LSC UoS BA Business: M&S Case Study on Organisational Theory

This case study analyzes the managerial and leadership styles of the CEO of Marks and Spencer (M&S), focusing on how these styles impact organizational culture and performance. It uses the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid to assess the CEO's approach, examining concern for people versus concern for results. The study explores changes implemented by the CEO to enhance organizational structure and performance, including digital transformation and joint ventures. It further investigates the influence of the organizational culture on employees, the leadership styles used to enhance organizational effectiveness, and the effects of power, influence, and conflict within M&S. The case study also discusses various motivational strategies employed by the company. Finally, it provides recommendations to improve organizational performance, highlighting the importance of strong managerial practices in achieving business goals. Desklib provides solved assignments and past papers for students.

Organisational theory
and practice

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Discuss the managerial style of the CEO using the suitable managerial model ........................1
Step taken by CEO to bring change in organisation structure to achieve high performance ....3
Analyse the organisational culture brought about by the CEO of the firm and its influence on
the employees..............................................................................................................................4
Discuss the leadership style of the CEO of the Marks and Spencer to enhance the
organisational effectiveness .......................................................................................................4
Discuss the effects of power, influence and conflict at the Marks and Spencer.........................5
Discuss the various motivational strategies used at Marks and Spencer ...................................6
Discuss the appropriate examples and literature to justify the research ....................................8
Recommendations to increase organisational performance .......................................................9
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
References:.....................................................................................................................................11
Online........................................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
In the current business environment with tough economic conditions and uncertain business risk,
organisation's needs strong managerial styles and theories to attain their business goals.
Managers and leaders play most important role in handling the different responsibilities at
different managerial levels within the organisation (Laukka and et. al., 2020). Organisation's in
the today's business environment are more operated with the team work to accomplish the goals.
The goals of the organisation are some time related to the profits and sometimes for
sustainability. The management of employees of the organisation is appeared to be essential to
make decisions related to task, setting goals, strategic planning etc. The present report is the
study of the “Marks and Spencer”- a multinational British retailer headquartered in London ,
England. The company operates in the retail industry and expertise in selling the food products,
clothing items and home products. The present report will discuss the managerial style of the
CEO and steps taken by CEO to bring changes in organisation. The leadership style of the CEO
to enhance organisational effectiveness and the effect of power, influence and conflict is
discussed. The various motivational strategies are also highlighted within report. At last some
recommendations are provided to increase the performance for future.
MAIN BODY
Discuss the managerial style of the CEO using the suitable managerial model
Marks and Spencer is the multinational organisation based in London. The CEO (Chief
Executive Officer) of the M&S is Steve Rowe, the CEO through its managerial styles is taking
right actions to reshape the business of the M&S. To recognise the Managerial style of the CEO
of the M&S the managerial grid model is used which is discussed below in detail:
According to the (Blake Mouton Managerial Grid, 2018 ), The managerial Grid model is
developed by the Robert Blake and Jane Mouton and the model provides the simple
understanding about the managerial styles used by the others and which managerial style should
be preferred (Vidyakala, 2020). The Blake and Mouton Managerial grid is in the form of matrix
that segments the managers and leaders into two category i.e. Concern for people and Concern
for results.
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Concern for people: in this the CEO of the Marks and Spencer has a managerial style that is
more focused towards the needs and wants of the team members and where the CEO prefer
people over the task.
Concern for Results: The CEO of the M&S opt for the managerial style that is concerned over
the production and tasks. In this CEO is always focused over the results and better outcomes of
the input of employees.
The model is partitioned into five managerial styles that are discussed below:
Improvised management style: In this style of management the degree of results and people
both are low (Gnezdilov and et. al., 2020). As the leader with this style neither complete the task
to the company's standard nor keep the employees satisfied and motivated. The CEO of Marks
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Illustration 1: Blake Mouton Managerial Grid, 2018
(Source: Blake Mouton Managerial Grid, 2018)

and Spencer does not comply with this managerial style because the companies tasks are
effectively accomplished and also employees are been rewarded and motivated.
Produce or perish management style: In this the leader is only focused over results and does
not really concern for its team members. In this leaders has mainly autocratic leadership style.
The CEO of Marks and Spencer sometime when there is short term goals of the organisation is
urgent to be accomplished to raise companies profit adopt this managerial style. But the CEO
only adopt this as a short lived managerial style.
Middle of the road management style: This the type of managerial style that the CEO of the
Marks and Spencer mostly comply with as in this there is balance between the needs of
organisation and its team members This managerial style allow the CEO of M&S some time be
happy with balance but also sometimes CEO fails to meet the demands of both.
Country club management style: In this the leaders are more concerned for the team members
over the results and tasks of the organisation (Ohno, 2021). The CEO of the M&S use this
managerial style when the employee requires more attention due to the low performance or when
they are not satisfied with job or many more reasons that requires the team working to boost the
employees motivation level and also to encourage them to work hard. The CEO of M&S all use
this to provide the employees job satisfaction.
Team management style: In the team management style the concern for both people and result
is high. In this the leaders of the organisation focus to achieve the goals and objectives of the
company and also encourage the employees to commit to their responsibility and develop their
personal skills for growth.
Step taken by CEO to bring change in organisation structure to achieve high performance
The CEO Steve Rowe of Marks and Spencer is bring sustainable changes in the organisational
structure from last many years to achieve high performance. Some of the changes are discussed
below:
 From last 4 years the company has transformed its leadership and accountability and built
a sustainable leadership team to bring new innovation, fresh ideas and perspectives that
has a potential to challenge the external business environment without losing the core
culture of the organisation for it better performance in market (Do and Mai, 2020).
 The company is also increasing its online digital operations by increasing the
representation of clothing and home products on UK website by 22%. To attain high
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performance the company has also redesigned its homepage, increased the speed of site
and changes the product packaging, delivery proposition.
 After the Covid-19 the food business is showing the excellence growth in terms of sales
and revenue. Therefore, to increase more operations in this field and to enhance the
performance level the company without diminishing the magic of its innovation,
freshness and quality in food the company has joint venture with Ocado. This change has
brought a company sustainable increase of 25% sales in the UK grocery market.
Analyse the organisational culture brought about by the CEO of the firm and its influence on the
employees
The organisational culture reflects the relationship of employee's with the organisation. The CEO
of Marks and Spencer has brought the corporate organisational culture where the employees are
recognised for their efforts, have a sense of valued and has freedom of speech (Kieran,
MacMahon and MacCurtain, 2020). In Marks and Spencer the employees are provided a open
culture of innovation that influence the employee's to to think critically and create new
products,generate new ideas and share their ideas for the better decisions in the company. In
Marks and Spencer the is bit rigidity in terms of power as there is unequal distribution of power
as hierarchy structure is followed within the organisation. Therefore, employee's needs to follow
their leaders and has to work as per the hierarchical structure. AS there as many middle mangers
due to the hierarchical structure there are conflicts within the organisation that influence the
behaviour and work quality of employees due to improper passage of message between the
employees and organisation (Goulandris, 2020). Also the diversified culture of the M&S has a
most positive influence on the employees as this boost the sense of unity and harmony and also
make them respect each other culture and belief.
Discuss the leadership style of the CEO of the Marks and Spencer to enhance the organisational
effectiveness
The CEO of the M&S also act as the leader of the organisation therefore uses the different
leadership styles to guide the employees and to enhance the organisational effectiveness. The
different leadership style used by the CEO of marks and Spencer are:
Transactional leadership style: This is the most common leadership style used by the Marks
and Spencer leaders to encourage the creativity and innovation among the team members. In this
leaders also set some kind of rewards, incentives or any other factor of exchange to motivate the
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employees to get the job done. This leadership is useful to Marks and Spencer in clarifying the
goals and objectives of the company to the employees also leading them to attain those goals
within time frame (Rabiul, and Yean, 2021).
Transformational leadership style: through this leadership style the leaders try to create a
value based positive change among their team members. The leaders and CEO of M&S use this
leadership style to transform the other followers towards the behaviour of helping each other.
The leaders through this build a harmony and also enhance the motivation, performance and
morale of employees. The leaders of M&S aims to inspire their teammates through this
leadership style and also shares the vision of the future growth and development. Hence, through
this the there is lots of open communication between the leader and employees of the company.
Democratic leadership style: This leadership style is also known as participative leadership
style which means in this leaders involve their team members in the decision making process
(Drewniak, Drewniak and Posadzinska, 2020). This factors has huge importance in increasing
the motivation of the employees and also provide the employees a sense of acceptability in
organisations decisions. The leaders of M&S highly use this leadership style to engage their
employees in open communication regarding the team work and to develop their personal skills.
Through this leadership style the leaders of the M&S build trust among the employees and also
employees respond with cooperation, high morale and team spirit.
Bureaucratic leadership style: This style of leadership meant to focus on the traditional and
historical methods of doing things rather than opting new procedures. The CEO of M&S some
time attempt this leadership style to solve the problems. The positive side of using this leadership
style is that there is suitable control for managing the risk. This leadership style does not seems
to be suitable for the M&S as this can demoralize the staff due to the rigidity and inflexibility.
Also through this the company leaders ability to react towards the uncertain environmental
situation has diminished.
Discuss the effects of power, influence and conflict at the Marks and Spencer
The effect of power
In an organisation there are different meaning and types of power and also each power has its
own effect on the company structure and staff (Rashid and et. al., 2020). In Marks and Spencer
the people on the board team have some legitimate power that comes with their role in the
organisation. The legitimate power of CEO, chairperson, manager and other higher authority
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bring a positive effect in M&S as their power try to maintain the discipline and coordination in
the employees and employers. The Reward power is also useful for the employees of the M&S
as this useful to keep the employees encouraged and motivated to work hard and accomplish
their goals to attain the rewards in exchange. The coercive power of the leaders of the M&S
bring a negative effect as through this the employees has fear for their leaders not respect and
also this leads to bullying environment in M&S.
The effect of influence
The influence the leaders bring on the staff of the employees is important to be recognised for
their better performance. Through legitimate power the CEO of M&S influence the team
strongly towards the goals and mission of the company and also try to shape them to work for
better future of the company and serve the customers effectively. The influence of team members
also effect the Marks and Spencer as in a team the actions of one individual effect the others.
Therefore, it is necessary for leaders to take care of actions of team members to create a
informational influence on others. Any bad move of the company can bring a bad influence on
the employees which can directly effect the performance and reputation of Marks and Spencer.
The effect of conflict
The conflicts can act as both as a matter of concern as they can create bas effect on the
productivity and relationship of employees or else it can also be seen as learning when resolved
(Crisostomo, de Freitas Brandão and López-Iturriaga, 2020). The conflicts in M&S sometimes
effect the performance of the employees, employee and employer relations, coordination in the
team and also leads to bad decisions sometimes. Once in Marks and Spencer the conflict of
employees with the organisation authority related to salary lead to the strike that affected the
productivity and service for their customers leading to decrease in sales and revenue. The
resolving of conflict through negotiation lead to the learning for both employees and employers
that build the positive relationship between them.
Discuss the various motivational strategies used at Marks and Spencer
Motivation is essential for the employees of Marks and Spencer in order to encourage them to
enhance the potential of their capabilities and also to provide them job satisfaction. In Marks and
Spencer different motivational strategies are used to keep the employees satisfies with their
needs and also to enhance their working capabilities which leads towards high performance of
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the organisation (Ștefan, Popa and Albu, 2020). The motivational strategies are discussed
below using two different models of motivations:
Maslow's Hierarchy of needs
The Maslow's hierarchy of needs suggests that humans are motivated when their basic five needs
are satisfied which are discussed below:
Physiological needs: These are the survival needs of the people such as air, water, food, shelter
etc. In Marks and Spencer there is the full facility for employee such as water cooler, food
canteen, a place to take rest and a fresh air that satisfy the survival needs of the employees and
also keep them motivated.
Security needs: the stable, safe and secure environment to work in terms of job security,
pension, fair work practices etc. In M&S the employees are provided full security at workplace
and also there are strict rules for any inequality or unethical practice. There are legal contract for
job security.
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Illustration
2: The 5 Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, 2021
(Source: The 5 Levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, 2021)

Social needs: this includes the need of love, belongingness, acceptance, friendship and
emotional relationship with other humans (McCleskey and Ruddell, 2020). In Marks and
Spencer there are clubs for the employees to make friends. Also there are unions and groups for
the employees to feel loved.
Self Esteem: This need is all about appreciation and respect from the others. In Marks and
Spencer the employees are rewarded and appraised for their better performance to keep them
motivated. Also the employees are respected beyond their culture differences or any other
difference.
Self- actualization: In this factor the humans feel the need of self appreciation, self growth and
development, exploitation of their skills and talents etc. The employees of M&S are provide the
opportunities to improve their personal skills through training and development and also they are
provided with the responsibilities to get the best of their capabilities.
Discuss the appropriate examples and literature to justify the research
The different corporate examples to justify the research conducted above are discussed beneath:
Zara is the leading competitor of the retail clothing industry the CEO of the company
highly focus on the results. The company manages their workforce through the produce or perish
management style where the main focus of the leaders of the company is to get best result. The
company has organisation structure that keeps changing for better performance and also maintain
its competitiveness in the market (Tourish, 2020). In Zara the motivational factors for
employees are less due to its rigid organisational culture with less communication and flexibility.
H&M is also the multinational organisation that has a autocratic leadership style where
the employees are not involved in the decision making. In H&M the culture of the company is
highly diversified and majorly focus on the sustainability . The innovation culture in H&M is
low because the they are majorly oriented towards the cotton based products that are sustainable
for nature and also the products are expensive and oriented towards richer section of the society.
There is huge influence of power in H&M as due to the organisational culture where leaders are
more autocratic in nature the legitimate power influence the employees strongly. Also the
conflicts in H&M are the major issue in creating the bas effect on company's brand image.
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Recommendations to increase organisational performance
 It is critically evaluated from the above study of organisational theory of the Marks and
Spencer the company requires the improvement in its theories to increase its
organisational performance.
 After analysing the above information it is recommended to company CEO to change its
current middle of the road managerial style and adopt the team management style as this
will help the company in both ways increasing the employees performance and
accomplishing the tasks to attain the organisation goals and objectives (Cadden and et.
al., 2020).
 It is also recommended to the M&S to review their pricing strategy and change the prices
of their clothing and home products to increase their sales.
 The company is also suggested to to have flattered organisation structure to mitigate the
issue of conflicts in managerial functions and also to create a favourable influence on
employees.
 It is suggested to the M&S to use their legitimate power in influencing the employees
positively for the organisation goals and to show them the vision for future development
and career growth.
 The company is suggested to opt for other motivational strategies to motivate the
employees such as rewards, training and development as this helps the organisation in
making the employees encouraged and also bring the spirit of hard work.
 The company is suggested to focus on the participative leadership style to increase the
employees engagement and also use transactional leadership to increase the sense of
creativity and innovation in the organisation culture.
CONCLUSION
From the above the information it is understood that every manger or CEO of an organisation
requires suitable managerial style to manage the daily activities of the organisation and also to
manage the workforce. Management of organisation must be aligned towards the company's
goals and objectives in get a successful outcome of the efforts of employees and employers. It is
also concluded that change is vital for the organisation and must be managed effectively by
taking several actions in order to attain high performance. Also the firm's must have a diverse
and flexible organisational culture to have positive influence on the employees performance .
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No single leadership style is enough for the leaders of the organisation therefore, to enhance the
employees performance and organisational effectiveness firms must incorporate the different
leadership styles. To have the favourable effect of power , influence and conflict the must be
properly managed and resolved as per the need of the company. Hence, to enhance the efforts
and potential of the employees capabilities motivation must be provided to the employees for
which the leaders and manager must identify the motivational points or factors of the employees.
Therefore it is suggested that it is must for the organisation's to improvise the organisational
theories and practices for the better management of resources and employees to enhance
productivity and performance.
References:
Books and Journals
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