Business and the Business Environment Report: Marks & Spencer Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks & Spencer (M&S) within the context of the business environment. It begins by exploring organizational structures, differentiating between divisional and legal structures, and discussing their impact on business operations. The report then delves into an overview of M&S, detailing its global presence, product offerings, and supply chain management. A key focus is the relationship between organizational structure and function, with an examination of matrix and divisional structures. Furthermore, the report includes a macro-environmental analysis, highlighting both positive and negative aspects, and concludes with an internal analysis using a SWOT framework to assess M&S's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, alongside the impact of these factors.

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Business and the Business Environment
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Business and the Business Environment
Contents
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................3
Marks and Spencer (M&S)..........................................................................................................5
(ii) Relationship between organizational structure and organizational function.........................7
LO3................................................................................................................................................10
Macro environment analysis......................................................................................................11
Positive aspects of macro environment......................................................................................12
Negative aspects on macro environment...................................................................................14
LO4................................................................................................................................................16
Internal analysis of the company...............................................................................................16
SWOT analysis..........................................................................................................................16
Impact of strengths and weaknesses..........................................................................................20
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................22
References......................................................................................................................................23
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Task 1
Today, international business is becoming more and more involved due to the higher
organizational structure(Czinkota, Ronkainen and Moffett, 2011). People are working hard day
and night for achieving the objectives of the organization. However, it is significant for the
people who are working in the organization and who is determined to join a specific company to
know about the structures of the organizations. Societies are established in specific ways for
accomplishing various goals. Moreover, the organization chart can aid its progress towards
achieving the objectives. Organizational structures can be divided into two sections such as legal
structure and divisional structure. These two structures determine the size of the
organization(Hill and Hult, 2017). The two structures are described below:
Divisional Structure: The specific structure is implemented by large companies that function in
a wide geographic area. It means the campus of the company is enormous. Moreover, divisional
structure is also used in large enterprises where separate smaller companies within a specific
group cover various types of services and products in different areas or specific areas(Knott and
Turner, 2017). Divisional structure is often known as private organizations. Private organizations
are large.
Legal Structure: Business legal structures change inside and out from country to country.
Gathering the right legal, organizational structure for the firm is a defender among the most
fundamental decisions the company will make(Knott and Turner, 2017). While it won't have
much impact on the regular operations of a private wander, it can have a tremendous impact
evaluate time when the organization need to procure trade or haul out money related experts, or
in the shocking event that you get indicted. While it is possible to change the organizational
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structure at a later date, it can be a troublesome and expensive process. Better to settle on the
right decision regardless. The legal business structure can be classified into many types out of
which sole proprietorship and limited partnership are described below:
 Sole proprietorship: In a sole proprietorship, the individual owner of an independent
business operates the organization as an extension of himself(Jarrett-Kerr, 2011).
Moreover, in a sole proprietorship, there is no loss and profit of the firm. It has been
found that these types of companies have no separate business filing. In fact, the owner is
personally responsible for any business liabilities.
 Limited partnership: Based on limited partnership, the core organization structure along
with the tax implications are same as a general business. Besides that, the limited
partnership helps the organization to get a permit for more than one limited partners.
The structure of an organization is mainly basic for central authority. Most business firms either
have a tall or level, various tiered structure. Level structures enable small business firms to settle
on speedier decisions, as they are every now and again growing rapidly with new products and
need this versatility. Small business firms are generally speaking use a level, different tiered
structure. For example, a director can report predominantly to the president as an alternative of
an official, and her partners are only two levels under the president (Aslin, 2010). The Business
Plan, an online orientation website, says small business firms should not worry about various
tiered structure unless they have no under fifteen agents. The reason is that agents into an
extraordinary degree small organizations have different obligations, some of which can associate
different limits. As a modest organization creates, it can incorporate more prominent
organization levels. For example, a thing director moreover might be accountable for exhibiting
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investigation and publicizing. Far reaching organizations every now and again have various
levels or levels of the organization (Hwang and Chung, 2016).
Marks and Spencer (M&S)
Marks and Spencer is a major British retailer company which has over eight hundred and ninety-
five stores in more than forty territories. Domestically, the organization has six hundred stores
and internationally, it has two hundred and ninety-five stores. Marks and Spencer are the largest
clothing retailer in the world as well as in their nation, United Kingdom(Kent, 2000). The head
office of the company is located in the Waterside House in the City of Westminster, London,
England. It is also the largest supermarket in the world. During the year 2008, the organization
has become the 43rd largest selling company internationally. In their domestic stores, their most
of the business sold both the food and clothing to their potential customers. During 1998, the
organization became the primary retailer to create a pre-tax revenue of over one billion euro. In
November 2009, it was proclaimed that Marc Bolland would take over as the chief executive
from executive chairman. The chief executive chairman is Stuart Rose in the early year 2010.
Internationally, the number of stores of Marks and Spencer is described below:
 India – 52 stores.
 Turkey – 48 stores.
 Russia – 37 stores.
 Greece – 27 stores.
 Ireland – seventeen stores.
 France – fourteen stores.
 Poland – eleven stores.
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 Hungary – six stores.
 Finland and Spain – 5 stores.
The company is very popular all over the world due to a regulated and information-related
management style of SCM or supply chain management. Moreover, their dealers to make it a
necessary win-win condition. The organization and contractors have essentially more than a
general company, however rather transform into a complicit connection to work. Moreover,
Marks and Spencer have just about a thousand of providers, and contractors Dibos organizations
having more than hundred years joint effort, with more than sixty dealers with more than fifty
years of the company. Based on the product department of Marks and Spencer, the organization
has varieties of products from footwear, general merchandise, foods, financial services as well as
other goods and services (Worth, 2007). Moreover, the business of food carries a broad range of
arranged foods, ethnic foods, meats, non-alcoholic beverages, perishable foods as well as
alcoholic beverages. The product prices also vary from each other.
The price of the product and services of Marks and Spencer is determined by the number of
factors which include competition, material cost, market share, the identity of the product, as
well the perceived value of the product. Regulation is the organization’s reliable product
superiority, style, sort as well as framework of supply configuration, product appear, and even
the team of the facility program has a cautious customary (Worth, 2006). Systematization
administration most noticeable favored angle is that we can save a lot of the Directorate costs,
while purchasers can repair the generic brand of the Marks and Spencer, giving them a home a
long way from home shop foundation. Marks and Spencer have fulfilled a paperless
management, which confirms that wherever all through the world Martha tie can endure running
precise. Moreover, the organization followed a value price strategy from its inception. The
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organization has continued value pricing strategy when Marks and Spencer have concentrated on
middle-class customers. The objective of the company is to locate their stores on the main streets
of the major cities. They believed that it is their best strategy. Appropriately, suppliers are
similarly with the headway of the change of Marks and Spencer (Worth, 2006).The company has
managed to remain temperately priced. From one perspective, providers of Marks and Spencer
guarantee strict demands on the quality of the product. On the other hand, the business firm takes
it as its obligation to help providers reduce costs, notice suppliers mechanical change along with
the happiness of their staffs. The close-by joint effort of both sides ensures the business firm to
accomplish its corporate targets like outfit its target customers with the astonishing product
inside the ability to purchase.
(ii) Relationship between organizational structure and organizational function
Organizational structure: A system implemented for defining a hierarchy within a company is
known as a corporate structure. Besides that, organizational structure identifies each job and its
functions and where it reports to within the enterprise. Moreover, the structure is developed for
establishing the operation of an organization. The salary structure of the employees is created
with the help of an organization chart. Once the wage structure is set, the ranges of pay can be
created for each job in the company. As a result, it allows a company to meet their objectives
regarding their financial goals, and it ensured salaries and dispersed somewhat within the
financial budget(Hermalin, 2015).
Organizational function: A core procedure or set of undertakings carried out within the
department is known as an organizational function. The organizational functions include
operations, marketing, information technology, human resource management, warehousing,
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customer services as well as financial management. These functions are performed in both back
and front office. Initially, the front office is those directly connected with the customers. On the
other hand, Back-office functions support front-office happenings, but they do so with the
prospects. Human Resource, Information Technology, warehousing and finance all fit into this
category(Artiga and Martínez, 2015). Also, these purposes are essential to the accomplishment
of an organization, but they incline to accept less public acknowledgement. Based on the front
office, the organization promotes and develops solutions to the targeted prospects, and after that,
they provide customer service for driving the true relationship.
Most of the organization has the hierarchy or people as well as job functions based on whether it
is international or organic. Based on the business, to operate the business efficiently, the
companies need to make a planned structure by which they can achieve their objectives for
future. The structure of an organization is defined by the character of the enterprise. The nature
of the industry is like how the managers and leaders of that specific organization think about the
strategic planning of the business as well as how the plans will work and so on(Banks, 2016).
Moreover, as the firm grows, the responsibilities of the employees detach from certain people.
The interest turns to the responsibilities of taking a specific position in the company so as to
achieve their individual goals of life. The relationship between all these various areas, the
hierarchical management structures and their departments make up the entire structure of the
company. Apart from these, organizational functions fall inside an organization chart. The
relationship between organizational structure and organizational function can be well understood
by following certain organization structures and charts. These are as follows:
 At first, I am taking about the matrix organizational structure. The companies who are
implementing matrix organizational structure can get better flexibility in the function of
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the business than a more hierarchical organization(Rue, 2016). Moreover, in a matrix
structure, each and every employee works in the function-based department like finance
and marketing. Aside from, the employees of that specific organization have been
assigned with projects under different managers and teamed with the employees who
have other various functions. Therefore, it is quite clear that each and every employee in
these massive organizational matrix structure works with various jobs and tasks
regardless of their positions in the department or the entire organization.
 Secondly, let us consider a divisional organizational structure (Duska, 2000). The specific
organizational structure has various functions as per different branches. If the company
have a different line of products, the segmentation for each of the product line has its
marketing, and these marketing will be operated in sales and secretarial departments.
Additionally, the benefit of this specific method is that each of the organizational
branches has the personnel to perform all the necessary and significant functions.
However, the drawback is that with the employees in each division performing same
functions.
Matrix organizational structure and divisional organizational structure is different from
each other. The employees of matrix organizational structure work with various jobs
whereas on the other hand, the employees of divisional organizational structure work
with same jobs and tasks. Therefore, in divisional organizational structure, a lot of
inefficiency and redundancy can be observed.
 At third, functional structure helps in determining the relationship between organizational
structure and organizational function. Most groups receive a useful, authoritative
structure. Besides that, different capacities go into independent partitions that answer to
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office managers, who then reply to somebody higher up. If the organization receive a
concrete configuration, it has the benefit of pure lines of expert and permits every worker
to focus on her specific mission. Aside from, the downside is that the company can wind
up with offices that don't contrary with each other or contribute well. Also, a client may
get skipped from division to position if his issue does not recognize with one detailed
capacity.
LO3
The business needs to disclose the fundamental promotions to acclimate to the innovative
methodologies. Moreover, a modification in the development may condense the current things
outdated, as we have understood that the introduction of PC has displaced the typewriters; the
screening TV has made the high differentiation TV out of form. Yet again a conformity in the
form or customers' taste may transfer the demand in the market for a specific thing such as the
enthusiasm for jeans reduced the offer of other ordinary wear (Abkowitz, 2008). According to
these perspectives, there are external factors that are outside the capacity to control of the
business. Therefore, the strength units must require to change based with these modification with
a precise ultimate objective to continue and win in the company. In this way, it is precarious to
have an unmistakable perception of the possibility of business condition and the technique for its
diverse sections. The word 'business condition' insights external potentials, segments and
organizations that are outside the capability to control of the business and they impact the
working of a business wander. These associate contenders, customers, contractors, government,
and the political, social, dependable and imaginative segments and so on. While some of these
parts or potentials may have organize affect over the company, others may work roundabout.
Therefore, business condition may be described as the total condition, which have a quick or
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deviant bearing on the working of business. It may moreover be portrayed as the course of action
of external segments, for instance, financial modules, social workings, political and legal
modules, measurement factors, specific components and so on and these are wild in
environment and impacts the decisions of the business of a firm.
Macro environment analysis
1. Political: The political factors choose the capacity of an organization which may affect
the economy or a specific industry. Political modules join evaluation courses of action, Fiscal
procedure, trade obligations et cetera that a governing body may correct around the money
related year and it may impact the business condition (budgetary condition) so to speak. Suppose
taking an example, a council may oblige another cost or commitment due to which whole wage
making structures of companies may change.
2. Economic: These fragments are determinants of an execution of the economy that prompt
impacts an alliance and have resounding whole game plan impacts. For example, arising in the
development rate of any economy would influence the way affiliations' respect their things and
business firms. Moreover, financial sections merge push charges, budgetary change follows
development rate, outside exchange rates and so on. Additionally, it would impact the
safeguarding importance of a buyer and change ask for/supply models for that economy.
Similarly, the FDI (outside direct theory) subordinate upon certain detailed endeavors who're
meeting this research (Abkowitz, 2008).
3. Social: These factors look at the social state of the market, and gage causes like social
examples, economics, people investigation and so on. A case for this can buy designs for
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Western countries such as the United States where there is prevalence in the midst of the Holiday
season.
4. Technological: These parts recognize with progressions in improvement that may impact
the procedures of the professional and the market decidedly or terribly. This insinuates
automation, imaginative work and the measure of motorized care that a market has (Burns,
2012).
5. Legal: These segments have both external and inward sides. Legitimate research
considers both of these focuses and after that graphs the techniques in light of these institutions.
There are confident laws that impact the business condition in a specific country while there are
certain procedures that organizations keep up for themselves. For example, client laws, security
standards, work laws et cetera.
6. Environmental: Environmental factors join each one of those that impact or are managed
by the enveloping condition. This piece of the PESTLE is fundamental for specific organizations
specifically for example tourism, developing, agroindustry and so on (Burns, 2012). Parts of a
business environmental research fuse however are not confined to air, atmosphere, topographical
territory, overall fluctuations in climate, normal balances so on.
Positive aspects of macro environment
Fundamental authority is more typical to specific characters, so these individuals should focus
more on upgrading the way of their choices. Individuals that are less normal pioneers are
consistently prepared to make quality valuations, however then they should be more decisive in
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