Marks and Spencer Leadership and Management Practices Report

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CONTEXT OF BUSINESS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
1 OVERVIEW.................................................................................................................................. 4
VISION........................................................................................................................................4
HISTORY..................................................................................................................................... 4
RATIONALE.................................................................................................................................5
2. LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STYLES IN M&S.....................................................................6
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN M&S..............................................................................7
3 CULTURE ANS MANAGEMENT STYLE INFLUENCE DECISION MAKING........................................8
4 RECOMMENDATION................................................................................................................. 10
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 11
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
This assignment is based on the application of the leadership style and the management practices
that is used in any of the retail organization. The report will cover the different leadership styles
and the management practices that is used in Marks and Spencer. Further the report will include
the organizational culture that prevails in the organization and how all of this influences the
decision making in the organization. The last section of the report will cover the
recommendation that will be given on the basis of the study done on Marks and Spencer.

1 OVERVIEW
VISION
“The vision of the company is to give the best quality food and trendy clothing to the customers
with the highest customer satisfaction”
The company which is taken in this assignment is the Marks and Spencer the company is a
public limited company which is into the retail industry and offers various lifestyle products for
men, women, and kids. The company was founded in 1884 in Leeds, United Kingdom by
Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. The company is headquartered in London and the store is
present almost in 1463 across the globe as the company serves worldwide with the products. The
chairman of the company is Archie Norman and the Chief executive is Steve Rowe. There is so
many brands which are offered by the company like Per Una, Autograph, Limited Edition, Blue
Harbour, M&S collection classic, M&S Energy, M&S Bank which swooned by HSBC. The
company revenue is about £10,377.3 million and operating income £601.0 million with 80,787
employees working in the company all over the world (M&S, 2019).
HISTORY
The company made its goodwill in the 20th century and it entered into a long-term relationship
with British manufactures and sold the goods like food and clothes under the brand name of St
Michael which was introduced in the year 1928. After 1960 the company started its expansion
and expanded itself in the international market in late 1990 changes were made to make the
production more modernized and focus was done on increasing the customer base. The company
faced a financial decline in the year 1997-1998 and later in the year of 2009 the restructuring of
the company was done and so on the company shown tremendous growth in the retail
industry(M&S, 2019).

RATIONALE
In this assignment, the organization Marks and Spencer is been selected because it has shown
tremendous growth and it has a global diversity in its journey in spite of the various hurdles it
has faced the company has undergone so many different strategies and steps to keep on going.
The company is also known for its ethical way of working and the sustainable production
methods which contributes to the environment. The assignment will cover the study of various
leadership styles, organizational culture, and management practices of M&S will be discussed.

2. LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STYLES IN M&S
Leadership is the process of leading a group or a team which is working in the organization so
that the organizational goals can be achieved. A leader is a key to drive the employees to make
them work towards the goal achievement by using various leadership styles according to the
situation and organizational culture.
Management is the art of getting things done through the subordinated by the superior in a
fruitful manner. The management includes various functions which are to be performed by the
manager in the organization so that the smooth functioning of the organization can be carried out
in the company.
Initially, the leadership and management styles were very centralized and it was in the hands of
the family members but to survive in the tough market and competition it is very important for
the company to go for a vision based leadership for which a skilled and charismatic leader is
required so that the organizational objectives can be achieved. Therefore depending on the
market condition and the organization M&S follows the following leadership style in the
organization:
AUTOCRATIC LEADERSHIP: When the market condition is very competitive and the
employees are not able to cope up with the tight competition then the leaders of M&S need to
follow the autocratic leadership style. Where the leaders give the instruction and according to the
instructions only the employees have to work they cannot make any changes in the working style
and no decision can be made by the superiors in this type of leadership style. At the time it feels
that the leader is being very rigid and strict but is very important for the leader to be goal
oriented and to make the superiors work for the goal (Moss, 2019).
LAISSEZ –FAIRE LEADERSHIP: The company follows this type of leadership style where
the top level employees take the decision on the basis of what they feel is correct. The managing
director of M&S follows this type of leadership style. This type of leadership style is only
present in the top level management people. The managers who are the departmental heads also
use this type of leadership style on the middle level of working as they manage a whole
department that time they become autocratic and changes the form of leadership style.

MANAGEMENT STYLES
CONSULTATIVE MANAGEMENT STYLE: In this type of management the managers of the
various departments consult the mangers of the other department to take the decision. As it
happens much time that the managers or the people working in the other department give more
appropriate ideas and logic to take some decision which is very much beneficial for the
organization. Therefore the consultative style of management helps M&S to take fruitful
decision with the consultation of the same level people or the upper-level people working in the
company.
MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVE: In this type of management style the mangers of the
M&S strive to improve the performance of the organization. The managers in the organization
clearly define what is to be done and how it is to be done but the work starts taking place when
both the managers and the superiors agree on that particular idea or the term. This brings out the
best of the employee's performance in the organization (Moss, 2019).
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE IN M&S
The organizational culture refers to the set of beliefs that the staff and the employees have in a
particular organization. Which directly influence the decision-making process in the
organization, it basically focuses on the values and beliefs that the employees have in the
company.
In the initial stage of M&S, the culture was based on the family values as the business as under
the control of the family members of the business. During the mid-19 century the culture became
based on the loyalty, paternalism, and community but later on, after the restructuring of the
organization took place it focused on the acquisition, mobility and mergers. After restructuring
the complex organizational culture was made very simple by turning it on the customer based
culture. Till now M&S works to strive the customer satisfaction and every employee work in the
company to meet the customer needs and requirements (Young and Ghoshal, 2016).

3 CULTURE ANS MANAGEMENT STYLE INFLUENCE DECISION MAKING
The culture and the management style influence the decision making s the culture in M&S is
customer oriented.Therefore it compels the top level to lower level employees to make the
decision of the leadership styles and approach, or the other strategies taking into account the
customer perception about the company. The customers of the company have a perception that
the quality of M&S is the best and the products are affordable by almost all the class of the
society which has helped the company to make strong goodwill in the market (Young and
Ghoshal, 2016).
There are various management styles available to gain, ore profit but the main aim is to gain
customer satisfaction and to increase the customer base. If the autocratic management style is
being adopted in the company then it may happen that the employee will lose their productivity
and the employee turnover will be increased. To avoid such condition it becomes important for
M&S to make changes in their decision-making process which ultimately leads to change in the
culture also.
Financial decision: The financial decision making is being influenced by the leadership and
management styles as the opinion of the employees and the manager may contradict each other
and the decision is being manipulated and influenced by both the parties and may lead to a
wrong decision (Moss, 2019).
Promotional Decision: Marks and Spencer is into the retail industry which requires a higher
level of promotional activities and decision making is to be done effectively. The opinion and the
culture of the organization may influence the decision-making process as the different employees
and their different suggestion will create a different perception which may hamper the decision-
making process in the marketing department.
HR decision: HR department plays an important role in the implementation of the policies and
overall management of the organization. The HR related decision also get influenced by the type
of organizational culture that prevails in the organization as the HR has to consider the majority
in the organization. The type of leadership and the management style that is being practiced in
the organization influence the decisions related to the HR department.

The belief system and the values of the employees who are working in M&S will lead to
influence in the decision making process as the management styles that are being practiced in the
company is the democratic or consultative type which gives birth to so many other ideas and
opinion and leads to influence the decision making in the organization. There may be various
decision making like opening a retail store, giving an offer and discounts, producing a new range
of products, etc. therefore it can be understood that the leadership styles and the organizational
culture that prevails in the organization influence the decision making process to a great extent
which the top level of Marks and Spencer has to take into account (Moss, 2019).

4 RECOMMENDATION
According to the research done on the company M&S, I would suggest that it is not always
favorable for the company to follow a laissez-faire leadership and MBO management style in the
organization as it may happen that employees may take the wrong advantage of the liberal
leadership style in the company. I would suggest that the leadership style and the management
style should be changed in some period of time according to the situation. Basically, contingency
leadership style should be adopted by the leaders working in M&S so that the best of the output
can be carried out from the employees in the organization (Foote and Gaylard, 2018).
I would suggest the managers in the company should become autocratic at some point so that the
flaws of the employees can be identified and the employees can become flexible enough to work
under every possible situation which will ultimately lead to better productivity and increased
sales in the company.
The organization culture should which is customer based should be little bit employee oriented
too. If the company will not consider the interest of the employees then the employee turnover
will be increased to a great extent which will automatically affect the productivity and the
goodwill of the organization in the market.
Further, I would recommend that it is important for M&S to examine the employee satisfaction
and the customer satisfaction by taking the reviews and comparing the same with the leadership
and management practices that are being applied in the company this will help to ascertain the
where the company needs to work.

CONCLUSION
The assignment is a report on the Marks and Spencer and its working. The report has covered the
history, background, and vision of the company. The various leadership styles and the
management practices like autocratic leadership and laissez leadership styles are being applied in
Marks and Spencer and the management practices like MBO (management by objective) and the
consultative management style is being practiced in the company is covered with its implication.
Further, the report consists of the organizational culture that prevails in Marks and Spencer and
how the leadership and management styles of the company influence the decision making of the
company is also discussed in detail. Lastly, the report consists of the recommendation that is
being given what other leadership styles and management styles the company can adapt to make
the organization more profitable.

REFERENCES
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Foote, A. and Gaylard, A., 2018. Barbara queally: A 180 change in leadership style part A. Wits
Business School.
Foster, M.K. and Taylor, V.F., 2016. Organization Culture: Diagnosis and Feedback. SAGE.
Laub, J., 2018. The Three Mindsets of Leadership: Autocratic, Paternalistic, and Servant. In
Leveraging the Power of Servant Leadership (pp. 161-186). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
M&S , 2019 online available at: https://www.marksandspencer.com/ last accessed on 25/6/2019
Moss, G., 2019. Inclusive Leadership. Routledge.
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