BMP6002 Strategic Management: Marks & Spencer Business Plan Review

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of strategic management at Marks & Spencer, a UK-based clothing retail company. It defines strategic management and assesses the processes organizations use to determine their strategies, with a focus on Marks & Spencer's approach. The report critically evaluates the impact of internal (Strengths, Weaknesses) and external (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental) environmental variations on the organization's strategy using SWOT and PESTLE analyses. Furthermore, it reviews Marks & Spencer’s strategic plan, suggesting an action plan based on changes in the internal or external environment. The analysis aims to provide insights into how Marks & Spencer can improve its strategic planning to enhance profitability, productivity, and growth in a dynamic market environment. Desklib offers a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and study resources.

BSc (Hons) Business Management Top up
BMP6002 Strategic Management
Strategic Planning
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Executive Summary
Strategic management plays an important role in delivering the best results
within the organization. The best results can be achieved by the organization by
using a range of strategies that will help in increasing the productivity of the
organization. The internal and external environment of the organization plays an
important role in terms of deciding the level at which the operations of the company
will be managed. The business plan of the respective company is helpful in
analyzing the strategies that will be used by them in near future.
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Contents
Introduction p
Definition of strategic management p
A critical assessment of the process used by organisations to
determine their strategy p
A critical evaluation of the impact of internal and external
environmental variation on organisational strategy p
A review of an organisation’s strategic plan (Business Plan),
providing an action plan for the organisation on the basis of a
change in either the internal OR external environment. (The
Business Plan is included as an Appendix) p
Conclusion p
References p
Appendix p
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Introduction
Strategic management refers to the significant branch in the diverse
field of management in any type of business model which effectively helps in
managing the valuable resources of the organization. Strategy plays a major
role in terms of managing different areas such as operations, supply chain
which ultimately lead the company towards the achievement of goals and
objectives (George, Walker and Monster, 2019). This type of management
consists of various activities which helps in defining and setting up of
objectives which lead to the ensuring effective analyzing of internal and
external data. In this report Marks and Spencer is considered which is a UK
based clothing retail company dealing established in the year 1884. This
report covers the concept of strategic management and further it covers the
process used by the organization in order to determine the strategy
implemented in the current business model. Internal and external
environmental variation on the strategy of organization is also discussed.
Further a business plan for the company is suggested by keeping the
important factors such as internal and external environment in mind.
Definition of strategic management
Strategic management is one of the broadest field of management in
which the focus of the manger is on the different productive areas of the
company such as monitoring, planning, analyzing and assessing the
resources that are available in the organization in order to meet the
goals and objective of the firm (Hanlon, 2021). With the dynamic
environment, there are several set of changes that are being placed in
the current market situation due to which strategy must be analyzed on a
regular basis. Constant and rapid changes in the marketing environment
is one of the most crucial factor as the strategy of the company revolves
around its external and internal environment. The strategy must be
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reviewed on a regular basis as it assists in terms of staying profitable
and productive throughout the business model. These strategy focuses
on increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of operations throughout
the application. In the context of Marks and Spencer, the strategy made
within the business model of the company is concerned with the
development prospects where the aim is to implement a set of process
through which the business can achieve the objectives. Applying
different strategies will help in terms of getting an idea of the current
scenario of business and further it will help them in different areas such
as profitability, productivity and growth.
Strategic management is considered as a holistic approach which
helps the firm in providing a direction towards the end results. This helps
in terms of guidance and supportability in the organization and takes
several factors such as objectives and plans of the company in account
(Kholodov and et. al., 2020). If a company has a set plan and procedure,
then they will implement reviewed strategies in different situations which
will result in better set of outcomes. The company who is inflexible
cannot survive in the dynamic environment as there are several
challenges in terms of surviving in the market for a longer period of time.
Marks and Spencer will use strategic management in the organization in
order to bridge the gap between the process, actual plan and
achievement of objective. The strategic management is helpful in
eliminating the hurdles that are faced Marks and Spencer in their
different set of operations.
A critical assessment of the process used by
organisations to determine their strategy
Manager plays an important role in terms of delivering the strategy in
the current business model of the company (AlQershi, 2021). Marks and
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Spencer has hired a manager which will develop new set of strategies in
the business in order to attain the set objectives and goals. The prime
objective of the strategic process is to help the company in terms of
measurable and realistic goals along with preparation and building of an
action plan through which the objective will be achieved. The strategic
process is a key and integral part which helps in terms of strategic
planning and the focus is to increase the potential of the company in
terms of attaining the desired set of goals.
Marks and Spencer must hold a significant value of strategy in order to
come up with a common set of living place which will help in terms of
sustainability in offering services and products in the market. Marks and
Spencer is looking to contribute significantly to the environmental and
social cause which will enhance the living needs of society
(Glushchenko, 2021). Marks and Spencer extensively looking to
generate a sustainable set of environment which will help in terms of
taking care of the interest of stakeholders. The process followed in the
strategic plan is to identify the best set of opportunities available for
evaluating the external and internal environment. Marks and Spencer
has been in the market for a long period of time and they have ability to
adopt to the environment according to the changes. The strategy of
Marks and Spencer revolves around the SMART objectives that the firm
has set for the near future. The best opportunities that are available for
the company in terms of external and internal environment can be
grabbed if the company apply proper strategical approach in the
business model. Marks and Spencer wanted to revolve their process
around the environmental and social issues that are faced by people of
UK. They came up with a sustainable economic model in their clothing
line which helped in terms of improving the environmental aspects of UK.
External environment in which the company deals play a major role in
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driving objective of the firm. Social and environmental aspects are
included in the external environment of the company and they directly
influence the operations of the company in a direct or indirect manner.
Setting up objective under the SMART criteria is a foremost process of
Marks and Spencer where the aim is to set a goal which is of precise
nature and fulfils all the relevant needs of SMART framework (Tarigan
and Siagian, 2021). Further the potential opportunities of the market are
converted by them so that the organisation can use the several
opportunities in delivering the desired result in the company. The
strategic planning process followed by Marks and Spencer are further
discussed below:
Strategy formulation refers to the analytical process in which a best
strategy is selected to further meet the organizational vision and
objective. This is the foremost step of the strategic management process
in which the plan helps in terms of examining the resources. Financial
plan and establishing an action plan. In context of Marks and Spencer, in
this step the manager of the company come up with the plan and
strategy that they will use in order to bring profitability in the business.
Strategy Implementation refers to the process in which the plans
are turned into action in order to attain the desired set of results. This is
the step after strategy formulation in which Marks and Spencer will
implement actions according to plan that is made in the foremost step.
Strategy Evaluation is the last process in which the management of
company assess the chosen strategy and further evaluate the
implementation part and the success that the company achieved by
implementing the particular strategy. In context of Marks and Spencer,
they regularly evaluate the implemented strategies in order to gain an
understanding of the way in which the company is coping up with
strategy.
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A critical evaluation of the impact of internal and external
environmental variation on organisational strategy
Internal and external environment plays a major role in terms of
impacting the operations of the company. The variations in the
environment directly and indirectly impacts the ways in which business
continue their operations. Marks and Spencer is one of the leading
company and they are required to keep a track on the different internal
and external areas in order to sustain in the business (SWOT Analysis of
Marks and Spencer, 2022). SWOT analysis is being applied on marks and
spencer in order to evaluate the internal environment of the organisation-
Strengths will help in analysing the areas in which the organisation
has a leading edge in the market. Experience is one of the major factor
of strength for the company as they have been in the environment for
around 136 years (Wu, Zhang and Luo, 2020). This helped them in
gaining a recognition in the market which positively impacts the goodwill
of the company. Another strength is their offering of variety of products
to the customers which helps in acquiring more and more customers. A
good range of products offered by the company helps in reducing the
acquisition of the customer.
Weaknesses that are faced by Marks and Spencer is their declining
set of sales during recent years. Due to this they are losing customers to
their competitors which is not a positive thing for the company. Another
weakness that is faced by Marks and Spencer is high cost that the
company has to incur in order to maintain their manual processes.
There are several opportunities for the company in the business
environment. Global expansion is one of the biggest opportunity for
Marks and Spencer as they can further expand in new countries.
Increasing the focus on online sales of the company is another
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opportunity for Marks and Spencer. Focusing more on the online
strategies will help in increasing the revenue to several folds.
There are several threats in the business environment which the
organisation must deal with in order to survive in the environment for a
longer period of time. High competition is the factor which the company
must manage in order to survive in the competitive market.
PESTLE ANALYSIS
In order to analyse the external environment of company, PESTLE
Analysis is applied on Marks and Spencer. PESTLE Analysis covers all
the major aspects in the environment and helps in understanding the
influence of these factors on operations of the company (Marks &
Spencer PESTLE Analysis, 2019).
Marks and Spencer has a very good presence in the global environment.
They have expanded their operations in many countries which shows
that they need to critically evaluate the areas of politics in order to
smoothly run the operations. The company must analyse the political
stability and taxes of different operational countries in order to positively
run the operations in different countries (Cox, 2019).
There are several economic factors that directly impact the
business operations of Marks and Spencer. A rise in inflation rate will
negatively impact the profitability of business (Feleki, Vlachokostas and
Moussiopoulos, 2020). Other factors such as inflation rates, foreign
exchange rate and economic growth of the country in which Marks and
Spencer is operating will impact the operations of the country.
These are the factors that are dependent on the social aspects of
the environment. Marks and Spencer is into clothing industry and
therefore they are required to focus on social aspects in order to
maintain their revenue and profitability. Change in the behaviour and
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taste of the consumer is one of the major factor that directly impacts the
sales structure of Marks and Spencer(Nandonde, 2019).
Marks and Spencer must focus on their technological
advancement in the different areas such as operations, supply chain etc
in order to survive in the market for a longer period of time.
Advancement in the technological field is essential as every other
competitor in the field is upgrading and Marks and Spencer must focus
on improvement and advancement in order to cope up with the market
(Ricci et. al., 2021).
The legislation in every country is different and Marks and Spencer
must critically evaluate the legal terms of every country. In order to
smoothly run the operations in different countries, marks and spencer
must value the laws that are imposed by the government regarding the
business(Zahari and Romli, 2019).
This cover a range of factors that are somehow related with the
environment of the country in which the business is operating. Marks
and Spencer should adopt a sustainable approach in the manufacturing
process so that they can sustain the environment in a best possible
manner (Anderson, Hughes and Nguyen, 2019).
A review of an organisation’s strategic plan (Business
Plan), providing an action plan for the organisation on the
basis of a change in either the internal OR external
environment. (The Business Plan is included as an
Appendix)
Action plan- A smart action plan consists of five set of characteristics
through which the goal can be accomplished. The set objectives should
be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time based. This will
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help in terms of defining the right objectives for the company. The
objectives that are made by Marks and Spencer in the action plan should
be able to fulfil the SMART criteria (Leyva Carreras, Cavazos Arroyo and
Espejel Blanco, 2018).
The budget plan and business plan for Marks and Spencer is attached in
the Appendix.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that strategy planning is
one of the most essential management technique which will help in
terms of achieving the right set of goals and objectives. Internal and
external environment play a major role in terms of impacting the
business structure. The organization must come up technique in order to
manage both micro and macro environment so that maximum output can
be delivered in the business.
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References
George, B., Walker, R.M. and Monster, J., 2019. Does strategic planning improve
organizational performance? A meta‐analysis. Public Administration
Review, 79(6), pp.810-819.
Hanlon, A., 2021. Digital marketing: strategic planning & integration. Sage.
Kholodov, O., and et. al., 2020, September. Strategic planning system for agricultural
production and agro logistic in Russia. In IOP Conference Series: Materials
Science and Engineering (Vol. 918, No. 1, p. 012144). IOP Publishing.
AlQershi, N., 2021. Strategic thinking, strategic planning, strategic innovation and the
performance of SMEs: The mediating role of human capital. Management
Science Letters, 11(3), pp.1003-1012.
Glushchenko, V.V., 2021. Strategic planning of organizations’ transition to the sixth
technological order in the national economy. International Journal of
Engineering Science Technologies, 5(1), pp.30-38.
Tarigan, Z.J.H. and Siagian, H., 2021. The effects of strategic planning, purchasing
strategy and strategic partnership on operational performance (Doctoral
dissertation, Petra Christian University).
Wu, X., Zhang, L. and Luo, M., 2020. Current strategic planning for sustainability in
international shipping. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 22(3),
pp.1729-1747.
Feleki, E., Vlachokostas, C. and Moussiopoulos, N., 2020. Holistic methodological
framework for the characterization of urban sustainability and strategic
planning. Journal of cleaner production, 243, p.118432.
Kornelius, H., and et. al., 2020. Competitive Strategic Maneuverability: The Missing
Link Between Strategic Planning and Firm’s Performance.
Leyva Carreras, A.B., Cavazos Arroyo, J. and Espejel Blanco, J.E., 2018. Influence
of the strategic planning and the management skills as factors internal of
business competitiveness of SME’s. Contaduría y administración, 63(3),
pp.0-0.
Kurpiela, S. and Teuteberg, F., 2022. Strategic planning of product-service systems:
A systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, p.130528.
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