Marks & Spencer's Australian Expansion: A Project Management Report

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes Marks & Spencer's successful business project in Australia.

MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PROJECT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 3
A). PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES..............................................................................................4
B). PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN.................................................................................................5
C). SMALL SCALE MARKET RESEARCH..........................................................................................10
D). ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS FROM THE FINDINGS.............................................................20
E). RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CEO.........................................................................................22
F). REFLECTION ON THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT.....................................................................23
G). LOG BOOK.............................................................................................................................. 26
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................... 29
REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................30
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Organization Logo...........................................................................................................3
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INTRODUCTION
As the globalization has increased, the demands of the customers in terms of variety also have
been increased. It can be supported by the fact that the increasing globalization in the market
resulted in the awareness of the customers regarding the latest products and services across
the globe. In order to increase the sales, the organizations need to analyze the demands of the
customers and according to that, the production must be done (Turner, 2014). Globalization is
the factor which drives changes in the business process. In this report, the analysis of the new
product of the Marks & Spencer will be carried out which will be launched in Australia. Marks
& Spencer is an apparel sector organisation based in the UK (M & S, 2019). The organisation
provides clothing for people of every age group. The analysis of the launching will be carried
out from the aspect of a project manager. The aim of the report is to carry out the management
of a successful business project.
Figure 1: Organization Logo
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A). PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
As the globalization has increased it gave rise to the competition as the organisations across the
world are getting information regarding the interest of the global customers and fulfilling the
demands of the customers. The business process of these organisations consists of joint
ventures, franchise or sharing of assets. As the competition is increasing it is important for the
organisations to carry out the planned business project in order to establish a difference in the
services and products. In this report, the case of Marks & Spencer will be taken in concern
which is the fashion and apparel sector organisation. In a study, it has been found that the
organisation needs to launch a new product overseas for the purpose of increasing the sales of
the organisation. Australia is the country which has been chosen for the purpose of launching a
new product.
AIM
The aim of the study is to conduct a project where Marks & Spencer has been launching new
product in Australia.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the report is developed in compliance with the aim of achieving the required
aim of the study which is stated below:
 Assess the factors which would be considered for launching the product in Australia.
 Assess the effectiveness of the project in the Australian market.
 Assess the factors which would impact the organization in meeting their aim.
The attainment of the above-mentioned objective in the report would be obliging in getting
significant knowledge and evidence.
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B). PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN
PROJECT DEFINITION
The project is to carry out research in the field of apparel sector in order to gain effective
information which can help in the launching of the new product of Marks & Spencer in
Australia. For that purpose, the analysis of the globalization will be carried out. The purpose of
conduction of the project is that it will help in analyzing the impact of the globalization on the
operations and the sales of the organisation.
PROJECT STATEMENT
Globalisation affects the operations of the organisations in an effective way due to which it has
become necessary to analyse the impact of the globalization. This will help the organisation in
order to alter the business practices for the development of the organisation.
PROJECT STRATEGY
A project manager can implement the project strategy in order to get the desired outcome of
the project the main strategies of the project are as follows:
 For expanding the organization on a global level it must alter its operations.
 The use of writing survey is a successful procedure for profiting hypothetical information
with respect to the effect of globalization on the tasks.
 Along with that, the surveys are also helpful in getting acknowledged about the opinions
of the stakeholders.
PROJECT SCOPE
There is an immense scope of the project as it will help in finding the ways to launch a new
product in a new country. The project will enable the learner to get informed about the effects
of the globalization on the organization while its expansion. The various aspects of the
globalization including the economic, political and social factors will be explained through the
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project. In this report, the case of Marks & Spencer is selected which has to go through
expansion by launching its new product in Australia. This report will also explain the
globalization factors affecting the economy of Australia.
PROJECT COST AND TIME
The time which will be taken to complete the project will be approximately 10 to 12 weeks
which will consist of the planning and implementation of effective strategies in order to gain
the objective of the organisation. In addition to that, the project will cost 150 GBP.
COMMUNICATION PLAN
The purpose of the communication plan is total with the stakeholders of Marks & Spencer in
order to discuss the activities which will be needed to be carried out:
STAKEHOLDER INFORMATION METHOD TIME OF
FREQUENCY
SENDER
SENIOR
MANAGER
Growth of Project Email and
written report
Monthly Project
Manager
SUPPLIERS Preparation and
Application
Conference Weekly Project
Manager
EMPLOYEES Venture
Information
Email Weekly Project
Manager
GOVERNMENT Growth of Project Conference Sixteen Days Project
Manager
CUSTOMERS Venture
Information
Public
Assemblies
Weekly Project
Manager
RESOURCE INVOLVED
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In this project since the new product is to be launched in another country the resources of the
organisation which are going to be used are the resources of the marketing department and the
finance department. The marketing department will carry out the market research of Australia
while the finance department will help in launching the product financially, through the
provision of the budget.
RISKS ASSOCIATED
There are some risks which can make the project vulnerable and those risks are stated and
explained below:
 Operational Risks
 Financial Risks
PROJECT ASSUMPTION
The assumption for the project is made in order to carry out the processes of the project in an
effective manner. The project assumptions of this project are stated below:
 Due to the involvement of the globalization in the operations of the Marks & Spencer, it
is having positive effects in its operations.
 The culture of Marks & Spencer has become diverse and healthier due to the
globalization.
 On the grounds of ethics, there are negligible problems in Marks & Spencer.
WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE
The work breaks down structure makes the understanding of the activities of the project easy.
Along with that, the hierarchy of the activities is developed in a way that the required object
can be achieved. The carry concerned manner is applied in WBS so that the activities of the
project could be determined and carried out suitably.
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1.0 LAUNCHING OF NEW PRODUCT IN A NEW COUNTRY
1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
1.1.1 BRAIN STORMING
1.1.2 FOCUS GROUP
1.1.3. AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES
1.2 SECONDARY
RESEARCH
1.2.1 LITERATURE
REVIEW
1.3 PRIMARY RESEARCH
1.3.1 QUESTIONAIRRE
(SURVEY)
1.3.2 INTERVIEW
1.3.3 DATA ANALYSIS
1.4 RESEARCH
OUTCOMES
1.4.1 FINDINGS
1.4.2 OUTCOMES
1.4.3
RECOMMENDATIONS

GANTT CHART
The project would be supportive in getting information which will be helpful in launching a new
product in the market availing information and knowledge regarding the impact of globalization
on operations of Marks & Spencer (Slack, 2015). Gantt chart is used as a production control
tool. The production in the new market will be controlled by the use of this chart as an
emphasis on different operations will be given in different weeks:
Activities 1-2
week
3-4
week
5-6
week
7-8
week
9-10
week
11-12
week
13-14
week
15week
Brain storming and
focus group
Aims and objectives
Secondary research
and data collection
Primary research and
data collection
Quantitative data
analysis
Recommendations
Outcomes
Evaluation
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C). SMALL SCALE MARKET RESEARCH
LITERATURE REVIEW
According to Stanisławski and Olczak (2009), the market condition of the European Union in the
apparel and clothing sector is degrading day by day. Being the 2 of the most populated
countries the India and China are stated responsible for this event as the most of the apparel
and clothing business leading the world are based in India and China. There are many factors
which are responsible for this condition of the SMEs in EU. One of the main factors is the R&D
department and the lack of initiative of the organizations in financing the innovative steps. Only
13% of the SMEs of the EU is conducting successful Research and development program in the
apparel and clothing sector (Harrison and Lock, 2017).
It is difficult to predict the policy of the European textile and apparel industries. On the other
hand, the findings of many of the researchers are indicating that India and China are going to
dominate the world trade in the sector of clothing and apparel. Focusing on this situation of the
EU countries in the field of Clothing and apparel sector there are some safety measures which
are implemented by the government of UK and other European countries to strengthen the
business of clothing and stand up against the competitive market of India and China.
The aim of the Marks & Spencer can be associated with the condition of the small scale
industries in the EU as the condition of the clothing sector is not much effective in European
countries. Since the product is to be launched in Australia there will be some relaxation as the
business of the EU in Australian continent is quite good and effective as compared to the other
countries (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017).
According to Elias (2017) till the end of 2017, it was found out that the changes in the apparel
sector of the EU have been made successfully. These changes were drastic and energetic.
During these changes, the modernization of the manufacturing methods and the usage of the
technology in the promotion of the organization had also been introduced which helped the
small scale apparel sector in Ultimate development. But since the new form of business has
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been introduced there had been a reduction in the production cost, marketing cost and
personal training cost.
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