adopt various methods and tools in order to
gather information and data. With the assistance of these tools, effective output will be produced
so that research objective will be fulfilled. Therefore, by using research methodology in an
appropriate manner, researcher will be able to attain goals and objectives of the company will be
accomplished (Quinlan, 2019). Some of the key essential methods used by researcher in order to
conduct the whole research in an effective manner are as follows:
Primary research
Primary research refers to an in depth study about the facts and data by the investigator. It
is the method where raw or fresh data is collected by the researcher in an effective manner. Such
type of information is being collected by using questionnaire, survey, personal interview,
observations and many other sources (Mukhopadhyay and Gupta, 2014). This is the method
which is quite time consuming and costly way to gather required information. But, still it is
supportive in gathering authenticate information that leads to attainment of project outcome in
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the quicker manner. Also, this method allows investigator to gather highly fresh data which is
supportive for investigator in determining proposed research outcome in rapid with high
authenticity and reliability.
Secondary research
Apart from primary research, another method for collecting information and data is
secondary methodology. It is the method which includes all the secondary method such as books,
articles, journals and other secondary sources for collecting information in an effective manner.
It is considered as low cost method with the help of which required data and information will be
gathered (Long, 2016). Researcher opt this method so that they can effectively gather all the
data and information within stipulated time frame in order to conduct the research in an effective
manner.
In the context of present research, it has been said that investigator in this research adopt
both primary and secondary method for research so that required information and data will be
collected so that research will be conducted effectively. This will assist in developing positive
outcome in an effective manner which creates ample number of opportunities for the company.
In case of primary research respondents use questionnaires method where total number of
respondents are 50. And on the other hand in case of secondary method, researcher use all the
secondary sources such as websites, online sources, books, journal and many more. This is so
because, information on proposed aim and objectives can be developed effectively which will
further contribute in obtaining valuable outcome within given time frame. Both the methods
assist in attaining positive and required information so that the current research will be conducted
in an effective manner.
Qualitative research
It refers to a market investigation method in order to collect all the non numerical data
and information which will used to enhance the understanding of opinions and reasons. All the
data which is collected by using this methodology includes behaviour of human in a specific
situation. This is the method which consists of observation, personal interview, group
discussions and many more. All the questions which are going to be asked by using this research
methods includes open ended questions which are in the form of semi structured manner
(Kumar, 2019).
Quantitative research
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