Strategic Management Project: Staff Absenteeism at Superdry plc

This strategic management project investigates the high levels of staff absenteeism at Superdry plc, a UK-based clothing company, and its impact on organizational performance. The project defines absenteeism, outlines the aim to identify its causes and effects, and sets objectives to understand the concept, identify reasons, assess the impact, and suggest solutions. The scope encompasses identifying causes, assessing impacts, and recommending strategies to improve productivity and long-term sustainability. The research methodology employs qualitative research, supported by secondary data from books, journals, and employee feedback, to explore job dissatisfaction and low morale as key drivers of absenteeism. The project synthesizes data to suggest reducing workplace stress and providing employee support as potential solutions. The report further discusses project methodology, data collection, and the impact of recommendations, ultimately aiming to improve employee engagement and reduce absenteeism for enhanced organizational performance and sustained growth.

Leading a Conducting a
Strategic Management
Project
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Contents
TITLE: “To investigate the reasons of high number of staff absenteeism and its impact on
organisational performance. A case Study on Superdry plc, United Kingdom.”............................4
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
A.C. 1.1 - Determine a topic of investigation that has a strategic implication............................4
A.C. 1.2 - Discuss the aim, scope and objectives of the project..................................................5
A.C. 1.3 – Take responsibility for and justify the topic of investigation and its aims, scope and
objectives.....................................................................................................................................6
A.C. 1.4 – Formulate the project research methodology, including the project structure and
research base................................................................................................................................7
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................7
A.C. 2.1 – Assess sources of data and information that will support the aim of the project.......7
A.C. 2.2 - Synthesize the data and information for options or alternatives that support the
project aims..................................................................................................................................8
A.C. 2.3 – Critically evaluate an option or alternative that supports the project aims................8
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................9
A.C. 3.1 – Critically evaluate the research analysis to enable conclusions to be made..............9
A.C. 3.2 - Recommend a course of action that achieves the strategic aims of the project..........9
AC. 3.3 – Critically analyze then impact of the recommendations.............................................9
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................10
A.C. 4.1 - Evaluate the medium to be used to present the result of the project and its
contribution to strategic objective.............................................................................................10
A.C. 4.2 – Take responsibility for the results of the investigative project and the substantial
changes and developments it brings about................................................................................10
A.C. 4.3 – Critically evaluate the impact and success of the investigative project...................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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TITLE: “To investigate the reasons of high number of staff absenteeism and its
impact on organisational performance. A case Study on Superdry plc, United
Kingdom.”
INTRODUCTION
Absenteeism is referred as the habit or practice of being in absence. It is the overall man
shifts lost due to absence as a percentage of number of manpower scheduled to work. In other
words, it is referred as the failure of a worker to report for duty at the time when he or she is
scheduled to work. It is becoming one of the major issues in company due to which their
productivity and performance impacts highly. This report is based on Superdry which is a
branded clothing firm of United Kingdom that offers high quality clothing products to its
customers (Aarseth, and et. al., 2017). The company was established in year 2003 and its
headquarters is located in Cheltenham, United Kingdom. This report covers aim, objectives and
scope of project along with their proper justification. It also includes different research methods,
sources of information and data to support project aim, options or alternatives and their critical
evaluation. Apart from this, it evaluates the analysis to draw conclusion, includes
recommendations and critically analyse the influence of those recommendations. In addition to
this, it includes information about the medium to be utilised to present the outcomes of project
and its contribution in strategic objectives. At last the outcomes of project and substantial
development and changes that it brings are included along with evaluation of impact and success
of project.
TASK 1
A.C. 1.1 - Determine a topic of investigation that has a strategic implication
Staff absenteeism is defined as the habitual non-presence of a staff member at his/ her job.
It is the absence from work which extend an implied limit of what will be considered normal and
reasonable because of personal time, occasional illness or vacation. The employees are expected
by their employer to miss some work for legitimate reasons (Baumgartner, 2014). However, it
becomes an issue for the firm when a worker is absent unexpectedly and repeatedly, especially if
the employees should be paid when they are absent. Superdry is one of the well-known clothing
firm of United Kingdom which offers stuffs combine vintage Americana styling along with
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Japanese inspired graphics. The company is facing the issue high number of staff absences due to
which its productivity declines continuously. In order to overcome this issue, the senior manager
of the company have been asked to perform a project to investigate high number of staff
absenteeism in department. In order to accomplish this project, manager required to form clear
aim and objectives of the investigation in order to ensure its successful completion. This project
intent to identify the reasons behind high staff absenteeism. Identifications of appropriate reasons
or causes behind this will help senior manager of company in resolving the issue of staff
absenteeism and improving productivity as well as performance of company. Determination of
causes also helps in formulating appropriate strategies that helps in motivating employees and
increasing their participation within activities and operations of firm that leads it towards
attainment of long term sustainability in market (Bucheli and Wadhwani, 2014).
A.C. 1.2 - Discuss the aim, scope and objectives of the project
Project aim is stated as the overall purpose of project and is the main reason of performing
a particular project. It reflects the long term results. On the other hand, objectives are referred as
the particular goal of the company. These describes desired outcomes of the project that often
involves tangible goals. Properly formulated aim and objectives provides direction to the
operations of project team towards accomplishment of the agreed goals within specified time,
quality, scope and budget standards (Chatterji and Fabrizio, 2014). The aim and objectives in
relation of Superdry’s strategic management project are mentioned below:
Aim of project:
The aim of this project is “To investigate the reasons of high number of staff absenteeism
and its impact on organisational performance. A case Study on Superdry plc, United Kingdom.”
Objectives of project:
The objectives in relation to this project are as follows:
 To understand the concept of staff absenteeism at workplace.
 To identify the different reasons of staff absenteeism at workplace.
 To assess the impact of high staff absenteeism on business performance of Superdry.
 To reduce the absenteeism of employees in workplace by determining different ways to
overcome the issue.
Scope of project:
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The scope of this project is wide as performing this project will help senior manager of
Superdry in identifying the main reasons behind absenteeism of employees in workplace which
further helps in finding out appropriate ways to reduce staff absenteeism from workplace. This
will also help organisation in improving its productivity and performance in market which leads
the firm towards growth and long term sustainability in market. It also provides it with
competitive edge in market over its rivals and attaining high profits (Cunningham, and et. al.,
2014). So, the scope of project is wider in terms of organisation’s maximising productivity,
performance and growth.
A.C. 1.3 – Take responsibility for and justify the topic of investigation and its aims, scope and
objectives
The above specified aim, objective and scope of project highly contributes in attaining
growth and success. These provides direction to the overall project that help senior manager of
Superdry in accomplishing the goals successfully. Employee Absenteeism is concerned with the
unauthorised absence of a worker from his/ her job. Staff absenteeism is one of the major issue
which is faced by various organisations in current competitive business scenario. Employees are
become habitual of missing their works repeatedly or unexpectedly which becomes a major issue
for the organisations. There are many possible causes of absenteeism of employees including
personal issues, chronic medical problems, job dissatisfaction, demotivation, burnout,
harassment, disengagement etc. All these are the major causes due to which an employee may
absent in work place. Staff absenteeism in workplace influence both the employees as well as
employer alike (Davis, 2014). It reduces the productivity levels of organisation, maximize labour
cost, understaffing that could lead to poor service of customer, poor moral and motivation level
among colleagues, high administration cost etc. For employees, its consequences involve loss of
pay, less productivity on their return to work, and employees could face dismissal due to
unexplained and frequent absenteeism. So, the topic of investigation, i.e., “To investigate the
reasons of high number of staff absenteeism and its impact on organisational performance. A
case Study on Superdry plc, United Kingdom.” helps senior manager of Superdry in determining
the reasons behind employee absenteeism and identifying solutions to overcome this issue. This
project will highly contribute in attaining the goal of company.
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A.C. 1.4 – Formulate the project research methodology, including the project structure and
research base
In any project, research methodology forms of crucial part. It involves techniques and
procedures which are utilised to determine and analyse information concerned with the topic. It
is a path through which the project manager required to perform their project. Quantitative and
qualitative are the two types of research methods that can be utilised by the project manager in
project. Qualitative research emphasizes on understanding the query of project as an idealistic or
humanistic approach (Engert, Rauter, and Baumgartner, 2016). It is utilised to understand the
attitude, behaviour, experiences interactions and beliefs of people that helps the project manager
in effectively gathering all the information regarding the issue associated with absenteeism of
employees. On the other hand, quantitative research helps in quantify the issue by collecting
numerical data which can be transformed in usable statistics. This can help project manager in
quantifying behaviour, attitudes, opinions and other variables and generalized outcomes from
sample population. In the specific project associated with the topic “To investigate the reasons of
high number of staff absenteeism and its impact on organisational performance”, qualitative
research is selected as it is the appropriate method that helps senior manager of Superdry in
gathering appropriate information on topic. Secondary data collection method is serves as a base
of research and the structure of project includes formulation of aim and objectives, collection of
secondary data on the topic, synthesizing options or alternatives, critical evaluation of
appropriate option or alternative, brief conclusion, recommendation and impact of
recommendations. At last, the outcomes are presented by using appropriate medium, substantial
changes and developments that project brings and information about the impact and success of
project is included in it (Garcia‐Castro and Aguilera, 2015).
TASK 2
A.C. 2.1 – Assess sources of data and information that will support the aim of the project
In order to obtain secondary data on the topic, the sources which are utilise includes
previously published books and journals, feedback from employees regarding the issues that they
face at workplace due to which they are not able to engage in the activities of company
effectively and analysis of workplace environment. All these sources help the project manager in
determining the appropriate reasons regarding absenteeism of employees. When feedbacks are
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taken from the employees, it has been found that they are not satisfied with their job and their
motivation level and morale is very low due to which they are not able to work productively
within the organisation which increases absenteeism of employees in Superdry (Hill, Jones and
Schilling, 2014).
A.C. 2.2 - Synthesize the data and information for options or alternatives that support the project
aims
After analyzing the data or information gathered on the topic, two options or alternatives
are found which will help the project manager of Superdry plc in overcoming the problem and
attaining project goal. These alternatives include reduction in workplace stress and providing
them with support. The organisation needs to constantly focus on reducing the stress from
workplace so that employees can feel relaxed and enable to work more productively. The senior
manager of Superdry can conduct regular group activities and provide employees with flexible
work environment which can help in reducing the stress of employees and brings out best out of
them. The another alternative is to provide employees with support, sometimes they are simply
experiencing challenging time in their life (Hubbard, Rice and Galvin, 2014). At that time when
an employee provide support through EAP programs, it can help employees to deal with their
issues that may impact their attendance. This support can help employees through difficult time
and make them feel a sense of belongingness with firm which ultimately improve their
productivity and reduce absenteeism.
A.C. 2.3 – Critically evaluate an option or alternative that supports the project aims
Among the above mentioned alternatives, providing employees with support it is one of
the most appropriate alternative that can help senior manager of Superdry in reducing
absenteeism of employees in workplace. Providing a blouse with support will help them in
dealing with the problems that they face in their personal as well as professional life which may
impact their performance and attendance at workplace. This will also help in creating a sense of
satisfaction and belongingness among employees and they feel valued to work in the
organisation. This will definitely improve their absenteeism rate and enhance their productivity
along with the productivity and performance of company (Išoraitė, 2014).
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TASK 3
A.C. 3.1 – Critically evaluate the research analysis to enable conclusions to be made
As per the analysis, it has been found that absenteeism of employees in workplace is one of
the major issue that is facing by organisation. There are many causes behind absenteeism of
employees including more workload, job dissatisfaction, chronic medical issues, demotivation,
personal issues, harassment, disengagement etc. Due to all these issues, productivity of
employees gets decline and resulted into their absenteeism. The senior manager of the company
requires to taken into consideration all the issues and the factors that leads the employees
towards absenteeism from their job work. This will help in determining appropriate ways to
improve the moral of employees and reduce their absenteeism (Kazadi, Lievens and Mahr,
2016). Performing this project helps the project manager in determining the reasons of staff
absenteeism and resolving this issue by executing appropriate solutions for it.
A.C. 3.2 - Recommend a course of action that achieves the strategic aims of the project
In order to accomplish the strategic aim of project, it is recommended to the senior
manager of Superdry that it should get feedback from the employees on regular basis so that he/
she is able to identify the reasons behind absenteeism of employees. It will also help them in
identifying the factors that leads to demotivation and dissatisfaction among employees so that the
manager is able to develop appropriate solutions and implement them in order to satisfy
employees and increase their engagement in workplace. Apart from this, it is also recommended
to the company that it should provide employees with appropriate flexibility so that they enable
to work more productively and accomplish organisational goals. Moreover, manager should take
opinions of employees to make further improvements at workplace (Mok, Shen and Yang, 2015).
This will help in making employees feel valued and improve their moral which leads to
reduction in their absenteeism.
AC. 3.3 – Critically analyze then impact of the recommendations
By implementing all the recommended ways, it highly impacts in improving morale of
employees and keep them satisfied at workplace. Taking opinion of employees helps in
developing a sense of belongingness among them and this results in more participation of
employees in activities and operations of company. Provide employees with flexibility allows
them to work more effectively towards accomplishment of organisational goals and also helps in
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improving customer service. Regular feedback from employees helps in taking effective
measures to resolve the issues that takes place at workplace and motivating employees and
encourage their more participation in organisational activities. All this ultimately influence the
productivity and performance of company and leads it towards growth and sustainability in
market for long term (Rosemann and vom Brocke, 2015).
TASK 4
A.C. 4.1 - Evaluate the medium to be used to present the result of the project and its contribution
to strategic objective
In order to present and communicate the results of the project, there are various mediums
that can be utilised by senior manager of Superdry. This medium includes face to face
communication, written emails, circulars, visual communication, media etc. For presenting the
results of this specific project, emails can be one of the appropriate tool that can be utilised by
senior manager. Through this, all the outcomes of project presented in effective way to all the
senior members of organisation and other stakeholders also. The another medium which is
utilised to communicate outcomes of project effectively to all the stakeholders and shareholders
is digital media. Through this communication channel, senior manager enables to present
information in more effective way to all the members quickly and easily.
A.C. 4.2 – Take responsibility for the results of the investigative project and the substantial
changes and developments it brings about
This project is based on the topic “To investigate the reasons of high number of staff
absenteeism and its impact on organisational performance. A case Study on Superdry plc, United
Kingdom.” This highly contribute in investigating the issue of staff absenteeism in Superdry and
identifying various factors or causes behind the absenteeism of employees. This also helps in
determining the ways through which company can reduce the absenteeism of employees and
improve their productivity and performance (Trigeorgis and Reuer, 2017). This projects brings
various substantial changes and development at the workplace by increasing engagement of
employees and improving productivity of company. This will help company in retaining
employees for long term by keeping them satisfied and motivated at workplace. It will also help
in enhancing the environment of workplace and encourage employees to work more productively
so that ultimate aim of the organisation can be accomplished.
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A.C. 4.3 – Critically evaluate the impact and success of the investigative project
The above identified deliverables of project helps in accomplishing its main aim, that is, “To
investigate the reasons of high number of staff absenteeism and its impact on organisational
performance. A case Study on Superdry plc, United Kingdom.” This project helped in
determining the ways to resolve the issue in an effective and efficient manner. The project is
completed successfully and provide effective deliverables which are highly beneficial for the
organisation in resolving the issue of staff absenteeism in workplace and improving its
productivity and performance (Yoder-Wise, 2014). The key elements of project scoping include
the objectives, milestones, deliverables and requirements of project. Conducting this project
highly contributed accomplishing all these along with the ultimate aim of project.
CONCLUSION
As per the above mentioned report, it has been concluded that employee absenteeism is
becoming the issue at every workplace which adversely affects its productivity and performance
in market. The manager of organisation requires to consider the factors that may leads to
absenteeism of employees at workplace. Consideration of these factors will help manager in
determining appropriate solutions to resolve the issue appropriately and encourage more
engagement of employees in workplace activities. The ways like providing employees with
flexible work environment, taking their regular opinions and feedbacks will help in developing a
sense of satisfaction and belongingness among them which ultimately improves your
productivity and hence maximize organisational performance.
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