Marks and Spencer: Pitching and Negotiation Skills Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of pitching and negotiation skills, focusing on their importance in business and stakeholder management. It examines the negotiation process, including planning, setting ground rules, clarification, bargaining, and summarizing. The report also explores the request for proposal (RFP) process, competitive tendering, and the consequences of breaching agreements. Using Marks and Spencer as a case study, the report evaluates pitch and post-pitch outcomes, offering recommendations for maximizing effectiveness and managing risks. The report covers key stakeholders such as shareholders, suppliers, and customers, and analyzes the benefits of competitive tendering. The report is intended for students and provides useful information for understanding these concepts in a business context.

UNIT 44 PITCHING
AND NEGOTIATION
SKILLS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................... 1
TASK 1....................................................................................................................................... 1
P1 Negotiation and involvement of key stake holders in negotiation process...........................1
P2 Steps of negotiation process............................................................................................... 2
TASK 2....................................................................................................................................... 4
P3 Request for proposal and documentation and consequences for breaching agreement........4
D2 Evaluation of competitive tendering and contract process..................................................5
M3 Examining pitch process in Marks and Spencer and evaluating ways to maximise it.........7
D3 Developing dynamic and creative pitch.............................................................................9
P.6. Assess the potential outcomes of pitch...........................................................................10
M.4. Recommend ways in which Mark & Spencer firm can fulfil their post-pitching
obligations............................................................................................................................. 11
D4. Critically evaluate the pitch and post pitch outcomes to determine potential issues and
risk management................................................................................................................... 11
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................... 13

·INTRODUCTION
Pitching and negotiation skills plays prominent role for a business as it helps in seeking
attention of stakeholders and making people agrees on common interest. It is the technique
which helps in determining interest of all the individuals who are concerned with organisational
functions. The report will analyse negotiation skills of manager of Marks and Spencer in front
for key stakeholders such as shareholders, suppliers, customer etc. Also, it focuses on
determining negotiation steps which are followed by management for dealing and presenting
issues. Beside, it will outline process of request for proposal which is implemented by Marks and
Spencer to make appropriate documentation of agreement. Marks and Spencer is the leading
retail store on United Kingdom and especially deals in apparels. Thus, the report will critically
evaluate pitch and post pitch outcomes for identify problems and managing risk.
·TASK 1
·P1 Negotiation and involvement of key stake holders in negotiation process.
Negotiation process is a discussion where two parties are involved to find one solution to
problem with mutual interest (Baber and Ojala, 2017). IT s the most effective process
implemented by organisation as it helps in maintaining interest of every stakeholders involved
with the business operations. Further, it is important for the manager to implement the use of
appropriate step to conduct negotiation process because it helps In managing every bit of detail
which is necessary to be shared with stakeholders (Lewicki and et.al., 2011). Negotiating with
stakeholders is the most critical part for manager because in this the management focuses on
every term and condition and concerns which are required to negotiate with stakeholders. The
key focus on manager of Marks and Spencer when negotiation with key stakeholders is over
their benefits because it is the only condition which help in conducting process. In discussion
over any change the enterprise aims at proving satisfaction of each and every person of firm who
can get effected with changes in decision.
However, key stakeholders in negotiation process of company will be the individual who
will get affected by change in decision. In this discussion the manager will, consider priority to
employee because these are the person who are asset to organisation and are aware about the
taste and preferences of consumers. Employees are the stakeholders of firm which helps the
management in analysing time constraints, resources required and changing needs and wants of
buyers. Therefore, it is important for the entity to involve and to serve satisfaction to employee
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in negotiation process (The contracting process, 2018). Apart from this, shareholders are the
most important part of organisation because these individuals are the investors which derives
companies share value. The changes in decision of company directly hampers their invest.
Therefore, involving and protecting interest of shareholders is another foremost responsibility of
manager. In addition, suppliers of Marks and Spencer are stakeholders who are responsible for
supplying quality raw material to company at minimum price and that is why seeking advice and
analysing interests suppliers plays a vital role for manager. Thus, concerning and negotiating
with stakeholders is the essential part of business process because it helps in protecting interest
of every person who is directly or indirectly related with organisation and its functions. The best
example of negotiation can be trade unions who are association who fight for the rights of
employees with management. The focus of trade unions is to negotiate at the point of workers
interest, like, increasing salary, enabling work life balance etc.
Rationale for negotiation process
The ultimate motive behind implementing negotiation process is to seek advice from
every stakeholders about the changes in decision. It helps in setting stepwise process considering
all basic details which can helps in making people agree on common interest. Further, it is
important for manager because it helps in determining needs and wants of every stakeholders.
Following negotiation for decision making is the most effective approach for business operations
as it helps in seeking advice from different sources and implementing them with one common
interest. It is considered as prominent because it assists in managing successful business
operations. Thus, the management of Marks and Spencer will focus on negotiation because it
helps in seeking consent of every person who is related and can be affected by decision making
process of organisation.
l壱P2 Steps of negotiation process
At the time of negotiation, it is important for the manager to apply the use of negotiation
process because it helps in deriving step wise process which involves every necessary step which
need to file negotiation agreement (Goldberg and et.al., 2014). For planning negotiation the
manager and personal assistant which utilize systematic step wise process because it will help the
system in outlining all the essential details and step. Thus, negotiation step which are followed
by manager are as follows:
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·Planning and preparing: In this step the manager aims tat making people aware about the
issue for which meeting has been conducted. In this step manager aims at collecting all the
information which can arise like expectation, need and different perception etc. (Andrews, 2016)
It is the prior stage where management of Marks and Spencer aims at outlining all the details
which can taken part in negotiation process. However, in preparation the management focuses on
possible arguments which can occur at time of negotiation.
·Setting ground rules: Setting ground rules before conducting negotiation process ins
mandatory as it assists in maintaining standard of entire process. In this step the manager aims
at detailing negotiation process like what all things will be discussed, what will be the limits of
negotiation, what factors can be considered and discussed (Leong, S. and Cheng, 2014). Further,
in this the manager and assistant will focus on setting backup plan for negotiation because it is
the last option which helps in making negotiation successful. Thus, setting basic rules for
negotiation helps in making process effective and systematic for all stakeholders of company.
·Clarification and Justification: It is the step where all the parties in negotiation process
clarify and justifies their point, interest and opinion. It is confrontal step where discussion
occurs and every stakeholder keep up their opinion. It is opportunity for sharing information and
knowledge regarding changes in business operations which helps the firm in determining various
loopholes and shortcomings (Jun and Kyle, 2011). Further, at the time of discussion where
manager gets to know about individual interest in business operations. Thus, discussion is the
base of negotiation with mutual interests.
·Bargaining and problems solving: It is the stage where manager tries to focus on reasons and
different opinion created in discussion over negotiation. In this phase the management of Marks
and Spencer is responsible for analyse condition on which negotiation can take place (Goldberg
and et.al., 2014). It is analysis of all the justification, clarification and discussion on which
concessions occur in favour of all parties.·Summarizing and Executing: In this step the manager aims at documenting process of
negotiation where all the changes are detailed into one agreement. It is important for the
manager to make sign negotiation agreement from the individual ho have participated in process
(Jun and Kyle, 2011). This is the last phase which is based on forming agreement on common
interest of all stakeholders and signing agreement is mandatory in order to make successful
execution of changes.
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Critical evaluation of steps of negotiation process
Negotiation is an effective process as it helps in setting systematic flow of negotiation
which helps in easy interaction of stakeholders. However, can be argued that negotiation
sometimes leads to crate hindrance among employees and management because in this the firm
is focused on changing decision (Crump, 2011). Further, the process ifs beneficial as it aims at
considered views of every person working with firm but on the other hand it is limited to steps
which can be altered.
·Steps for negotiation
·Process of negotiation
·Eg.
·TASK 2
·P3 Request for proposal and documentation and consequences for breaching agreement
Request for proposal is document which is made to set terms and conditions which
determines companies interest in particular goods and services. It is important for the manager of
Marks and Spencer to form and mating RFP because it helps in specification details and
evaluation of business functions (Leong and Cheng, 2014). It is issue by management for
various reasons like to reduce complexity of organisational functions. The manager starts this
process with drafting of RFP, where bidders of stores review draft and suggest changes for
improvement. Further, the manager calls off meeting of bidders where discussion occurs and in
this the focus of conference is to make people aware about solicitation document (Perrotta, Faria
and Fernandes, 2017). The proposal turns into feedback at initial stage and further changes are
done by organisation and then draft is issued and submitted by bidders. Further, buyers of
company segment bidders in small group. With this continuation negotiation on pricing occurs
and last in final bidding keeping in mind interest of all parties concerned with organisational
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operations. There are specific steps which are used by manager of Marks and Spencer to prepare
RFP which are as follows:
·Analysing requirements of consumers and developing different designs.
·Evaluating advantages and risk related to proposal.
·Determining use of developmental tools like hardware and software (Crump, 2011).
·Ascertaining project breakdowns by assessing over project life cycle.
Thus, breaching contract of RFP can cause legal implications which can be cancellation of
agreement, losses, damage to image etc. Following documentation of proposal is most ethical
way which is maintained by manager to implement ethnicity in business functions and to gain
trust of stakeholders (Horton, 2016).
* CONTRAT LOW
l壱D2 Evaluation of competitive tendering and contract process
Competitive tendering is the system introduced by United Kingdom in 1980 to force
publicly run organisations to requests bids from a number of different firms for contracts to
supply goods or services (Mejía-Arauz, Dayton and Henne-Ochoa, 2018). The aim was to drive
costs down and improve the efficiency of state funded organisations, including central and local
government departments. Tendering helps the management of organisation in order to examine
the client's needs and providing them effective quality of products and services which aims to
fulfil their needs and expectations. Competitive tendering is the process of procuring resources,
raw materials, equipment, etc. from suppliers and raw materials providers (Garrison, 2014).
Procurement is the action of obtaining or procuring something from outside of organisation.
There are several benefits of competitive tendering which management of Marks and Spencer
can observe:
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·Value for money outcome: With the help of competitive tendering, the management can
provide the best possible value for money outcome to clients and customers. EXPAND,
EG.
·Compliance and regulatory outcome: Competitive tendering aid in meeting the governmental
regulatory and legislation outcome. It helps the management to avoid legal consequences
apparently (Tse, 2014). EXPAND, EG.
·Wide range of alternatives: As management procure goods and services from the outside of the
organisation, there are wide range of alternatives available for the organisation. This provide
ample of opportunity to the company by enhancing the quantity of products and services.
·Better value: In the form of price reductions, better services, higher quality products and other
values adds. EXPAND, EG.
EXPLAIN AND EG.
-TRENDERING PROCESS
-PRIVATE COMPANIES
- GOVERNMENT TRENDERING PROCESS
The key elements of masters service agreements and statement of work
Master Agreements
Master agreement is a contract reached between parties in which the parties agreed to
certain terms and conditions that governs their future transactions (Andrews, 2016). The key
elements are:
CONTRACT LOW,
·Offer: Offer is given by the parties in order to settle any conflicts and disputes. AMPLIFY
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·Acceptance: Acceptance is the second element where the disputed parties accept the offer
provided to them. AMPLIFY
·Consideration: The parties carefully thought about the offer in certain period before making
any agreements. AMPLIFY
·Mutuality of obligations: An obligation is legal requirement that some does something in
future. AMPLIFY
·Competency and capacity: The parties who entered into agreement must possess complete legal
capacity to be held liable for the duties he or she agrees to undertake. AMPLIFY
Statement of Work
Statement of work (SOW) is the formal document that define the activities related with
work, deliverables and timeline an organisation must implement in performance of specified
work for client (McKendrick, 2014). It includes detailed information regarding pricing,
regulatory standards, governance terms and conditions. SOW are considered as legally
equivalents to contracts.
Contract Law: The contract law formulated in United Kingdom regulates contracts made in
England and Wales. It contains various terms and conditions related with the contracts, key
elements and amendments regarding breach of contracts (Miyamoto and Ito, 2017). Overall,
English contract law monitors the contract made under the statutory framework and provide
effective guidelines that helps the parties to contract to prevent rights from getting violating.
Contractual process
The first step in the contractual process is selecting a contract. Here parties have to select the
type of contract according to their agreements. The second step is collection of information. The
parties have to select the method through which the information can be selected. The third step
of the process is choosing the negotiator. Negotiator is essential as it helps in putting offer to the
parties who enter into contracts. The fourth step is contract review where review of contract has
been made and the last step is signing and documentation of contract.
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l壱M3 Examining pitch process in Marks and Spencer and evaluating ways to maximise it
The process through which organisation select advertising agencies in order to assign
them advertising and brand promotion responsibilities. When the Marks and Spencer outsource
their advertising responsibilities to outside agencies, they call in for pitching where in all short
listed agencies demonstrate their thoughts which can lead the organisation towards growth and
development (Leong and Cheng, 2014). The most appropriate and precise agency got selected
and is made responsible for communicating brand products and services. In order to enhance the
effectiveness in the pitching process, the management of Marks and Spencer uses following
principles which are listed below:
·Value Creation: The actions through which the worth of business can be promulgates is known
as value creations. Pitching plays crucial part in creating value for Marks and Spencer. With the
help of effective advertisements tactics and pitching strategies, the management of organisation
able to enhance the value of the organisation. REFERENCES
·Brand Loyalty: In order to increase the customer base and maximising revenue, it is crucial for
the management of organisation to have effective brand loyalty. This can be maintained through
efficient pitching process used by the company (Faff, Nguyen and Tunny, 2017). The pitching
process aid in enhancing the brand loyalty of Marks and Spencer. If brand is effective, investor
tends to attract towards organisation which pumps up the existing operations of the company.
·Innovation: To sustain in the competitive environment it is important for the management to
keep doing innovating and develop innovative products and services in the market. Marks and
Spencer is working in retail industry which is considered as most competitive sector of UK.
Thus, through innovative pitching style, the management would be able to attract more and more
shareholders towards the organisation. REFERENCES
·Networking: Networking refers to the contacts, the management made in order to provide
goods and services to particular area. In order to enhance the productivity and profitability of the
organisation, it is important for the management to develop effective and efficient networking
(Faff, Nguyen and Tunny, 2017). Pitching helps in developing networks for Marks and Spencer
effectively and efficiently.
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·Partnership: Maintaining partnership either with suppliers or external partners are very
important factors that determine the success of the organisation. In order to increase the
productivity, the management needs to maintain effective partnership.
In order to enhance the effectiveness in the quality of pitching, the management of Marks and
Spencer needs to concentrate on the content and provide realistic solutions to the problems. In
order to survive in competitive environment, pitching is done by Marks and Spencer to have a
partner rather than a advertising agency who helps in communicating the vital information to the
clients with the help of precise communication and pitching styles (Hooker and Whistance,
2015). Pitching helps in constructing the bridge of trust through which organisation will able to
attain the desired goals and objectives.
- MAXIMISING BENEFITS PITCHING
PETCH PROCESS
l壱D3 Developing dynamic and creative pitch
In order to create a dynamic and creative pitch the agency selected by Marks and Spencer
needs to consider the following points:
·Listening: The agency must listen the doubts of clients and allowed them to speak in order to
eliminate any confusions (Leong and Cheng, 2014). Through appropriate listening, the agency
would be able to build trust between the organisation efficiently.
·Using different aids: To develop creative pitch, the agency must utilise different aids such as
visual aids, creative arts, etc. in order to attracts client attention.
EXPAND AND REFERENCES
·Understanding current trends: The management needs to understand the current trends and
prepare the pitch accordingly. Current trends in market can provide creative idea to the agency
through which they can attract the attention of client effectively and efficiently.
EXPAND AND REFERENCES
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Dealing with rejection and asking for referrals
Rejection is normal part and it is not necessary that every time client would like the
presentation. In order to deal with rejection, the agency must incorporate the changes prescribed
by the client and consider the referrals provided to them (Faff, Nguyen and Tunny, 2017). This
can be huge support for them and they can create an effective and efficient presentation with
proper pitching style in order to get client appreciations. The management needs to keep calm
and concentrate on different ideas through which they can develop a dynamic and creative pitch.
They mustn't get dissatisfied with rejection and need to make efforts in order to rectify their
problems in presentation in order to impress the client effectively and efficiently. Rejection can
be painful but the management needs to understand the reason due to which their presentation
got rejected (Hooker and Whistance, 2015). The management needs to make improvements in
certain areas and consider the referrals provided by the client organisation and concentrate on the
issues as well as pitching style in order to eliminate them efficiently. So, in next opportunity the
agency can demonstrate a dynamic as well as creative presentation to the client that can impress
them adequately.
REVIEW THE QUESTION AND INCLUDE RELEVANT POINTS
Summarise and follow up
Pitching is essential and in order to select precise advertising agency for making contract of
advertisement, the management must select appropriate agency who have effective pitching
style. This can helps in generating brand loyalty, trust, innovation, networking and partnership
and through appropriate presentation and pitching skills, the management of agency would be
able to gain the trust of client.
l壱P.6. Assess the potential outcomes of pitch
Prepare for success: The preparation of making pitching success must be effective form
within the organisation environment in which they can identify the ideas of relevant pitching
within the organisation environment so that efficient pitching can be executed in the business
sufficiently. Successive and effective ways of pitching can be examined the relevant ideas and
thoughts about pitching in the firm in more relevant manner (Garrison, 2014). M&S company
need to make appropriate improved and proper plan in order to relevant evolution of their
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