Comprehensive Analysis of M&S Organizational Strategy in the UK

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Marks & Spencer's organizational strategy in the UK. It begins with an introduction to organizational strategy and then delves into the external environment using PESTLE analysis, examining political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors. The internal business situation is evaluated through VRIO analysis, assessing the value, rarity, imitability, and organization of M&S's resources. The competitive environment is then explored, highlighting key competitors like H&M and Zara and the importance of differentiation. The report concludes by outlining strategic options for growth, primarily focusing on the Ansoff matrix, with a recommendation for diversification to enhance market share and profitability, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report emphasizes the importance of adapting to market changes, leveraging technology, and considering safety measures to attract customers and maintain a competitive edge.

Organisational
Strategy-2

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
External environment of M&S in the UK..............................................................................1
Internal business situation of M&S in the UK.......................................................................2
Competitive environments of M&S in the UK.......................................................................3
Strategic options for growth of M&S in the UK....................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
References:.......................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Organizational strategy is defined as the strategies which are build to manage the
operational environment of the company. Strategies which are included in management are
human resource management strategies, finance management strategies, information technology
strategies, marketing management strategies and all those operations which are required by the
firm in order to manage it's operations on a better level (Amasiatu and Shah, 2018). Organization
chosen here is Mark & Spencer, it is one of the leading international retail company founded in
1884 in UK. It mainly deals with the products like clothing, food items and home appliances.
The following discussions are based on the external and internal factors of the company,
competitive environments and growth opportunities in context of M&S.
MAIN BODY
External environment of M&S in the UK
PESTLE Analysis
Political factors
It is defined as the factors which are mainly regulated by the government. It includes the
govern rules and regulations, taxes imposing, political stability and any political factor which
affects the firm politically. In context of M&S, it is considered as a threat for the firm because
there are strict policies imposed by the government to the retail industry in which M&S is a part
of it. There are anti-trust issues as well to the company. Therefore, it is facing the challenges in
it's external environment.
Economical factors
It is defined as the factors which are mainly related to the employment, gross domestic
product, disposable income and many other factors associated with economy that affects the
company's operations. In context of M&S, it can be considered s an opportunity for the firm
because growth and development depicts that the company is supporting the gross domestic
product of the economy and more employment opportunities in a country. Therefore, it is not
considered as a challenge for the firm (da Costa Webber, Sausen, Basso and Laimer, 2018).
Social factors
It is defined as the factors which are mainly related to the current fashion and trend,
status, reputation, image and many other factors that are totally associated with the society and
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people living in the country. In context of M&S, it is a threat for the firm because there is a
dynamic change in the fashion and trend among the people related to the clothing and home
appliances. Frequent changes in the demands of the market can cause the firm in change their
operational activities which is very difficult for the firm to adopt such a ever-changing market.
Technological Factors
It is defined as the factors which are related to the technical advancements of the firm like
high specialised IT people, hardware and software requirements, networking, internet,
information systems and many other factors which affects the technical pace of the company. In
context of M&S, it is considered as an opportunity for the firm because adoption of such
technology can benefit the company in advancements and improvement in operational
management. So this cannot be considered as a challenge for the firm (De Vass, Shee and Miah,
2018).
Legal factors
It is defined as the factors which are related to the various laws in a country that must be
followed by every one who are in commercial fields like consumer protection laws, consumer
rights laws and many other laws that affects the business in several ways. In context of M&S, it
is considered as a threat for the firm because laws imposed in retail industry is strict so execution
of any activity through business cam be difficult for the firm.
Environmental factors
It is defined as the factors which are related to the natural disasters, pollution,
temperature, population density and many more factors that affects the company in an
environmental way. In context of M&S, it is considered as a threat for the firm because company
uses the carbon footprints which affects the environmental sustainability of the country and it
harms the environment in several ways so it is important for the firm to reduce the use of such
elements which spoils the environment in any way (Larke, Kilgour and O’Connor, 2018).
Internal business situation of M&S in the UK
VRIO Analysis
Valuable
It is defined as the first part of VRIO analysis which states that the value of the firm
which means that the resources which gives the more value to the firm in generation of it's sales
and revenues and increasing day by day. Marks & Spencer's valuable function is it's brand image
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and reputation which they had gained since last so many years by delivering the products and
services to the customers according to their demands and requirements of the market. It is
considered as the most valuable resource of the firm.
Rare
It is defined as the second part of VRIO analysis which states that the resources that a
firm is having should rare which means, that resource must not be used by other firm in an
extreme way that is why it is known as rare. Marks & Spencer's function which is rare is it's
marketing strategies. They focus more on it's marketing and selling part of the products and
services. They uses the most of the social media campaign and internet surfing to contact to the
customers with their instant and immediate feedbacks to their solutions of the problems or any
queries that is why it is considered as an rare activity by the firm (Lu, Papagiannidis and
Alamanos, 2018).
Imitable
It is defined as the third part of VRIO analysis which states that the resources which
cannot be copied by other company's in any form, it must be strictly prohibited to other firms
that they cannot copy the strategies that are adopted by the company. Marks & Spencer's
function is imitable is it's financial strategies which cannot be copied by any other organization
because the company has restricted such practice as their financial approaches are remarkable
and it is not easily imitable by any one.
Organization
It is defined as the fourth part of the VRIO analysis which states that the resources which
are organised in an organization. Through which operations are carried out in an organised
manner in the company. Marks & Spencer function which is organised is it's organizational
structure. They follow a hierarchy from top management to the lower and vice versa. Their
communication approaches are also organised that it is neither extremely formal nor extremely
informal. Therefore, they keep the balance between them (Moore, McDonald and Bartlett, 2018).
Competitive environments of M&S in the UK
To analyse the competitive environment of the Marks & Spencer organisation can focus
on several aspects that helps in examine their competition within UK and international market
effectively:
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In this Marks and Spencer can high focus on analysing their competitor that are present
within the market place that are H&M, ZARA, Burberry etc. are the main competitor that are
present within the market with high market position that will impact the overall sales and profits.
These brands having a international presence within the market and follow the competitors
pricing strategy that helps in attracting the large base of customers. In this Marks & Spencer can
gain the high profit margin because of the strong SEO trafiic and their readjustment logistic
behaviour which attracts the customers towards the services of the company within the UK and
international market.
Another way to examine the company competitive environment Marks and Spencer can
highly focus on examine the capabilities of the competitors so that high profitable results can be
enjoyed. In this they can examine their rival strength and weaknesses so that they will developed
their capabilities as per the competitors and gain the high profitable results (Padma and
Wagenseil, 2018).
In context of the food sector, Marks and Spencer can face the major competition and to
grow and develops their market share within the UK and international market organisation can
focus on differentiate their products and services to their rival firms so that more and more
profitable results can be enjoyed. In this firm will focus on analysing the competitors strategy so
that high profitable results can be enjoyed by the firm in the international and United Kingdom
market. Due to the major impact of COVID 19 many companies face the issue of loosing their
profit margin due to the low spending power of customers and companies cannot follow the
safety measures. This will helps the Marks & Spencer to gain the high sales by offering the high
safety precaution to their customers and employees.
Strategic options for growth of M&S in the UK
Strategic options refers to the effect of action oriented that is based on the external
situation within the organisation. For context of Marks and Spencer, manager can adopts the
Ansoff matrix for analysing the best strategic options that helps in growing the organisation in
future context (Pantano, Priporas and Dennis, 2018). This strategy helps in enhancing the growth
in UK and international market so that high profitable results can be enjoyed by Marks and
Spencer. Ansoff matrix includes the four aspects that can be shown below:
Ansoff matrix
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 Product development- It refers to that aspect in which company can focus on
introducing the new product within the marketplace for gaining the high profitable
margin. In context of Marks and Spencer, if manager could adopts this strategy than they
can attracts the large base of customers by launching their new product as per customers
requirement within their existing market.
 Market development- In terms of this strategy company can focus on entering into the
new market for gaining the new customer base and generating the high profit margin. In
terms of Marks and Spencer, if manager can implement this strategy than they grow their
international image and also attracts the more new customers so that sustainability of the
firm can be maintained (Pedersen, Gwozdz and Hvass, 2018).
 Market penetration- In this strategy organisation can penetrate their product price for
gaining the sales volume and profit margin. In terms of Marks and Spencer, manager can
offers the products and services by offering some discounts and sales on their products
because of the major impact of the COVID 19. due to this high amount of profits are to
be gained by the business enterprise in a short period of time. Diversification- It refers to strategy that is highly risky for the company to implement of
they use this framework without proper research than firm will face the major losses.
This aspects is based on the entry into the new market with new products. On the other
hand if company can research the market and customers appropriately than they will gain
more profits and revenues with millions of customers. In terms of Marks and Spencer, if
manager can adopts this strategy it helps in grow the UK and international growth of the
business organisation. Due to the High impact of COVID 19 the sales related to home
and clothing products are decreased within the UK due to this business enterprise can
focus on diversify their market by including new product so that high profitable results
can be enjoyed within the Asian market. It will develops the image of the company in
both domestic and international market (Roy, Balaji, Quazi and Quaddus, 2018).
From the above report it is to be evaluated that for Marks and Spencer the best suitable
strategic direction decision is the diversification. This direction helps in gaining the high profit
margin by the organisation. In this manager can includes the safety dimension in their
technology at the time of producing food and clothing so that high satisfaction can be enjoyed by
the customers and it will enhance the profit margin and sales of the business enterprise. This
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strategy helps in growing the company in the UK and international market. This helps in gaining
the competitive advantage within the current market and also reflects the high market position
within the international market that is the major objectives of the organisation.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that organizational strategy has a very serious impact on the working on
the firm's management and operations. In order to grow and develop the company to it's next
level, then it is essential to analyse the approaches which are meant for the same. It is necessary
to analyse the external factors like PESTLE analysis, internal factors like VRIO analysis,
competitive environments and growth opportunities like Ansoff's growth matrix. By observing
such models and strategies of organization, it become more easy for the company to expand and
explore in the market and maintaining the stability in the market by gaining brand image and
reputation of the company.
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References:
Books and Journals
Amasiatu, C.V. and Shah, M.H., 2018. First party fraud management: framework for the retail
industry. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management.
da Costa Webber, C., Sausen, J.O., Basso, K. and Laimer, C.G., 2018. Remodelling the retail
store for better sales performance. International Journal of Retail & Distribution
Management.
De Vass, T., Shee, H. and Miah, S.J., 2018. The effect of “Internet of Things” on supply chain
integration and performance: An organisational capability perspective. Australasian
Journal of Information Systems, 22.
Larke, R., Kilgour, M. and O’Connor, H., 2018. Build touchpoints and they will come:
transitioning to omnichannel retailing. International Journal of Physical Distribution &
Logistics Management.
Lu, Y., Papagiannidis, S. and Alamanos, E., 2018. Internet of Things: A systematic review of the
business literature from the user and organisational perspectives. Technological
Forecasting and Social Change, 136, pp.285-297.
Moore, K., McDonald, P. and Bartlett, J., 2018. Emerging trends affecting future employment
opportunities for people with intellectual disability: The case of a large retail
organisation. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability. 43(3). pp.328-338.
Padma, P. and Wagenseil, U., 2018. Retail service excellence: Antecedents and
consequences. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management.
Pantano, E., Priporas, C.V. and Dennis, C., 2018. A new approach to retailing for successful
competition in the new smart scenario. International Journal of Retail & Distribution
Management.
Pedersen, E.R.G., Gwozdz, W. and Hvass, K.K., 2018. Exploring the relationship between
business model innovation, corporate sustainability, and organisational values within
the fashion industry. Journal of Business Ethics. 149(2). pp.267-284.
Roy, S.K., Balaji, M.S., Quazi, A. and Quaddus, M., 2018. Predictors of customer acceptance of
and resistance to smart technologies in the retail sector. Journal of Retailing and
Consumer Services, 42, pp.147-160.
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