Analyzing Change and Leadership at Marks and Spencer: A Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of organizational change within Marks and Spencer (M&S), focusing on the impact of changes on its strategy, operations, leadership, team dynamics, and individual behaviors. The report explores planned and unplanned changes, such as store closures, ...Read More

Understanding and Leading Change in Marks and Spencer
1

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. 3
P1. Compare different organizational examples where there has been an impact of change on Marks and
Spencer’s strategy and operations.............................................................................................................. 3
P2. Evaluate the influences that drivers of change have on leadership, team and individual behaviors
within Marks and Spencer........................................................................................................................... 4
P3Evaluate measures that can be taken by Marks and Spencer to minimise the negative impacts of
change on organizational behavior.............................................................................................................. 6
P 5.Apply Hersey Blanchard Situational leadership model in relation to change at Marks and Spencer.....7
Conclusion................................................................................................................................................... 8
References.................................................................................................................................................. 9
2

Introduction
Organizational change is an inevitable process by which there is modification in
processes and managerial structures followed by management (Channon and Jalland,
2016). This is done so as to get in tune with new market situations and the prevailing
work environment. The change is often required by firms so as to compete with the
competitors in the best possible manner (Dawson and Andriopoulos, 2014). The present
study has thus been carried out on the massive organisational changes taking place
within Marks and Spencer. These are related to closure of foreign stores, repositioning
of clothing and home space sector; removal of managerial positions among others.
Emphasis of the study is thus on discussing the changes that took place within the frim
and its impact on the overall operations. This is followed by carrying out an assessment
of change drivers and how these have affected leadership, team dynamics and
employee behaviours.
P1. Compare different organizational examples where there has been an impact of
change on Marks and Spencer’s strategy and operations.
There was a presence of many planned and unplanned changes that took within Marks
and Spencer after the joining of Steve Rowe as the CEO. In this regard, planned
changes are the one that are introduced as a strategic move by the firm so as to be in
tune with changing nature of business (Voigt, Buliga and Michl, 2017). The planned
changes in case of Marks and Spencer are inclusive of closing the loss making stores
across 10 foreign nations; cutting of clothing and home space within UK by 10 percent
due to closure of 30 stores and shift towards Simply Food chain that has been more
successful. It further made an attempt to reduce its sales and promotions activities so
that there can be a permanent lowering of prices on the products that are offered to the
consumers. On the other hand, unplanned changes can be defined as the ones that do
not take place in the firm in a planned manner but are introduced on a sudden note
(Hamilton and Webster, 2015). The unplanned changes in Marks and Spencer include
removing the top tier of management and axing their jobs present at head office. This
3

was followed by ensuring that additional cash is not retuned to shareholders so as to
maintain its interim pay-out at 6.8p.
These changes have been done so as to ensure that Marks and Spencer is able to get
the much needed profit margins in due course of time. It should further be able to bring
the consumers back to the shop floor. It has rightly been said by Palmer (2016) that
Marks and spencer needs to reposition itself in the hearts as well as minds of UK
consumers as everybody seems to be in love with M&S but nobody is in love with the
company anymore ( GEOGHEGAN, 2016). The company is soon required to dominate
the high street again in a short course of time. The closure of clothing and home space
will further ensure that the management is able to concentrate more on its food retail
section which is giving sales as compared to other areas. In the same lines an
increased emphasis on lower pricing strategy in comparison to sales promotion will
ensure that consumer return back to the stores and their loyalty is maintained for a long
span of time. These changes are most likely to assist in building a simpler and relevant
future for Mars and Spencer that will deliver sustainable returns (Bozhilov and Ozuem,
2015).
The above mentioned changes have however put a huge impact on the structure,
people as well as processes of the company. The organisational structure is required to
be changed as some of the managerial positions were sacked off. New policies, vision,
mission, goals and strategies are required to be introduced by the management so as to
smoothen the work flow. The people are required to get in tune with new aims and
objectives that will govern there functioning in the area of clothing, food and home
space within Marks and Spencer. There is also a need on part of employees to accept
the change in a ready manner or prepare themselves for the worst being loss of job.
There may also be a need to introduce new processes so that cost cutting measures
can be undertaken by the company (Bocken and Bocken, 2017). The present changes
may also introduce the need for new positions in the company hence employees are to
be recruited for the same. …
4

P2. Evaluate the influences that drivers of change have on leadership, team and
individual behaviors within Marks and Spencer.
The drivers to change within Marks and Spencer can be understood with the help of
pestle analysis.
As per the political scenario, it is not easy for loss making stores of Marks and Spencer
to function outside the nations. This is as even if the store is making loss they still have
to pay wages to employees and also adhere with local governmental policies (Easter
and Brooks, 2017). This puts an increased burden on the firm hence it is best to close
those stores in foreign nations which are not giving adequate returns.
There are also many drivers to change in economic front such as increased currency
fluctuations, sterling weakness and inflation in some of the economies. This puts a huge
pressure on the sales and profitability of the company hence it is best to close non
performing stores. Moreover due to these closures and repositioning of the Clothing &
Home space, the company will have to pay around 300 million pounds in the next 2
years. This is a very costly affair for the firm hence it introduced the change of not
returning additional cash to shareholders during the second half.
On the social front, there is a presence of many firms that have a specialisation in
clothing and home space which has acted as a huge source of competition for Marks
and Spencer. In this regard, it is best to close some of the clothing and home segments
so as to focus on food retail where Marks and spencer has dominance. Moreover, the
phenomena of recession and decreasing purchasing power of people has made them
prefer stores that offer low priced products (Brinkman, Navarro and Harper, 2014).
Hence change related to increase focused on lowering of prices rather than on sales
promotion is most welcomed. Marks and Spencer is also making an attempt to
modernise the overall concept of store management by simplifying the positions as well
as responsibilities. Hence it brought a cut in tier of management at the top most level.
These changes have resulted in much psychological impact on the employees, team
dynamics as well as managerial practices. The closure of stores in various place have
increased stress in the employees as they fear the loss of jobs from Marks and
Spencer. Moreover, as similar measures are being adopted by retail sector all over UK
hence it is also very difficult for them to find a new job (Ibitoye, 2017). The removal of
5

varied managerial positions and introduction of new management structure has created
a lot of uncertainty among the employees. This has put an impact on overall team
dynamics as well as employees are unable to show a good performance. The
employees may be required to work on new vision, goals and strategies which may be
difficult for them to cope with. There is also an increased chance by which conflict may
arise within the work place as the employees may focus on job safety and give
individual performance rather than working as a team. As per the managerial practices
the senior members of the firm are required to keep the workforce motivated as well as
encouraged so that they do not get fearful with the change process and accept it on a
ready note.
P3Evaluate measures that can be taken by Marks and Spencer to minimise the
negative impacts of change on organizational behavior
There can be usage of varied measures by which negative impact of changes within
Marks and Spencer can be minimised. One such is the usage of Burke-Litwin Model of
change which may aid in bringing changes within Marks and Spencer by creating link
between organisational performance and internal/ external factors which affect the
overall working.
1. External Environment - It is very essential for management at Marks and Spencer to
scan the environment for issues (change in consumer demand; lack of job opportunities
outside the firm) that may put an impact on overall working of team (Rath and Vedanta,
2018).
2. Mission and Strategy – As a change manager it is essential that a new mission is set
for the company with respect to change. It should then be communicated to all the
employees so as to reduce the change impact.
3. Leadership – the barriers can be reduced if the senior members of Marks and
Spencer are ready to stick with the change process and show a positive attitude
towards it (Scott and Walker, 2017).
4. Organisation Culture – the management should focus on maintaining a positive work
environment such as ensuring that employees do not fear job loss so that they accept
the change readily.
6

5. Structure – As the present change may bring modifications in managerial structure
as well hence the management should make sure that the employees understand as to
why the change is required and how it will benefit them (Gassmann, Frankenberger and
Csik, 2016).
6. Work Unit Climate – The changes in immediate working environment such as change
in status quo; job loss; new manager etc. must be managed sensitively else it may
evoke emotional and political responses from the employees.
7. Task Requirements and Individual Skills/Abilities – The present change is likely to
modify the overall working of Staff members in Marks and Spencer hence the
management must assess if the employees are equipped with right skill set or not.
8. Individual Needs and Values – The present change may make it mandatory to
introduce new employees and job positions as well. Hence it should be made sure that
the new recruits are able to fit in with the team members so that negative response from
prevailing employees can be reduced.
9. Employee Motivation – the need here is to keep the employees motivated so that
they accept the changes readily.
Seeing the present scenario of Marks and Spencer, there may be a need to introduce
continuous improvement models such as Kaizen. The model will focus on the concept
of waste reduction so that additional cost within the firm can be minimised and profits
can be retained. In this regard, the improvement areas within Marks and Spencer
should be identified by everyone. For example, the consumer service department can
be the best ones to tell about needs and satisfaction level of consumers with Marks and
Spencer. Overall this model can act as a strategy to manage the changes within the
company in best possible manner. This is as it is based on the neither notion that things
are nor perfect and can be improved for the betterment of company as well as
employees. This ideology may thus encourage rising above the challenges and
adapting themselves with the changes introduced by Marks and Spencer. However this
strategy may not work in case the employees fear for job loss which may be a situation
in present context.
7

P 5.Apply Hersey Blanchard Situational leadership model in relation to change at
Marks and Spencer
Hersey Blanchard Situational leadership model is based on the variety of
situations that are faced by a leader while leading a group of people. Benefit happens
when the leader adapts himself to situation properly. This theory can also be applied by
management at Marks and Spencer in order to bring in proper changes within the
organization. First is the telling style of leadership where the management can direct all
the employees as to what is required to be done by them so as to increase the sales
revenue and profitability of the company through food section (Rath and Vedanta,
2018). This technique will involve for giving direct orders by the managers which are
required to be followed by the employees and there is little working between leader and
the team members.
Next comes selling style of leadership which provides enough room for
collaboration to the employees. In this strategy, the managers in Marks and Spencer
may guide the team members and also increase the overall engagement with them. But
the management may be required to convince the team members as to why it is
necessary to follow him and do things in the specific manner. This strategy can be best
applied in Marks and Spencer so as to be in tune with the new goals and objectives that
have been formulated for the employees after the repositioning of home space and
clothing sector place. It will be necessary for the leader to convince the team members
as to how fulfilling the new set of goals will help in the overall development of
employees as well (Gassmann, Frankenberger and Csik, 2016).
Participating stage is the one where management at Marks and Spencer will
focus on building the relations with team members. This will be quite in contrast with the
Telling style as in present case the leaders of varied department will make an attempt to
blend with the team on a complete basis. This will help the employees to cope with the
changes in best possible manner on account of the confidence that there leader is here
for them whenever the need arises. This style will further be beneficial for the
employees as the leaders may not take all the decisions. They may accept what eve
has been decided by the senior most as well as knowledgeable team members.
8

Last but not the least is the Delegating style of leadership where the
management will pass most of the responsibilities to the team members. This technique
can be beneficial in that department where experienced employees are present and
they are not in need of a y direction as to how the work is to be done.
Conclusion
From the above report it can be concluded that the changes introduced by
present CEO of Marks and Spencer were indeed massive ones. However the changes
put an impact on the overall leadership, team working as well as organisational
processes and strategies undertaken by the company. The barriers to change were also
faced by the company on account of change in power and status quo of employees’ fear
of losing jobs among others. in this regard the present resistance to changes can be
managed by strategies such as involving employees in the change process;
Interviewing employees and focussing on effective delegation.
9

References
Bocken, N. and Bocken, N., 2017. Business-led sustainable consumption initiatives:
impacts and lessons learned. Journal of Management Development. 36(1).
pp.81-96.
Bozhilov, M. and Ozuem, W., 2015. Organisational Structure in Small and Medium
Enterprises. Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in the Contemporary
Knowledge-Based Global Economy.
Brinkman, J., Navarro, I. and Harper, D., 2014. Unlocking the business environment.
Routledge.
Channon, D.F. and Jalland, M., 2016. Multinational strategic planning. Springer.
Dawson, P. and Andriopoulos, C., 2014. Managing change, creativity and innovation.
Sage.
Easter, T.H. and Brooks, S., 2017. Our leader is gone, now what? Creating the
foundation for stable transitions. People & Strategy. 40(1). pp.28-33.
Gassmann, O., Frankenberger, K. and Csik, M., 2016. Innovation Strategy: From new
Products to Business Model Innovation. Springer.
GEOGHEGAN. J., 2016. 'Drastic changes' needed to sort out M&S fashion, say
analysts. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.drapersonline.com/news/drastic-changes-needed-to-sort-out-ms-
fashion-say-analysts/7006449.article/> [Accessed on 17th April 2018].
Hamilton, L. and Webster, P., 2015. The international business environment. Oxford
University Press, USA.
Ibitoye, V., 2017. Every little helps: Tesco axes 1,200 jobs as boss Drastic Dave looks
to save £1.5bn. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-4648570/1-200-jobs-axed-
Tesco-bids-save-1-5bn.html/> [Accessed on 17th April 2018].
Rath, M.R. and Vasantha, S., 2018. Developing a Framework for emotional Intelligence
(eI) based Functions in a small organisation. Indian Journal of Public Health
Research & Development. 9(1). pp.158-163.
10

Scott, P. and Walker, J.T., 2017. Barriers to ‘industrialisation’for interwar British
retailing? The case of Marks & Spencer Ltd. Business History. 59(2). pp.179-201.
Voigt, K.I., Buliga, O. and Michl, K., 2017. Striving for Customer Benefit: The Case of
Aldi. Springer.
11