Marks & Spencer: Understanding & Leading Change - Strategy & Ops

This report examines the impact of various change drivers on Marks & Spencer (M&S), a prominent UK retail company. It compares organizational examples where change has affected M&S's strategy and operations, focusing on political issues, economic weaknesses, and technological advancements. The report evaluates how external and internal drivers of change influence leadership, team, and individual behaviors, and explores measures to minimize negative impacts. It also explains different barriers to change and their influence on leadership decision-making, and applies different leadership approaches to dealing with change. Specific instances like the impact of Brexit and the 2007-2009 economic crisis are analyzed, highlighting M&S's strategic responses, including staff layoffs, innovative economic plans, and adjustments to manufacturing processes. The report also includes a SWOT analysis, detailing M&S's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, providing a comprehensive overview of the company's change management strategies.

Understanding & Leading Change
Table content:
Introduction
LO 1:
Compare different organisational examples where there has been an impact of
change on an organisation’s strategy and operation.
LO 2:
Evaluate the ways in which external and internal drivers of change affects
leadership,team and individual behaviours within an organisation.
Evaluate measures that can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on
organisational behaviour.
LO 3:
Explain different barriers to change and determine how they influence
leadership decision-making in a given organisational context.
LO 4:
Apply different leadership approaches to dealing with change in a range of
organisational context.
Conclusion
References

Introduction:
In the report of this Unit the chosen organisation to speak about is known as one of the most
known retail companies in the UK and not only, which in the last few years has gone through
some new changes because of many factors around which will be mentioned later in the
report.The name of the company is indeed Marks&Spencer.
Alternating or substituting in business circumstances and situations may have a straight
impact on an organization's capacity to stay afloat in its marketplaces. Multiple business
experts think that organizations that do not adapt to changing macro and micro environments
are attempting to lose their allure over time (Barbara and Swailes, 2010). Modifications may
enable an organization to rethink its strategy and create innovative objectives to meet all the
requirements in the sustaining marketplace.
Marks & Spencer, headquartered in the United Kingdom, is among the most well-known
retail companies in the UK, but also in other states where it is operating as the EU and USA .
The company was established during the year 1884 and works within the retail sector
(Cameron and Green, 2015). When looking at the amount of workers at Marks & Spencer, it
is estimated that the company employs around 84,000 people throughout the globe.
Apparel,shoes and accessories, furniture and home accessories ,food items, and a variety of
other items are among the main goods offered by the organization.
LO 1:
Compare different organisational examples where there has been an impact of change
on an organisation’s strategy and operation.
Change drivers are indeed events or circumstances that cause adjustments in an organization's
regular functioning and operation. Multiple researches in organizational administration may
make you realize that multiple and different organizations have distinct change drivers. Also
as a result, M&S might have had a large number of change drivers, as described below:
M&S's operation is affected by a variety of political issues in the United Kingdom, which
forces the company to rethink its strategies and the company goals (Cawsey et al., 2011).
Furthermore, a state's financial weaknesses may be a catalyst and motivating point for
different retail organisations and in particular for M&S.
Furthermore, technological advances may be the cause of the organization's transformation.
Somehow there may be times when M&S must abandon its previous technologies in favor of

the purchase of new equipment and as well employ staff that would be able to engage with
the new technologies.
It has been shown that there exists several drivers of change for M&s in this manner.
The consequences of change:
When it comes to the effects of change on M&S, it could be stated that changes that can take
place in the business environment are to blame for the subsequent effects.
Modifications in an organization's productivity gains and as well in the work rate sector are
typically profound. Adjustments in the UK's nature of the economy and as well in the
political sector may force M&S as well as any other businesses to rethink their strategies.
Multiple researches in organizational top leadership are useful in recognizing that
modifications may have a significant impact on the organization's long-term viability (Daft
and Marcic, 2010). Production and revenue may both be improved if adjustments are
determined to be beneficial to the company. Organizations, on the other side, are probable to
be harmed if developing changes pose a threat to M&S. According to the latest research, the
impending developments would have an impact on a wide range of industries. Those
categories may comprise commercial marketing and advertising, staff accomplishment,
workforce structural or administrative placement, and etc.
Change in the organisational action of plans:
Listed below is among the most significant developments in organizational strategy.
Emergent changes in an organization are responsible for having a significant impact on the
strategy. Changing circumstances in organizations, according to most of the research, may
enable the business to create new approaches and methods (Deichmann and Stam, 2015). In
light of current organizational plans, it may be said that developing changes in the business
environment require strategy adaptability. Effective strategies are critical for M&S to adapt to
changing circumstances while also recovering efficiency and revenue.
Adjustments have an impact on the strategy of many of these sections inside an organization
(Koontz and Weihrich, 2012). Changes in organizational structure, learning and improvement
strategies, work team and personnel numbers, as well as other factors may be required by the
top management to be adjusted.
Within that manner, it can be stated that changing developments have a significant impact on
an organization's strategy for achieving sustainable growth and development in its respective
marketplaces.
An overview of the M&S and its change processes:
There exists a lot of research papers related to the M&S company in the United Kingdom.
Has been discovered that some change drivers exist, and perhaps even the effects of the
modifications that took place on the organization. Below it can be found a summary of the
significant results from some of those research papers.

Brexit Impact on the M&S:
We all know that in 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum where each of the
European Union's member nations took part. Following the vote, the United Kingdom
withdrew from the European Union and declared itself the world's only economy. It has been,
and indeed is the main choice made by the British government, ultimately resulting in the
worst social - financial circumstances of the state (Hobbs, 2016).
According to the research, various EU member nations have a detrimental impact on the UK's
political connections. So the majority of nations have a negative view regarding UK-based
companies doing business in foreign marketplaces. Therefore , it was also discovered that the
UK was in the midst of a significant crisis that had a negative impact on the majority of the
state's businesses.
It was revealed that M&S, the most well known company in the United Kingdom, has been
exposed to significant risks as a result of adjustments in the financial and socio - political
system. Also in the financial marketplace the fall of the pound, had enabled the company to
lower the pricing of its goods in order to increase revenue and performance in the commercial
marketplaces. Except that, however, the companies additionally made a number of choices
on staff layoffs, the establishment of innovative economic and growth plans, and a variety of
several other initiatives (Mann et al., 2016). Under this manner, it could be stated that
BREXIT had a significant impact on M&S's operations in European markets, allowing
tactical leaders to create innovative goals and programs to ensure market continuity.Therefore
that being said it can be concluded that the company had implemented more of a personnel
change as that implies of implementing mass hiring or layoffs due to the BREXIT that has
taken place.
Logo of Marks and Spencer:
The economic crisis of 2007-2009 that had a bad impact on the M&S as a business:
Some shifting circumstances that M&S encountered in the British trading marketplaces had
taken place between 2007 to 2009 and were equivalent to the BREXIT vote. From the
research paper it was found how the organization missed a significant amount of revenue as a

result of the mortgage crisis in the United States. Circumstances comparable towards the
Great Depression were seen throughout the world, which were also influenced by
multinational organizations' operations (Guillén, 2012). According to the research, M&S
operate a large number of outlets and shops in the United States, which were badly impacted
mostly by the financial downturn from 2007 to 2009. Throughout this period, the company
had to make significant adjustments towards its tactics so the company could stay afloat in
the difficult economic environment.
In light of the impacts of the 2007-2009 global recession, leaders in the organization were
forced to stop operating some shops in order to reduce maintenance revenue. That being said,
M&S was also discovered to have thrown away a lot of goods offered in various commercial
sectors. The organisation's manufacturing processes have been adjusted to suit the new
circumstances (Northouse, 2015). That had been a period when the company was said to be
working on ways to reduce the number of employees. The organization's staff number was
discovered to be almost two-thirds of what it had been before.
Marks & Spencer devised strategies to successfully handle the changes, which included
taking into account commercial ethical obligations as well. For the interests of the society and
its workers, the organization advocated a no of extra duties that occurred and had been
accomplished in the commercial marketplaces. Effect of the external global marketplace
enabled M&S to deal with a variety of circumstances and establish innovative methods
within that manner. M&S's lengthy operating background was among the nearly all
reassuring aspects again for the company throughout the 2007 financial recession. The
research paper shows that societal variables in the United Kingdom and the United States
favored Marks & Spencer's company (Moran and Cohn, 2011).
In addition, tactical methods like corporate social responsibility among others enabled the
organization to successfully run its operations. M&S was among the most pricey brands
worldwide also in 2007. Because the cost of goods were very expensive, that resulted in a
decrease in sales volume. Along with that, the global recession of 2007 had a significant
impact on M&S's goods dispensing to the stores, and they had staff executives and leaders to
find the weaknesses and then they had to think of a way to reform so they could increase the
sales volume along with the profit as well.Due to the 2007-2009 global recession that has
effect on the M&S being also a global retailer,so therefore the company has gone through a
remedial change were about leaders and top managers has to review their strategies in order
to get successful and to maintain as they were known leaders of the retail marketplace.
Swot Analysis of the Marks & Spencer company
Strengths:
Over the last 136 years, Marks & Spencer was in business. It is a major retailer in the United
Kingdom. Penny Bazaar in Kirkgate Market was the company's first commercial venture.
Throughout the decades, the company has formed a number of significant relationships
almost everywhere on the globe. The business benefits greatly from a wealth of expertise.
Marks & Spencer seems to have a notoriety for offering high-quality goods to its consumers.
As a result, whenever individuals are purchasing in the UK markets, most choose the M&S
shop as it is also known as per Statista that is the 2nd popular supermarket in the United
Kingdom.

M&S has physical shops throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East in addition to the
online stores and sites. It is estimated by the experts that the business has 1463 locations
worldwide, including 1035 in the United Kingdom. Their corporation's global expansion has
been aided by online shops and physical locations.
Shoppers may choose from a wide range of goods at M&S. For example, out of 136 decades,
the business has offered a range of fruits and veggies for more than 40 years. The business
has developed strong connections within the community agricultural producers to get fresh
products that can be offered to its consumers. According to the business's "providers
management department," it seems to have around 400 providers having 800 locations in 44
countries across the globe. Consumers may choose from 500 various kinds of prepped
veggies, salads, including fruits. Marks and Spencer is the only retailer that provides that very
wide range of goods to its consumers. M&s also offered a significant no of well-known
creators from various companies a position in its shops. North Coast, Autograph, Collezione,
Big & Tall, Blue Harbour, Indigo Collection, Portfolio, Classic, Per Una, Limited Collection,
and many more are just a few of them. Marks and Spencer has now become greater even in
those days as a result of bringing numerous names of well known designers all under a
rooftop.
Figure of the Swot Analysis

Weaknesses
In 2019 a study from Wood showed that sales at certain M&S shops were decreasing towards
the end of that year and that was because of a faulty distribution system as well as a lack of
production of the goods. During the 2017 Christmas time, a similar issue took place: the
business was unable to fulfill the necessary requirements for clothes and food. A negative
effect was caused by the company because of that.
Apparently the population at large believes that Marks and Spencer does not sell clothing for
children and adolescents. Numerous individuals believe that the business exclusively caters to
the elderly. However this impression is incorrect, and has indeed cost the business a great
deal of money. Even though a considerable number of clients are aged, this should not imply
that it exclusively caters to them.
Perhaps one M&S's main flaw seems to be the business's heavy reliance on human processes.
It's indeed expensive and time-consuming. Several older businesses and companies have
indeed embraced cutting-edge automation on different operations. If a business embraces
cutting-edge technology, that will save effort, money, and the most precious thing, time and
indeed that it will embellish more productivity.
Opportunities
By being a global retailer with shops in India, Russia, Brazil, Poland, and Indonesia, as
everyone knows,it might be the time for the business to grow within these nations. It implies
that perhaps the business must take a proactive position inside these nations by opening even
more stores.
Even if they do have the online stores, when it comes to evaluate its business's status to that
of other global top internet commerce sites such as Amazon or eBay, the business falls
behind. M&S, on the other hand, is well behind other competitors. Despite the fact that the
business is well-established, competent, and also has a leading market position.
Since individuals are increasingly busier and want to prevent social and congested areas,
especially at this time with the pandemic, ecommerce retailing is the new big thing for
purchasing. As a result, the business may concentrate on expanding its online shops and
lines,which also implies the leaders and managers to accept the new trend and to implement
the changes within the business for a better revenue and not at last more satisfied customers.
In truth, M&S just revealed that it would be bringing its apparel and home goods lines online.
The practice of segmenting the consumer market to various classifications based on
comparable groupings is known as market segmentation. When the M&S's plan approaches
are studied, it can be seen that it is based on the identical concept of building superstores
worldwide,therefore that being said it is quite true that in the UK most of the M&S stores are
like that,the big change may consist in changing the strategy and adapting to situations where
customers are the most important in making the business to survive. If somehow the business
adheres towards the consumers segmentation strategy of providing goods depending on the
client requirements then that may be a better way of saving some money on the rent of the
spaces and it may get a better profitability.

The business might benefit from a customer segmentation strategy in a variety of contexts.
As it was mentioned above small shops imply cheaper leasing costs and, as a result, higher
profits, since administration and maintenance prices are more reduced.
Threats:
In the United Kingdom as well as other countries around the globe the retail sector is
becoming more ruthless. Amazon, John Lewis, Debenhams, Sainsbury, Waitrose,Gap, and
Next are among M&S's major rivals.
Since the rivals are so powerful, if the business will not really try to alter their approach,to
implement the change that will get them on the right track, this could eventually fade away
gradually from the market, and of course the company's brand trend will might go downhill,
the rang and the place that the company is at the moment will decline as well in the UK and
also in the worldwide market . Just to take an example, it is known that M&S has already
been closing shops in the United Kingdom, France, and China.
Conclusion of the swot analysis:
Following a thorough examination of M&S's SWOT analysis, it can be concluded to my
notice that indeed the business is extremely powerful and seems to have a solid reputation for
delivering high-quality goods. Rivals, on the other hand, pose a genuine danger as well as the
recession that has happened and the Brexit that took place,all has affected in a bad way the
retail sector that included also the M&S company and as a result the changes that the
company has adopted has been successful. As a result, closing shops should not be the
answer. Consumers should indeed be segmented, while shops might get opened in response to
the requirements of the them. The change stays in the course of actions that the business’s
executives may need to do it and that would be in the interest of the business profitability and
of maintaining their goals and objectives and are indeed of still being one of the top brand in
the UK and of course on the other states that it is operating.That would be the unique course
of actions to get things done.
An evaluation of business plans may be used to analyze the effect of shifting that has taken
place on M&S as a result of BREXIT as well as the UK financial recession. Further down it
will be depicted the contrast of it:
Throughout the economic downturn as well as the BREXIT vote, Marks & Spencer devised a
variety of innovative tactics. The company contemplated limiting the line of outcomes and
focused on the items that generated the most revenue (John and Harrison, 2009). Not even
just that, however the organization's manufacturing routes have also been reinvented.
M&S was discovered to be considering ways of reducing staff numbers in the UK following
BREXIT and even because of the economic crisis.The workforce decreased to two-thirds of
the overall number originally employed by the company at that time ,but as we speak
nowadays even due to pandemic the company has reinvented themselves and the revenue and
the objectives of the company was successful and accomplished.

The financial downturn, and even the UK's BREXIT public vote, had a significant impact on
businesses like M&S. To respond to growing social - financial developments, the
organization closed several of its shops in its native countries as well as in the United States.
Later, it was discovered that those same shops resumed operations once the business markets
had stabilized.
When it comes to M&S's financial strategies throughout the BREXIT it's fair to say that the
company requested creditors and investors to place existing obligations on pause. It's not just
that, but Marks & Spencer resulted in a rise of benefits gained for those kinds of stakeholders
that had to be reimbursed following market stabilization assumption.At the same time the
number of staff layoffs has been increased.
In that same manner, it is shown that BREXIT resulted in a variety of policy and strategy
adjustments that were mostly implemented in several other organizations from the retail
sector that are highly competitors to M&S.
As shown in the above, the BREXIT has had an impact on the company. Several of the
latter's shops have shut,but later on after the crisis had gone they have started to operate as
well being under refurbishment as well in special for the food floors. In order to stay afloat,
the organization has also requested its creditors to retain the loans. Mostly as a result,
virtually every organization faces difficulties as a result of economic instability and political
upheavals. Everything hinges on their capacity to adapt and be ready, trained to survive to
any situation that can occur,as we all know the future nobody can predicted, so the companies
and organisations usually are looking for the best and the most well trained leaders and
managers that are able to get the goals and objectives of the organisation being accomplished.
Critical evaluation of the long-term implications of change to inform conclusions and
recommendations for minimising effects of change through effective planning and managing
change, including change impact analysis to identify potential risks of change.
The importance of impact assessment in appropriate project planning cannot be overstated. It
will give the teams of the M&S organisation a clear picture of the consequences of a planned
change, allowing them to make educated choices over what ideas to adopt.The leaders as well
as magers must look in deep at the planned modification to see what aspects may need to be
developed, changed, or deleted, as well as how much work will be required to execute it.
Professional leadership and the team of managers are required for the effective change
process in the company. That act of leading and managing an organisation to a far more
desired shared vision is known as organisational transformation (Millar, Hind & Magala,
2012). As a result, allowing transformation to succeed, the M&S company needs innovative
leaders and a creative strategy (Fuchs & Edwards, 2012). Like a result, creative leaders and
managers may improve the odds of organisational performance throughout the transition

period. As a result, those two most essential qualities in the transformation process include
leadership' perspective and creative approach (Grant, 2014).
The M&S staff members are likely to be interested in changing, drived by their managers.
According to the route-goal concept, managers who thrive are often the ones that inspire its
workers via clarifying and keeping the same way of labor obvious to them via its strong
direction (Stensaker & Vab, 2013). The staff members should be indeed appreciated and
rewarded for their performance within the company. Workers are more willing to accept
change when certain efforts are implemented (Penava & ehi, 2014). The M&S managers may
indeed maintain their employees engaged and adaptable in order to reap the advantages of
transformation (Georgalis, Samaratunge, Kimberley & Lu, 2015). As a result, top managers
should be focused regarding meeting consumer needs by concentrating on improved team
management via leadership styles. The transformational leadership concept should also assist
leadership and management teams in adopting the optimal leadership style during times of
transition (Georgalis, Samaratunge, Kimberley & Lu, 2015). As a result, the teams of
management and leadership need to use a variety of strategies to motivate workers to accept
transformation (Stensaker & Vab, 2013).
Sometimes a variety of reasons contribute to transformation opposition. Workers' threat of
losing their employment becomes the major factor, according to Matos Marques (Simoes &
Esposito, 2014). Layoffs and the development of new employment can occur as a
consequence of transformation, putting workers' jobs at risk. Rejection is indeed caused by a
lack of communication and involvement, that leads to a high level of distrust (Yilmaz &
Klçolu, 2013). Workers must constantly comprehend that change is necessary, this
necessitates effective collaboration,cooperation between the leaders and the employees of the
M&S company (McKay, Kuntz, & Näswall, 2013). Workers often oppose change because
they are afraid of the uncertainty, particularly whenever they are taken by surprise and have
no idea what will happen as a consequence of such change (Simoes & Esposito, 2014). Poor
timing may also cause resistance, particularly when organisations select the incorrect channel
and moment to convey the need for change (McKay, Kuntz, & Näswall, 2013).
Organisations and indeed here speaking about the M&S as an organisation seeking to
implement change, should firstly try to comprehend that strategy implementation. Staff
members should comprehend the role of managers in the implementation of change as well as
the safeguards that could be designed to prevent opposition. Furthermore, the proper
measures should be taken to guarantee that such transformation is on long-term and is in the
good health of the whole organisation.Once the change has been applied then the leaders
should maintain the organisation’s staff members and employees motivated and appreciated
for the work there is involved to maintain the company on the top most appreciated retailers
on the UK market.
With the help of the Lewin’s model the M&S organisation has implemented the change
using the three stages of the model.During the unfreezing stage the leaders are informing
their staff members about the change and the effect that will have on the company’s goals and
objectives. Within the second stage of the model the whole company is in deep application of

the new strategies and procedures that the changes implies. Here comes in help of the
application of the change in leadership approach which is motivation being one of the most
effective methods that works for the M&S organization as it helps the leaders to implement
the changes within the employees help that are indeed motivated by the incentives at work
and assuming the change as it goes along. The third stage of theLewin’s model that comes in
the help of implementation of the change of the organization is refreezing.At this stage the
new strategies and procedure are implemented as a regular basis of work.As he was stated
,,Before change and new behaviour could be adopted successfully,the old behaviour must be
discarded’’.As it was specified above by implying the change the risk can come along
,important is that the company to take consideration of it and help in diminuating them.By
utilizing the force field analysis the leaders may found out the restraining forces as well as the
driving forces that helps an organisation to implement its change. Good leadership style and
development of the employees as well as communication and information transmitted
through the right routes will make the change successful within the M&S.
LO 2:
Evaluate the ways in which external and internal drivers of change affects
leadership,team and individual behaviours within an organisation.
Internally and externally causes of transformation have an impact on M& S's management,
teamwork, and personal behaviors in a range of methods. Below it will be enumerated a list
of certain of those methods:
Consequences regarding the leadership:
Change driver might enable M&S executives to explore innovative methods for engaging
staff coworkers and achieving optimal results (Erdogan et al., 2015). It's really true that
throughout periods of transition, organizational leaders may encounter stiff opposition among
their supporters. Not just that, but there may be times when M&S's leadership must shift from
democratic to authoritarian in order to push the transition through.
The consequences regarding the team behaviour:
Change drivers may have a significant impact on the behavior of Marks & Spencer's
employees. It is possible that teammates might oppose the adjustments that must be
implemented in its working and effectiveness. As a result, companies and managers may also
have to rethink previous methods to alter employees behavior in response to new
circumstances.
Consequences regarding individual behaviour:
When examining the impacts of change drivers on people, it seems to be possible that staff
members and personnel in the organization may become slighter driven to change and
acquire a hateful reaction about it (Chance, 2013).

Evaluate measures that can be taken to minimise negative impacts of change on
organisational behaviour.
Minimising the effects of change:
M&S may take a variety of steps to mitigate the dismissive effects of the upcoming changes
on organizational behavior. An explanation of such measurements will be written below.
Efficacious leadership:
Among the most effective methods for reducing the negative effects of change on
organizational behavior is to have an effective leadership style. According to the research,
M&S executives must develop a leadership approach in order to successfully execute change
initiatives inside the company (Srensen et al., 2011). Not even just that, although
executives/managers/leaders in the organization are indeed expected themselves to be an
example and to show methodologies that may be adopted by workers or staff members. In
that manner, effective leadership may be among the most important elements in reducing the
effects of change.
The effectiveness of the plans that are going to be developed:
Including good leadership, M&S must develop plans and methods to encourage workers to
learn new skills. Leaders and executives in an organization were also required to create
faculty developments and integrate them into the programs of the staff members. Personnel at
Marks & Spencer will get more acquainted with the innovative procedures and changes as a
result of this approach, which would indeed help in progressively decreasing restraining
forces regarding the introduction of the new changes.
Development of the staff members:
Organizational change has an influence on the personel that is employed there, therefore as
for them to mitigate the bad effects of any element, the organization must educate and
empower their personnel. With the current skills set will be honed, and overall education
would be expanded. Development in education may assist the employees in quickly adapting
to their new position and searching for employment in a variety of sectors within other
organizations if they wish so.
There are also a variety of additional methods for managing organizational transformation.
For example, effectively sketching out and visualizing the organization's future condition. It
is more regarding the visualization of the optimal state and communicating to all the staff
members individually. That seems to work perfectly nowadays with the new technology that
is advanced and will help everyone visualize or predict the future of the organisation through
the new change.
Drivers that has been identified in Marks and Spencer change and the analysis of those
changes and their different theories and models that were been applied:
From the above searching and findings of the report, it can be observed that drivers for
transformation in M&S throughout the year of 2007 were difficult financial circumstances.
World's leading states for the companies for gaining revenue are the UK and USA, who
indeed were badly impacted by the financial crisis (López, 2014). The M&S organization was