Analysis of Matalan: Business Functions, Operations, and Behavior

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Matalan, a British fashion brand and homeware retailer. The study explores the company's business functions, including its circular economy initiatives, corporate social responsibility, and ethical marketing practices. It examines Matalan's legal structure as a privately held company and identifies key stakeholders such as employees, consumers, investors, and suppliers. The report delves into Matalan's operations management, focusing on strategies for design, delivery, and quality management, including the implementation of total quality management and employee training. Furthermore, it investigates Matalan's organizational behavior, highlighting its use of democratic, situational, and path-goal leadership approaches, as well as contingency management. The conclusion summarizes the key findings, emphasizing Matalan's commitment to quality, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement.

MATALAN

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
SECTION A.....................................................................................................................................1
Business functions and legal structure.........................................................................................1
SECTION B.....................................................................................................................................2
Operations management..............................................................................................................2
SECTION C.....................................................................................................................................3
Organizational behaviour.............................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................3
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
Matalan is a British Fashion brand and homeware retailer based company which has been
established in Knowsley, United Kingdom. John Hargreaves has established the firm in year
1985 (Vasu, Stewart and Garson, 2017). The company has 217 shops which has been settled
down in United Kingdom. Sporting Pro is its subsidiary firm. Matalan has also sourced product
from the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh that has been collapsed. Report will highlight
business and its legal structure. It will also lay emphasis on operation management of the
business. Study will also lay focus on organizational behaviour. It will also provide the approach
of OM used by company.
SECTION A
Business functions and legal structure
Organizations competitive advantage: Matalan has been engaged in selling high quality of
products. They have also donated £60,000 to Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh where about
1300 people were collapsed (Podsakoff, MacKenzie and Podsakoff, 2018). Company has
donated the amount to its victims which has supported them in increasing their goodwill. It has
also helped them in gaining competitive advantage. They have also joined the campaign Labour
behind the label. Enterprise has also been formerly listed on the London stock exchange. This
has also supported Matalan in building up their goodwill. They make sure that the design of the
homeware products also gives them competitive advantage and helps firm in growing.
Business functions: Matalan has been involved in implementing circular economy. For this they
have launched policies related to sustainable use of resources and reducing the waste product
which is being created during the production of clothes. It has also been analysed that firm has
also been engaged in donating 2% of their profit to corporate social responsibility, which can
assist them in making up their goodwill. Matalan has also been involved in doing responsible and
ethical marketing. Firm makes sure that no sentiments of consumers are being hurt because of
the promotional methods they are making use of. It has supported firm in growing and gaining
competitive advantage. Providing training to workers in Matalan has also helped them in
motivating and boosting up their morale.
Legal structure: Matalan is a privately held company. Firm has been involved in following
various laws and policies like for example Health and safety act, 1974 has been followed by
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them. In this company makes sure that all employees work under safe and secure working
conditions.
Stakeholders: The main stakeholders of company are its employees, consumers, investors and
suppliers. Employees are being involve in taking major decisions in Matalan.
SECTION B
Operations management
Operation management is basically involved in how firm is been engaged in designing,
producing and delivering of goods. This includes the following:
Direct: Matalan is being involved in implementing various strategies so that the firm’s
operations can be managed. Like for example the manufacturing unit which produces clothes
have been making use of advanced technology. Also they have been involved in providing
adequate training to their employees in order to enhance their efficiency and increase the firm’s
productivity (Van Knippenberg and Hogg, 2018).
Design: Matalan is selling homeware products too, firm is being involved in giving effective and
creative design to their homeware products so that they can attract more consumers and create
consumer’s loyalty towards them.
Deliver: In order to deliver the product on timely basis Matalan is also been engaged in doing
planning related to it. So that they can satisfy their consumers. Firm makes use of capacity
management so that company’s operational cost does not increase and also the hardware and
fashion products are being deliver to consumer on timely basis (Osland, Devine and Turner,
2015).
Organizations quality management
Matalan is also being involve in making use of approaches like total quality management. In
this firm is been involve in managing internal resources of organization so that the quality of
goods and services provided by them also increases. It also supports Matalan in improving the
quality of services that directly increases the consumer satisfaction. This process also supports
them in detecting and eliminating errors that can happen during the manufacturing of the
products. In this Matalan is also been involve in providing training to their workers, so that they
can gain competitive advantage. This supports them in improving the overall quality of the goods
and services provided by the company. Total quality management also supports them in reducing
the operational efficiency.
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SECTION C
Organizational behaviour
Matalan makes use of democratic approach in which they delegate responsibilities to their
sub-ordinates so that this can also improve their confidence level. This has also helped
organization in making the relationship better with their employees. This has created employee
loyalty and belongingness in firm (Musringudin, Akbar and Karnati, 2017). Delegating
responsibility to workers has also helped organization in boosting up the morale of workers. This
has supported Matalan in growing and make their relationship better with employees. In this
leaders are also involving in making final decisions, but the workers can change it if they are not
satisfied with the decisions of leaders.
Matalan also make use of situational approach, in this leaders are involving in acting
according the situation like for example they are engage in adjusting to the changing
environment and make themselves flexible enough so that the organization is being able to grow.
It will also support Matalan in increasing their operational efficiency and productivity. Also
making use of situational leadership can support the organization in growing. In this leaders of
company are also involve in providing training to employees so that it will become easy for them
to adjust to changing environment. This also supports firm in achieving their goals and
objectives and making them growing their market share.
Matalan also make use of Path goal theory in this leaders and managers are involve in
making clear the goals and objectives to employees. This support them in increasing the
efficiency of firm and establishing their market in the new areas.
Matalan has also made use of contingency management approach. In this leaders are
involving in acting differently according to the situation. This has supported leaders of company
in adjusting to the changing environment. It has also helped them in building up goodwill and
creating employee’s loyalty and belongingness.
CONCLUSION
From the above study it has been summarised that company has been making use of total
quality management, which has supported them in improving the quality of services that has
been provided by them. They have also been implementing circular economy so that the waste
can be minimised and resources can be utilized effectively. Company has also been formerly
listed in London stock exchange. It has been interpreted form the report that the major
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stakeholders of the company are consumers, competitors and suppliers. Firm has also been able
to gain competitive advantage because of the design and quality of products.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Musringudin, M., Akbar, M. and Karnati, N., 2017. The effect of organizational justice, job
satisfaction, and organizational commitment on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)
of the principles. IJER-INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL REVIEW.4(2).
pp.155-165.
Osland, J., Devine, K. and Turner, M., 2015. Organizational behavior. Wiley Encyclopedia of
Management.pp.1-5.
Podsakoff, P.M., MacKenzie, S.B. and Podsakoff, N.P. eds., 2018. The Oxford handbook of
organizational citizenship behavior. Oxford University Press.
Van Knippenberg, D. and Hogg, M.A., 2018. Social identifications in organizational
behavior. The self at work: Fundamental theory and research.pp.72-90.
Vasu, M.L., Stewart, D.W. and Garson, G.D., 2017. Organizational Behavior and Public
Management, Revised and Expanded. Routledge.
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