Strategic Stakeholder Relationships and Engagement at Morrison PLC

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of stakeholder relationships within Morrison PLC, a major UK supermarket chain. It begins with an overview of the company, its market position, and its strategic focus on digital transformation through the introduction of discount and bonus cards. The report emphasizes the importance of stakeholder analysis, identifying key stakeholders such as employees, customers, shareholders, local communities, and government bodies. It utilizes Mendelow's Matrix to categorize stakeholders based on power and interest, informing the development of a stakeholder engagement plan. The report details the engagement plan's purpose, requirements, and communication strategies, including recommendations for effective messaging. Furthermore, it addresses the management of stakeholder resistance to change, offering practical conflict resolution methods. The report concludes with a strategic overview of stakeholder relationships, providing insights into successful stakeholder management within a large retail organization.

STRATEGIC
STAKEHOLDER
RELATIONSHIPS
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ORGANISATION SUMMARY
Wm Morrison is a PLC supermarket that trades as Morrison. It is the largest chain
supermarket organisation which is headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The
company was founded by William Morrison in the year 1899. It is also listed on the London
Stock Exchange. It has retail chain stores of more than 500 supermarkets across Wales,
Gibraltar, Scotland and England that offers food and grocery products. Morrison provides wide
range of products and services such as Food To Go, Free From, World Foods and Nutmeg
clothings as well. The company also has the capabilities for food manufacturing in fish, meat,
bakery, fruits and vegetables. Approx 11 million people shop every week from the Morrison
retail supermarket stores and their online business also covers approx 11 million households. The
company provides employment to approx 110000 employees and its market share is 10.14%.
The key competitors of Morrison are ASDA, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Walmart, Boots,
Amazon, ALDI and Debenhams. The marketing segments of Morrison aim at diving potential
and target customers into identifiable groups which is generally based on their requirements for
products and services. Morrison focuses on implementing Psycho-graphic segments and divides
customers on the basis of their lifestyle, hobbies, interests, attitudes and values. It also
implements behavioural segments which includes dividing markets on the basis of consumer's
purchasing behaviour. Morrison PLC supermarket aims at implementing a successful change
project within its business operations and activities. The company focuses on bringing digital
transformation by integrating digital technology within the different areas of business. Morrison
focus on introducing Discount Cards and Bonus Cards as this helps in increasing the loyalty of
customers.
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Table of Contents
ORGANISATION SUMMARY......................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 1. Strategic influence of stakeholder analysis...............................................................4
1.1 Importance of Stakeholder analysis......................................................................................4
1.2 Range of stakeholders, their strategic influence and potential impact..................................5
CHAPTER 2. Engaging with stakeholders......................................................................................8
2.1 Critically analysing strategic relationship and ways to engage with stakeholders...............8
2.2 Prioritising resources from an engagement plan from a strategic perspective....................10
2.3 Reviewing the success of engagement plan objectives.......................................................11
2.4 Recommend strategic changes............................................................................................11
CHAPTER 3. Communication with stakeholders.........................................................................12
3.1 Key components of the message that needs to be communicated......................................12
3.2 Recommendations for communication for engaging key strategic stakeholders................13
CHAPTER 4. Managing stakeholder resistance............................................................................13
4.1 Assessing the response to the engagement campaign.........................................................13
4.2 Practical ways of managing and resolving conflicts...........................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................18
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................19
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INTRODUCTION
Stakeholders are very important part of the business and its growth. They are individual,
groups which affected by the operation of business. Fair treatment and build strong relations with
their stakeholder are the key of long term success and goodwill. Business stakeholder includes
customers, communities, employees, owners, suppliers and partner etc. present study is based on
the “Morrison” which is supermarket plc. It is the fourth largest chain of supermarket in UK.
Study lays emphasis on the changes project produces a details list of the key stakeholder and
critically evaluate the impact and influences each stakeholders on the changes projects. Report
will prepare by stakeholder engagement plan supporting by the changes and how it is often force
necessary to review plan in order to continue successfully engage. Study will shows the
stakeholders communication is be effective which is supported by Clayton stakeholder pyramid.
It will also resistance by the stakeholders in inevitable in major changes projects.
CHAPTER 1. Strategic influence of stakeholder analysis
1.1 Importance of Stakeholder analysis
Illustration 1: Stakeholders of the organisation
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Stakeholders are the people, group or even institution whose support is important for
organisation otherwise it will cease for exist. The stakeholders of the company are very essential
and vital for the success and survival of organisation. Morrison is considered as the fourth
largest retail supermarket business in the UK. It also provides online services or facilities to its
customers (Benjamin and Mabey, 2013). Company aims at implementing digital change or
transformation in its business, thus, focus on identifying the impacts and influences of change
process on its different stakeholders. The change project implemented by Morrison is
introducing Discount Cards and Bonus Cards in its retail supermarket and online business.
Company aims at differentiating various kinds of stakeholder by considering groups of people
who have classifiable relationship with the company.
Morrison aims at identifying its different stakeholders and categorising them into group
using the Mendelow's Matrix (What Is Mendelow’s Matrix And How Is It Useful?, 2019).
Stakeholders are essential to be identified and to manage as well. The Mendelow's matrix states
that organisation needs to analyse the stakeholder groups on the basis of power and interest.
Power refers to ability for bringing influences on the organisational strategy or change projects
and interest refers to how interested stakeholders are in the company or change projects
succeeding. This Mendelow's matrix or grid helps Morrison for effectively categorising the
various key stakeholders and also to gain an understanding for identifying the power and interest
of each stakeholder.
1.2 Range of stakeholders, their strategic influence and potential impact
Following are enlisted the key stakeholders of the Morrison: Employees: This stakeholder play a major role as their role or function is for creating and
delivering products and services to end customers. Employees can lead to bring great
impact and influences on the working of organisation and also on the change projects i.e.
implementation of bonus cards and discount cards. Thus, Morrison needs to focus on
effectively satisfying the employees and managing them (Copestake and et.al., 2018). If
Morrison fails to do so, it will lead to affect the change projects and customer services as
well. Thus, employees have profound effect on the change project and customer service
of the organisation.
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 Customers: Every company aims at meeting the needs and wants of customers and
satisfying them effectively. They are considered as the most important stakeholder of the
company as without them business can not survive. Morrison needs to ensure that it
effectively satisfies customers to reap benefits by implementation of bonus cards and
discount cards. Shareholders: They are primary financial funders of the Morrison thus have the ability
for affecting the organisation and change projects or implementation of bonus cards and
discount cards. Shareholders have relatively low interest and high power in the
organisation as their main concern is to increase the financial position of the company
and gaining effective benefits through the change projects. Local community: This group of stakeholder have the power and capability for affecting
and influencing the decision-making of the company and change projects. Local
community people have high interest in the community and also in the businesses
operating in their community. Thus, Morrison needs to focus on taking into account the
opinions of local community people as well as they gave the power for bringing
influences on the technological changes of company (Harmon, 2019).
 National and government body: This group of stakeholder have relatively high power
and low interest in the organisation's change projects or technological changes happening
in company but they have ability for impacting and affecting the projects of Morrison.
The national and government bodies make sure that company is in compliance with
important regulations. Therefore, Morrison needs to ensure that all legal regulation and
laws are implemented otherwise it will lead to be in dispute with the national bodies and
possibly face legal prosecutions.
 Programmer: They have the ability for bringing influences and impacts on the
technological change projects of the Morrison Company. Stakeholder of this group acts
as a bridge between the change projects and its implementation in the organisation. The
programmer ensures that mission, goals and objectives of digital transformations meet the
goals and objectives of retail supermarket Morrison.
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 The media can be used as a key stakeholder because it is also help to meet needs and
wants of the trends. Media is provide the various information related to the work and
growth changes.
The position on which company allocates each stakeholder on the grid or matrix shows
those actions requires to be taken for them. Creating a grid map of the key stakeholders is based
on interest and power so it allows company for identifying about which stakeholder is most
important with high interest and high power (Carnall, 2018). As stakeholder in this grid will be
required managing closely and investing lot of time and resources as well. Employees fits the
best into the first quadrant of Mendelow's matrix, thus, Morrison must ensure that their needs,
demands and wants are met effectively so that they feel satisfied. The stakeholder in the first
quadrant brings much influences within the organisation due to their actions and inputs,
therefore, they have high power on the organisation's decision-making process.
The stakeholders in the second quadrant have high power and less interest in the
organisation and change projects of the organisation. Morrison puts customers into the second
quadrant of the Mendelow's grid. Stakeholder such as customers are likely to have less interest in
the company but have high power as they are the customers of Morrison. Company aims at
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Illustration 2: Menedelow's Matrix
Source: Menedelow's Grid or Matrix

identifying what type of products customer want or need, if customers are satisfied with the
current products and services of company and thus, Morrison needs to ensure that customers are
provided with updates with their relevance interest regarding the progress or changes within the
company. Stakeholder in the second quadrant of Mendelow's grid also have large amount of
power, such as suppliers or creditors as they have the ability for stopping the progress or change
projects. If the creditors decides for stop the funding for Morrisons, the company have to stop the
change project as well; therefore, Morrison needs to put priority for keeping creditors and
suppliers happy and informed about the change projects and organisation (Carnall, 2016).
The third quadrant of the Mendelow’s matrix has the stakeholders with low interest and
low power in the organisation and change projects of the organisation. Their actions and inputs
does not lead to bring affects and influences on the organisation. General public and program
developers are the stakeholder who does not have any personal connection with the Morrison but
they are aware about the company's existence. General public and program developers yield low
power and low interest for the Morrison and their change projects as there are other several
people available to company. Therefore, Morrison needs to effectively monitor the stakeholder in
the third quadrant of the Mendelow's matrix.
The last and forth quadrant of the Mendelow's matrix have the stakeholders with high
interest and low power such as community group, future and past generation. These stakeholders
have high interest as compared with their power for bringing influences in the organisation.
Morrison needs to adequately inform such stakeholders and talk to them in order to ensure that
no major problems or issue arises. Such stakeholders can help company for pointing out any
areas which can be improved or been overlooked. The stakeholder have the low interest because
they have the effective and valuable for the great concerns. They have the low concerns for the
work and growth of the product and services in the effective manner. They have low interest for
the changes because by this have to make the changes in the whole process of work. That is
disturbed and make problems for work done.
CHAPTER 2. Engaging with stakeholders
2.1 Critically analysing strategic relationship and ways to engage with stakeholders
The stakeholder engagement plan is as follows:
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Step 1: Purpose of the plan: for achieve wide range of objective and goals, there is important to
meet stakeholders and sets purpose of plan. Changes are very important part of the company for
the growth. Purpose of plan is to stakeholders are aware about the smart Coupons of company
and its work. The main purpose is to update customers about coming technological changes
using the company websites and newspaper (Hayes, 2018).
Step 2: Requirements: the plan is required for managing effective and valuable for Morrison
supermarket. With the help of plan manager able to explain to their customers why the new
technology is important and needed by integrated the IT sector into the projects. For that manger
can show video to their customers by this they are understand what the smart card is and how it
is use at the time of shopping? With the help of this customers and stakeholders are able to use
this in effective and correct manner.
Step 3: Identification of stakeholder: identification of the stakeholders are very important part
of the company to meet stakeholders who are consult the projects. There are various stakeholders
they are work and consult the work at the time of changes which are related to the AI. That
includes customers, employees, communities, shareholders, national and international body,
local community and also included by the Morrison IT team like application engineer, database
administration and programmer etc. (Jones, Harrison and Felps, 2018).
Step 4: A summary of previous activities: the previous activities are very important to analysis
for the further changes implemented in new changes requirements. In the previous Morrison
done the effectively meet with the stakeholders with the help of advertising, various marketing
activities with the customers, give training to their employees for best result of work, using
software training and so on. By this customers are not able to understand the changes of new
technology i.e. smart card. For that manager are give knowledge and uses of smart card and also
introduce with importance and benefits from its. It is important to know about the smart card to
customers otherwise it creates lots of issues for the Morrison. By this company have opportunity
to growth and increase profits margin.
Step 5: Stakeholder engagement program: there are various strategies which are support to
manage this plan in effective manner. With the help of this manager of Morrison use methods for
engagement. For that manager are using the effectives and valuable communication skills and
give effective training to their employees. Trained employees are able to give proper information
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to customers with uses of video, marketing. Step by step training is help to customers for using
smart card. In this plan various information are disclosed which are related to technology
changes uses by Morrison. Like technology uses training and development program, benefits and
importance from that and so on.
Step 6: Roles and responsibility: in this plan employees and staff members have their effective
roles and responsibility which has important to understand by each and everyone. An employee
has responsibility to communicate with customers in polite way. By this customers feel relax and
understand easily. Manager has responsibility to share all information about technology to
customers without any hiding because this break trusts of customers. Team management and
structure is important for the best work of result and management (Lane and Devin, 2018)
Step 7: Monitoring and reporting: this plan is measures and reported by the ensuring that all
sector involved within the project regularly update shareholders with a quarterly report on the
development. Check continues updated information is share with customers in effective manner.
Feedbacks and review of results and customers are important by this customers are share their
problems to manager then they are try to solve this issues of customers in effective manner. With
the help of this customers and employees both are able to make new technology changes in
Morrison.
2.2 Prioritising resources from an engagement plan from a strategic perspective
Stakeholder engagement is very important part of each organisation because they are
success of Morrison. Strong and effective engagement is help to make the effective and valuable
growth of the company also to profit of firm. For making strong engagement and relations with
the various stakeholders such as employees, customers, communities, owners and suppliers the
engagement plan is supportive and valuable. Different strategic postures needs to be used by
Morrisons for identifying the effective and efficient engagement strategy, such as informing,
accommodating, consulting, collaborating, defensive, promotional and assertive.
During this process, it is very essential that Morrisons prioritise the use of resources for a
particular change project for developing an effective engagement plan. The strategic plan needs
to seek for developing the collaborative partnership with various key players or stakeholders. It
also needs to manage associated potential risks which were identified during the initial analysis
as being low interest and low power or influence.
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2.3 Reviewing the success of engagement plan objectives
This plan is effective and valuable for the company to new technological changes. By this
manager of Morrison is ensure about happiness of clients, and also asked their advice and inputs
on things they feel better to help Morrison reach their goals. By this stakeholders are engaged in
the project and have the adequate knowledge they need. The stakeholder engagement plan is
introduces external and internal trainers to develop employee knowledge on the new services,
rules and regulations.
Stakeholder analysis is a systematic way to analysis stakeholders by their power and
interest. Eden and Ackermann stakeholder theory is often the process of identifying stakeholder
will result in a long term individual and group. This theory is focus on the fashion democratic
method of managing stakeholders (Leahy and Chamberlain, 2008). This is indicate Morrison
only for focus on stakeholders they have power to respond and also to influences the
organization. By this they will try to adopt power and take actions as per changes in Morrison.
Eden and Ackermann stakeholder theory is to manage stakeholder and their lack of
communication and understanding making it difficult for all stakeholders to share the same
intentions and goals, which hider a project.
2.4 Recommend strategic changes
It is important to understand the perception of stakeholders for the growth of company
and also for innovating new changes and also to understand thinks. For understand the
perception of stakeholders there are use various theories which support to manager of Morrison
for understand view of customers.
Commentary is theoretical model of stakeholder perception of new technological changes
and financial reporting system. This model provides improved understanding of individual
characteristics and perceptions of financial reporting user, prepare plan for meet that changes in
organisation. In the plan is included by the purpose of plan that gives the proper understanding of
work. Without making purpose work and plan is not work in effective manner. It is help to
understand the process of changes in effective manner and also evaluate those changes as per
requirements in that.
The freeman’s stakeholder theory focuses on the importance of relationship between
organization and all its stakeholders including stakeholder those are have not power to influences
Morrison. This expresses the actions which are influences to others and also highlighted the
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importance of managing stakeholder. It is effective and valuable for the plan to understand the
perception of stakeholders at the time of sharing information related to new technological
changes in organization. With the help of this engagement plan manager is able to achieve goals
and objectives of new changes like smart card.
CHAPTER 3. Communication with stakeholders
3.1 Key components of the message that needs to be communicated
Communication is describing the process of understanding as well as transmitting
information. It is important to communicate with the each and every person in effective way
because lack of communication or poor communication has ability create issues and problems
for Morrison. Community engagement is also important and defining as the systematic planning
and realisation of information flow, communication, media development and image care for
achieving long term goals in mind (Martinsuo and Hoverfält, 2018). By describing
communication engagement is used to engage with the community to achieve long term
suitability out comes process and relationship. For understand and evaluate achievement by
using Clayton’s stakeholder’s pyramid which is as follows:
This help to make the effective and valuable changes for the company. There are various
reasons to communicate the engagement about importance of engagement within a project.
Community engagement important as it creates trust between the community and Morrison. This
is important as local communities regard as stakeholders. Research defines the relationship
between engagement and states engagement is one of the main factors behind creating trust. this
is important for the local community and organisation to directly communicate with the projects.
Another aspects are make community engagement valuable factor for project, is the ability to
create satisfaction of stakeholders of Morrison (Olsen and et.al., 2018). Community engagement
is also important to a project to build trust, which is important and necessary organisation for
good relations. Like Morrison and community relations are not good then manager are not able
to take any decisions as per community requirement related to smart card. Good engagement is
help to Morrison to manage the flow of information between the community and organisation.
Communication strategy with their stakeholders is effective and important not only for give and
convey message also for achieve goals and objectives of company.
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