Business Project: Globalisation's Impact on John Lewis

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Managing a Successful business Project
“The positive impact of economic, cultural and ethical impacts of globalisation on the
different business functions within an organisation; a case study of John Lewis”
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Activity 1....................................................................................................................................4
Activity 2..................................................................................................................................10
Activity 3..................................................................................................................................24
Conclusion................................................................................................................................26
Reference list............................................................................................................................27
Appendix..................................................................................................................................28
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Introduction
Globalisation, presently, is considered a leading notion that has turned out to be one of the
key factors for the business industry since the past few decades. This phenomenon has
witnessed to influence society, economy as well as the environment in a number of ways.
Some of the key changes are rapid transfer of information, technological changes, increased
competition and so forth. In the present scenario, globalisation has resulted in influencing the
business scenario largely. With globalisation, the large business organisations have gained
the opportunity to expand and develop its business across borders; thereby, gaining better
profits and revenue. In addition to this, the global transformation has imposed a necessity for
the business organisations to improvise upon its strategies and expand its business into
different countries (Waddell, 2017). It has been further witnessed that, globalisation has
resulted in making several other changes such as economic, cultural as well as ethical impacts
upon the business organisations. In this context, the positive influences of globalisation in
reference to ethical, cultural and economy upon the human resource functions of John Lewis
Partnership will be evaluated.
Organisational Background
John Lewis Partnership is a UK based business organisation based at London, UK. It is an
employee-owned organisation, which is run by a trust on behalf of its workforce. As per the
annual reports of the company, in the year 2017, the company was witnessed to earn revenue
of £10.0bn, which was 2.8 percent more in comparison to the previous year. In addition to
this, the company earned an annual income of £171.2m in the same year. Presently, the
company has nearly 83,000 employees working in its numerous branches
(Johnlewispartnership.co.uk., 2019). With the advent of globalisation the company has been
witnessed to make significant changes and transformations in its business operations; thereby,
expanding its business in several countries.
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Activity 1
Establish the aim of the project and outline its objectives, include all aspects of cost,
scope, time, quality, communication, risk, and resources and timeframes using work
plans and Gantt charts (P1, P2, and P3).
Aim
The aim of the project is to identify and evaluate the positive cultural, ethical, and economic
influence of globalisation upon the different business operations of John Lewis
Objectives
The key objectives of the project are as follows:
 To identify the economic impact of globalisation upon the business functions of John
Lewis
 To assess the ethical influence of globalisation upon the business of the company
 To analyse the cultural impact of globalisation upon the HR business of the company
 To present appropriate recommendations for further improvement in context to the
various business operations of the company
Cost
In order to ensure the success of any project, it is necessary to calculate the cost and expenses
involved in it. The budget or cost for carrying out the project is illustrated below:
Activities of the project Time Cost/hour (in £) Total Cost (in £)
Allocation of Resources 8 hours 5.5 44
Reviewing of Literature 10 hours 4.5 45
Development of Project
management Plan
14 hours 16 224
Equipment and Software
expense
4 hours 15 60
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Collection of primary
data
15 hours 4 60
Evaluation of risk 7 hours 10 70
Final Documentation of
Project
10 hours 10 100
Total 603
Table 1: Cost
(Source: Created by the learner)
Scope
Scope of the project is considered as a significant element of the project management plan.
This is for the reason that, the scope of the project allows in documenting the key
deliverables of the project.
 Included Scope
This project will be carried out based on primary research. It will include both the
quantitative and qualitative approach. A set of respondents will be considered in order to
identify the ethical, economic and environmental impact of globalisation upon the human
resource functions and operations of John Lewis Partnership.
 Excluded Scope
The project will not rely upon secondary sources or thematic analysis. In addition to this, the
project is entirely company specific, owing to which, the research study will not propose
development for other business organisations in context to environmental, ethical and cultural
impact of globalisation on the business operations.
Time
This project will require a time span of 2 months. The project will be alienated into different
tasks such as, development of objectives, reviewing of literature, determination of
methodology, collection of data, interpretation and analysis of collected data and final
submission of project. Every task will be allocated with a specific time frame. In order to
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ensure effective completion and desired outcomes, it is necessary to complete all the tasks in
the allocated time.
Quality
Quality management refers to the different activities that are designed for monitoring and
evaluating the quality of the project deliverables. In order to ensure the effectiveness and
quality of the project, it is necessary align the objectives with the goals (Lock, 2017). In this
context, to ensure the quality of the project, proper application of research methodology has
been considered along with firm adherence to the standards of the projects.
Communication Plan
Communication plan allows the project managers to communicate their plans with the
consumers. It further allows the project owners to share information in every stage of the
work. The communication plan for the concerned project is illustrated below:
What Who Why When How
Executing of the
activities of the
project
management
The higher
authorities as
well as the
project manager
of John Lewis
Partnership
To re-evaluate
the trail of the
overall
implementation
of the project
In the early
level of the
project
Emails, phone
calls, messages
Research on the
concerned topic
Project
Manager
To ensure the
reliability and
authenticity of
the secondary
sources
Subsequent to
the execution of
the project
management
plan
Drafts with the
help of emails
Collection of
relevant
information and
data during the
research
The trade union
and the project
manager
To avail permit
for carrying out
the survey upon
the chosen
respondents
Post setting up
of suitable
research
methods
Legal permits
with the help of
brochures and
emails
Interpretation Project To ensure the Subsequent to Drafts with the
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and analysis of
the collected
data and
findings
Manager fundamentals of
the gathered
data
the complete
collection of
data
help of emails
Documentation
of final project
The higher
authorities as
well as the
project manager
of John Lewis
Partnership
To assemble
and submit the
final
documented
project
Subsequent to
the final
conclusion of
the project
Face-to-face
communication
and emails
Table 2: Communication Plan
(Source: Created by the Learner)
Risk Register
Risks Kind Intensity Susceptibility Controlling
Strategies
Improper
utilisation of the
tools of project
management
HIGH HIGH This will result
in inappropriate
use of finance
and resources
that has been
spent for the
project
Reconsidering
and obtaining
assistance on
the results of
the project
activities from
the manager of
the project
Inappropriate
communication
during the
collection of data
MODERAT
E
HIGH This will result
in gathering of
improper and
unreliable data
and information;
thereby,
affecting the
Monitoring the
reliability of the
gathered data
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project scope
Interpretation and
analysis of the
gathered data
HIGH MODERATE This will result
in availing
improper
outcomes and
recommendation
s being vague
Monitoring
effective
interpretation
and analysis of
the collected
data
Table 3: Risk register
(Source: Created by the Learner)
Resources
The resources that will be used in this project are equipments, software, human resource,
financial resource, electricity and so forth. The financial resources have facilitated in
designing the questionnaire, collection and recording of data, purchasing of software,
stationeries, and so forth. Human resources will facilitate in managing the different activities
associated with the project as well as allocating different resources.
Timeframe
Activities Start Date Duratio
n
End Date
Selection of the research topic 05-01-
2019
2 07-01-
2019
Determining the objectives of the project 07-01-
2019
3 10-01-
2019
Determining the cost 10-01-
2019
3 13-01-
2019
Allocation of resources 13-01-
2019
3 16-01-
2019
Assessing the risks and controlling the strategies 16-01-
2019
2 18-01-
2019
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Monitoring of the different activities of the project 18-01-
2019
9 27-01-
2019
Determining the research methods 27-01-
2019
5 01-02-
2019
Carrying out interview 01-02-
2019
8 09-02-
2019
Carrying out survey 09-02-
2019
3 12-02-
2019
Interpretation and analysis of qualitative data 12-02-
2019
5 17-02-
2019
Interpretation and analysis of quantitative data 17-02-
2019
5 22-02-
2019
Documenting analysis and findings 22-02-
2019
5 27-02-
2019
Concluding the outcomes of the research 27-02-
2019
2 01-03-
2019
Proposing suitable recommendations 01-03-
2019
4 05-03-
2019
Final documentation and submission 05-03-
2019
1 06-03-
2019
Table 4: Timetable
(Source: created by the Learner)
Gantt chart
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Selection of the research topic
Determining the objectives of the project
Determining the cost
Allocation of resources
Assesing the risks and controlling the strategies
Monitoring of the different activities of the project
Determining the research methods
Carrying out interview
Carrying out survey
Interpretation and analysis of qualitative data
Interpretation and analysis of quantitattive data
Documenting analysis and findings
Concluidng the outcomes of the research
Proposing suitable reccomendations
Final documentation and submission
05/01/2019 25/01/2019 14/02/2019 06/03/2019 26/03/2019
Figure 1: Gantt chart
(Source: Created by the Learner)
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Activity 2
Conduct a research using different research methods (P4) and analyse the findings (P5)
by making evidence based recommendations through evaluation of appropriateness of
tools and techniques used for accuracy and authenticity (P6, M3)
Introduction
In this section, a primary research will be conducted in order to identify the positive ethical,
economic and cultural impact of globalisation on the business operations of the retail
company, John Lewis Partnership. Here, the research will shed light upon the affect of
globalisation upon the different operations of the business.
Literature Review
The economic impact of globalisation on the business functions
As per the findings of Suarez-Villa (2016), globalisation has significantly influenced almost
every facet of the modern world. Some of the key benefits of globalisation on the economic
growth of the business organisation are economies of scale, foreign direct investment and
technological innovations and advancement. On the other hand, globalisation has also
resulted in the business organisations in encountering a number of risks such as, inequitable
distribution, sovereignty threat as well as interdependency. In addition to this, it has been
further witnessed the globalisation has facilitated in transformed the business market into
more competitive and efficient; thereby, allowing the business organisations with better
opportunity and prospects.
The ethical and cultural impact of globalisation on the business functions
In the words of Crane and Matten (2016), globalisation has turned out to be a focus for all the
business organisations. Business and ethics has had been interrelated since very long. In the
present scenario, with globalisation being the key concern, every business organisation has
been witnessed to consider business ethics as one of the key factor of considerations in
context to its business. In addition to this, Crane and Matten (2016), opined that, globalisation
has also positively influenced the cultural aspect of business to a great extent. With
globalisation, free flow of labour has increased to a great extent; thereby, allowing the
business organisations in availing employees or workers from different cultural background.
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This has further facilitated the business organisations to generate better and varied business
ideas; thus, earning better profits and development.
Methodology
Research Philosophy
Research philosophy is of three types, namely, interpretivism, realism and positivism
(Research-Methodology., 2019, a). In this context, positivism philosophy has been
considered. This research philosophy holds on to the fact that, only accurate and realistic
knowledge that is availed with the help of observation are dependable.
Research Approach
There are three significant types of research approaches, that is to say, deductive, abductive
and inductive (Research-Methodology., 2019, b). Here, the deductive approach has been
chosen. It has helped the researcher in comprehending the relation flanked by variables and
concepts.
Research Design
Research design is of two types, that is, exploratory and explanatory (Research-
Methodology., 2019, c). In this research, the explanatory research design has been selected.
The key objective of this research design is to analyse the hypothesis or research question.
This has helped the researcher in finding conclusive results.
Data Collection Method
Primary and secondary are the two significant types of data collection methods. Here,
primary data collection method has been taken under consideration. Both qualitative and
quantitative approaches has been carried out, that is, interview for qualitative and survey
questionnaire for quantitative.
Sampling Technique
There are two considerable types of sampling techniques, namely, probability and non-
probability. In this case, non-probability sampling technique has been chosen.
Sample Size
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