Marks & Spencer Management & Organisations - Case Study Example

Marks & Spencer Management & Organisations Introduction Marks & Spencer Management & Organisations is a British retailer that boasts more than one hundred and twenty years of heritage. In the process of an organization developing, it creates employee traditions applied as working practices that stipulate mechanisms of services delivery. The business company proceeds to establish means that ensure embedding of operations and decisions through the laid procedure. The processes of doing things at Marks & Spencer Management & Organisations influences and guides employees as they continue with delivery of services. The development of new business strategies creates changes in the process results in variant ways of working. With employment capacity of more than sixty-six thousand employees, the retailer runs more than four hundred and fifty stores in the United Kingdom. The company also operates outside the United Kingdom market. Currently, the organization is developing businesses in overseas market including Hong Kong. However, the organization presently receives intense competition from growing competitors within the industry. Furthermore, the organization faces more knowledgeable clients concerning how and where they desire to carry out their shopping. One other element of modern customers has shopping experience they need. This element makes it difficult for retailers to survive in the market. Organizational Structure Changes undertaken at Marks & Spencer created a flatter organizational structure enabling the business to eliminate a number of decision-making layers via delayering. The process delayering gave responsibility to each employee working within the retailing giant. The biggest advantage was giving authority and creating room for employees to make quick decisions when required. Additionally, workers enjoy more accountability compared to earlier days when the retailing company had more decision-making layers. Currently, staffs explain and justify their actions and decisions. The Head Office located in London alone has almost three thousand employees (Ogden, & Wersun, 2006, p. 43). All employees have specialist responsibilities they deal with within the organization. Buyers of stock at the head office engage in stock management besides the layout in the giant retailer. Additionally, there are those handling accounts and marketing of the company. The flatter organizational structure at Marks & Spencer resulted from the changes implemented with at least sixty thousand staffs working in various management roles and in stores. Here, they motivate and lead teams of people. It is significant to remember that the company also operates various outlets abroad. Employees do have training needs as well and the management at Marks & Spencer comprehends. The flat organizational structure leads to limited management levels spanning from front-line staffs to the administrative layer. Marks & Spencer Management and Organization applies this form of structure to inculcate the culture of decision making among its employees. The giant retailing company follows this structure to eliminate bureaucracy by making staffs more skilled in decision making processes and also mandating them to make relevant decisions. The structure also makes communication between through management levels through base line workers and top-level managers easy. Through this, it is easy to find remedies to the predicaments while at the same time allow rapid changes within the organization. A flat organizational structure assumes the shape of a pyramid. As opposed to traditional structures, the flat one is flatter with a broader base since it has reduced management levels running through from the bottom to the top of a pyramid. Additionally, the structure entails various departments having the head and the manager in charge of every unit with the overall management left to the executive, which occupies the top level of the pyramid. Reducing layers of authority within Marks & Spencer increased employee responsibility as well as responsibility bestowed unto departments. Employees are always alert to justify their decisions and explain reasons the decisions they take. The whole process increases accountability within the company without increasing its expenditure. The flatter structure, new to the Marks & Spencer entailed new training needs for employees. This forced the organization to start employee development programs to develop staff tailored for the needs. In addition, the company currently hires people with managerial skills by outsourcing at three different layers. The first level contains trainee managers who graduated passed A level and have a minimum of twenty-four months training (M&S 2007, p. 12). The second level consists of Pick graduates from highest institutions of learning and extends twelve months training. The last group is those of managers with experience from other organizations including rival competitors within the industry but they must have at least three months training. Every manager recruited must have essential skills among them leadership, ability to within a team, capacity to build working teams among employees, and financial literacy among many more. Facing the challenges Marks & Spencer developed new business strategy to deal with the challenges it was facing. The new strategy caused changes in the entire organization. Among other things, the era of changes included refocusing the business based on basics. The basics covered three major business values of Service, Value, as well Quality. The marketing department designed ‘Your M&S’, a promotional advert emphasising on the relationship between the client and the company. The promotional campaign served two other functions of connecting the minds of clients with the business with the two other values in Trust and Innovation. The connection entailed three major features that are developing products to the test of customers, putting enough money within the stores environment, and offering excellent customer service to take of clients. The changes have resulted in a business environment with additional challenges for staffs. Managers had the responsibility of preparing employees psychologically and through training for each role assigned to them in the new structure. In the end, the company developed career paths for all the staffs. To date, managers at Marks & Spencer are charged with the responsibility of creating career planning profile for employees. The relevance of this creation is that it helps them concentrate on target duties. Managers proceed to develop career planning paths aimed at providing support to set ambitions. Identification of specific training requirements relies on the technical abilities and skills as well as business competencies specific for the role (Jones, & George, 2003, p. 74). Profiling also outlines required training needs at Marks & Spencer significant in planning. The structure entails three forms of training practised at the retailing giant. First, the on-the-job training also referred to by other scholars as apprenticeship. This form of facilitation takes place while workers carry out operations in their workplace. The second type of training is the off-the-job training. It takes place away from the place of work. On-the-job training includes having an attachment may be to a section manager with the responsibilities of motivating and inspiring a team. The training enables the employee to experience first-hand how operations take place as well as the delivery of services. The employee learns various ways of executing duties while attempting some. The whole process constitutes practical learning. Among other features, it could entail getting involved in different projects aimed at enhancing technical abilities and business competencies (Buchanan, & Huczynski, 2004, p. 69). Marks & Spencer implements such programs to enable its employees feel they have adequate skills required to carry out their jobs and in the process enjoy their work. As part of increasing knowledge and ability the company carries out performance coaching. The responsibility of carrying out performance coaching rests on the shoulders of line managers otherwise referred to as departmental managers. Line managers conduct performance appraisals and provide the feedback on development needs as well as their strengths. Then, the manager in a meeting with individual employees agree on ways of improving and outlining the chances aimed at demonstrating the skills while on their duties (Cole, 2004, p. 147). The trainee gets confidence through performance coaching. Practices at Marks & Spencer justify that performance coaching is a successful mode of training employees. On the other hand, the organization applies a range of methods to help workers with the off-the-job training. In this case, the company could have an intranet where employees easily find materials for reading in their specific areas of service delivery. The company develops business competencies and individual employee technical abilities through such programs. Furthermore, the organization provides workbooks as important elements of training and learning used by employees in training. The greatest beneficiaries of such programs are those enrolled in open learning. Formal learning activities as well as workshops offer the best opportunity for employees to exercise their technical skills with a chance to receive feedbacks from colleagues. Economic Situation Training and development brought by changes implemented bring benefits to both employees at Marks & Spencer as well as the company. The programme offer a range of pre-determined learning experiences of workers because it builds their technical abilities besides enhancing organizational competencies. Furthermore, the training enhances efficiency and is a motivating element among staffs. In the end, the employees change the way they make decisions while on duty. Since it follows through career path process, the training helps workers develop their ambitions and needs for the good of the organization (Boddy, 2005, p. 209). The whole process offers Marks & Spencer with the competitive advantage over its competitors. Through this, the company is able to retain economic superiority in the industry. Through the new business strategy, the organization and management focuses on three major fronts. First, the company develops value-for-money products tailored to the taste and preference of customers. The new skills gained through training increases value to the products and services designed by the company through various means such as cutting costs. The company manages to keep prices for its products and services lower and friendly to the pockets of clients. Marks & Spencer Management and Organization applies this form of structure to inculcate the culture of decision making among its employees. The company follows this structure to eliminate bureaucracy by making staffs more skilled in decision making processes and also mandating them to make relevant decisions. The structure also makes communication between through management levels through base line workers and top-level managers easy. Secondly, the company puts a lot of money in the environment where its stores stand. Since the company trains staff in technical sales skills and management of stock, then employees can use stores efficiently leading to increased sales and profits. The company offers excellent customer services. Improved communication abilities for front office staffs positively impacts on the customers. Bibliography Boddy, D. (2005) Management an Introduction. London: Prentice hall. Buchanan, D & Huczynski, A. (2004) Organizational Behaviour an Introductory Text. London: Prentice hall. Cole, G. (2004) Management Theory and Practice. London: Thompson. Jones, G. & George, J. (2003) Contemporary Management. New York: McGraw Hill. M&S (2007) homepage [online] Available from: www.marksandspencer.com [accessed 23/07/1014] Ogden, S. & Wersun, A. (2006) Strategic Management. London: Thompson. Read More