Report on Marks and Spencer: HR Practices, Structure, and Success

This report analyzes Marks and Spencer's organizational structure, focusing on its flat structure and its impact on decision-making and communication. It explores organizational design concepts and their relationship with M&S's structure, highlighting elements like organizational size, life cycle, and technological change. The report examines two key HR approaches: staffing and training & development, and their roles in supporting organizational design and employee motivation through theories like Maslow's Hierarchy and Vroom's Expectancy Theory. Furthermore, it discusses emerging HR development trends, such as digitalized rewards and HR bots, and the HR practices adopted by M&S, including selective hiring and training, emphasizing their impact on the internal and external environments. The report concludes with recommendations for effective communication and the importance of trust within the organization.

36: VALUE AND
CONTRIBUTION TO
ORGANIZATIONAL
SUCCESS.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction to the Marks and Spencer........................................................................................1
The analysis of Human resource development and the approaches of Human resource practise
adopted by Marks and Spencer group..........................................................................................4
PART 2............................................................................................................................................5
(Covered in poster)..........................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Organizational success is measured through analyse and evaluation of organization in
respect to attain goal and their mission. The organization is able to attain their goals on time is
referred to as successful organization (Ghauri, and Rosendo - Rios, 2016). The report will lay
focus on organizational structure of Marks and Spencer group plc. The company is operating in
Britain and their functionality represents a multinational retailer. Marks and Spender was a
leading brand in world of retail in UK. Also, the company according to the earning able to
compete their rivalries and gain competitive advantage against them. This report will lay
emphasis on importance of design in organization theory in context of structure.
The report will also discuss different techniques as well as approaches in order to attract,
reward & maintain human resource. Use of knowledge to support the emerging development will
also be highlighted in the report. Along with it the report will focus on organizational design and
respond to change management which exists in two specific situations of organization.
PART 1
P1 Introduction to the Marks and Spencer
The Marks and Spencer group plc is the largest retail of food and clothing in Britain. the
headquarters of company are in London. The Marks and Spencer was started with an open stall
in market and now it has developed in international market (Al - Hakim, and Hassan, 2016). The
company Marks and Spencer group plc is currently trading in many countries which includes
France, Spain, Hong gong and Germany.
The Marks and Spencer group plc has proved their speciality in good quality of food
products, clothing as well as home products (Viana, Llorens-Montes, and Mota, 2016). The
number of stores in UK is almost 1,043 and 2 mega stores of Marks and Spencer group.
Introduction to organizational structure and structure of Marks and Spencer group plc.
An organizational structure is a level of hierarchy in a business. The structure identified
job of each employee, functions, operations, etc. The employees know that to whom they need to
report within the company. The organizational structure is developed for the establishment of
operations and achievement of goals in the business.
The organizational structure is mainly divided into four important parts. They are
divisional structure, flatarchy structure, functional structure and matrix structure. These
organizational structure vary from company to company (Song, Ren, and Yu, 2019) (Li, Chen,

and Blader, 2016) (Tamayo - Torres, Gutiérrez - Gutiérrez, and Martínez - López, 2016). Also,
the different business follows different type of organizational structure which suited the best in
their company.
Marks and Spencer group plc has created a flat organizational structure of organization.
This structure enables the company Marks and Spencer group to make quicker decisions as per
the need of situation (Gemünden, Lehner, and Kock, 2018). The employees hold different
responsibilities and also accountable for their assigned responsibility. The London Headquarter
employs 3000 people and all the employees holds specials roles within the company. This
includes stuck buyers, stocks management, stores layout, marketing staff and accounts staff.
The employees of Marks and Spencer group plc are capable to undertake their own
decision. Also, the reduction of importance of middle management enables quick communication
within the Marks and Spencer (Sabella, El - Far, and Eid, 2016 ). Along with it, the company
reaches to customers with their new services as well as products.
Exploration of organizational design concept and their relationship with the Marks and Spencer
organizational structure.
An organizational design is a methodology that identify aspects in flow of work,
structures, systems as well as procedures. Many companies during the organizational design lead
their focus towards improvement of technical and customers service in their business (Shao,
Feng, and Hu, 2017). The organization design controls employees range to the authority they
report. The responsibilities are also delegated to form an efficient design of organization along
with authority to manage work of the company effectively.
Organisational design refers to manner of achievement of management which the
appropriate combination of integration as well as differentiation of operations performed in the
company. The sub division of the organization are held to manage the achievement of goals and
vision of the company effectively. Organization structures is related with describing the roles as
well as responsibilities within a business (Manuti, Impedovo, and De Palma, 2017). This
structure is a foundation of business in which the roles, rules, hierarchy, etc. all are well
understood by employees while the organisational design identifies all the dysfunctional aspects
of work flows and systems to fit upon them in business.
The organisational design is related with organisational structure of Marks and Spencer
on the basis of different elements. The main elements which expresses their relation is

organisational size, The organisation like Marks and Spencer is a large corporate in which the
employees tend to adopt multi level authority (Manuti, Impedovo, and De Palma, 2017). By
organisational design the employees lays less input in the decision of the company. Along with
it, the social interaction also get affected between employees working in Marks and Spencer. The
life cycle of organisation affects organisational structure. The life cycle of a business includes
introduction, growth, maturity, decline and at last death (Shao, Feng, and Hu, 2017). The Marks
and Spencer's affects at each stage due to the organisational design as well as culture of the
company. Thus, the life cycle impact organisational structure and organisational design.
The technological change is also impacts directly on organisational structure of such a
big corporates like Marks and Spencer. Technological advancement in company need to invest
more time in training and development of employees. Also, this forfeit the focus of managers
towards organisational goal (Sabella, El - Far, and Eid, 2016 ). Thus, the change in decision
making is observed with advancement in technology which directly impact on organisational
structure in Marks and Spencer.
Two approaches to show the organization which could ensure the functions of HR in
contribution to organizational design.
The Human resource department of Marks and Spencer evaluates the structure which is
best for the company in attaining the mission and vision statement. They also evaluate on the
basis of culture, available resource and values. The two main approach which helps the company
such as Marks and Spencer group in order to ensure Human resource function in contribution to
design of organization.
The foremost function of Human resource department is Staffing which helps Marks and
Spencer in attaining growth. Staffing in Marks and Spencer focuses on specifying the role of
each individual hired in the company (Song, Ren, and Yu, 2019). Roles of every individual is
specified at time of staffing which helps the employees about their authority and accountability
towards their senior management personnel. This affects directly on the organizational design of
the company as roles of new employees need to be addressed accordingly. The organizational
design implement slight modification.
Another Human resource approach is training and development. The Human resourced
department of Marks and Spencer is focused towards appropriate training to the employees. This
consumes time of the company as well as employees. Therefore, organizational design of Marks

and Spencer group plc changes with the training and development programme in the company.
On the job training affects a lot to the company and employees performance (Li, Chen, and
Blader, 2016). Thus, the function of training and development impacts directly to organizational
design as per the requirement of training campaign in the company.
The management at Marks and Spencer should adopt motivational theories to keep their
employee base motivated and increase productivity. The major motivational theories are :-
Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory and Vroom’s Expectancy theory. Maslow identified 5 basic
needs that any individual strives to fulfil in order to achieve maximum level of satisfaction and
unless those demands are met, he works continuously. These 5 levels are: physiological needs,
security needs, love and belongingness, self esteem needs and self actualisation. Managers at
M&S can motivate their employees by providing them rewards at each of the 5 levels thus
pushing them to work harder. Vroom’s Expectancy Theory stated that when employees are
motivated in a particular manner, they will choose positive behaviour and characteristics while
facing difficult situations. It gave 3 basic elements: Valence; Instrumentality and Expectancy.
The analysis of Human resource development and the approaches of Human resource practise
adopted by Marks and Spencer group.
The emerging Human resource development includes innovation in department of Human
resource in a particular company. The Human resource department improvised their function of
rewards and recognition by digitalizing it. The digitalized rewards motivate and praise
employees of Marks and Spencer. By the use of social platform the employees are awarded and
recognized by the company for their valuable contribution (Tamayo - Torres, Gutiérrez -
Gutiérrez, and Martínez - López, 2016). Human resource bots is another technique of Human
resource development in which the recruitment process is assisted by the bot. Along with this
Human resource bots is capable to focus on employees relations.
The Human resource practise which are adopted by company Marks and Spencer group is
selective hiring. The Human resource department by adopting selective staffing and hiring able
to select right people for the right role in the company. The change in vision, companies culture
and values changes the role of employees. Also, the internal environment plays crucial role in
managing roles and responsibilities of staff members (Viana, Llorens-Montes, and Mota,
2016). The HR bots is adopted by company in order to attain perfect selection for the changing
culture and internal environment of the Marks and Spencer group plc.

Another practice of Human resource department of Marks and Spencer is training in
appropriate and relevant skill which affect internal environment of the company. The practise of
Human resource also management of employees works as a part of internal environment which
include work life balance of employees. The employees in Marks and Spencer offers training
working efficiently and effectively to perform their task in minimum time (Gemünden, Lehner,
and Kock, 2018). This enables them to perform their task in time, and they able to manage their
personal life with their professional life. The Human resource provide employees relevant
training which develop the skills they need to accomplish work. The employees in Marks and
Spencer provides training according to relevant skills they need to perform their task.
External environment is also affected by practice of human resource. The technological
advancement in field of retail industry impacts on employees as the company need to train and
develop their employees according to advancement in technology.
All these techniques help in enhancing the knowledge of the new employees as well as the
existing employees. Selective hiring practice adopted by M&S helps them in segregating the
efficient personnel from the inefficient one at the initial stage. The HRM can further develop this
by identifying the key skills and assigning the job roles to their employees accordingly. Training
and development are also a key part in developing an employee’s knowledge and making them
experts in their own chosen field. This helps in creating qualified personnel thus improving the
productivity and profitability of business.
Conclusion and recommendation
The report was about flat organisational structure which was adopted by company Marks
and Spencer. Also, the approach of staffing and Training & Development was also evaluated in
the report. Impact of HR practise such as work life balance and selective staffing on internal
environment which includes employees and organisational culture change. The external
environment were also highlighted in the report which includes technological advancement
which directly impacts on training in the company.
Recommendation
The effective communication plays an efficient role in development of company (Ghauri,
and Rosendo - Rios, 2016). The trust of employees builds with their superiors. The flow of
communication feels trusted and valued. Therefore, they follow the organizational structures and

accomplish all the task assigned to them. The company must execute effective communication
with their employees.
Also, the monetary and non monetary incentives must offer to employees. So that they
stay motivated towards the working of Marks and Spencer and follow the structure of
organization (Al - Hakim, and Hassan, 2016). Perks, bonus, holiday benefits motivates the
employees to be with the working of the company, and they perform their roles in efficient
manner.
PART 2
(covered in poster)

SCENARIO 2
Background of change management including theories and models of change
management
The change management is an approach deals with transformational or transition of
organizations processes and goals. Purpose of change management is to implementation of
effective change strategies, provide aid to people and control change.
Lewin's change management model
The Lewin's change management model is focused on three main stages. These stages
are Unfreeze, change and refreeze. Marks and Spencer follows this change management
model. the first stage involves preparation to accept the change. The sales figure, financial
result and customer satisfaction shows the requirement of change.
Then comes the next step which is change. In this stage, the employees in the company
look for the new change to resolve the uncertainty. Then comes the stage of refreeze, On this
the change is adapted successfully and the employees feel the sense of stability. This model is
useful in managing the change in organizational structures as this takes time to settle but by
this model company is successfully managing change with an ease.
ADKAR model
Another change management model is ADKAR model. This model focuses on
managing successful change in an organization. This model comprises five main elements
which are followed in Marks and Spencer. They are Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability
and Reinforcement. On first step, the awareness of need is identified and then the desire of
every individual is obtained which are in support for the change.
Then comes the knowledge of steps for the change like through workshops, coaching,
and training. On this step. the employees of Marks and Spencer group plc shows their skills,
behaviour and ability for the change implemented in the organization. Such as new way to
work, IT skills, etc. At last, the action is taken regarding new change in the company. This is
the final step on which the feedback, rewards and celebrations are generally observed.
McKinsey 7 S Model
HR plays one of the most crucial role in managing and leading
change.
The Human resource department of Marks and Spencer group plays
a crucial role in order to attain successful organizational change.
The main role of Human resource department are as follows:
Watch dog - The Human resource department monitors the
whole process of change which is implemented in the Marks and
Spencer group plc. They make sure the process of change includes
integrity and manage a harmonious relationship with employees.
They also manage the design of organization so that it doesn't affect
functionality of the company. This implement change in role of
employees as well as superiors which affects organisational design.
A change agenda - The Human resource department during
change recommend calendar which defines a milestone which need
to be accomplished by Marks and Spencer group and the employees
both in a definite time. Organisational design affects as the goals of
employees changes with prevailing situations in the company.
Train managers - The managers are trained by Human
resource department while executing change in the company. Marks
and Spencer group plc HR department provides training to manager
of every department so that they able to contribute their efficient
efforts towards the company and provide guidance to employees.
The organizational design also impacts by managing change in
organization by training managers.
The proposed change enables numerous benefits to the company. Following are discussed
below as :
Financial benefit by proposed change - The Company such as Marks and Spencer by
restructuring able to attain several financial benefits. These benefits include increase in value
of company, sustainability of business, etc. Financial benefits is beneficial for companies
performance as they able to generate more profitability by establishing new structure of their
business.
Competitive advantage - Another benefits Marks and Spencer attain by gaining
competitive advantage against other rivalries such as Tesco, Sainsbury group, etc. The Marks
and Spencer able to position themself regarding growth by allowing expansion of stores of
Marks and Spencer group plc into different geographical areas.
Improvised communication and decision making - The Company after organisational
restructuring able to arrange effective communication between employees and superiors. The
company by adopting to new structure also able to attain quick decision making as after
executing change and removal the barriers of effective communication.
Improvement in operational efficiency - The company restructuring also involves
introduction of new technology by which the operational efficiency of the company increases.
The records of Marks and Spencer become more correct and easily be accessible to business
by implementation of AI technology in the company. This helps the employees to work with
efficient manner and it directly impacts on operational efficiency of the company.
Recommendation on how HR practices will take changes forward
and implement them
The Human resource department of Marks and Spencer group plc
must engage their employees to implement changes successfully. The
employee’s efforts helps the company to ensure a positive outcome.
They also provide aid by developing an approach of team and increase
feeling of belongingness.
The Marks and Spencer HR personnel must also execute an
efficient communication with the employees. They should ask the
employees for the change and their suggestions must take into
consideration. The employees should be clear about the expectation of
change by the company and the process of the change which will
helps Marks and Spencer to undertake change management in
efficient manner.
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Appelbaum, S.H. and et.al., 2018. Impact of business model change on organizational success. Industrial and Commercial Training.50(2).pp.41-54.

CONCLUSION
The report was concluded about organizational success. This report begun with lay focus
on introduction of a chosen company which is Marks and Spencer, a British retailer. In this
report, the Human resource practise in development of human resource development adopted by
the company was also evaluated.
The report comprises various theories as well as model of change management. The
change management model in this report highlighted about Lewin's change management model
and ADKAR Model. Also, the role of Human resource were expressed in managing the change
and organizational design. Then comes an evaluation of organizational design which respond to
proposed changes in the company. At last recommendation for change and implementation taken
by human resource personnel were evaluated.
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Online
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<https://tallyfy.com/change-management-models/>.
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