Leadership, Management and Business Context of Marks and Spencer

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Marks and Spencer, examining its history, vision, leadership styles, and management practices. The report delves into the company's strategies for developing people, including team-building activities and development plans, and how they align with stakeholder interests. It explores the use of consultative, transactional, and democratic leadership styles within the organization. Furthermore, it investigates the strategies and policies implemented by Marks and Spencer to achieve stakeholder interests, including customer satisfaction, environmental impact reduction, and supplier relationships. Finally, the report offers recommendations for improvement, such as adopting a more consultative leadership approach and providing regular feedback to enhance employee performance and overall business outcomes.

Context of Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK...............................................................................................................................................1
1. History of selected business.....................................................................................................1
2. Vision, leadership styles, management practices and strategies for developing people..........1
3. Strategies and policies which have implemented or achieved stakeholders interests.............4
4. Recommendations for improvement........................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Leadership styles, management practices and strategies are undertaken by every firm to
perform the operations to achieve the goals of the organisation in efficient as well as effective
manner (Chen, Zeng and Ma, 2017). These plays crucial function in the smooth working of any
organisation. Leadership styles, management practices are used for providing correct directions,
appropriate guidance to implement the plans, policies for motivating the employees to enhance
efficiency. To understand the leadership styles, management practices and strategies, Marks and
Spencer is selected. This report includes the brief history, summary, vision, leadership styles,
management practices and strategies followed by the managers of the chosen firm. In addition, it
includes recommendations for the improvements to survive in the competitive environment.
TASK
1. History of selected business
Marks and Spencer is a multinational retailer established by Michael marks along with
Thomas Spencer in the year 1884 (Marks and Spencer plc, 2019.). The company has its
headquarters located at Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It performs its special operations
for selling clothing, luxury food products, home products along with other business items. It is
also listed in London Stock Exchange. The organisation began its performance by selling the
branded eatable product like Kellogg Corn Flakes. It provides it products as well as services in
the international market. It also offers various financial services such as providing life insurance,
pensions, personal loans and account cards. The vision of the respective firm is to provide
standard along with quality of innovative products and services to build trusted relationships
with customers. They have formulated an implemented various plans, strategies to improve the
quality in food as well as home items. Marks and Spencer have opened variety of stores in
multiple countries. The business has also faced many ups and downs but succeeded in
overcoming them with profitable results. Immense changes are seen by the owners from the
starting days till the following date to achieve the success in operational life.
2. Vision, leadership styles, management practices and strategies for developing people
Vision: Vision statements are declaration which indicate the objectives what firm wants
to achieve and provides guidance along with directions for the success and growth of business.
Different organisations have different vision statements prepared by the owners of respective
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firms. The vision of Marks and Spencer is to set the benchmark standards against which others
are measured. To achieve the vision statement, the managers are building quality of innovative
products, services for its potential as well as targeted customers.
Leadership is the ability of the leader or manager to provide directions, guidance to
individual employee, teams and the whole organisation (Leadership and Management, 2015).
Such ability inspires others by motivating them to perform the task which is challenging, critical
by simplifying the work through effective decisions. A leader is the one who inspires others,
builds morales, creates confidence, initiates actions by communicating the plans, programmes to
its subordinates. Leadership style are the styles adopted by the leaders. Some of the leadership
styles are as follows:
 Consultative leadership style: Using such style, the leaders consults with its
subordinates to reach on a decision. The managers draws various solutions, opinions
from different sources or departments in the organisation before formulating or
implementing any decision.
 Transactional leadership style: Such style focuses on supervision as well as
performance. It promotes the compliance to motivate the employees by providing them
rewards and incentives for increasing their efficiency to achieve the profitable results.
The reward as well as punishment system is used for influencing the employees for
perform the working efficiently.
 Democratic leadership style: In such style, the leaders enhances the empowerment.
Such style allows employees to take decisions and performs the tasks with minimum
supervision. They involves employees with ideas, opinions in the decision making
process to contribute in solving any problem or reaching on certain conclusion.
Thus, transactional and democratic style of leadership is used by Marks and Spencer. The
leaders involves the ideas, opinions of sub ordinates in decision making as well as are committed
towards the attainment of goals by ensuring high efficiency and performance of employees at
each hierarchy level.
Management is the art of getting the work done by others. It includes the functions of
planning, organising, recruiting, staffing, directing, coordination and controlling various
activities in the system. It is a process of involving people to coordinate tasks to achieve
objectives by optimum utilisation of available as well as valuable resources. Management
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practices are the methods or ways used for enhancing the effectiveness of work at workplace for
the purpose of achieving goals. Various types of management practices are the followings:
 Communication: It is important at workplace to share ideas, knowledge for building
trust relationships between employee and employer for completion of tasks. Managers
plays an important role in properly communicating the relevant information, objectives to
improve the efficiency along with morales of others at organisation.
 Providing feedbacks: Feedbacks are the informations used to reach on certain decision.
It is the skill of a manger to monitor the performance and provide regular feedbacks at
wok system. Providing feedback helps in employee ongoing development. Constructive
feedbacks helps in providing mistakes and reinforce positive behaviour, clarify
expectations as well as build confidence to perform the work accurately.
Thus, managers of Marks and Spencer properly communicates the information in the
organisation in different departments in the organisation (Coviello, Kano and Liesch, 2017).
Effective communication leads to provide clear information related to the work performance.
Development of people: It is an approach to enhance the skills, abilities of the
employees to perform the work with different innovative manner. Various plan, procedures are
formulated for sure purpose. The developments helps in growth of employees to perform the
tasks without hurdles, issues. Such developments builds effective trust relationships with various
people by completing the work in teams in the organisation. Some of the stage planned by the
executives to develop people at work are as follows:
 Team building activities: Such activities are the effective techniques for improving
individual as well as team work by identifying the strengths and weaknesses. These
activities improves the loyalty, friendship between team members by strengthening the
abilities of each individual in the team for solving various problems. The managers are
responsible for providing a favourable atmosphere to enhance the visible skills through
strategic thinking among the team members.
 Development plans: To develop the people at work it is very important to develop and
implement plans for individual development or team development. Individual interests
are analysed and accordingly plans are prepared. Such plans acts as the road maps to
provide the goals along with time period and performance metrics to evaluate the
performance by developing people.
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Thus, the management of Marks and Spenser prepares and implements various team
building activities for enhancing the willingness of people to perform activities in team for
overall development as well as attainment of goals.
3. Strategies and policies which have implemented or achieved stakeholders interests
Stakeholders are the individuals who are involved in the planning process and influences
the growth of business to achieve the visions. Many strategies and policies have been formulated
and implemented to meet the stakeholders interests. The managers understands the interests and
accordingly work to formulate the plans. Marks and Spencer managers understands and
manages the loyal relationships with its distinct stakeholders. They classify the stakeholders as
per the interests and manages the sustainability to perform the operations in better manner. The
organisational managers provides the products and services to make the customers happy by
implementing the strategies to provide them the innovative and quality products at the time
demanded. The provide the products made from the renewable energy sources which reduces the
costs of production to satisfy the customers along with developing the expanding strategies in the
market such as online services helps in providing the demanded products to customers and
attracts the customer to become a loyal customer (Greasley, 2017). By implementing such
strategy the managers are able to satisfy the upset customers by reducing the frustration through
availing the products on demand. The firms are able to enjoy the customers attraction by
adopting and implementing the market development strategies. Through such strategy, an entity
can target various customers in new market segment. It helps in attracting the new customers and
converting them into loyal customers through providing them various innovative products.
The entrepreneurs of Marks and Spencer has implemented the policies to reduce the
environmental impacts and optimum utilisation of the natural resources of the society with the
help of research and development plans. The business has adopted the strategy of National Social
Development Program to meet the demand of low income people in the community by providing
them the necessity products along with facilities. Such program helps the organisation to
overcome many societal problems. It allows the managers to convert the grab the opportunities
for achieving the community interests.
The managers of Marks and Spencer also focuses to build effective relationships with the
multiple suppliers by delivering quality value to them. They protect their interests by treating
them equally. The major proportionate of working depends on the suppliers. The selected
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business understands the changing impacts in the environment and implements strategies to
protect them. Various strategies have achieved the relationship with multiple suppliers. The
owners prepares various strategies and policies to improve the supply chains or intermediary
chains to maximise the commitment values. Various relationships are carefully understood and
managed to improve the sharing practices for the betterment of base connections. Many different
techniques are been achieved for efficiently operating the businesses.
The superiors prepares the performance reports of all employees individually and
accordingly implements strategies to achieve the trust along with loyalty of employees. Sudden
changes creates disbursement and conflictary situation among the firm and employees which are
unmanageable (Johns, 2017). The managers have formulated and implemented many strategies
and policies for change management and various issue are solved for the purpose of motivating
employees to stay happy and perform their activities.
4. Recommendations for improvement
After analysing the Marks and Spencer working, it can be recommended that it should
adopt the consultative leadership style which will help the managers ton reach on a conclusion
after consulting with the employees in the organisation. The objective of such style is to motivate
the personnel to meet individual as well as business goals to focus on the end results. This style
is great to win the interest of the employees by consulting them their opinions regarding any
issues. The managers should provide regular feedbacks of the work performed to provide
mistakes, clarify expectations, build confidence and reinforce positive behaviour. Accurate
feedback leads to enhance the performance to improve the critical situations. Such feedbacks
helps in providing accurate information regarding the actions and behaviours to improve the
performances. These helps in continuous learnings and eliminates the unwanted workings
through accurate feedbacks (Kopnina and Blewitt, 2018). The supervisors should prepare for the
unrecognised situations to improve the working of an employee in a team. They should
formulate and implement various development plans to utilise the human resources in the best
and optimum manner. Such development plans are helpful to provide the directions towards the
goals achievements. All the development plans are used to guide for the career development
along with improving the current performances.
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CONCLUSION
From the above research it has been concluded that leadership styles, management
practices and development strategies plays crucial role to achieve the vision. Different business
adopts different leadership style to provide directions and guidance to individual employee,
teams or the entire firm. The management practices depends on several methods for getting the
work done and enhancing the effectiveness at workplace to attain the goals. Development of
people helps in managing the work individually or in teams tor development of career. Several
strategies and policies have been implemented by the managers of organisation to achieve
stakeholders interests in the competitive and dynamic environment. The above report also
includes some recommendations for the growth and development to improve the current as well
as future performances.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Chen, H., Zeng, S., Lin, H. and Ma, H., 2017. Munificence, dynamism, and complexity: How
industry context drives corporate sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment.
26(2). pp.125-141.
Coviello, N., Kano, L. and Liesch, P. W., 2017. Adapting the Uppsala model to a modern world:
Macro-context and microfoundations. Journal of International Business Studies. 48(9).
pp.1151-1164.
Greasley, A., 2017. Simulation modelling for business. Routledge.
Johns, G., 2017. Reflections on the 2016 decade award: incorporating context in organizational
research. Academy of Management Review. 42(4). pp.577-595.
Kopnina, H. and Blewitt, J., 2018. Sustainable business: Key issues. Routledge.
Online:
Leadership and Management. 2015. [Online]. Available through:
<https://laetitiastuder.wordpress.com/2014/11/27/leadership-management/>
Marks and Spencer plc. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/aboutus/history>
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