Marks & Spencer: Culture's Impact on International Strategy

This report critically evaluates the conceptual foundations of international organizational policy and strategy, focusing on the impact of culture, political structures, language, religion, and other factors. It uses Marks & Spencer as a case study, examining how these elements influence strategic decision-making and organizational effectiveness. The report analyzes the roles of religion, political structures, cultural norms, and globalization in shaping international organizational policy and strategy. Furthermore, it assesses stakeholder structures, power dynamics, and discusses arguments for challenging existing thinking. The report emphasizes the importance of aligning organizational strategy with cultural considerations to achieve success in a globalized business environment, and how ethnographic studies and political awareness can be used to maximize organizational effectiveness and strategy.

Culture and its impact on
Strategy

Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................................3
Critically evaluate the concepts on which current perception of international organizational policy and
strategy are based....................................................................................................................................3
Critical analysis of the impact of political structures, culture, language, religion and beliefs, social
customs, ethnicity, ethos and geographical location of current perceptions on international
organizational strategy.............................................................................................................................4
Determine how to maximize organizational effectiveness and strategy by using findings of political and
ethnographic study exploit outcomes.......................................................................................................6
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................................7
Critical assessment of the roles of religion, political structures, cultural norms, ethnicity, ethos, the
concept of ’the State’, business and economic models and globalization in the development of
international organizational policy and strategy......................................................................................7
Critical evaluation of how the roles of religion, political structures, cultural norms, ethnicity, ethos, the
concept of ’the State’, business and economic models and globalization affect the process of decision-
making and enable a view of international organizational policy and strategy........................................8
Task 3.......................................................................................................................................................10
Critical evaluation of stakeholders’ structures, their power and status..................................................10
Arguments for discussion with stakeholders and influencers that challenge the current state on thinking
and structures.........................................................................................................................................12
CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Organizations that operate both nationally as well as internationally come across different
complexities that can impact their overall business activities as well as performance. Culture is
one of the important components for an organization as it comprises of assumptions, values,
norms etc. Besides adding intrinsic value to the organization, there are various economic as well
as social benefits that are provided by culture. The culture of an organization has a significant
impact on the organization’s strategy. If an organization is able to align its strategy with its
culture, it will be able to balance its success in an effective manner (Bennett, 2017). Strategies
within an organization keep on changing based on different projects that it undertakes.
Companies that have a stable culture, are able to implement their strategy smoothly.
Organization chosen for this report is Marks and Spencer, which is a British multinational
retailer of household and clothing products. The company was founded by Michael Marks and
Thomas Spencer in the year 1884. The report evaluates the conceptual grounds on which the
current perception of international organizational strategy is based. There is also an assessment
of the roles of religion, political structures, ethnicity etc. in the development of organizational
policy as well as strategy. Lastly, a critical evaluation of the different stakeholder structures,
their power and status is also included in the report.
Task 1
Critically evaluate the concepts on which current perception of international organizational
policy and strategy are based
Organizational policy as well as strategy of companies that operate internationally, are
based on certain concepts. Policy can be referred to a set of rules as well as regulations that form
the base of an organization’s important decisions. While developing its international strategy, a
company takes into account various concepts. Marks and Spencer is an international company
having operations across the world and therefore, its international organization policy and
strategy are based on various conceptual grounds (Benyamini, Gozlan and Weissman, 2017).
Like the policy of the organization is based on the cultures of the different geographic locations
that the company operates in. This is because different countries have their own cultures and
policies. Therefore, the company ensures that its organizational policy is in line with the cultures

of the different countries. Besides this, technology is another concept on which the current
perception of international organizational policy of Marks and Spencer is based.
The political activity as well as stability of the different countries can also have an impact
on the organization policy as well as strategy, internationally. Marks and Spencer takes into
account all these factors to make sure that the implementation of its organization policy is
effective and successful. Different countries have different laws and legislations that can affect
the overall business operations of a company if it fails to comply by it. Therefore, it can be said
that legislations and laws can act as another important conceptual ground on which current
organizational policy as well as policy of the respective company is based.
The international strategy of Marks and Spencer is based on exporting its products to its
different retail stores across the world. Transportation is among the most important conceptual
grounds that ensures that the business strategy of the company is functioning effectively (Boone,
Roets and Roose, 2018). There are many factors or conceptual grounds that can have an impact
on the organizational strategy of a company. If the size of a company is large and complex, like
Marks and Spencer, it will have to formulate its organizational strategy in such a way that it not
only proves out to be successful, but also helps in managing the customers across different
locations in the world. This is because the strategy of a company plays a major role in the overall
success of a company and helping it gain a competitive advantage against the competitors.
Managers at Marks and Spencer adopt democratic style of learnership, wherein they encourage
their team members to share their ideas and provide suggestions during the process of
formulation of strategy as well as policy for the company and that how should they be deployed
within the country as well as across international boundaries.
Critical analysis of the impact of political structures, culture, language, religion and beliefs,
social customs, ethnicity, ethos and geographical location of current perceptions on international
organizational strategy
The organizational strategy of a company can be referred to as the combination of actions
that a company intends to implement in order to achieve its future goals. The international
organizational strategy of a company can be affected by various factors like, political structures
of the different countries, religion and beliefs of people, culture, language, customers, ethnicity
as well as geographical location (Bulus, Hamid and Lim, 2017). The political structure of a

company influences the overall business operations as well as strategy that it intends to
implement. This is because the employees within a company can have different political views,
and if there is a sharp disagreement between them, it can lead to disharmony within the
workplace. Due to this, the employees of the company across different international boundaries
might not be comfortable in working with each other.
The culture, language, religion as well as belief of people across the world are different
and it is important for the company to take them into account. This is because these can affect
the way of communication among the employees, their levels of motivation and reward systems
in the company. While formulating organizational strategy to be implemented internationally,
language is a factor that the managers of the company should always consider (De Mooij, 2018).
This is because it can help in overcoming the communication barriers during the strategy
formulation. Social customs can be referred to as the actions and behaviors that are shared by the
people of a particular culture. This is the reason why people belonging to different cultures
behave differently. The different social customs can lead to some risks for the company’s
strategy as well as its business strategy at an international level. The Viable System Model or
VSM model helps organizations in identifying their problems or shortcomings and redesign their
business processes accordingly. The respective company can make use of the model in order to
gain important information on different functions.
As per the view point of Marc Kaplan, culture is one of the important factors that
becomes mainly important when a company decides to bring in change by implementing a new
organizational strategy. Having operations at an international level, Marks and Spencer considers
the different social customs, languages, cultures across various international boundaries before
implementing a new international strategy (Shape culture, 2020). Through this, the company has
been able to implement its global strategy in an effective way. Organizations that operate in
religious communities should adhere to what is expected of them by developing appropriate
strategy. Having a target audience within an appropriate geographic location can help the
company in formulating strategy so that the needs of the customers within that location can be
satisfied effectively (Ford, Piccolo and Ford, 2017). Therefore, these were some of the factors
that can have an impact on the international organizational strategy of a company as well as its
business operations internationally, as a whole.

Determine how to maximize organizational effectiveness and strategy by using findings of
political and ethnographic study exploit outcomes
It is very important for all organizations to maximize their effectiveness as well as
strategy if they want to be successful. There are many factors that contribute to the overall
effectiveness of a company. Effective organizations have a positive culture at the workplace with
positive behavior of the employees. It is a known fact that different employees have different
views on the political structures of various countries. In order to maximize its overall
effectiveness, a company should promote diversity at its workplace (Hickman and Silva, 2018).
This is because when there is a diverse workforce, the employees are used to working with each
other and also support each other’s viewpoints effectively. The company should make use of its
employees across different countries in an appropriate manner. This is because employees of an
organization that work across different geographic locations, have knowledge about the political
structure as well as condition of the country. As a result, they can help the management of the
company to develop effective strategies based on the same.
It has been found that educating employees across international boundaries as well as
providing them training can help a company in maximizing its overall effectiveness. This is
important because different countries have their own political structure which makes it important
for the employees of a company like Marks and Spencer to be aware of as the company operates
globally. Similarly, ethnicity can also contribute to the effectiveness of the company as cultures,
languages, beliefs, religions and habits of people across different geographic locations in the
world are different. So, if the respective focuses on providing quality products and services to the
customers in different countries, it will be able to gain their trust and loyalty. Due to this, there
can be an increase in the overall performance of the company which can lead to an increase in is
effectiveness.
With the effective use of technology and keeping in mind its accessibility across different
ethnographic regions, an organization can maximize its effectiveness (Kadarisman, 2019). It can
be used to keep the employees within the company as well as those who work in different
locations updated about the status of a particular project, when they are involved in the same.
There are various soft wares that have been specifically designed for improving the efficiency as
well as effectiveness of the company. They can also help in improving the existing products as

well as services of the company without any compromise on the same. Also, by working with
employees in different politically structured countries, the company will be able to generate new
ideas and reduce any unnecessary costs and offer quality service to the customers around the
world.
Task 2
Critical assessment of the roles of religion, political structures, cultural norms, ethnicity, ethos,
the concept of ’the State’, business and economic models and globalization in the development
of international organizational policy and strategy
Religion, political structures, cultural norms in a country, ethnicity etc. play an important
role in the development of international policy as well as strategy of an organization. It is
believed that religion plays an important role in the development of international policy as well
as strategy. This is because people living across different geographic locations follow different
religions. Therefore, it is important to make sure that that the company follows these while
formulating its international policy as well as strategy (Lingard and et. al., 2017). The political
structure of a country including different political institutions can influence an organization’s
strategy as well as policy to be implemented across different regions of its operations. Similar to
political structures, different countries have their own cultural norms. Marks and Spencer should
take into account the different culture norms when deciding on developing an international
policy.
Respective company has managers who adopt democratic style of leadership wherein
they encourage the team members to share their ideas as well as suggestions during the process
of formulating strategy that can be implemented at an international level. The company believes
its employees to be one of the most useful assets that help it in achieving its strategic goals as
well as objectives. There are different stakeholders within an organization, both internal as well
as external, who can influence the development of policy and strategy at an international level.
Concept of “The State” refers to a state that which includes various territories and is a sovereign.
The state holds supreme rules over all of its territories and can play an important role in the
development of international strategy (Liu, 2018). The respective company has to ensure that it
takes into account the different legislations of the different states that it operates in. This is

because it can help in formulating an international organizational strategy that helps the company
not only in serving the needs of the customers across the world, but also gain their trust.
The primary purpose of a business model is to describe how an organization creates and
delivers value. Having an effective business as well as economic model can help a company in
figuring out the problem that it is intending to solve as well as for whom. Marks and Spencer has
a business model wherein it takes into account the different needs as well as preferences of the
customers across the world. A business model is important because it can significantly contribute
to the company’s overall success. Apart from this, globalization is another important aspect that
can play a major role in development of effective organizational strategy as well as policy at an
international level (Luthans and Doh, 2018). Globalization has many facets that explain that
people across different countries are different from each other. It can help in creating better
opportunities for the company that operates internationally. Also, globalization has led to an
increase in the overall competition across the globe which can be related to products and
services, target market etc.
Globalization has become an important concept that mostly all organizations that operate
internationally take into account while developing strategy as well as policy. Globalization has
made it possible for international organizations to have an easy access to the latest technology.
Not only this, technology has made it easier for companies to increase their overall sales by
developing strategies that take into account various factors that are concerned with satisfying the
needs as well as preferences of the customers. Also, globalization that become so rapid that there
has been an emergence of a new field, named Global Strategic Management. It guides the
management of a business to develop effective strategies for organizations operating at a global
level. The market is changing globally and globalization takes into account the various factors
that can impact the overall business operations of a company. Therefore, these are some of the
roles of the different factors on development of policy and strategy at an international level.
Critical evaluation of how the roles of religion, political structures, cultural norms, ethnicity,
ethos, the concept of ’the State’, business and economic models and globalization affect the
process of decision-making and enable a view of international organizational policy and strategy
Decision making is one of the most important aspects for an organization and can be
referred to as making informed choices by taking into account various factors (Mendelberg,

2017). It is important because it can help an organization in achieving its goals and objectives as
well as ensures that the resources are utilized in an effective manner. Cultures across different
countries can have an impact on the decision-making. While developing a new international
strategy, Marks and Spencer evaluates the roles played by religion, political structures and
cultural norms. This is important for the company because evaluating these factors can help it in
understanding the needs as well as preferences in an effective manner. Also, the people living in
different locations have their own cultural norms and thus, prefer different clothing products.
Informed decisions allow the organization to develop policies and strategies to be
implemented in different areas of its operations (Nagy and et. al., 2018). The political structure
of one country may be stable, while the other country wherein the company operates is not very
politically stable. Thus, the management of the company has to make decisions and develop
business strategies keeping this in mind. This has allowed the respective company to gain the
trust as well as loyalty of its customers from all across the world. Marks and Spencer also has
various stores in different states of various countries. And each of these states have different laws
that any organization operating there is expected to comply to. Similarly, the role of ethnicity is
also important can have an impact on the process of decision-making. Also, any changes in the
cultural norms or political structures can create a view for the formulation of organizational
policy as well as strategy.
In order to reach a consensus on the policy as well as strategy, the management of the
company makes sure that the views as well as suggestions that have been put forward by the
employees working across different geographic locations are taken into account. This is because
they can provide valuable input as they are aware of any changes that take place in the culture,
political stability, religion or language of the different countries. As a result, the overall strategy
and organizational policy of the company gets affected and there is a need to either formulate a
new strategy or revise its existing strategy in order to ensure that business activities are carried
out in an effective manner. Inter as well as intra relations across the boundaries of the
organization can also give rise to different emergent behaviors (Olalla-Soler, 2019). Various
internal stakeholders of an organization include managers, the owner of the company, employees
etc. Whereas, the different external stakeholders of the company can include the customers,
shareholders etc. They have to be kept informed about the progress of a project or if a new

strategy or policy is developed. This is because they can affect the decision-making process in
the company based on their level of power as well as interest.
Lastly, globalization is also one of the factors that can affect an organization’s process of
making decisions and developing strategy as well as organizational policy. Globalization has
increased the overall complexity as well as uncertainty of making effective decisions and choices
for a company. As a result, many companies today, including Marks and Spencer face a lot of
pressure when it comes to internationalizing their business operations or even expanding them
into a comparatively new market (Perso and Hayward, 2020). This is mainly because companies
don’t have much idea of the available resources like raw material or technology in those
locations. As a result, they have to develop a strategy or policy that is effective and allows them
to manage their business activities in an effective way. Therefore, this is how the various factors
listed, like political structure, cultural norms, globalization etc. can affect the development of
policy and strategy as well as the whole decision-making process of the company.
Task 3
Critical evaluation of stakeholders’ structures, their power and status
A stakeholder can be defined as a person who has a power and a certain level of interest
in the activities of a business and are affected by the same. An organization can have both
internal as well as external stakeholders. Some examples of internal stakeholders include,
managers, employees, owner of the company etc. Whereas external stakeholders include
customers, shareholders etc. who are outside the company. The stakeholders of a company can
either affected or get affected by the different activities of the organization. They can provide
both practical as well as financial support to the company and also, help in making informed
decisions that are important for it (Asmussen, Foss and Nell, 2019). Also, different stakeholders
have different levels of interest as well as power in a company. While defining stakeholders’
structures, it is important to identify and define the roles as well as responsibilities of each of
them. A stakeholder analysis is a framework that can be used by organizations to identify he key
stakeholders in a project. The different stakeholders are grouped together based on their level of
participation, power as well as interest in the project.

A stakeholder analysis is important and can help and can not only help in identifying the
stakeholders, but also allow clear communication regarding project updates with them. A
stakeholder analysis for Marks and Spencer is explained below-
High Power, High Interest – Stakeholders that come under this category are the most
important ones and should be kept at priority. Therefore, they should be managed closely and
informed about all the updates of the project from time to time (Burke, 2018). This is because
they possess high power and high interest, thus greatest efforts should be made to satisfy them.
Owner of the company, board of directors, general manager as well as shareholders come under
this group.
High Power, Low Interest – These stakeholders should be kept satisfied as they possess
high power in the company but not so much efforts should be made that they become bored with
the same. Customers, government, investors and sponsors fall under this category.
Low Power, High Interest – These stakeholders should be kept informed about the
progress of the project because they have a high interest and low power (Stakeholder Analysis,
2020). They should be checked in with regularly and they can be very helpful with the details of
the project. Employees and Suppliers are the stakeholders that come under this category.
Low Power, Low Interest – These stakeholders should be kept informed about the
project and monitored periodically. They should not be bored with excessive communication.
The security guard, receptionist come under this category.
Critical Systems Heuristics or (CSH) offers a framework that includes questions about a
program or project. It explains its purpose and the people who will be its intended beneficiaries.
It can be said that the stakeholders within a company can have a significant impact on the
projects that are undertaken by a company. They can either affect a business in a positive way or
in a negative way. Therefore, it is very important for a project manager to identify the key
stakeholders before the initiation of the project. The owner of the company as well as the general
manager can impact the business most. This is because they are the ones who make important
decisions for the company (Khokhar and Sangi, 2019). These decisions can have an influence on
the business’ activities. Management is an important aspect for any company and ensures that all
business activities are being carried out in an effective and smooth manner. There are five

principles of management that include leading, controlling, planning, staffing and organizing.
Therefore, it has been seen that the stakeholders in an organization should be kept informed
about all the different activities that take place in the company. This is important because their
actions can have a significant impact on the project as well as profitability of the business.
Arguments for discussion with stakeholders and influencers that challenge the current state on
thinking and structures
A company can have different stakeholders, both internal as well as external that can
influence a project that the company undertakes. Communication plays a major role when it
comes to discussing updates or the progress of the project. In order to have a discussion with the
stakeholders, it is important to schedule a meeting. A newsletter containing all the necessary
details of the project can also be sent out to the stakeholders whom the project manager thinks
have to be communicated (Peng and et. al., 2018). Since stakeholders are the people whose
actions can have an impact on the various activities in a business, having an effective
communication makes sure that they receive all the necessary information from time to time so
that the company can progress with its project effectively. Both stakeholders as well as
influencers can sometimes pose challenge on the status quo on thinking as well as structures.
Some of these challenges can include the stakeholders showing resistance to change and
instead preferring to the way that they’re working. This can be because they might not see any
value in changing. Also, there can be cases wherein the stakeholders or the influencers do not
want to spend more of their efforts on a project due to a previous experience of projects failing.
If the project manager feels that any of the stakeholders is not interested and might be losing
interest in the project, they should have a conversation with them. This is important because it
can help in finding out if they are facing any kind of issues (Thompson, 2018). The stakeholders
can also complain of any thing in the project that they think is not going as planned. So, it is
important to address the different concerns that are raised by different stakeholders so that the
different activities can take place in a smooth manner. The process of managing the different
stakeholders within a company as well as their concerns is viewed as risk management. This is
because the stakeholders are happy, the negative influences on the project will be reduced.
Marks and Spencer operates at a global level and has a lot of stakeholders which makes it
important for the project manager of the company to ensure that all of them are managed in a