Analyzing M&S and Uniqlo's Joint Venture in the Japanese Market

This report examines the joint venture between Marks & Spencer and Uniqlo, focusing on the strategic implications of entering the Japanese market. The research investigates the risks and benefits associated with such a partnership, providing a comprehensive analysis of the business environment and the core requirements for successful operation. The project management plan outlines the scope, cost, time, quality, and communication strategies. The study employs both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, utilizing an inductive approach and Interpretivism philosophy to gather and analyze data from primary and secondary sources. The report includes a work breakdown structure, Gantt chart, and recommendations for the organizations to achieve growth and development in joint-venture businesses. The report aims to determine the risk factors, benefits, strategies, and core requirements for the joint venture, offering insights into effective market entry and business development strategies. The conclusion summarizes the key findings and provides recommendations for future actions.

MANAGING A
SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
PROJECT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Research Background.............................................................................................................3
P1 Aims and Objectives.........................................................................................................4
P2 Project management plan..................................................................................................5
P3. Work break down structure and Gantt Chart...................................................................7
................................................................................................................................................8
P4 Research methodologies....................................................................................................8
P5 Analysis...........................................................................................................................11
P6 Recommendations...........................................................................................................20
P7 Reflection........................................................................................................................21
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................22
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................23

INTRODUCTION
The theme of the below research is globalisation. Globalisation refers to the process of
interaction and integration among people. By some, it is considered as a form of capitalist
expansion which entails the integration of national and local economies. It is seen to be grown
due to the advances in communication and transportation technology. The topics covered in the
report includes identification of the risks and benefits of joint business ventures in order to enter
the international markets. The chosen organisation for the study is Marks and Spencer and
Uniqlo. Marks and Spencer is a major British multinational retailer headquartered in
Westminster, London. Uniqlo is a Japanese casual wear designer, retailer and designer. The firm
is headquartered in Yagamuchi, Japan (Humphries, 2017). The report discusses in what manner
Marks and Spencer can successfully enter into the market of Japan by venturing with Uniqlo. It
explores the risks and benefits the organisation will be facing and the important strategies and
development required to successfully enter into joint-venture.
Research Background
In the era of globalisation, it has become important for the companies across the world to
be a part of joint venture in order to achieve their business objectives. Important benefits and
risks are identified of a joint business venture to enter international markets. The chosen
companies are Uniqlo and Marks and Spencer. It is important for these companies to grow
themselves on large scale in order to achieve their set business objectives. Marks and Spencer
wants to enter into the market of Japan and it will venture with Uniqlo to sell its products and
services. The report will do research on both of the company's business environment to evaluate
the importance of growth and development happening within these organisations. It will help an
individual to understand the nature of joint venture businesses and how effectively these business
can be brought into operation to achieve set growth and success (Ledford and Gast, 2018). Along
with it, the research will evaluate the importance of decision making while entering into the
international markets and how one can achieve set growth and development as per their own
needs and developments.
P1 Aims and Objectives
Aim:
The aim of the study is to analyze the risks and benefits of joint business venture while
entering into Japan - A case study on Marks & Spencer and Uniqlo.

Objectives:
 To determine the risk factors for joint-venture business in Japanese markets
 To determine the benefits of joint-venture business while entering into the international
market of Japan
 To understand how Marks & Spencer by venturing with Uniqlo can achieve its business
goals and objectives successfully
 To determine what are the core requirements for these organizations to operate into joint-
venture businesses
 To analyze in what manner effective strategies can be developed by these organizations
to achieve set growth and development in joint venture businesses
Research Question:
 What are the associated risk factors for joint-venture business while entering into
international markets?
 What are the benefits of entering into the market of Japan for joint-venture businesses?
 How organization can achieve set goals and objectives with the help of joint venture
businesses?
 In what manner effective strategies are developed by the organization to gain most
benefits from the joint-venture business?
Rationale
The reason behind choosing the topic the risks and benefits of a joint business venture to
enter International markets for Uniqlo and Marks and Spencer is to evaluate the importance of
joint venture business. Globalization has made organizations across the world to enter into new
markets and without joint-venture it is not possible for the organizations to do so. It has become
essential for companies like Uniqlo and Marks and Spencer to grow their business in order to
achieve set growth and development.
The idea of joint-venture allows the businesses to gain new market advantage and
develop needs which are as per their customers movement and their own set goals. It is important
for the organization to make use of effective business plans in order to enter into joint-venture
business (Robson and McCartan, 2016). Without effective planning it is not possible to ensure a
sustainable joint-venture business and gaining better growth and advantage. It becomes hard for
the organizations to newly become a part of the joint-venture businesses and adapt into an

environment where growth is not promised. The report will discuss those various advantages and
disadvantages which can take the organization and its goals further. Along with it, it puts light on
in what ways better growth can be achieved within the set business environment. It also explains
the various researches being done in order to achieve better organizational advantage and to
bring set growth to the organization. Important discussions are made in the report to evaluate the
important decisions required while entering into the international markets. Along with it, it
evaluates in what manner effective controls and restriction can be put to achieve desired growth
and success.
P2 Project management plan
Project management Plan is formal document which consists about the way different
activities will be executed during the investigation (Joint Venture Business Opportunities, 2017).
It covers different aspects of research project such as risk, costs, quality, communications etc. All
these factors are very much essential to be considered by project manager as these components
are very much important in order to accomplish desired outcomes. Project management plan
describes the different phases of the research project. It is the plan which provides project
manager an ease in monitoring the progress and helps them in ensuring that all the activities are
performed according to the set standards.
Cost: It is basically expenses which are generally associated with execution of the
research. High amount of costs is associated with making arrangement for collection of the data
related to the topic (Silverman, 2016). Some expenditure associated with the execution of
research project are traveling expenses, purchase of stationery, salary of project manager as well
as other member, communication costs etc. In context of present study budget has been prepared
by project manager in order to control the flow of money and to complete research project in
efficient manner (Ledford and Gast, 2018). The overall research costed £5,000 pounds. In order
to expand into the market of Japan, Marks and Spencer requires an investment of £250,000
pounds.
Scope : This element in the project management plan defines the key deliverable as well
as milestones that are to be accomplished. The present research has limited project scope. The
scope will help the organization to determine the efficiency of joint-venture business. Along with
it, it is going to explore in what ways they can gain better advantage in selling of their products
and services on a international level.

Time : It is basically a specification about the period within with the specific research
project is required to be completed. Scholar in present study has prepared the Gantt chart which
consists of starting as well as ending time for each activity. It has assisted investigator in
measuring the progress of the research project (Robson and McCartan, 2016). The time required
for the study and research is 3 weeks.
Quality : It is one of the important element in project management plan. Quality of
information assists users in ensuring the reliability as well as validity of research report. Result
is highly influenced by the quality of data gathered during the time of investigation. Ensuring
quality is one of the major factors required while organizational growth and development. In
order to maintain the quality, the joint-venture business need to determine the important causes
and needs on which they are fulfilling their set needs and developments (Piaskowska, Nadolska,
and Barkema, 2017). Along with it, to assess in what manner better benefits can be brought by
ensuring better quality while entering into new markets.
Communication : Proper of information is very much necessary during the time of
investigation in order to avoid overlapping and wastage of resources. In context of present study
communication plan has been developed by researcher which clearly defined the responsibility
of an individual related to sharing of information (Humphries, 2017). Appropriate
communication will help the to develop smooth functioning and maintain new developments
without putting many efforts.
Risk : While executing the research project there are high chances of different types of
risk. One of the biggest risk associated with execution of the risk include ethical or legal issues,
in context of collection of information from secondary sources, there are high chances of
plagiarism (Miller and Weinberg, 2017). Investigator in present study has implemented different
measures for avoiding the ethical or legal issues. Investigator has informed participants about the
purpose of research. Scholar has utilities special computer software for storing of information in
order to maintain the confidentiality of information provided by participants (Silverman, 2016).
Resources : In context of Present research project, the different types of resources which
are required by researcher are technology, communication devices, internet, research skills,
human resource etc. The usage of technology is essential to make the work easy and reduce the
cost of labor (Yan and Luo, 2016). Internet allows the research to become in depth and to gain
necessary knowledge about the important needs and development required by the study.

P3. Work break down structure and Gantt Chart
Risks High Low Medium
Data Theft
Issues of Security
Leaving Respondents
from survey
P4 Research methodologies
Introduction
Research methodology is the procedure that is used to gather the data and related
information regarding business decisions. It is very essential for the organization to select the
most appropriate and suitable research methodology.
Research type

The research study is based on qualitative and quantitative techniques. In qualitative
research data and information are collected, evaluate and interpreted on the basis of statistical
data and numeric (Dussauge, Arslan and Wassmer, 2015). On the other hand, quantitative data
refers to the data and information that is gathered, analyses and interpreted by using non-numeric
and observation. The present research is based on the qualitative techniques as the survey is done
on the basis of emotions and the plan and procedure consists step of a wide assumptions and
interpretation of the in depth understanding of data. The rationale for choosing to execute the
qualitative research is that it provides scholar an ease in collecting the detailed information
related to the topic.
Research Approach
Research approaches come after the type of research selected by the researcher. The
approach starts from specific data collection on the basis of the topic and after the pattern and
theory will develop by the scholar. The applied approach in the research is inductive that is the
most suitable in qualitative research that is effective in identify the impact of multinational
organization in the business environment of India (Wu & et.al, 2017). Scholar in present study
has utilized inductive research approach, as it provides scholar an ease in generating the meaning
from the information collected from both primary and secondary sources. In addition to this,
inductive research approach also assist scholar in developing the questionnaire for collecting the
information from participants.
Research Philosophies
The research philosophy deals with the source, nature and development of the
knowledge. The two fundamental research philosophies are; Positivism and Interpretivism.
Collected data from positivism philosophy are highly structured and the method is consists the
mix of quantitative and qualitative. On the other hand, Interpretivism data are in depth small
sample and the investigation is only based on the qualitative method. Researcher has applied
Interpretivism philosophy that is more authentic and reliable. Thus, the impact of multinational
organisation cooperation is investigated by the Interpretivism philosophy. Investigator in present
study has applied Interpretivism research philosophy, as it helps them in interpreting the
information. In addition to this, Interpretivism research philosophy, assist scholar in ensuring
high level of validity. The reason because of which researcher has selected the Interpretivism

research philosophy is that the information collected in such studies tends to be honest as well as
trustworthy.
Sampling
Sampling plays a major role in research. Sample refers to the group of individual, any
object or item that taken within from a large population. It is essential to select the appropriate
type and size of samples (Gross, Huang and Ding, 2017). The sampling are classified in;
Probabilistic and Non-Probabilistic. In context of the present study, scholar has utilized the
purpose sampling. The reason for choosing the purpose sampling technique is that researcher
perceives that manager in an organization can provide complete as well as detailed information
about the risk as well as benefit associated with Joint venture business. The scholar has chosen
20 senior managers of Marks & Spencer to answer the research question.
Data Collection
Data collection is a procedure that is used to collect the information from all the relevant
sources. After effectively select the sample, researcher enable the activity to gather the data from
representatives. Two kind of data collection are; Primary and Secondary, primary data can be
collected by the researcher trough different methods these are observation, survey, interview and
secondary data is collected through journals, books, online sources and articles. In present
study , investigator has collected the data related to the topic from both primary and secondary
sources. Reason for choosing to collect information from both the sources is to gather huge
amount of information related to the risk and benefit associated with Joint venture business. The
method used by investigator for collecting the primary facts related to the topic is questionnaire.
A questionnaire form consists of open ended questions which has been designed considering the
aim of the research (Harris, 2018). Investigator has included close ended questions in
questionnaire form as scholar perceives that it will assist them in getting the relevant
information. Internet, Online books, Journals, magazines, has been used for gathering the
secondary data related to the topic of investigation.
Data Analysis
This is the last process, where the data is analyzed after gathering (Parameswar, Dhir and
Ongsakul, 2018). It is the process that is used to mold, clean and transfer raw data and
information into a systematic and meaningful manner. Data is analyzed by two method which are
qualitative and quantitative. In the present research, researcher has used qualitative method for

data analysis and present the data in form of graph, charts and tables. In addition to this, thematic
analysis has been used by scholar for presenting the information. The different themes are
prepared by investigator considering the questions as well as answers provided by participants.
Scholar has chosen to utilize the thematic analysis technique as it provides them an ease in
analyzing the pattern of responses provided by the respondents. Investigator has also used the
graph, chart, diagram for showing the results or findings (Clark and Soulsby, 2017). Diagram
and chart has assisted researcher an ease in making the research report presentable as well as
understandable by user.
P5 Analysis
Questionnaire
Question 1. According to you which is the biggest risks associated while entering into the
market of Japan with Uniqlo?
 Risk of conflicts
 Clashes in management styles Imbalance of capital and resources.
Question 2. What benefits can globalization add up to for the businesses from venturing with
Uniqlo?
 Fostering business growth
 Access to new market and distribution network Increased capacity
Question 3. What is the biggest opportunity your business can receive from entering into the
Joint-venture with Uniqlo?
 Achieving new growth
 New development options New consumer market
Question 4. What do you think is required most by the businesses while entering into joint-
venture with Uniqlo?
 Finance and Capital
 Relationships Effective management
Question 5. What challenges do you think your organisation can face while entering in the

Japanese market?
 Diverse Culture
 Recruitment Infrastructure
Question 6. As per your opinion, what advantages your business can receive from selling the
products and services Japanese markets?
 Increase in profitability
 A rich and diverse consumer platforms New markets to sell current products and services
Question 7. Do you think your organisation is going to gain competition after entering into the
markets of Japan?
 Agree
 Disagree
 Highly Agree Highly Disagree
Question 8. What do you think are most effective skills which the employees of your
organisation need to ensure successful cooperation with Uniqlo in joint-venture business?
 Good Communication
 Planning
 Trust
 Performance monitoring
Theme 1: Risk of Conflicts is the biggest risk associated while venturing with Uniqlo
Risk of conflicts 13
Clashes in management styles 4
Imbalance of capital and resources 3