Strategic Analysis of H&M: Reflective Insights and Recommendations

The assignment provides a comprehensive examination of strategic operations and team dynamics by focusing on various aspects such as task distribution, role responsibilities, and meeting organization within a team setting. The case study revolves around the implementation of an EPEL approach in a business environment, highlighting the importance of effective communication, clear role definitions, and meticulous planning to enhance project success. It further discusses individual contributions, such as being a schedule planner and meeting organizer, to ensure smooth operations and timely completion of tasks. Through reflective analysis, recommendations are proposed for improving team performance by maintaining structured records and optimizing research techniques. The assignment concludes with insights into the critical role each team member plays in achieving collective goals and overall project success.

Running head: SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
Executive Summary
The given report throws light on the self-contribution in a group project. The group project was
given on the company H and M where the various group members had to make a report on the
strategic path that the company will follow in the future. In the poster, various components of the
firm`s external environment were evaluated and discussed. This report represents my
contribution in the preparation of the poster but academically and from the management point of
view. The learning’s from the project as well as certain recommendations have been given that
could have complemented the required design and product.

2SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
About the topic................................................................................................................................2
Contribution to the Academic Content............................................................................................3
ESTEMPLE.................................................................................................................................3
Good Practice...............................................................................................................................4
Worse practice.............................................................................................................................4
Next Practice................................................................................................................................5
Promising Practice.......................................................................................................................5
QR code.......................................................................................................................................5
Managerial and Operational Contriution.........................................................................................6
Recommendations............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

3SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
Introduction
Teamwork is an essential part of any coursework. Teamwork helps in improving the
various skills of the students and prepares them for the organization they will be a part of in the
future. A society is an interdependent body. No one can exist individually in an organization and
therefore they should make sure that they indulge in a teamwork habit in the very beginning so
that later on in their professional lives they already have the adequate skills in order to
communicate and perform within a group (Canagarajah 2013). The given report highlights the
team member`s contribution in the Poster assignment that was given out to our group. There
were certain team members who were assigned with specific tasks and each team member was
given the responsibility to submit the task on time. In the given report, I shall be discussing my
contribution in two sections (Peppard and Ward 2016). That will include by contribution with
respect to the academic material and the second section shall include my managerial and
operational contribution as a member. I was also involved in designing the product. Our group
comprised of six members.
About the topic
The assignment required the students to prepare and an academic poster, which was
based on the clothing, and accessories brand H& M. An external environment assessment with
respect to the given business had been presented along with the strategic options available to the
country (Boud, Keogh and Walker 2013). A timeline, SWOT Analysis, Porter`s Five Forces and
similar strategic tools had been taken into consideration

4SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
Contribution to the Academic Content
In the given poster, I was given a variety of topics for which I had to provide an academic
content for it. The various areas where I had to present proper research work ad details are given
as follows:
Estemple
Good practice
Bad practice
Worst practice
Next Practice
QR Code
I will be describing in detail my research and practice behind assembling and presenting the data
for the given areas
ESTEMPLE
In order to research upon the external business environment of H & M, an ESTEMPLE
Framework was used. An ESTEMPLE Framework can be described as an environmental
ecology framework whereby the various environmental threats as well as the opportunities shall
be analyzed in a greater depth (Collins and Gallinat 2013). This kind of a research helps in the
evaluation of the future, present as well as the past environmental forces which have an impact
on the firm`s strategic development and growth.
In order to conduct the ESTEMPLE analysis, I had followed a systematic research
framework. I used the internet to gather various newspaper articles related to H and M in order to
understand the factors present in the external environment (Hm.com. 2018). This also gave me

5SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
an insight to the media aspect of the ESTEMPLE. I also used my university library to analyze
and research upon the given Strategic Management tool in order to have a clear concept of it.
Various governmental agreements and journals also helped me to contribute the given material
for the research (Graham, Gillespie and McKeown 2013). I believe, this aspect of the report is
extremely important in the sense that it gives a clear understanding of the macro environment at
one glance.
Good Practice
This is an evaluation of the various practices that are undertaken by the clothing brand in
order to improve its operations and to improve its image. The good practice, as stated in the
poster was that it indulges in a new supplier management task whereby the company works with
the suppliers to help them improve their operations (Slack 2015). This information was obtained
by me while I was going through the company website on sustainability and management of
suppliers. After reading the article, I could observe that this is the adequate practice taken up by
the company.
Worse practice
This bad practice information was obtained from various newspaper articles and
numerous lawsuits, which have been filed against the company. It had been stated that managers
of the company force their workers to indulge in bad working habits in their sweatshops. The
workers are made to work in inhuman working conditions and this tends to have a negative
impact on their health and safety (Tsai and Lau 2013). Various lawsuits had been filed against
the company by the trade unions. Secondly, the burning of stock had also been stated in a
newspaper article where the executives of the company had agreed that they do not conduct
sales, which they believe, shall lower the image of the brand and instead they burn the stock at

6SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
the end of the year. This was deeply criticized and the company had to face the wrath of many
associations.
Next Practice
This component of the poster is suggestive and derived from the worse practice
component. In the worse practice of the company as per my research, I had found out that the
company indulges in burning of its stock in order to keep its value constant and not pull it down
by putting it on sale. In order to improve this next practice to be adopted (Mitchell, O'Reilly-
Scanlon and Weber 2013) . The next practice that can be adopted is that it can optimize their
supply chain so that moderate amount of stocks are produced and then they cannot be wasted. I
had adopted this idea from various texts on logistics and supply chain management cases of its
competitor companies like Zara, which has a zero inventory policy.
Promising Practice
The promising practice may be the something that the organization can perform in order
to improve their image in front f its customers. The promising practice which I suggested
keeping in mind the various groups and their oppositions against the company. They can make
sure that the working environment within the company and their sweatshops is healthy and that
the workers are provided with optimum working conditions (Moon 2013). This idea was
collected from various suggestions as given in various articles by the various experts.
QR code
The QR code was made by me as a reference for the poster. When the QR code will be
scanned, it will take the user directly to the h and m online website. We got this concept by
looking at the sample posters, which made us, realize that if we give a QR Code along with our

7SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
poster it will be easy for us to show the relationship between our poster and the website or
company plans. I applied some programming and formed the given QR Code.
Apart from the given roles, I had also prepared a rough draft for the Porter`s Five Forces
Model. I got the relevant reference from various Strategic Management Books.
Managerial and Operational Contribution
In a group, various members have different roles to perform apart from gathering
academic data. The academic roles that I adopted, have been given in the previous section.
I was also the schedule planner and meeting organizer of the team. It was my
responsibility to make sure that the various meetings that to be held among the team members
were organized on time and attended by all. I used to make the schedule of the meeting keeping
in mind the conflicting time availability of the various members. It is always not possible that the
various members in a group will have adequate time for the various members. Therefore, I made
sure that all the meetings, which were held, were made keeping in mind the schedules of
everyone.
However, there were certain members who were not able to attend the meeting and then it
was my duty to see to it that those members would be aware of all the details about the poster
that were discussed in the meeting and they were aware of their role (Zimmerman 2013).
I also used to carry my laptop to the meetings in order to form a rough draft of the
meeting. This helped in discussion and forming of the framework. I believe that my managerial
role was extremely relevant and that I was the ultimate meditation among the various team
members. I performed my job with due diligence

8SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
Recommendations
However, I believe that the team in general could have performed well if it had:
Formed a database or kept a record as to what it had discussed in the previous meeting
and what it had not. This would have mitigated the redundancy in the given data.
I could have been more organized and kept separate file, which kept the record of various
roles played by the members in order to have a clear understanding of the contribution of
all the team members (Hill, Jones and Schilling 2014).
Had my research skills been more relevant I could have been able to avoid any mistakes
that might have taken place.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be said that although a team comprises of various members, it is the role
of an individual to make sure that his contribution is adequate and it is seen to it that all
individuals work together as one team and contribute towards the success of the team. This move
shall help the team in being appreciated and achieving their targets.

9SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
References
Boud, D., Keogh, R. and Walker, D. eds., 2013. Reflection: Turning experience into learning.
Routledge.
Canagarajah, A.S., 2013. Critical academic writing and multilingual students. University of
Michigan Press.
Collins, P. and Gallinat, A. eds., 2013. The ethnographic self as resource: Writing memory and
experience into ethnography. Berghahn Books.
Graham, S., Gillespie, A. and McKeown, D., 2013. Writing: Importance, development, and
instruction. Reading and writing, 26(1), pp.1-15.
Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an integrated
approach. Cengage Learning.
Hm.com. ,2018. H&M offers fashion and quality at the best price. [online] Available at:
http://www.hm.com/in [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018].
Mitchell, C., O'Reilly-Scanlon, K. and Weber, S. eds., 2013. Just who do we think we are?:
Methodologies for autobiography and self-study in education. Routledge.
Moon, J.A., 2013. Reflection in learning and professional development: Theory and practice.
Routledge.
Peppard, J. and Ward, J., 2016. The strategic management of information systems: Building a
digital strategy. John Wiley & Sons.

10SELF-ASSESSMENT REPORT
Slack, N., 2015. Operations strategy. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tsai, W. and Lau, A.S., 2013. Cultural differences in emotion regulation during self-reflection on
negative personal experiences. Cognition & emotion, 27(3), pp.416-429.
Zimmerman, B.J., 2013. From cognitive modeling to self-regulation: A social cognitive career
path. Educational psychologist, 48(3), pp.135-147.