Executive Summary: Organizational Behavior at Marks and Spencer

This report provides an executive summary analyzing the organizational behavior of Marks and Spencer (M&S). It begins by outlining key areas for management attention, including productivity, labor costs, and maintaining a positive culture. The report then delves into four types of organizational culture: power, role, task, and person culture, evaluating their relevance to M&S. It further explores how communication enhances organizational effectiveness, emphasizing the importance of transparency and interaction. The role of culture in employee motivation is examined, highlighting the need for tailored incentives and respect for employees. Finally, the report suggests ways M&S can leverage its culture to enhance success, focusing on employee involvement, planning, and open communication channels. The analysis underscores the importance of a positive and adaptable organizational structure for sustained business growth and employee satisfaction.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report highlights areas in which management of Marks and Spencer needs to give more
attention such as increasing the productivity, reducing rate of labor, maintain the culture with
positivity around, set the levels of interaction and maintain the positivity in culture. This is all
linked to achieving growth in business.

Contents
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
Culture in line..............................................................................................................................4
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................6
How culture improves organizational effectiveness with a focus on communication................6
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................7
The role of culture on employee motivation................................................................................7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
How the company could use the culture of the organization to further enhance its success.......8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Organizational behavior is the study of both group and individual performance and activity
within an organization. This area of study examines human behavior in a work environment
and determines its impact on job structure, performance, communication, motivation,
leadership, etc. Marks and Spencer Group plc is a major British multinational retailer with
headquarters in London, England, that specializes in selling clothing, home products and food
products, mostly of its own label. This report gives classification on the issues such as
different forms of culture and the specific culture used by them. Apart from that role of
culture on effectiveness of business with the aspect of communication. Role of culture on
motivation of employees and uses of culture through which company can explore more ways
to increase the rate of their success.
TASK 1
Culture in line
There are four different types of model in handy’s typology-
Power Culture-
This culture does the work on the basis of allocating authorities to only those individuals
in the business that deserve it. For that company checks their achievements they have reached.
In order to comply with this form of culture they have to follow their rules and regulations
that are proceeded to it. There are only few people who can make the calls for high level
decisions. Companies that follow power culture have to judge their employees in comparison
with the decisions they have taken for them so that they can find out how much results they
have gained for them so that they can compare it with expectancy level. There are some issues
with this form of culture because in order to make decisions that are fast they have to match it
with their duration of growth which sometimes differs and that creates a problem. By using
and implementing this culture many companies have stated that this form is very strong and if
not handled with right calculations then it can turn out to be very wrong for them. Marks and
Spencer believes that it will come out handy for them as they have been successful because of
this culture (Rius and De Clercq, 2018).

Role Culture-
This culture works on different set and that is they only follow the rules that are
determined by their culture. Employees face no difficulty in understanding any role and
decision they have to make as they are explained everything in the beginning and they are not
clear about it. In this form of culture company has to work on the basis of approaches that are
different and on that particular aspect they have to assign them authorities so that they can
develop the clarity between them and work on the guidelines they have mentioned in their
culture. With time it is important that they evaluate their working procedures so that they can
make it more advanced and work done is less complexed and more simplified. There are some
chances that it will led to more riskier measures which makes them more bureaucratic (XU
and LI, 2019).
Task Culture-
This culture works with a unified approach and that is they form members of team in a
group on the basis of task and its requirement so that it can be done in perfect manner that
helps the enterprise gain easy and instant recognition. In order to achieve this members have
to coordinate with each other and support everyone’s problems and opinions equally so that
they can reach at that point which is expected by Marks & Spencer. It is important for the
management to make sure that they evaluate it in the right manner because sometimes
working together involves many conflicts which may involve lot of problems in the work that
needs to be checked.
Person Culture-
Many of the businesses have to go through a situation where they realize that their
employees feel that they are superior to their company. but what creates a problem is that
companies such as Marks and Spencer have no idea about this feeling of employees and they
allot them work and be done with them when they hand them the finished work. This culture
is collective and in a way its usual because the dealings that takes place are done with the
people who are same (Ridlo, Widodo and Elianasari, 2020).

TASK 2
How culture improves organizational effectiveness with a focus on communication
 In order to keep their culture of company positive it is important that Marks and Spencer
keep their communication better and transparent so that they can make sure that on going and
working through different stages employee is clear about their roles and responsibilities.
Management needs to keep a check that they are maintaining set levels of interaction between
each other. With the help of this relation will be maintained and they can solve any problem
with right solution easily.
 The management of business has to assess that there employees respect the importance of
culture set by the business as this will lead to positivity around and maintain the flow of work.
If this is set then employees won't interrupt with each other's work as well. Also this will lead
to less ego clashes between them. This way they will be clear about their target they have to
achieve. Marks and Spencer allocates their employees on the basis of their interest so that they
can get more productive results (MALIK and Ravinder, 2017).
 If the culture is maintained by Marks and Spencer in a healthy manner then they can
work in different areas as they hire employees on the basis of their talents so that they can use
it in multiple areas so that they can make sure that their are areas which will make sure the
assessment of growth. This makes sure that they learn channels of interaction which will
improve discussion so that they can work clearly and achieve more goals.
 For the employees who have helped Marks and Spencer gain fame and set remarkable
performance in different areas they are appreciated by them in their own form. As they allow
them to be involved in process of making decisions.
 They have to motivate their employees on regular basis and it relies on the design of their
culture. This will make sure that they stay at point every time and give company the ideas
which are beneficial for them. this will make the new assigned tasks more creative and
innovative.
 Marks and Spencer believes in planning and then coming on to a final decision so that
they can assess the organizers of working the event in successful manner. If because of their
planning they tend to be successful then the credit is divided between everyone one of them.

 Marks and Spencer have made it clear to their employees and that is any employee or
associate can meet them anytime they want. The reason behind this is that management of
company believes that if they follow the chain of command then it will consume more of their
time which can affect their productivity. That is why for matters that are urgent they have
guided them to avoid the chain or procedure.
 Marks and Spencer invites all the members for their morning sessions so that they can
work with new approaches and creative measures that will help them to complete the work
soon and discuss the new programs that they need to work on or launch in the market. This
will help them to make sure that with the help of these decisions and initiatives they are able
to increase the flow of production. They believe that these factors will help them to work with
more effectiveness. Apart from that in a group they can discuss the ways to find out solutions
that will help employees to go far from it.
 Another reason for the company to maintain their culture with positivity is that they
believe by investing their efforts they will be able to increase the morale of employees.
Employees will respect this decision of company and because of less interference by seniors
they will work with more determination (Ghosh and Deb, 2018).
TASK 3
The role of culture on employee motivation
Motivation plays a very important role in the culture of business and for that they have to
make sure that structure of business is open minded in the internal aspects of the company this
will help them to make sure that they form and develop an environment which is open for
everyone in a way that is to solve their problems and help them in areas where they require it
the most. If they are able to develop this form of culture then management will notice that
communication is being done at the required level. It is important for management to make
sure that they have implemented right factors of motivation as this is linked with the
satisfaction level for employees. Management has to consider these things by assessing and
analyzing the needs of everyone because not everyone will be satisfied by the same rewards or
incentives they will have to understand the different needs of employees and then make a

move for it. They cannot overlook these things as it is directly linked with the productivity of
business that is why management makes sure to look it on time to time so that with serving
the needs of customers they must not forget serving the needs of employees. Apart from that if
they monitor on employees for this they can add one more things that is to assess their
strengths and weakness in different areas which will help them to make sure that they are able
to achieve growth. While designing their culture Marks and Spencer needs to keep in mind
that they add values that are important such as giving respect and importance to employees.
This will help them to reduce the rate of employee turnover. It is necessary that they
understand the difference between developing a structure that is rigid or not making it more
open and flexible as it will lead to make employees comfortable with culture which will affect
their performance. This will help them to save their time from getting wasted and making it
more beneficial for the business. This will keep them motivated and apart from that they will
be able to make sure that this way employee will attain more confidence in their work. If they
make sure that they are working with right drivers they will have to look after these things so
that they can get the insight for it. This can be assessed in different ways such as level of
importance and their determination on work, earn more goodwill and remain motivated for
work. This will help the leaders of company to show them the right path which will be
beneficial for both (de Guzman and Kim, 2017).
Marks and Spencer has the potential because of their culture and due to the balance of
factors they have maintained. With the help of areas and measures they need to develop an
environment which stays positive and for that they have to implement right drivers (Clark,
Robertson and Young, 2019).
TASK 4
How the company could use the culture of the organization to further enhance its success
Management of Marks and Spencer have to make sure that they use their culture for the
benefit of company. They have many options to do that and with this they can ensure the right
manner of success.
Lower Absenteeism-

In order to decrease the rate of leaves it is necessary that they use the culture in right manner
and for that management have to keep assessing the levels of interaction between employees.
If they are able to make this possible and set coordination with it then they will make sure that
they are getting more results than their expectations. The reason behind this will be because
more employees will be present and work with interest which will automatically increase the
rate of growth and achievement of set targets.
Improved Retention-
If the employees do not notice any faulty measures with the employees then probability
for them is that they can increase their work duration with them. this will help Marks and
Spencer to allocate funds which were used to find new employees. Management has to look
after this with full focus as it is their job to make sure that employees have no complaints
against the company. Apart from that they need to understand the point of offering up decent
packages because that attracts employees and keep them stuck in the company for long. With
that there are other areas in which management has to be attentive and that is to provide them
support at anytime. Marks and Spencer have the benefit because they are known all over the
world and people wants to be a part of these type of organization (Subba, 2019).
Happier Customers-
In order to keep their customers satisfied and get repeated sales from them it is important
that they notice their culture in the right manner. for that Marks and Spencer works with
different insights to ensure that their message is delivered to them. in order to keep them
satisfied employees are highly trained, all work is done with fair practices and the quality of
product used will help them to get repeated sales (Ayandibu, 2019).
CONCLUSION
From the above studies it has been concluded that Marks and Spencer needs to maintain their
culture with positivity and make sure no one is taking advantage of their open minded and
free culture. Other than that they need to make sure that they are increasing their productivity
and working with the same employees that will only happen if they remain satisfied with their
work and workplace. In order to make this true they will have to implement the right forces

and drivers of motivation. This will help them to make sure that they get results that meet
more than their expectations and management will be able to assess that they will remain
ahead of their competition.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Ayandibu, A.O., 2019. Green Transformational Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Effectiveness. In Contemporary Multicultural Orientations and Practices for Global
Leadership (pp. 225-244). IGI Global.
Clark, M.A., Robertson, M.M. and Young, S., 2019. “I feel your pain”: A critical review of
organizational research on empathy. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(2), pp.166-
192.
de Guzman, M.C. and Kim, M., 2017. Community hierarchy of needs and policing models:
toward a new theory of police organizational behavior. Police Practice and Research,
18(4), pp.352-365.
Ghosh, A. and Deb, A., 2018. Flourishing among public bank employees in India: A positive
organizational behavior approach (Doctoral dissertation, Indian Institute of Technology
Hyderabad).
MALIK, R. and Ravinder, K.A.U.R., 2017. Emerging Trends in Organizational Behavior: A
Perspective. International Journal of Research in IT and Management, 7(2), pp.10-20.
Ridlo, M.R., Widodo, S.E. and Elianasari, E., 2020. The Effect of Power and Motivation in
Teacher Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) at Madrasah Aliyah in Central
Lombok District. International Journal for Educational and Vocational Studies, 2(2).
Rius, I.B. and De Clercq, D., 2018. Knowledge sharing and unethical pro-organizational
behavior in a Mexican organization: Moderating effects of dispositional resistance to
change and perceived organizational politics. Management Research: Journal of the
Iberoamerican Academy of Management.
Subba, D., 2019. Antecedent and consequences of organizational identification: a study in the
tourism sector of Sikkim. Future Business Journal, 5(1), pp.1-9.
XU, Y. and LI, C., 2019. Application of longitudinal study in organizational behavior
research. Advances in Psychological Science, 27(4), pp.600-610.