Strategic HRM for Lidl's UK Expansion: A Business Development Project

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments. This project analyzes Lidl's UK market entry strategy.

MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
PROJECT
Of Lidl Group

Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 4
LO 1................................................................................................................................................ 5
P1 PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES...........................................................................................5
P2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN.............................................................................................6
PROJECT MANAGEMENT DEFINITION....................................................................................6
PROJECT STRATEGY....................................................................................................................6
PROJECT SCOPE......................................................................................................................6
PROJECT COST AND TIME...................................................................................................... 6
COMMUNICATION PLAN........................................................................................................7
RESOURCES INVOLVED.......................................................................................................... 8
RISKS ASSOCIATED................................................................................................................. 8
QUALITY MANAGEMENT....................................................................................................... 9
P3 WBS AND GANTT CHART.......................................................................................................9
LO 2.............................................................................................................................................. 12
P4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................................................ 12
LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................12
QUESTIONNAIRE AND SURVEY.............................................................................................13
LO 3.............................................................................................................................................. 17
P5 ANALYSIS OF THE RESEARCH DATA.....................................................................................17
P6 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS...........................................................................18
P7 REFLECT ON OWN LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE + PROJECT LOGBOOK.........................19
PROJECT LOGBOOK..............................................................................................................21

TASK 2.......................................................................................................................................... 24
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................35

INTRODUCTION
Managing the HRM operations of a business is a crucial task as the HRM is the one behind the
services provided by the firm and also manages the human resource in the best way possible.
The study deals with the company Lidl and its HRM practices to make them at par with
international standards and compete it with its counterparts like Tesco and Sainsbury. An
appropriate work breakdown structure is creating to manage the work accordingly and to
complete the project on time. The expansion of Lidl in the UK market can be a source of
significant revenue and appraisal for the company as the UK is a promising market and earlier
also, Lidl has had a good response from other foreign expansions (Wrigley, 2010).
Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG is a German supermarket chain based in Neckarsulm, Germany. The
company has over 10,000 stores in Europe and the US. The company is owned by Dieter
Schwarz and is the chief competitors of the German chain Aldi especially in the US market.
There are Lidl stores all over Europe except for Latvia and Estonia. Lidl also has a presence in
Switzerland, Serbia and the US.
Fig. 1- Lidl logo

LO 1
While working as the Research Assistant in the firm McLeod and Partners, it is been asked to
study Lidl’s expansion in the UK counterpart and how it manages sales by competing with the
topmost grocery brands like Sainsbury and Tesco.
P1 PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of the project is to establish the brand Lidl in the British market and fight its existing
competitors like Tesco and Sainsbury which enjoy a great share in the market. The main focus is
laid to the recruitment and selection process that Lidl is going to adapt to give a British feel to
the German company. The company can establish itself successfully in the British market if it
uses the best hiring and training methods to give a competitive edge to the rivals in the Brit
market so that the employees of Lidl in the UK have an international edge and calibre
(Thompson et al., 2012).
The aims and objectives are as follows-
 To establish Lidl in the British Market and find out where the company can be highly
successful
 To train its employees and staff to make them at par with international standards of
employee servicing
 To find out the HR policies and working practices of its competitors like Tesco and
Sainsbury to see how they manage the business and retain customers
 To understand the shopping need and requirements of the British consumers so that
Lidl makes those products which are needed by the Brit audience?
These are the aims and objectives of this research. Various research methodologies are used to
carry out the research and find appropriate solutions for the same (Burt et al., 2010).

P2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN
PROJECT MANAGEMENT DEFINITION
Project management is the practice to initiate, plan, execute, control and close the specific task
done by the team to meet specific aims and objectives set before. The challenge that project
management faces is that the achievement of all the business goals in the project should be
carried out within the given constraints of time and finances. The information about the
achievement of the project goals is outlined in the various documents of project management
plan like the project strategy, project scope, risks associated and the timeframes (Tench, 2016).
PROJECT STRATEGY
The strategy of the project which is the expansion of Lidl in the UK market is carried out by
focussing on the HRM practices followed by Lidl. The HRM policies will differ greatly in the
German and British market as the selection and training of employees will have to be according
to the British companies. The hiring, selection and training processes have to be at par with its
rivals like Sainsbury and Tesco who have been enjoying dominance in the UK supermarket
business from a long time (Schmid et al., 2018).
PROJECT SCOPE
There is a huge scope of this project as Lidl is an already successful chain in German, Europe
and the US. Hence, expanding to the UK market comes naturally as the UK market is huge and
has great resources which can take the business to new heights. The idea of expanding Lidl to
the British market is taken after a lot of analysis and research to see the possibility of a German
supermarket in the British market as the purchasing capability and preferences of both the
audience of the host country and home country differ greatly.
PROJECT COST AND TIME
The cost required for Lidl to set up business in the UK will approximately be £10 million. This
includes all the cost of set up, procuring the material and the products which Lidl will be selling
in the U, establishing tie-ups with the suppliers and contractors to get the best supply and the
recruitment, selection and training of the employees who will be running the supermarket

chain. The time that will be taken to fully execute the project will be 1 year (Leat, P. and
Revoredo-Giha, 2016).
COMMUNICATION PLAN
The communication plan is set up so that the communication remains effective and undisturbed
while establishing Lidl in the UK. The senior managers at the headquarters of Lidl in Germany
will have to communicate with the managers assigned to work in the UK about the progress of
the store. Also, the managers in the UK store will communicate in the UK market about the
hiring of new employees by using appropriate means and so on. The communication between
the various stakeholders of the project is important to keep everyone updated about the
project’s pace. A comprehensive communication plan is framed as follows-
Stakeholder Information Method Time of
frequency
Sender
Senior
management in
Germany
The pace of
growth of the
supermarket,
establishing
contracts with
suppliers
Calls, e-mails Monthly The UK assigned
managers
Investors To inform them
about the
investment
required (Fernie,
2012)
Documentation,
e-mails and
meeting
Monthly Project co-
coordinators
and managers
Employees The employees
hired in the UK
have to be trained
according to the
working policies
Training and
meetings
Daily Basis HR Department

of Lidl
Suppliers Suppliers have to
be selected who
will be delivering
the best products
from across the
UK.
Meetings, calls Weekly Marketing and
Operations
Department
RESOURCES INVOLVED
The resources that will be involved will be the company’s contacts in the UK to select an
appropriate location for the store, assets of the company to build an attractive and spacious
store and inventory of the company is required to manage the time and human capital (Burt et
al., 2010).
RISKS ASSOCIATED
The risks that are associated are related to competition as the UK market is difficult to win over.
The already established and well-running companies like Tesco and Sainsbury are a major
threat to Lidl as they are native UK companies who understand the UK purchasing and shopping
needs of the buyers well. Lidl has to train its employees of equal measure to level the
competition and risk (Gilani, 2014).
Risk
ID
Risk
Statement
Probability Impact Score Response
Scope Qualit
y
Schedule Cost
1. Change in
policy
0.3 0.1 0.3 0.8 0.1 0.026 Implementation
of the change
2. Time delay
risks
0.8 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.2 0.073 Faster operations
3. Operational 0.4 0.2 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.097 HR support

risks
4 Technologica
l risks
0.6 0.7 0.3 0.4 0.9 0.082 Implying the
latest technical
skills
QUALITY MANAGEMENT
The product quality management is vital for Lidl as the company is known for its quality and
excellent services. While selecting the suppliers who will be delivering products to sell I the
supermarket, the quality checks should be thoroughly done by the management to see for any
defects in quality and ensure that the best products go on the aisle for sale (Tench, 2016).
P3 WBS AND GANTT CHART
IMPACT OF
GLOBALIZATION ON LIDL
ESTABLISHING AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES
Developing aims and
objectives
Smart Goals
Worling on aims and
objectives
PRIMARY RESEARCH
Data Collection
Literature Review
Qualitative Research
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Questionnaire (Survey)
Data Collection
Quantitative Analysis
CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Evaluation
Findings
Implications

This is the work breakdown structure of the study. The WBS makes it easier to break down the
project into smaller, achievable components. The WBS also categorises the tasks to be
completed in a hierarchical format which shows headings and sub-heads of the project in an
easily comprehensible manner (Unser, 2018).
Also with the WBS, a Gantt chart is created which divides the rime in which the project will be
completed into sections which determine which task will be completed by when. It is an
excellent way to keep a tab on the data and check the progress of the research. The Gantt chart
for expansion Lidl in the UK is created as follows-
Activities Month
1
Month
2
Month
3
Month
4
Month
5
Month
6
Month
7
Month
8
Month
9
Month
10
Month
11&12
Brainstorming of
ideas
Creating aims and
objectives
Identifying
primary and
secondary data
for the research
Meta-analysis
Qualitative
analysis
Quantitative
analysis
Implementing the
research
Recommendation
s
Evaluation

The Gantt chart is prepared after due consideration of the time and resources with the
company. The project will be followed strictly according to the Gantt chart which is shared with
all the stakeholders associated with the project so that they can track the project’s progress
(Gilani, 2014).

LO 2
P4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
LITERATURE REVIEW
Wiggerthale (2010), states that for establishing a brand in a foreign country, it is important to
establish a great brand presence in the host country so that awareness of eth brand can be
created in the host country much before the brand actually starts a business in the host
country. This is a vital step that companies must take as it builds a stronger brand presence and
people become known to the brand. It will also appeal to the ones who are looking for
employment and can keep a tab as when will the company start a business so that they can
work with the company. Strong brans presence attracts many consumers as well as employees
as well.
Davis and Reilly (2010) state that for selecting the best employees to work with the new
company opening a base in the host country, the company should write excellent job
descriptions. In our case where Lidl is opening its store soon in the British market, the job
descriptions should be written such that the company’s values and mission must be clearly
stated. The expectations of the company from its employers should be explicitly mentioned so
that applicants know that they are supposed to deliver. Finally, the selection process should be
a mix of formal and informal where the applicants are communicated openly about the
company’s endeavours and goals which they want to achieve in the host country (Burt et al.,
2010).
Sparks (2016) says that in this digital age, the reviews, hits and stars the company is getting on
its websites and other online marketing channels makes a huge impact on the company’s sales
and projection in the global market and the host country as well. If the company is seen in a
good light on the internet then it will appeal in a positive way to the audience and the
consumers who are planning to make a switch with their current brand. Hence companies must
always keep an eye on the digital response and reviews they are receiving and always reply to