M&S Organizational Structure and Management Analysis

This case study analyzes the organizational structure, corporate culture, and management style of Marks & Spencer (M&S). It discusses the shift from an autocratic to a democratic management style and the adoption of a flat organizational structure to empower employees. The study also examines the role of performance management and training & development in enhancing productivity at M&S. The analysis highlights how M&S adapted its business culture to remain competitive and relevant in a changing market environment, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and drawing from different management styles.

Student Name :
University Name:

Contents
Introduction –........................................................................................................................................3
Organization structure...........................................................................................................................3
corporate culture at M&S......................................................................................................................4
Management style followed by M&S....................................................................................................4
Performance Management...................................................................................................................5
Training & Development.......................................................................................................................5
Conclusion -...........................................................................................................................................6
References –..........................................................................................................................................6

Introduction –
Marks & Spence popularly called M&S is a British retail giant based in London with a global presence.
It retails in clothing, home & gourmet food products. The Company in the 1990’s had exemplary
profits but the numbers started to decline in the early 2000’s because of heightened competition.
The organization structure and culture of M&S was reorganized to increase profits and to evolve
with the changing times and to better tackle competition. This paper will talk about the current
organization structure, Management style and corporate culture followed by M&S today and
emphasize the roles that Performance management and Training & Development play in enhancing
productivity.
Organization structure
The current organization structure followed by M&S is Flat. A flat organization structure follows the
shape of a pyramid but is not as sharp. The top and bottom level of the pyramid are not vastly
separated by the existence of many levels of middle management.
This structure was adopted so that the employees could be given a chance to share more
responsibility and take accountability for their performance thereby empowering them. This also
gives employees a chance to understand consumer needs through direct interaction (Broman,
2017).
A more flexible and flat style of management enables employees to participate in the process of
decision making by removing unnecessary bureaucracy and limiting the number of people that exist
between the administrative heads and base-line workers. Because of the elimination of so many
middle staff, employees become more responsible and skilled as they are required to take prompt
action and provide solutions and justify their action (Strinfellow, 2010). This was adopted by M&S so
that its workforce would become more capable without causing an additional dent in the company’s
expense. Since the communication flows easily from the top management to the base-line

executives it also makes the organization more productive. However, this sort of structure requires
its staff to be highly trained and qualified.
corporate culture at M&S
According to Charles Handy’s model the culture that M& S follows is a mix of Role & Task culture.
In the Role culture employees are held accountable for their actions and take responsibility for their
decision. Each employee is designed a task based on his capability and qualification and encouraged
to give it his best. The employees participate in deciding what their goals are and willingly take onus
of achieving that goal. Authority accompanies responsibility in the Role Culture.
On the other hand, Task culture is more task oriented. Working together as a team to achieve the
organizations objective is what a Task culture aims at. This culture allows for people to take prompt
action and is useful in the case of M&S where flexibility is required and fast decision making is the
need of the hour in the face of changing market trends, reduced product life and increasing
competition. Here the decision-making powers lie with each team/group and top bosses delegate
work to their team (Burnes, 2004). . In the context of M&S the culture takes the best of both Role
and Task. It allows employees to set goals and take responsibility associated with Role culture and
allows them to be flexible like the Task culture.
Management style followed by M&S
The Management style followed by M&S is democratic. It started off as autocratic as it was a family
run business but has changed its structure to democratic with time. The current structure of M&S
allows employees to participate in decision making. As per the brief the company is committed to
involve its employees in setting of goals and objectives at the same time it allows them to take
responsibility for their action and gives them the freedom to take decisions. They elect their own
representatives democratically to put their views across to employers, a characteristic of the
democratic style of management.

The democratic style of management is flexible and required when the operating business
environment is ever evolving like in the case of M&S. The democratic style allows for communication
to flow freely within the team members encouraging participation in the discussions to arrive at an
effective solution. People are invited to share their ideas freely so that different viewpoints can
come to the forefront. This style is especially effective when the work force is highly skilled and
qualified, like in the case of M&S. Employees put forward their own thoughts instead of just
following orders from leaders.
Performance Management
M&S undertakes performance management for its employees as line managers review the
employees work every six months. The line managers analyse the performance against set standards
and criteria and helps employees identify areas of improvement (Francis, 2003). This helps gauge
an employee’s contribution towards the growth of an organization. Performance management is a
not a once off task, it’s an ongoing process that provides constructive feedback to employees and
helps them improve and realize their objectives, making them better workers. An effective
performance management system needs to be job specific, practical, unbiased and constructive.
Training & Development
Training and Development entails nonstop development and enhancement of skill set possessed by
employees. It is imperative that employees enhance their knowledge from time to time through
learning. This will make employees more efficient and lead to overall productivity. At M&S Training
and Development is used to prepare the employees to become future managers by equipping them
with technical know-how and business acumen. This is also imperative as employees need to adapt
and update their skills with the changing times. It’s also cheaper for an organization to make their
existing employees experts in their field of operation in comparison to hiring outside experts.

Conclusion -
To succeed and uphold its 120-year-old legacy, M&S decided to change its business culture to adapt
to changing times. The erstwhile authoritative and power culture did not work in an environment
where quick decision making was the key to success. It leveraged its existing strengths to fight
competition and survive. Each change brings about a new challenge and although M&S is known for
its HRM proficiency this new change in the management will not be a smooth ride. The key lies in
being flexible and being able to draw the best from distinctive styles of management and adopt what
works for M&S.
References –
Francis, H. (2003). HRM and the beginnings of organizational change. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 16(3), 309-327.
Burnes, B. (2004). Managing change: A strategic approach to organisational dynamics.
Pearson Education.
Missimer, M., Robèrt, K. H., & Broman, G. (2017). A strategic approach to social
sustainability–Part 1: exploring the social system. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140,
32-41.