John Lewis: Assessing Globalisation Impact on Business Operations

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of John Lewis's global expansion strategy, focusing on its business activities and the impact of globalisation. The report is divided into two main tasks: project planning and a research report. Task 1 includes a project plan outlining the topic, aims, objectives, scope, limitations, resource considerations, and risk assessment using a Gantt chart and risk register. The plan also analyzes the costs and resources required for global expansion. Task 2 delves into a research report that explores the concept of globalisation, its benefits and challenges for John Lewis, and the company's expansion into the Asian market. The report covers a literature review, methodology, results, conclusions, reflections, and recommendations. The research considers various risks associated with international expansion, including political, economic, and supplier-related risks, and proposes mitigation strategies. The report concludes with an analysis of the impact of globalisation on business operations and the strategic implications for John Lewis's future endeavors.

Managing a Successful
Business Project

Table of Contents
TASK 1 Project Plan .......................................................................................................................3
1. A brief explanation of the proposed topic and why you have chosen it.............................3
2. An aim and some objectives for your proposed research...................................................3
3. A brief discussion of the scope and limitations of the project...........................................3
4. Resources and cost considerations.....................................................................................4
5. A Gantt chart or work breakdown structure ......................................................................4
6. A risk register covering the main risks with the proposed research...................................7
TASK 2 Research Report ................................................................................................................7
Chapter 1 Introduction............................................................................................................7
Chapter 2. Literature Review ...............................................................................................8
Chapter 3. Methodology......................................................................................................11
Chapter 4. Results Chapter...................................................................................................15
Chapter 5. Conclusions and Recommendations...................................................................20
Chapter 6. Reflections.........................................................................................................22
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................24
.......................................................................................................................................................30

TASK 1 Project Plan
1. A brief explanation of the proposed topic and why you have chosen it
Globalisation is the procedure through which organisation sells their products and
services at worldwide level. This assignment will discuss concept of globalisation and its impact
on business activities (Beamish, 2013). John Lewis is taken in this project which is founded in
1864 and its founder is John Lewis. They are serving in United Kingdom and trying to expand
business in Asia. Reason behind choosing this topic is that through this learner can easily
maximise their knowledge towards effectiveness of global business activities. As well for an
organisation it is beneficial move which assist in expanding business at global level.
2. An aim and some objectives for your proposed research
Aims of the Project
“To identify risk and benefits for joint venture while expanding business at global market. A case
study on John Lewis.”
Objectives
 To identify the concept of globalisation.
 To analyse the benefits of globalisation for John lewis.
 To ascertain the major challenges of expanding business at global level.
 To determine the ways through which John Lewis expand its business at global level.
3. A brief discussion of the scope and limitations of the project
Scope- John lewis is expanding its business globally in Asia which provides many
opportunities for them to expand the business and satisfy customers at a large. Project
management plan helps the organisation in identifying the impact of globalisation on their
business operations. Along with this, it analyses the impact the business will suffer because of
the joint venture with other company and helps in proper development and improvement its
business activities. There is a great scope for the company when expanding internationally and
earn heavy revenue for the respective organisation. Herein, the scope of the researcher is to
accomplish its objectives within stipulated period of time so that they can expand business inan
effective manner at international marketplace. (Boddewyn, 2015).
Limitations – This project is related to John Lewis expansion in Asia, while expanding
business in other nations company face various problem. Out of which major is data collection

which is necessary for taking reviews of people about their business expansion. The limitation
of this project that a researcher have to do lots of hard work in completion or successful of
project.
4. Resources and cost considerations
Cost- Before undertaking the project, cost is an important factor which should be
considered by John lewis to expand globally in Asia (Brouthers, Nakos and Dimitratos, 2015). It
is necessary to plan effective budgets which helps in managing the cost of the project and their
operational requirements. By determining the cost of the project it also helps the organisation to
allocate the resources and provide to the employees for the successful completion of project.
There are various types of cost associated such as labour cost, operation cost which needs to be
estimated properly when expanding globally or making joint venture with other companies.
For conducting the respective research cost occur will be £2000. It may also vary from
as per the need and requirement in performing task and activities.
Resources- In order to execute the research in effective manner, it is very crucial for the
manager to properly manage the resources for effective management of John lewis. It requires
various types of resources such as human resources, financial resources as well as various tools
and technologies are required for carrying business operations. Before undertaking the project
resources should be properly analysed and examined to evaluate the impact of globalisation on
respective organisation (Buckley and Ghauri, 2015).
5. A Gantt chart or work breakdown structure
Work breakdown structure is the framework in which overall project is divided in small
parts so that things can be managed in easy manner. In other words, WBS divide project in easy
as well as manageable tasks and most beneficial thing is that it is not restricted for a particular
area when it comes to application (Burns, 2016). John Lewis use WBS for dividing project or
event into manageable chunks. So that project will get complete on time within required
duration. Work breakdown structure remove work pressure of particular person by dividing it
into team.

Gantt Chart is horizontal bar chart which is introduced with the motive of production
control and it gives graphical presentation of schedule which assist in planning, coordination as
well as also in tracking particular task within project.

6. A risk register covering the main risks with the proposed research
Risk is an inevitable part of the business and when the new project is undertaken there
are different types of risk associated with it. In present, business environment risk is directly
involved with the result of the plan. While making project management plan manager should
consider all types of risk related to finance, social, economic and political aspects to identify the
impact on their functional activities (Chesbrough, Vanhaverbeke and West, 2014). In context to
John lewis there is large aspect of risk associated with the business as it deals with home-ware,
furniture and fashion products for women which needs to carefully addressed when expanding its
business in countries like Asia. They have to properly analyse the socio-economic demands of
the customers in Asia and supply products accordingly to avoid loss of business. It also
determines the challenges of globalisation as well as the ways through which John lewis is
expanding business at the global level.
There are various types of risk associated with expansion of the business , these are described in
following register as follows-
S.
No.
Risk
Description
Likelih
ood
Impact Contingency Pre
action
weightin
g score
Post
action
weightin
g Score
1 Risk
associated
with the
resources
because of the
inappropriate
funding.
High High Create strategies to
overcome such
problems and
creates back up of
resources.
8/10 6/10
2 Risk related
to operational
activities
Mediu
m
Low Strategies should
be developed and
the most effective
should be chosen
to minimise risk.
8/10 4/10

3 Political and
government
risk is
associated
because of the
changes in
rules and
regulations.
Low Minimal Work according to
the rules and
regulations in the
country where
business is been
expanded.
6/10 4/10
4 There is
Supplier risk
due to late
supply
resources and
raw materials
which disturbs
the production
process.
High medium Get raw materials
from the suppliers
which provides
them in a definite
time.
9/10 5/10
TASK 2 Research Report
Chapter 1 Introduction
In the complex dynamic business environment, there is a high level of competition which
assist the companies to expand their business operations at the global level. So, in order to
overcome such kinds of complex situations, respective company has expanded its business
operations in Asia. This project discusses about the John lewis company which is going to
expand its business operations across national borders. The present report discusses about the
concept of globalisation. Along with this it also discusses the positive impact of globalisation in
context to UK as well as discusses the benefits of expanding business globally. Globalisation is
an important factor which helps the respective company in providing products and services at the
global level and attracts large number of customers. There is lot of risk associated with
expanding its business operations at global level because every nation has their different laws,

culture, customers taste, preferences and so on which give negative as well as positive both
impact on working of business. This report is going to discuss about the concept of globalisation
and its direct impact on business organisations which are expanding internationally and show the
impact on the business functions. In this report, John lewis is the chosen organisation which is
going to expand its business operations in Asia. It is a chain of high end department stores
operating in United Kingdom which trends in home ware, furniture and fashionable clothes for
women, headquartered in London, UK. The report will discuss about the how the globalisation
has impacted the business operations of the respective company. It also shows concept of
research methodology and so that of interpretation in order to determine the actual results. It has
been analysed that globalisation has made a significant impact on the business organisations
which are expanding internationally.
Chapter 2. Literature Review
Concept of globalisation
According to the views of Cui and Jiang, (2012), Globalisation is a process of interaction
and integration among people, companies and government worldwide. It is an expansion of the
business which integrates local and national economies into a global and unregulated economy.
It is the process of transfer of knowledge, ideas and thoughts in different countries to increase the
level of profitability and makes standard goodwill in the market. Under this method company
can sell its product and services across boundaries all over the globe. It helps in doing trade of
goods and services across the nation al boundaries (Dai, 2014). In context with John Lewis
which is providing different product segments such as fashionable clothes for women, home and
furniture products which are expanding its business in Asia and facing problems in delivering
products and running their business at international level. Therefore, John lewis is focusing on
enhancing its business operations and capture larger market share while considering the socio,
economic, culture and ethical aspects of the respected country. These are the several benefits of
expanding the business internationally as it helps the business to gain the benefits of investment
and satisfies customer demand which will enhance its market image (Grayson and Hodges,
2017).
Benefits of globalisation for John lewis.

According to the views of Gabrielsson and Gabrielsson, (2013), there are various benefits
for the John lewis when expanding its business operations in Asia which are as follows: -
 Learning and adapting to new culture- Getting information about the new country and
place makes the respective organisation to adapt to the culture of people residing there.
This also helps John lewis to produce products according to the culture and attitudes of
the people prevailing their which helps them to grasp the new culture and making the
business highly adaptable (Eriksson and et.al., 2015). It also increases the level of
productivity for the respective organisation and can meet high sales target. Respective
company can learn and adapt to new culture of Asian countries whose demand in the
product changes and the company should produce accordingly in order to satisfy
customers.
 Exposure to foreign investment opportunities- Expanding of business operations of
John lewis in Asia helps them to take advantage of the investment opportunities in the
expanding country. There are various investment opportunities available for the business
to grow their business as well as can diversify their business activities in order to meet
the up the sales target and fulfil customer demands. Enhance company's reputation- Expanding business globally also helps the business
firms to enhance the company's reputation all over the globe. When the products of the
domestic country start making its presence in the global world it makes a good perception
on the minds of the customer as well as enhances their market image. In context to John
lewis it can start producing its products at the international level and satisfies customer
needs over there and makes large presence in the market.
Major challenges of expanding business at global level.
According to the views of Iles and Martin, (2013), Business expansion at global level is
good for organisation but along with this, there are several challenges also which faced by John
Lewis. Below mention are some major problems through which respective company will go
while expanding their business in Asia:-
 Unfamiliar culture – Every nation has their own culture through which everyone is not
familiar and it may be the biggest issue faced by John Lewis while expanding their
business in Asia. Thus, it is not necessary that offering of respective organisation will be
liked by population of Asian country. So John Lewis have to kept in mind culture, like,

dislike, taste and preferences of their target market to overcome with the challenges of
unfamiliar culture.
 Tariffs and Export fees - Several nations have some type of tariff or fee in monetary for
which is charged by the government bodies to organisations while bringing products into
their country. John Lewis's owner must have knowledge about all these tariffs so they
will consider all these into their financial planning related to business expansion in Asia.
Along with this there are some laws given by government and should have to be consider
by John Lewis and there are several types of fees depending on the shipping and logistics
laws in specific country.
 Language barriers – Every nation have different language same as Asian countries also
when John Lewis expanding their business language is the major challenge faced by
them. To overcome with this, they have to hire such employees who can communicate in
different languages and satisfy present and potential customers. Apart from this, hiring
such employees result in expensive for company also. Legal issues – There are various legal frameworks which are required to be followed by
the John Lewis in order to assure the smooth running of operations of the respective
organisation. As the respective company is planning to expand its operations, there are
certain laws such as employment law which is different in every country. Thus, it is
important for the managers of John Lewis to assure that the employees are paid according
to their standard wages rates. Similarly, there are certain trading regulations that restrict
the growth or expansion of John Lewis (Johanson and Mattsson, 2015).
Ways through which John Lewis expand its business at global level.
According to the views of Kerzner and Kerzner (2017) There are several ways through
which John Lewis can expand their business in Asia. Explanation of these are as follows :-
 Merger and Acquisitions – It is the general term which related to the consolidation of
organisations assets with the assistance of several financial transactions. Thus, merger is
the combination of two enterprises with the motive of forming one, whereas, in
acquisition one association taken over by the another. This is also a way which can be
used by John Lewis for expanding their business in Asia's market area.
 Joint Venture - It is a business expansion technique in which two or more companies get
agree to pool their resources with the motive of accomplishing particular task. The task

may be related to any new project or other business activities. In Joint Venture each and
every partner is responsible for profit, losses and cost incur while conducting their
activities. In JV (Joint Venture) John Lewis can combine a large and smaller organisation
to take on one or many big as well as little projects or deals. The joint venture may also
be aimed at getting resources which may be difficult in obtaining, such as technology,
research and development, intellectual property and so on.
Chapter 3. Methodology
When the project has been undertaken it is vital for the investigator to conduct the
research in a proper manner. It will help in execution of business activities by properly
interpreting the data. Investigator can get information from different types of sources but they
find primary data as the best source to gather information.
Research methodology- It is the process used to collect information and data for the
purpose of making business decisions. The data can be collected by different ways such as
publication research, interviews, surveys and other techniques which contains both present and
past information. Research can be conducted in two ways Qualitative research and quantitative
research.
Quantitative data-It is a data that used to collect the information using conversional
methods where participants are involved and ask open-ended questions. It is generally more
exploitative type of research that is dependent on the collection of the verbal, behavioural and
observation data that can be interpretive in a subjective manner. It is a structured way of
collecting and analysing the data obtained from different sources that used to interpret the data
found from different sources (Killing, 2013). It involves the use of computation, statistical and
mathematical tools to derive the results.
Qualitative data- It is a process where data can approximates and characterizes. This
type of is data not numerical in nature. This type of data is collected through method of
observations, one-to -one interview, conducting in groups and in similar methods. Data can be
arranged on the basis of attributes and properties of the particular phenomena. Researcher can
get real information about the John lewis product such as of fashionable clothes and home and
furniture products.
Data collection- It is the process of gathering and measuring information from the respondents
by using several techniques and methods such as primary and secondary sources. In this report