Impact of Cultural Diversity Practices on M&S Employees' Performance

This report investigates the influence of cultural diversity practices on employee productivity and performance within the UK retail sector, specifically focusing on Marks & Spencer (M&S). The study explores the concept of cultural diversity management, identifying its impact on employee productivity and performance. It also examines the challenges M&S faces when implementing these practices and recommends strategies to overcome them. The research utilizes both primary and secondary sources, including questionnaires and literature reviews, to analyze the data through thematic analysis. The report concludes with recommendations for M&S to effectively manage cultural diversity, thereby enhancing employee productivity and overall performance. The study covers various aspects, including the benefits of diversity, potential conflicts, and strategies for fostering a positive and inclusive workplace environment within the retail context.

A. Title
To evaluate the impact of
Cultural Diversity practices
on the employees'
productivity and performance
at workplace in the context of
retail sector in UK. A study
on Marks & Spencer (M&S).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, praises and thanks to God, The Almighty, for showers of blessings
which helped me immensely throughout the research project and its successful completion.
Secondly, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to the Respected Principal who
has given me the opportunity to do research on this topic which is “The impact of Cultural
diversity practices on the employees' productivity and performance” which broadened my
mind and thoughts regarding the retail sector of UK and the well-known company Marks &
Spencer.
Next, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Research Supervisor for providing me
invaluable guidance from the beginning of the research till the end. My classmates and friends
also deserve an equal appreciation without whose support I would not be able to accomplish the
objectives of this research.
Besides all, I would give my heartfelt thanks to my family members who encouraged and
appreciated me in all the steps of the study especially when times got tough who acted as my
supporting pillars in my research work.

B. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The research is basically done as the retail firms in UK prefer more diversified workforce
in order to obtain a wide variety of new and innovative ideas and opinions. It provides many
opportunities to the employees to interact with the other employees from different background
and culture. On the other hand, it also creates many issues like conflicts, high investment and
many more. So, there is a need to manage the cultural diversity at the workplace in order to gain
more benefits and ways to meet up the challenges faced.
The research focused on the cultural diversity at Marks & Spencer which is a multinational
retailer in UK. The researcher tried to cover all the aspects regarding the impact which Cultural
diversity practices have on the productivity and performance of the employees. Scholar used
primary sources like Questionnaire where the respondents chosen were some employees from
M&S and secondary sources including Literature review by different authors to obtain a deep
insight regarding the objectives of the research.
The study analysed the data through thematic analysis which helped in drawing various
significant conclusions. The researcher also recommended various strategies which can be
implemented in companies like M&S to manage the cultural diversity at the workplace.

C. TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. Title.............................................................................................................................................1
B. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.........................................................................................................3
C. TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................4
D. INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................5
Background of the study..............................................................................................................5
Research Aim and Objectives......................................................................................................5
Rationale of the study..................................................................................................................6
E. LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................8
Theme 1: Concept of managing cultural diversity at workplace of retail firms in UK...............8
Theme 2: Impact of Cultural Diversity practices on employees' productivity and performance.
.....................................................................................................................................................9
Theme 3: Challenges and Barriers faced by the retail firms during the implementation of
cultural diversity practices.........................................................................................................10
Literature Summary...................................................................................................................11
F. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................12
Research approach.....................................................................................................................12
Research Philosophy..................................................................................................................12
Data collection...........................................................................................................................13
Sampling....................................................................................................................................14
Data Analysis.............................................................................................................................15
Ethical Considerations...............................................................................................................15
Research Limitations.................................................................................................................15
G. DATA ANALYSIS and H. OUTCOMES................................................................................17
I. CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................28
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................28
Recommendations......................................................................................................................28
J. REFLECTION...........................................................................................................................29
K. REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................32
L. APPENDIX...............................................................................................................................35
Questionnaire.............................................................................................................................35

TOPIC: To evaluate the impact of Cultural Diversity practices on the employees' productivity
and performance at workplace in the context of retail sector in UK. A study on Marks &
Spencer (M&S).
D. INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Cultural Diversity plays a major role when people from different cultures works at the
same workplace respecting each others’ culture, beliefs, behaviours and opinions. There is a need
to manage the cultural diversity in order to ensure the smooth functioning of organizations in
every aspect. This is mainly based on people from different race, age, religion, ethnicity, gender
or religion (Hingley, 2016).
Cultural diversity at workplace provides material and intangible benefits to the employees as
well as employers (Hall, King and Finlay, 2017). On the other hand, it also results in conflicts
and many other issues. So, the companies have to implement various practices in order to
manage the cultural diversity at the workplace.
The research is basically done by considering a British multinational retailer company Marks &
Spencers (M&S), headquartered in London, England which deals in the selling of own labelled
clothes, food and home products (Is M&S stuck in the middle ?, 2018). The company considers
its employees as its biggest assets who are responsible for its overall progress.
Therefore, the researcher feel the need to study about the ways to manage the cultural diversity
by implementing various practices which helps in increasing the productivity and overall
performance of the employees in M&S. The research also shed light on the strategies which can
be used by M&S in order to meet the challenges which are faced by the company while
implementing those practices.
Research Aim and Objectives
Aim
To study the impact of Cultural Diversity practices carried out in M&S on the
productivity and the performance of the employees at the workplace.
Objectives

 To evaluate the overall concept of cultural diversity management at M&S.
 To identify the ways in which cultural diversity impacts the overall productivity and
performance of the employees at the workplace.
 To ascertain the challenges which M&S can face in the implementation of the practices to
manage cultural diversity.
 To recommend the strategies whose implementation can help M&S to meet up the
challenges faced above in order to increase the productivity and performance of the
employees at the workplace.
Research Questions
 What is meant by concept of culture diversity management?
 How culture diversity impact on overall performance and productivity of employees?
 What are the challenges faced by firms in effective implementation of culture diversity
within organization?
 What are different strategies that can be used to overcome challenges and enhance
performance of employees?
Rationale of the study
The main reason behind this research is that most of the employees are become
dissatisfied as they are discriminated on the basis of gender, race and many other factors which
also results in unequal distribution of opportunities provided to them. This disturbs the overall
productivity and performance of the employees.
As the competition in the retail sector of UK is increasing day by day, it becomes a major
concern for the retail firms to increase its productivity by making the employees more satisfied
and productive so that they become able to give a tough competition to its competitors (Dean,
2016). The companies face lot many issues in managing the cultural diversity at the workplace.
So this research can be proved much useful to various stakeholders such as researchers who wish
to do further study on this topic, the other retailer companies who wish to implement the various
practices of cultural diversity management and the investors who invest in various operations of
the companies. This will especially benefit the managers, the HRM and the employers of the

M&S in order to increase their employees productivity and performance thereby enhancing the
customer base and profitability of the company.

E. LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature Overview enables the researcher to critically evaluate the particular topic by
going through various books & journals which are already published by well-known authors
(Williams and Kayaoglu, 2020). It helped the researcher to gain a deep insight by making
various themes according to the objectives of research and to draw significant conclusions from
them which can help M&S to manage the cultural diversity at its workplace in order to improve
the productivity and performance of its employees.
Theme 1: Concept of managing cultural diversity at workplace of retail firms in UK.
As per the view of Otaye-Ebede (2018), there is a need to manage the cultural diversity at
the workplaces for the smooth functioning of the organizations. The study analysed that the
perspectives of different cultures helps the retail firms to bring in innovation and creativity which
helps in solving various problems and meeting the fluctuating demands of the customers in
completely new and exciting ways. The researcher also evaluated that employees from different
cultures allows the organizations to expand their broader range of products and services to their
respective areas which are completely known to them resulting in targeted marketing. Therefore,
managing cultural diversity becomes most important in the organizations for facing a rapid
growth and progress.
In support of the above statement Kanakaratne, Bray and Robson (2020), assessed the
benefits of managing cultural diversity in the recruitment process as it broadens the talent pool of
the potential employees. Further, it explained that it helps in hiring ambitious and globally
minded candidates which improves the employee retention as well as reduce the investment
which is associated with employee turnover. The study also explained that cultural diversity
management also teaches the employees to create a sense of dignity and respect towards each
other's beliefs and cultures which improves the environment of the workplaces. It makes the
workforce more motivated and enthusiastic in order to compete with the competitors in the
emerging markets of UK's retail industry.
On a contradictory note Holmes (2018), argued that managing cultural diversity requires
a large amount of investment of money and resources. The study further elaborated that this
money can be used by the companies in other important operations and practices like training
and development, marketing and many more. The scholar also analysed that it can create

communication problems as every employee is not aware of the issues and language in which it
is transferred which creates some sorts of interaction problems. As the employees speak different
languages, it can result in misunderstandings and misguidance which leads to confusion in the
workplace.
The contradiction was further expanded by Hoang, Barnes and Munroe (2019), which
stated that cultural diversity can result in conflicts as too many opinions are accumulated and it
becomes a major issue to take a particular decision which is in favour of some while in against of
others. Moreover, the scholar explained that the employees whose perspectives are ignored stop
sharing their views which reduces all the benefits of diversity at the workplace. The conflicts
disturb the overall environment of the workplace lessening the amount of trust among the
employees and the supervisors. The study also believed that the conflicts due to cultural diversity
increases the complaint levels which makes the situation uncomfortable to handle for the
management in the workplace.
Theme 2: Impact of Cultural Diversity practices on employees' productivity and performance.
From the view point of Raju and Singh (2018), it can be described that when the
employees work in coordination with other employees from different backgrounds, thinking,
backgrounds, they become more comfortable being themselves. This helps in making the
employees more satisfied and productive. The study also discussed that the employees become
more engaged and committed in order to perform the tasks in the best possible manner. This
enhances their motivation and encouragement which helps in achieving the goals of the retail
firms.
Further building up on this view point, Khan and et.al., (2019), has explained in their
book that the employees have a feeling to support each other as all belong to different
backgrounds and are not adaptable to the environment of the workplace. This increases the
efficiency of their communication and trust for each other. The scholar also identifies that the
employees start working in a team where different perspectives helps in innovative and unique
ideas which contributes in gaining various competitive advantages and ultimately rapid progress
in the retail industry.
In contrast to the above statement Borges, dos Santos and de Moraes Hoefel (2019),
elucidated that the employees sometimes become pressurized when they don't feel that they are

being themselves which makes them feel rejected and unable to perform the tasks effectively
reducing their productivity. The study also analysed that the employees waste most of their time
in coping up with the differences with other employees and does not focus on their personal as
well as professional goals. They sometimes get distracted from the aim to achieve the
organizational goals and move towards making good relations with the employees to make the
environment healthier in order to feel comfortable.
Wren (2020), also supported the above contradiction by highlighting that the discussions
made in order to become familiar with the other employees and to accept their behaviour
sometimes slow down the projects which are to be done in a given deadline. The study also
explained that the responsibility of decision-making is in the hands of the manager only so it may
lead to missing of some opportunities as many opinions and viewpoints are gathered which keeps
the manager in a confused situation to decide what is right and what is wrong.
The study was further supported by Filimonau and Gherbin (2017), as it highlighted many
issues of cultural diversity at the workplaces like lower cohesiveness among the employees and
the higher management bodies, mistrust and tension among the employees which lowers their
motivation and the productivity, stereotyping due to employees from different cultures,
communication problems due to the different languages of the employees which makes the
interaction difficult and some unexamined assumptions which are generated due to less efficient
communication between the employees and the supervisors.
Theme 3: Challenges and Barriers faced by the retail firms during the implementation of cultural
diversity practices
According to Otaye-Ebede (2019), the companies face various challenges while
implementing the cultural diversity practices. The companies sometimes forget to consider its
own brand thinking about the different cultures and behaviours. The products and services
provided by the company reflect its brand so it becomes challenging for the company to keep its
brand name alive by accepting and respecting the employees from different cultures. This study
also elucidated that the company has to maximize joy and connection by minimizing the fear
among the employees regarding different backgrounds which motivates them to perform their
tasks effectively so that their productivity and performance can be enhanced.

In contrast to the above challenges mentioned Ramanathan and et.al., (2017), argued that
the company forgets to achieve its goals by focusing on implementing the practices which can
manage the diversity at workplace. This hinders the overall progress of the retail firms. The
scholar also analysed a tough competition in the retail sector of UK, so company must implement
such practices which enhances the skills of the employees rather than making collaboration
among them. The skills and abilities of the employees contribute greatly to the organization's
performance and helps in competing with the competitors in the retail sector of UK.
Literature Summary
After going through the research papers published by different authors, it can be analysed
that all the authors have their different point of views regarding the cultural diversity
management at workplace and its impact on employee’s productivity and performance. Some
were in favour to implement such practices which can help the employees to cooperate with each
other irrespective of their cultures and backgrounds while some were in against of this as they
considered these practices as a waste of time, money and resources. It can be concluded from the
above discussion that the diverse workforce helps in bringing innovation to compete and enhance
the brand image but must be managed effectively and its practices must be implemented
efficiently. The companies must not totally be focussed on the diverse practices rather lays
emphasis on achieving the goals of the organization along with managing the diversity at the
workplace.

F. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter of Research Methodology describes the overall design of the research work
and its implementation regarding specific objectives to be achieved (Zapp, Marques and Powell,
2017). It highlights various aspects of the research such as the approach used while doing the
study, its philosophy, the ways in which data is collected from different sources, the respondents
used to support the study, the analysis of the data gathered to draw significant conclusions, the
ethics considered during the complete research and its limitations addressed by the scholar. This
helps the researcher to obtain a deep insight about the complete research and the methods
implemented to gain relevant findings from the same.
Research approach
Approach in research considers all the assumptions in order to decide the particular
method. There are mainly two approaches to perform any research i.e., Inductive and Deductive
(Swain, 2018). Inductive approach helps in analysing the data collected and generates a new
theory based on the findings while the deductive on begins with a hypothesis and tests various
theories and facts. The researcher used the inductive approach as the data is to be analysed
rather than theories to be tested. This is also used because while developing the research
questions and objectives there was not theory focussed. It also helps in generating meanings
from the data which is gathered for identifying the relationships for building a theory. The main
reason of using this approach is also that it is based on learning through experiencing and
observing for reaching to optimal conclusions. This is why it proves to be better approach for
analysing the impact which cultural diversity has on the performance and productivity of the
employees in M&S. Inductive approach is chosen as the research was qualitative and needed to
analyse the view points of the employees regarding the cultural diversity practices at the
workplace and the impact it had on the productivity and performance of its employees.
Research Philosophy
The philosophy of any research is basically a notion or belief which helps in data
gathering, analysing and its implementation (Ryan, 2018). It is broadly divided into 2 types-
Interpretivism and Positivism. Interpretivism is used when the researcher needs to analyse the
human behaviour and views. It can be done by sending the questionnaires, doing social surveys