Evaluating Organizational Structure and Culture at Mark and Spencer

This report provides an analysis of Mark & Spencer's organizational structure and culture, examining their impact on management practices and employee motivation. It explores hierarchical, functional, and flat organizational structures, recommending a flat structure for improved employee relations. The report also delves into Charles Handy's model of culture, discussing power, task, role, and person cultures, with a focus on the effectiveness of role culture. It evaluates how these structures and cultures influence the company's management, employee performance, and the achievement of organizational goals, using theories like Maslow's motivation theory. The report concludes with recommendations for improvement, focusing on leadership, motivation, and teamwork approaches to enhance overall performance and employee engagement.

Organization Theory
and practices

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Evaluate organizational structure and culture of selected organization......................................3
How do their impact the way the company is being managed....................................................5
Are the employees of the firm motivated adequately to achieve the organizational goals.........6
Evaluate whether the organization is performing well or not because of the approaches that
they are undertaking. Use appropriated examples and theories to justify your stance...............7
If you are a senior manager in this organization what changes would you make to improve the
performance of organization. Justify your recommendation......................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Organization theory is refer to the set of principles and concepts which provides
framework in the aspect of proper study of performance, structure and activities of organization.
It is also defined as the study of single person and team working within company and it also
reflects that in which way the structure of firm is strongly developed. With help of various
organizational theory organization easily sustained positive relationship with all categories of
consumers for long time. Here the chosen company is Mark and Spencer and the head office of
this company is situated in United Kingdom (Al Kerdawy, 2019). The organization was
established in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. Mark and Spencer is dealing with
wide range of products which includes grocery items, food products, fashionable cloths, beauty
products and others. The report will covers evaluate the organization structure and culture of
selected company, how do their impact the way the company is being managed. It also cover are
the employees of the firm motivated adequately to achieve the organizational goals. It further
covers evaluate whether the company is performing well or not because of the approaches that
they are undertaking.
TASK
Evaluate organizational structure and culture of selected organization
Organizational structure
Organizational structure is refers to in which manner manage their activities in systematic
manner. Activities includes effective communication, supervision and allocation of task. With
help of these activities organization is able to sustaining organizational objectives in long term.
The structure of organization is also impact the various activities within business and also
provides strong foundation where routine rest and operating process are carried effectively.
 Hierarchical organizational structure – It is basically a one type of pyramid shaped
chart in the form of hierarchical organizational structure. Due to following this type of
organizational structure Mark and Spencer is able to maintain their work efficiency and
productivity at higher rate effectively. In this type of structure the chain of command is
goes from top to down. Manager or CEO is comes under the category of higher authority
and lower employees are comes in category of lower level.

 Functional organizational structure – It is also the one type of organizational structure
which is followed many organizations. In this structure the activities of company is
started with high post and higher responsibilities from the top and goes down from there.
Primarily, though workers are recognized according to their corresponding activities and
their effective talent within organization. In context to Mark and Spencer, here every
departments will performed their job role independently.
 Flat organizational structure – It is also the one type of organizational structure and
this structured comes under the category of horizontal organizational structure. The main
benefit during the time of using this structure by organization is that here the involvement
of intermediaries between top and lower level workers is very low. According to this
structure the management of Mark and Spencer need to utilize all types of departments
for accomplishing their responsibilities in time and systematically.
Recommendation -
From the analysis of above organizational structure it concludes that Mark and Spencer
must follow Flat organizational structure. Because with help of this structure top level
management is able to maintain friendly relations with their employees in long term (Cho, and
Linderman, 2019). Due to keeping positive relations company easily identified the strength and
weakness of employees quickly.
Organizational culture
Organizational structure is basically defined as positive work and behaviour culture
which is managed by top level management in their workplace between employees. With help of
maintaining good behaviour from all categories of employees, the overall performance and
goodwill of company is easily increased at high rate. The company is consist of different types of
belief and values which is established by the higher authorities then communicated and reinforce
through different types of methods.
Charles handy model of culture is basically refer to motivational theories which is
utilized by organization for sustaining their mission, vision and objectives for long duration. Due
to the effective use of this type of culture organization easily enhanced the motivation level of
employees in their job roles and responsibilities effectively. Due to this the positive result of the
company is also enhanced within short time. In this step basically four steps are involved which
are described below -

 Power culture – There are different types of companies where powers always sustained
in hands of those types of peoples who belongs to the category of higher authority. For
increasing the success rate of organization these type of people plays the major role in the
activities of business. Due to the presence of this type of people in organization lower
level employees are able to share their real problems quickly. Due to identifying their real
problems higher authority have the option for preparing a strong solution regarding their
problems.
 Task culture – It is also a one type of culture various teams are created by top level
management in aspect of accomplishing targets and for solving the crucial issues in time.
With help of various teams firm easily run their activities in systematic manner and able
to deliver their products and services with best quality to customers in time. In this type
of organization culture individual with common specialization and interest gathered
together in the form of group. In this type of group minimum four to five members are
involved (Cunha and Putnam, 2019).
 Role culture – In this type of culture workers are highly for their job roles and duties
according to his specialization, interest and educational qualification. According to this
culture workers made a decision in aspect of they can do willingly accept the challenge.
Here every workers is eligible for handling any type of task and due to this they are ready
for taking for taking ownership of that work which is assigned to them.
 Person culture – There are various companies where the workers feels that they ate
highly valuable rather than organization. Such type of companies follow a culture which
is called as person culture. In this culture every single person is highly concerned about
itself rather than the company. That means in this culture employees always prefer back
hand seat for maintaining their own flexibility and front employees will suffer lot of
stress in their work.
How do their impact the way the company is being managed
After the analysis of above data it concludes that advanced infrastructure is highly
important for organization. In relation to Mark and Spencer, out of above mentioned
organizational structure hierarchical organization structure is highly effective for their
business activities. Because in this type of structure various responsibilities and duties,
obligations and positions of workers are divided in systematic way. Due to following this type of

structure importance for lower level employees are highly increased for higher authority which
leads to create positive impact in the work efficiency and productivity of employees. Here
workers comes into office for collecting money in time and due to this attitude chances are easily
increased for reducing the goodwill of company in market and in customer mind effectively. But
when the organization utilized the above selected organization structure effectively then Mark
and Spencer is able facilitate best quality goods and services to customers for long duration.
With help of this structure employees of this company is able to do many task in same time with
good performance. The other impact regarding managing whole organization activities from
employees is that task is accomplished in systematic manner. Because for accomplishing any
type of task approval is highly required by the higher authority in written format.
From the analysis of above information, it concludes that role culture is a very effective
culture for Mark and Spencer, and it is highly essential for sustaining the employee motivation
level effectively With help of using this type of culture firm is able to enhance the participation
of workers in effective manner (Decker, Hassard and Rowlinson, 2021). Due to enhancing their
participation level organization is able to maintain friendly relations with them during the time of
conducting any type of task. The main advantage of this type of culture is that job roles and
responsibilities are fully cleared in employee mind and in this way employees easily do their
work in smart manner. The main benefit with help of this type of culture is that the market share
and profit margin of organization are easily increased at maximum level for long time. The main
purpose for utilizing this culture by the management of Mark and Spencer is to sustain positive
work environment to every and each employee in the workplace area. Due to sustaining friendly
atmosphere work is done in smart and systematic manner.
Are the employees of the firm motivated adequately to achieve the organizational goals
With help of utilizing both role culture and hierarchical organization structure workers
are effectively motivated within low time at maximum level in various aspects. In first due to
the effective utilization of both strategies stress or workload are highly decreased from the minds
of employees. Due to decreasing stress workers are able to accomplish their task with deep
passion and energy. In this way the work efficiency and productivity of employees are is
increased at large level. Secondly, with help of this culture positive relationship between
employees and employer or employee and customer are easily sustained in long time. The third
benefit due to using this culture is all types of task is done in systematic manner and complicated

problems in the activities of business are solved quickly by lower level workers. The last and
fourth benefit is that in this structure the management of Mark and Spencer provide a clear
description to their employees regarding their job role and responsibility. In this way the
misunderstanding and miscommunication are highly decreased employee mind for long time.
With help of providing advanced training to their workers management of Mark and Spencer is
able to run their services smoothly for long time.
Evaluate whether the organization is performing well or not because of the approaches that they
are undertaking. Use appropriated examples and theories to justify your stance
Here management of Mark and Spencer utilized different types of approaches which is
explained below -
Various approaches -
It is related with those type of approaches which is highly essential for enhancing
employees confidence and motivation level at high rate (Gaunt and Treacy, 2020). Due to
utilizing different types of approaches manager of Mark and Spencer easily maintained their
vision, mission and objectives for long time. The various approaches which is highly considered
by company in aspect of enhancing effectiveness in business activities and managing employees
properly are leadership, motivation and teamwork approach.
Motivation approach – In this approach organization is focusing on increasing the
performance and work efficiency of their workers at maximum level. In this approach the
important theory which comes under this category are Maslow's motivation theory. Because
this theory assist the organization in aspect of fulfilling the needs of the workers in time. This
theory also suggest five stages which is described below -
 Psychological needs – It is refer to those type of needs which is consumed by employees
on regular basis which includes air, water, food, cloths etc. But these requirements are
fulfilled only when management of Mark and Spencer provides effective financial
support to them. Because due to effective financial support lower level employee
provides full contribution in activities of business which leads to increase the goodwill of
organization effectively.
 Safety needs – It is related with those types of requirements which is highly essential for
increasing the safety and security of workers in their workplace area. Therefore, it is
necessary for Mark and Spencer that authority must facilitate strong and safe

infrastructure to each and every employee at the time of producing goods. In this way
easily do their task without any fear and in smart manner.
 Social needs – It is connected with those type of factors which directly impact the
performance level of employees in emotional and negative manner. Those factors are
family, friendship, belongings, depression and others. In relation to Mark and Spencer,
authority must always keep positive work environment between workers. With help of
maintaining positive environment workers easily fulfil their own roles and
responsibilities in time (Geraldi and Söderlund, 2018).
 Self esteem – It is directly connected with the moral, dignity and self respect of workers.
It means all these three elements plays crucial role in the life of each and every individual
workers regarding sustaining their confidence, productivity and self satisfaction level at
higher rate. In context to Marks and Spencer, authority always provide value for their
work and due to this positive relations are easily sustained between top, middle and lower
level management for long time.
 Self actualization – In this stage both company and employee analyse their own
weakness and strength. In relation to Mark and Spencer, authority must provide effective
training to their workers in the form of complicated task. Due to analysing these type of
task their problem solving ability and capability are highly increased with in low time. In
this way they are ready to handle any type complicated situation easily.
Leadership – It is concerned with those approach and activity which is utilized by the
management of Mark and Spencer for run their operational and departmental functions smoothly.
Due to the effective use of various leadership style organisation is able to motivate their
employees in right direction regarding their job roles and responsibilities. Due to this employees
are able to facilitate positive output and result to higher authorities for long time. With help of
providing various task to them, employees easily understand the value of their company and job
effectively. The various leadership style which is involved in leadership approach are autocratic,
bureaucratic, affiliative etc. But out of these only autocratic style is highly effective because in
this type of leadership all powers are come under single hand if individual person.
Teamwork – It is basically defined as the group of members or a department and due to having
this department activities of organization are easily run in systematic manner. The main
advantage for creating team is that in this activity the confidence level of every employee are

easily increased in various tasks. In context to Mark and Spencer, management must use
effective motivational mode for increasing the overall employee growth and also for preparing
group of talented workforce. The model which comes under this approach are Tuckman model
which is applied by Mark and Spencer for enhancing group effectiveness. In this model mainly
five stages are involved which includes Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and
Adjourning. With help of this model communication between employees are highly increased
within short duration.
After the analysis of above data, it concludes that the overall functions and services of
this organization are worked effectively. Because the overall structure of Mark and Spencer is
already strongly and systematically developed. Due to having strong infrastructure organization
easily delivered their best quality products and services to customers in time (Govindan, 2018).
In this way the positive relations are easily sustained between top, middle and lower level
management for long time.
If you are a senior manager in this organization what changes would you make to improve the
performance of organization. Justify your recommendation
After analysing above mentioned information it concludes that the first role of manager is
to develop or sustain effective coordination with team members subordinates. Because effective
coordination is highly essential for running the running the whole functions of organization
smoothly. Due to this consumers always received the best quality product and services from
company for long time. The second important role which is highly essential for manager is that
monitoring the work and performance of the employees on regular. Due to this their real
problems is easily identify by the higher authority within low time. Then according to that
effective and strong solutions are prepared for them which leads to enhance their productivity at
maximum level. The third one is establishment of strong infrastructure and with help of these
infrastructure workers are able to do their job role without any type of fear and free mind. In this
way workers easily provide full support for producing best quality services according to
company standard. The other advantage for using effective infrastructure is that strong
distribution channel is formed. With help of effective supply chain organisation is able to
maintain balance in the demand and supply of product effectively.

CONCLUSION
From the above data it is concluded that above mentioned strategies like motivational
approach, horizontal organizational structure and theories plays major role for enhancing the
company performance. With help of using these strategies positive relationship are effectively
sustained between customer and company or employee and employer for long time. The report
will cover evaluate organizational structure and culture of selected company, How do they
impact the way the company is being managed. It also covers are the employees of the firm
motivated adequately to achieve the organizational goals,Evaluate whether the organization is
performing well or not because of the approaches that they are undertaking. Organization theory
is refer to the set of principles and concepts which provides framework in the aspect of proper
study of performance, structure and activities of organization.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Al Kerdawy, M.M.A., 2019. The role of corporate support for employee volunteering in
strengthening the impact of green human resource management practices on corporate
social responsibility in the Egyptian firms. European Management Review, 16(4),
pp.1079-1095.
Cho, Y.S. and Linderman, K., 2019. Metacognition-based process improvement
practices. International Journal of Production Economics, 211, pp.132-144.
Cunha, M.P.E. and Putnam, L.L., 2019. Paradox theory and the paradox of success. Strategic
organization, 17(1), pp.95-106.
Decker, S., Hassard, J. and Rowlinson, M., 2021. Rethinking history and memory in organization
studies: The case for historiographical reflexivity. Human Relations, 74(8), pp.1123-
1155.
Gaunt, H. and Treacy, D.S., 2020. Ensemble practices in the arts: A reflective matrix to enhance
team work and collaborative learning in higher education. Arts and humanities in higher
education, 19(4), pp.419-444.
Geraldi, J. and Söderlund, J., 2018. Project studies: What it is, where it is going. International
journal of project management, 36(1), pp.55-70.
Govindan, K., 2018. Sustainable consumption and production in the food supply chain: A
conceptual framework. International Journal of Production Economics, 195, pp.419-
431.
Hultin, L., Introna, L.D. and Mähring, M., 2021. The decentered translation of management
ideas: Attending to the conditioning flow of everyday work practices. human
relations, 74(4), pp.587-620.
Kohtamäki, M., Rabetino, R. and Einola, S., 2018. Paradoxes in servitization. In Practices and
tools for servitization (pp. 185-199). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Leukfeldt, E.R. and Holt, T.J., 2020. Examining the social organization practices of
cybercriminals in the Netherlands online and offline. International journal of offender
therapy and comparative criminology, 64(5), pp.522-538.
Liu, Y. and Meyer, K.E., 2020. Boundary spanners, HRM practices, and reverse knowledge
transfer: The case of Chinese cross-border acquisitions. Journal of World
Business, 55(2), p.100958.
Marti, E. and Gond, J.P., 2018. When do theories become self-fulfilling? Exploring the boundary
conditions of performativity. Academy of Management Review, 43(3), pp.487-508.
Moulin de Souza, E. and Parker, M., 2020. Practices of freedom and the disruption of binary
genders: Thinking with trans. Organization, p.1350508420935602.
Symon, G., Cassell, C. and Johnson, P., 2018. Evaluative practices in qualitative management
research: A critical review. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(1),
pp.134-154.
Wei, Q., 2021. Do urban carbon reduction practices under China’s institutional arrangement go
beyond “low-hanging fruits”? Empirical evidence from Guangzhou. Journal of
Environmental Planning and Management, 64(6), pp.978-998.