M&S: Navigating Contemporary Growth Challenges - A Detailed Report

This report provides a critique of Marks and Spencer, a British multinational retailer, focusing on its response to contemporary global growth challenges. It examines the company's current state and delves into various dimensions such as leadership, strategy, communications and positioning, controlling, and acquisition or merger potential. The report discusses the importance of leadership theories like situational and transactional leadership, emphasizing the need for adaptable leadership styles to motivate employees and enhance efficiency. It highlights the significance of strategic planning, including cost leadership and differentiation strategies, with a recommendation for Marks and Spencer to focus on differentiation to attract customers and achieve higher profits. Effective communication is underscored as crucial for smooth operations and increased productivity, while strategic positioning is vital for maintaining brand relevance in a competitive market. The report also addresses the importance of controlling activities through personal observations, key performance indicators, and benchmarking to ensure objectives are met. Finally, it touches upon the potential benefits of acquisition or merger to enhance growth and market share. The report concludes with recommendations aimed at improving the organization's financial and environmental sustainability in the long term.

Contemporary Growth
Challenges for Business

Executive summary
This is the report which is based on the marks and Spencer which is the British
multinational retailer. The company deals in the clothing, home and food products. The business
organisation conducts the various activities in order to serve to the society in return of earning
profits. It is very important for the organisation to make use of the different strategies in order to
increase the profitability. The company have the growth and success but as well as the company
need to face the various challenges while globally expansing the business. There is discussion of
the various dimensions such as leadership,merger or acquisition, controlling, strategy,
communication and positioning. These are are various dimensions on which te4h response of the
company is been discussed. It is very important for the marks and Spencer to enhance on the
various strategies so that the company can achieve its organisational goals and objectives.

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................1
The Current state of the organisation .........................................................................................1
The five dimension in context of the business organisation ......................................................1
Future recommendations ............................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
The business organisation is defined as the commercial activities which is conducted by
by the individual in order to earn profit for the living standard. The business is engaged in the
various activities so that it can serve to the society and as well as earn money. It is very
important for the organisation to have an effective working so that the company can achieve
success and growth within the society. Every individual seeks for the expansion and growth. The
expansion is the most important strategy for the company in order to achieve the higher profits.
The company ned to face challenges while the it is expansing internationally. This report is based
on Marks and Spencer which is the British multinational retailer. The company deals in various
product such as clothing, food and home. The company was founded in 1884 by the Michael
Marks and Thomas Spencer.(Boone, Kurtz, and Berston, 2019). This report will include the

discussion on the current state of the organisation., the various dimensions such as leadership,
communications, strategy, controlling, merger and acquisition and the reco0mmendattion to the
company.
MAIN BODY
The Current state of the organisation
The Marks and Spencer is well established company in the United Kingdom. This is the
company which is at the growth state and is leading the brand in the United Kingdom. The
company is famous for its exclusive design in the clothi9ng. The Marks and Spencer is at the
maturity stage where it has developed a lot of brand image in the minds of customers. The
expansion of the company is not less globally which can developed the image of the business
enterprise. It is been analysed that the company is famous for the exclusive designs which it
focus on in its clothing sector.(Verbeke, and et.al., 2019.).
The five dimension in context of the business organisation
Leadership
The leadership plays vital role in the state and the positioning of the business organisation
in an environment. This is the dimension which is discussed in context of Marks and Spencer.
The company can face the various growth challenges if the leadership is not maintained properly
within the business enterprise. The leadership is the main concern of matter for the functioning
of the various activities. Marks and Spencer can face the growth challenges because of the
leadership qualities which can lead to demotivation of the employees. It is very important for the
company t have the leadership theories so that the employees are motivated. The various theories
are discussed below
 Situational leadership theory- This is the theory which stresses on the importance of
situational variables. This theory is the combination of the two factors which is the
leadership style and maturity level of the subordinates. According to this theory the
different situations demand for adopting the different leadership style within the business
organisation. (SERGI., 2018)
 Transactional theories- This is also known as the management theories or exchange
leadership theories. This is the theory which revolved around the supervision,

organisation and team work. This consider the rewards and punishments which is the
basis of the leadership actions. This is the leadership theory which is used to motivate
employees with the rewards.
It is suggested that the Marks and Spencer can focus on the situational theory where the
company can focus on overcoming with the growth challenges. It is very important for the
manager tom keep changing the style according to the different situation within the workplace.
The leadership theory plays the important role in the growth of business organisation. This will
help the organisation in the various aspect such as increase in the efficiency of the employees.
(Sims,2017)
Strategy
This is the most important for the business organisation to have a good strategy. It is very
important for the business organisation to follow a specific strategy in order to grow in the
business. This helps the organisation to stay stable and have a specific regulation to guide the
employees which so that they can conduct their roles and responsibilities. This is the dimension
which helps the organisation in its financial analysis and environment sustainability of the
business organisation. The strategy can leads to the challenging if it is not properly managed
within the organisation. This is important because this helps in defining the goals and objectives
of the company which need to be accomplished. The challenge which the company can face is
the lack of alignment and poor goal setting which can divert the mind of the employees and they
will not be able to perform the desired task.
There are different strategies which can be considered by the company in order to have a growth
in the organisation. Also the company can over come with the various challenges which arise due
to the poor strategy within the organisation. Here the two strategies are discussed in context of
Marks and Spencer:
 Cost leadership- This is the strategy where the organisation can focus on the cost by
keeping it low for the customers. This enhances in the growth of the business by
attracting customers. This is the eff3ective strategy which can enhance in the profit of the

organisation as there will rise in the customers which will enhance the company and its
profitability. (Meyer, 2017)
 Differentiation- This is the another business strategy which involves including the
uniqueness in the product or services so that the company can achieve its organisational
gaols. This is the strategy which helps the organisational to ach9ieve higher profit and
differentiate themselves from its competitors.
From the above discussion it is been analysed that the company can focus on the
differentiation strategy which can help the organisation to overcome the various challenges and
the growth of the business. This is the important for Marks and Spencer that it adopts the
business strategy which enhances in the growth of the organisation. It is important for the
organisation to have the environment sustainability by adopting to the good strategy. It is been
analysed that the differentiation strategy can help the organisation to attract customers and attain
more which can enhance in the growth of the business. This also helps in expansing to the wide
range of customers because of the uniqueness of the company.
It is been observed that the Marks and Spencer focus on the brand strategy where the
company invest in the brand. The company is identifying the new ways to work with the third
party brands, which can help in strategic collaborations and this will attract customers. This is
the strategy which can help the organisation to grow and increase in the profitability. (Nwankwo,
. and Richards,, 2020)
communications and positioning
The communication plays the vital role in the flow of the information from one
department to the another department. This means that for the smooth functioning of the various
activities it is important that the flow of the information is in correct ways. This also help in
enhancing the growth of the business organisation. this is because the employees productivity
depends on the communication within the workplace. This means that if the individual is able to
communicate the things in an effective manner which can enhance in the working of the
organisation towards its goals and objectives. (Korobejnikova, 2019)
It is been analysed that the communication is important in the Marks and Spencer as this
will enhance in the growth of the organisation. It is very important for the management to adopt

the different communication strategies in order to keep their employees motivated. This will
make the activities work in a flow which can help in increase in the productivity. This is
important because if there is confusion between the team members which can crease mess for the
employees and this will lead t an ineffective working environment. So in order to over come with
the challenge of the miscommunication the management is responsible for maintain9ing the flow
of the information within the workplace.
Positioning of the company is defined as the brand where it is stated in the minds of the
people. This is the another important for the organisation for the growth. As weal as it is
challenging for the company to position itself as a brand in the environment. It is essential for the
organisation for the future suitability for the longer period of time. As marks and Spencer is well
stabled company and it has positioned itself in the market as a brand but the challenges which is
faced by the company from its competitors is not easy task. As there are several compositors in
the market which can become the obstacle for the company in adopting the various growth
strategies for he business. (Jha, . and Sikdar, 2020)
Controlling
This is the another dimension which plays the important role in the growth of the
business organisation. It is important for the management to have a proper control over the
activities performed in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the business enterprise. This
is the most challenging and the important aspect for the business organisation in order to achieve
the goals and obj3ectives. There are various elements through which controlling can be taken
place in orde4r to check whether the organisation is achieving the objectives on right time or not.
 Personal observations- This is the technique which can be utilised by the business
organisation in order to have a control over the various activities which is been
conducted within the business organisation. This leads to the personal observation of the
management over the performance of the employees which can help in enhancing the
productivity of they company.
 Key performance indicator- This is the measurable value which demonstrate how
effectively a business organisation is able to achieve the objectives of the business
enterprise. This helps in evaluating the success at a reaching targets of the business
organisation.

 Benchmarking- This is the another tool which helps the organisation by comparing they
business process and performance metrics to the industry. This helps the company in
evaluating its performance as compared to its competitors. (Andreeva, and et.al., 2018)
It is been analysed that the Marks and Spencer can focus on the various controlling
strategies which will help the company to achieve its objectives and goals. It is suggested that if
the company adopts the various tools such as key performance indicator which is helpful
financing and the various other measures. The company can make use of the tool and measure
the performance of the employees so that if there is requirement of any changes which will
enhance in the productivity of the company.
Acquisition or merger potential
This is the dimension where it can be discussed that if the company adopts any one
between acquisition or merger then it can enhance its growth and increase the market share. This
is the important aspect for the organisation in order to increase profitability while in the growing
stage of the company. (Jatto,. and Stanislas, 2017).
Acquisition means that the company is selling the business to the another party who can handle
in more gently and the company can have the growth in the other country or state. While the
merger means the collaboration with the other brand which enhances in the brand image and
increase in the profits of the business organisation. It is been analysed that the merger is the
option for the growth of the business and in term of the environment sustainability.
There are various challenges for the merger which can be faced by the organisation. It is
been analysed that there is always risk for the business at every stage. Also this is the stage
where the organisation might face challenge in order to grow its business. In order to overcome
with the challenge the company can use the various strategies which will enhance in its growth.
This is referred to as the potential for the company that will increase the success of the company.
The merger is the important for the Marks and Spencer as this will enhance in the other strategies
of the growth. The global expansion can be achieved with the merger of they company. This is
the important aspect in order to grow and success of the company.

The response of the company can be analysed in the positive way because this w3ill assist in the
more profitable for the business enterprise. Every business wish to have a substantial growth. If
it is discussed in the context of the financing analysis the company will able to have the better
finances if it adopts they merger. The merger can be any other brand which will enhance in the
productivity and as well as the brand image of the company. (Chen, Cheung, and Tan, 2018).
Future recommendations
It is recommended that the company can focus on t5eh business strategy which will help
the organisation achieving its organisational goals and obejctive4s. The future growth of the
company depends on the various internal and external factors which is important for the
management to analyse on it. The various aspect such as leadership, communication,. Strategy
plays the major role in overcoming with the challenges which is faced by the company. The
company is recommended that it can make use of the strategy which can help the company in
achiev9ing its objectives. The company can have the global expansion if it focus in improving
the leadership style in its organisation. This will enhance in the productivity of the employees
and this will help in achieving the success in the short duration. The another things which is
important for the organisation is the communication strategy. It important for the company to
adopt the right flow of communication in order to keep the transparency between the different
department within the workplace. (Callanan, , Perri, . and Tomkowicz, , 2017).
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is concluded that the business organisation is conducted for the
various commercial activities in order to earn profits. It is analysed that there are various
challenges which is faced by the organisation in order to achieve success and growth. The
various challenges need to overcome by adopt8ing the different strategies. The various
dimension which is discussed such as leadership. The leadership plays the important role in the
growth of the organisation and in order to motivate its employees. This is the essential part of the
organisation to use the business strategy. So that the company can overcome with the challenges
and the company can achieve the growth within the market and the envi0ornment.

REFERENCES
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