Corporate Strategy and Governance: Waitrose Ltd's Compliance Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of non-compliance with laws on the business performance of Waitrose Ltd. It begins with an introduction outlining the background and rationale of the research, followed by an overview of Waitrose Ltd. and its operational context. The report defines the aims, objectives, and research questions that guide the investigation. A thorough literature review examines the legal requirements Waitrose must adhere to, the consequences of non-compliance, the role of corporate governance in ensuring compliance, and the relationship between legal adherence and company growth. The research methodology section details the data sources, techniques, research instruments, sampling methods, ethical considerations, and limitations. The core of the report involves data analysis and a critical review of the findings. Finally, the report concludes with recommendations and an action plan for Waitrose, addressing key issues and proposing strategies for improvement. The report is designed to offer insights into the challenges of corporate governance and the importance of legal compliance for business sustainability and success.

Corporate Strategy
And Governance

Table of Contents
TITLE..............................................................................................................................................1
Chapter 1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background and rational of the research .........................................................................1
1.2 Background of Waitrose Ltd............................................................................................2
1.3 Aims and objectives of research.......................................................................................3
1.4 Research Questions..........................................................................................................3
1.5 Structure of the research project.......................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................5
2.1 The different legal requirements that are to be followed by the Waitrose.......................5
2.2 The impact of non compliance of law on the growth and the sustainability of Waitrose.6
2.3 Corporate governance helps in dealing with compliance with laws................................7
2.4 The relationship between the issue of compliance with legal requirements and growth in
Waitrose..................................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................................9
3.1 Data Sources: ...................................................................................................................9
3.2 Techniques and procedures, and research instruments:.................................................11
3.3 Research Sampling:........................................................................................................11
3.4 Research Ethics: ............................................................................................................12
3.5 Research Limitation........................................................................................................12
3.6 Research Reliability and Validity: .................................................................................12
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS OR CRITICAL REVIEW......................................................13
CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATION AND ACTION PLAN ....................................................23
5.1 Recommendation:...........................................................................................................23
5.2 Action plan.....................................................................................................................23
Time scale......................................................................................................................................25
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................26

TITLE
To identify the impact of non-compliance of laws on business performance. A case study
on Waitrose Ltd.
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Background and rational of the research
Background of research
Corporate governance refers to the systematic structure of pre-organised activities by
which an organisation is supervised and reserved (Corporate Governance, 2018). The term came
into existence in the year 1970 in the Unites States of America and became a subject of debate
worldwide by the investigators and the researchers as well as the business houses. The term non-
compliance of laws is defined as the failure that arise if the laws that are made are not followed
by the corporates. When a company does not comply with the laws then it would result in crime
or civil wrong which can impact the goodwill of business.
Corporate governance mainly associated with enhancing and retaining the interests of
shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, investors, regulatory and other interested
parties (Chen, Feldmann and Tang, 2015). Corporate governance produce a structure for
achieving organisation's objectives, it provides plans for internal and sophisticated operations to
balance performance measurement and mandatory disclosures. Corporate governance has great
importance for company due to increasing issues in relation to non-compliance of standards of
financial reporting and responsibilities of boards of directors and management causing heavy
losses for investors. Protection of interest of Investors and shareholders of a public company is
required due to absence of adequate standards of financial reporting.
In present scenario companies are raising capital from market at high valuation of their
shares by describing incorrect or false picture of the company’s performance and profitability
(De Silva Lokuwaduge and Armstrong, 2015). Stakeholders suffers difficulties to identify such
companies due to unethical management of company that performed much less than reported for
the purpose of raising capital. Corporate governance also demonstrated by allotting promoters’
share at favoured prices out of balance to market value by affecting minority holders interest.
Corporate governance is also considered as solution for investors’ grievances.
Rational of issue
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This research project will help the reader to know the issues that arise in corporate
governance if there is non-compliance of laws. Laws are the legal regulation that company
should follow so that it can achieve the target objectives by working on other revenue generating
functions (Isidro and Sobral, 2015). For a company it is highly appreciated if it comply with the
legal requirements as if the these are not followed then it will impact the current working of the
company and would also result in decreasing market share of their products. The board should
check that whether the company is following all the legal requirements or not as if these are not
followed ethically then it would hamper the employees satisfaction and the customers
requirements. Also the environmental laws must be complied with so that the penalties are not
attracted towards the company.
Issue in Corporate governance or strategy
The issue in corporate governance arises when the organisation is not able to check
various other functions which impacts the operations of business in smooth and better manner.
Managers in an organisation should check and analyse that laws are followed so that there is no
further issues, so that future strategies can be build through which these corporate governance
issues can be tackled (Kagan, Thornton and Cunningham, 2017). It is the main issue in a
company to comply with the legal requirements as if these are not fulfilled then it would lead to
loss in reputation of the company and would also make the company suffer financial loss in the
form of penalties. If these laws are not fulfilled then it may also lead to closure of the business of
the company. As the company is liable towards its stakeholders it should follow all the
requirements in better and soothing way that helps the society to develop. So the company
should take care that it should follow the laws that are implemented and should check the legal
requirements as and when amended that are affecting the company.
1.2 Background of Waitrose Ltd.
In this report, chosen organisation is Waitrose Limited which is currently operating its
business in UK which is a part of British Supermarket and its headquarters are in Bracknell, UK.
The company was founded in the year 1904. The founder of the company was Wallace Waite,
Arthur rose and David Taylor. The company is currently operating in around 352 location which
is within the country and outside the country also. it is the subsidiary of John lewis partnership
and is a private limited company. In current era all the organisations like Waitrose Limited are
facing various types of challenges. To operate and execute the business appropriately and
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successfully the organisations should formulate policies and strategies so that all of them can be
dealt properly.
1.3 Aims and objectives of research
The aim of the research is to identify the impact of Non-Compliance with laws on
business performance. A case study on Waitrose Ltd.
Objectives:
The objectives of this research proposal are:
 To know the different legal requirements that are to be followed by the Waitrose.
 To determine the impact of non compliance of law on the growth and the sustainability of
Waitrose.
 To assess how corporate governance helps in dealing with compliance with laws.
 To determine the relationship between the issue of compliance with legal requirements
and growth in Waitrose.
1.4 Research Questions
The issues that the reader of the research would be able to answer after reading the report
are:
 What are the different legal requirements that are to be followed by Waitrose?
 How does non-compliance of law impact the growth and sustainability of Waitrose?
 How corporate governance helps In dealing with compliance of laws?
 What is the relationship between legal requirements and growth of Waitrose?
1.5 Structure of the research project
There are different stages needed by the researcher to complete research activities in
systematic manner. Research project structure includes some phase which are determined as
under:
Introduction: This is identify as a first chapter which cover entire detail about the
research topic including research title, aim, objectives, questions, rational, background and
overview of the company.
Literature review: It is a nest chapter which is a part of secondary research and provide
proper information about the research (Marosin and Ghanavati, 2015). Main purpose of this
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section is to gain accurate understanding of the existing research to a specific area of study or
topic.
Research Methodology: It is a third chapter which is also more significant for the
investigator to collect accurate information about the topic through different methods. As it
includes, qualitative and quantitative research, primary and secondary research, non-random
sampling, questionnaire as a part of primary research.
Data analysis: It is another important chapter in which critical evaluation of research is
discussed. It is based on both primary as well as secondary source (McBarnet, 2019). In case of
primary, accurate results are obtained by questionnaire
Conclusion and recommendation and Action plan: It is introduce as a last chapter
which includes overall summary and issue of the research. In order to overcome these issue,
recommendation are provided to the company and action plan is prepared by the researcher. This
plan help an investigator to identify reason and implement an effective strategy to overcome
issue easily (Olamide, Uwalomwa and Ranti, 2015).
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
The concept of compliance refers to a state of being in accordance to certain rules and
regulations. The process compliance involves the application of independent factors but mainly
focuses on the overall corporate function of the organization.
Compliance requirements can be complex, and business owners may not always be fully
educated about the latest rules and regulations. Because of the vast number of government
guidelines for compliance, it can be easy for business owners to find themselves in violation,
leaving their companies open to penalties and even dissolution. Having a complete and thorough
understanding of corporate compliance is crucial to protecting your business in the years to
come.
Corporate governance is the system through which the corporation is directed and
controlled by the managers, directors, stakeholder and officers. It introduces the rights and
responsibilities of the managers and the employees which are to be followed so that they are able
to achieve the desire of corporate responsibility (Phan and Baird, 2015). As the competitive
environment in which company is performing its functions have changed in the recent decades.
So it is required for the company to develop an efficient and effective control system which will
encourage the employees to follow the corporate governance strategies that are formulated by the
management. With the help of corporate governance the management is able to set and pursue
the objectives and it also able to serves as the mechanism for monitoring the policies and
decisions of different departments. The identification of different issues that arise in a company
has become an important part of the managers job after various large organisation collapsed
because of non compliance of laws in the year 2001-02.
2.1 The different legal requirements that are to be followed by the Waitrose.
As the company is working in a global market it is required for them to set the target and
comply with the different legal guidelines that are to be followed by them. As the legal structure
of Waitrose is includes that it is the holding of John lewis partnership so they have to comply
with the different statutory rules of filing and other obligations for the disclosure of the ethical
conduct of the business (Non-compliance Law and Legal Definition, 2018). They are basically
dealing in the grocery department so the management has to check the various legal requirements
that are related to the supply of groceries in the market. The company is also having minimum
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53000 employees so the different employment laws also apply to it. It is the basic concern of the
corporate governance so as to check the legal structure which would help them to achieve the
target of maximising the profits while compiling with other requirements.
The managers of the company has to decide the legals structure that best suits them as
they are working in the market through lots of retail chains. Management of the company has to
check the limits that are decided by the government and should follow the limits as if the
turnover exceeded the maximum limit then they have to change the structure of the company.
The managers of the company has to check the safety and the environmental laws that are related
to the employees as well as the society. The issue that arise in front of the mangers of Waitrose is
that as there are large number of employees in the company so the company has to analyse and
implement various laws such as employees safety act, employees remuneration act, equal pay
act, disability discrimination act, national minimum wage act and many more acts that applies to
the employment of employees. Also the managers has to check the laws that relates to the
environmental compliance issues while operating there business in UK. If these laws are not
followed then it raise the liability against the company which may be
 Criminal law
 Civil law
 Public or administrative law
 Or company law
Also as the company is having lots of information about the customers so they should
follow the privacy of data compliance structure and should check that there is no data that is
leaked to the outsider (De Silva Lokuwaduge and Armstrong, 2015). The management should
formulate a policy that if the access to the personal data of the customers are protected on the
servers0 through different passwords. The management has to decide the areas and the
authorities to whom they should share the data of their clients with.
2.2 The impact of non compliance of law on the growth and the sustainability of Waitrose.
As there are many regulations that are to be followed by the company in the changing
environment, the manager has to make strict rules in their corporate governance programme so
that the issue of non-compliance does not arise in the companies culture. If the company does not
follow various legal structures then it would become difficult for them to achieve the target of
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maximising the profit and achieving the targeted sales. The impact of non-compliance of legal
requirement on the business are:
 Fines: As the managers of the company are the key persons who decides the function of
the company and the way in which the company performs its obligations (Isidro and
Sobral, 2015). If the company does not follow these structure then it may result in fine to
the company and the managers. This can impact the companies financial performance as
this can vary from small caps to the large caps. So the managers has to decide as to report
and analyse the structure that is required in the legal scenario, so that there is no fine
attracted on them.
 Unenforceable contracts: this impacts the company in a broader sense as if there are
changes to the legislation then it would make the contract that are entered incorrect and
would become void. Managers should check the contracts and the changes that are made
to the legislation so as to change the contracts that were earlier made in accordance with
the new laws. This should be a policy of corporate governance in the company.
2.3 Corporate governance helps in dealing with compliance with laws.
Corporate governance is law bases on corporate legislation, security laws and the policies
and various decisions of courts and the securities regulators. As it is the duty of the manager to
act honestly and to build a corporate governance strategy that would help the company to
achieve the success while complying with the laws. As because of corporate governance the
culture would be developed in the organisation where all the work that is done by the employees
would be in compliance with the laws (Kagan, Thornton and Cunningham, 2017.). The rules that
are made by the managers would be in consideration of laws that are build by the government.
The managers should formulate a strict compliance policy that would help them to achieve the
target of compliance with laws. They should brief the employees about the job description and
the compliance that they should follow. As corporate governance involves conducting of training
to build awareness among management and staff this helps in achieving the compliance issues
with regards to law.
2.4 The relationship between the issue of compliance with legal requirements and growth in
Waitrose.
As in the current market global regulations are increasing and it is required by the boards
to take an active decisions in all matters of the company. This has been increased in the areas of
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compliance with laws and industry regulations. As the companies in the current market are
dependent on financial assistance that is required to perform the day to day objectives so it is
required by the company to build strong reputation through which they can achieve investors
faith. The compliance risk is related to the integrity risk for the company (Rahdari and Rostamy,
2015). As in the current scenario business and financial regulations are growing which enables
them to comply with legal requirements. It is the benefit of the company to comply with the legal
aspects as it would increase the brand goodwill. If the company comply with the legal
requirements then it would become easy for them to avoid the criminal charges of which they are
liable if the if not complied with. This would also build a positive reputation for the business as
this helps the business with sponsors, advertisers and the government requirement. As a business
that fulfils the regulatory business compliance through successful corporate compliance
management would get generally signed very quickly and easily. If the company company fulfils
the legal requirements then it will help in achieving higher productivity and would make the
culture in the organisation more comfortable for the employees. If the employees are given a
good and timely salary then it would lead to generate better motivation among them.
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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is the process of developing different aspects for a research. For
the assessment of the level of corporate strategy in enhancing financial performance, four
different aspects are identified. All of them are rights of shareholders, relations with investors,
composition of board of directors and transparency and disclosure (Rahdari and Rostamy, 2015).
The data for this report is gathered from 25 employees who are working in Waitrose Limited and
the assessment process is done on the corporate governance all the employees are aware of both
the elements. For the data collection process different research designs are used that are
descriptive, explanatory and experimental research design. For identifying different methods,
research onion is suitable framework for the researcher and help them in accumulating proper
response from the respondents. Main purpose of this section is to gather data and information for
the motive of making business decisions systematically.
3.1 Data Sources:
There are two different methods that are used to collect data. Both of them are described below: Primary data: The information which is collected from primary sources is considered as
primary data. It can be gathered from questionnaire, interview, survey etc. To complete
the research, researcher have collected data from 25 respondents with the help of
questionnaire (Sadgrove, 2016). It is the information which collected for the first time.
There are some method of primary data such as Interview, Brain storming, Questionnaire
etc. all this are useful methods but according to the research topic questionnaire is more
suitable because it give accurate information about the topic. This instrument of primary
source can be divided as both qualitative and quantitative method which main depend on
the nature of questions.
Questionnaire
Q1) Are you aware about the concept of Non-Compliance of laws in regards to company?
a) Yes
b) No
Q2) What are consequences of non-compliance with laws or regulations?
a) Failing to meet with all state
b) Federal guidelines for compliance
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Q3) What are the impact of non compliance of law on the growth of Waitrose?
a) Increased complexity
b) Enforced business changes
C) Managers being held personally accountable
Q4) What are main area of the law in which failing to comply can cost Waitrose?
a) Wage Issue
b) Hiring employees under 18
c) Workplace safety
Q5) What are the relationship between legal requirements and growth of Waitrose?
a) Positive
b) Negative
Q6) How to overcome impact of non-compliance of different laws on business performance?
a) Follow Business Law
b) Follow Corporate Law
c) Follow Environmental Law
Q7) Is corporate governance helps In dealing with compliance of laws?
a) Yes
b) No
Q8) What are the different legal requirements needed to be followed by the Waitrose?
a) Legal Structure of company
b) Laws related to employment
c) Other
Q9) Is Non-Compliance with laws influence on business to achieving competitive benefits?
a) Yes
b) No
Q10) Recommend different ways through which Waitrose can easily deal with the impact on
non-compliance of laws. Secondary data: It is a type of research where the data for specific topic is being
gathered from the primary sources i.e. information is gathered from the study which is
already being completed by few other person over a subject similar with actual research.
In simple word, the information which has already been used for research earlier is
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