Business Goals and Objectives of Marks and Spencer - Essay Example

Managing Activities (2593 words) Task Business goals and objectives functions 1a. Marks and Spencer has been a retailer with a strong brand name worldwide. The firm has a significant history in the British market. Currently, the stores of the company in UK are estimated to 600 while its network in the international market is significant (corporate website, 2009). The firm was established in 1884. Through the years, the organizational structure and culture have been considered as key elements of the business success. The organizational structure – in its current form – is represented in Figure 1 – Appendix section. It is clear that in the specific organization there is a centralized system of governance. The Chairman, Stuart Rose, has the responsibility for the monitoring of all business activities; however, executive directors have placed at each organizational department ensuring the close control over the firm’s activities. Apart from the directors of each department there are also directors that are not related with a particular organizational sectors – non - executive directors. Although their role in the development of business activities is not made clear it can be assumed that they can intervene in all firm’s sectors – in accordance with the CEO’s guidelines or the relevant suggestions of each department’s executive director. It is assumed that cooperation and coordination are strongly promoted in the workplace. The development of divisions within the organization increases the effectiveness of the firm’s control over its activities. As for the firm’s organizational culture, there are some points that need to be highlighted. All business activities are developed in accordance with the Corporate Governance Framework and the Code of Ethics – as presented in the firm’s website. In accordance with the corporate website, the corporate governance is based on the following principles: ‘quality, value, service, innovation and trust’ (corporate website, governance framework, 2009). A characteristic element of the firm’s governance is the use of the so-called ‘plan – A’ which aims to align all corporate activities with the environmental needs – promotion of sustainability through the business operations. In other words, corporate culture is based on the following values: application of corporate and social ethics and protection of the environment. 1b. The development of Marks and Spencer in the market – both the British and the international – has been achieved through the promotion of a series of values and the active support to the principles of sustainability. In accordance with the corporate website, the firm’s operational activities are based on: ‘quality, value, service, innovation and trust’ (corporate website, governance framework, 2009). On the other hand, there is the firm’s ‘plan A’, which focuses on the following issues: ‘climate change, waste, sustainable raw materials, fair partner and health’ (corporate website, governance framework, 2009). The firm’s aims and objectives and its mission are the basis for the development of its activities. The specific fact can be identified in the following examples: a) the introduction of an eco plan – the ‘plan A’ – shows the importance of sustainability for the firm’s board, b) the partnership with Oxfam – an initiative included in plan A – is an indication of the firm’s priorities – referring especially to the issues of sustainability and the support to the community, c) the suggestions made to the public – again in the context of plan A – regarding health, sustainability and social support also prove the efforts made towards the achievement of the firm’s mission – it is also clear that corporate aims and objectives are set as guidelines for the development of business initiatives, d) for ‘2007/08 the amount of waste the firm sent to landfill was 51,000 tonnes instead of 54,000 tonnes in 2006/07’ – application of the principles of sustainability in practice (corporate website, 2009), e) a series of health – related programs has been launched by the firm – in the context of its commitment to promote health diet through its products – an example is the Eat Well food guide distributed to the firm’s managers last year. 1c. In modern organizations, the alignment of business functions with organizational objectives could be ensured using the Force Field analysis, as developed by Lewin. The specific model – which is presented in the Appendix, Figure 2 – is based on the principle that in all organizations there are two different forces that can influence any attempt for organizational change or for introduction of a particular policy. The identification of the point at which these two forces are met can lead to credible assumptions regarding the potential effectiveness – also the viability – of a business strategy, which is going to be implemented on a particular organization – or a plan that was introduced despite the resistance in the organizational environment. Task 2 – Plan and implement operational plans Section 1: Proposed Operational Change – Overview In accordance with the corporate website, innovation is among the firm’s priorities. However, it is not clear how the specific business objective is achieved. For this reason, the establishment of a Research and Development Department is proposed. The particular Department will have its own Executive Director who will refer directly to the firm’s CEO for any potential problem related with the specific business activity. The particular department will be independent from the rest organizational departments, however, this independency will refer rather to its administration; The R&D department will be in close cooperation with the other business departments ensuring that the products offered to the public are unique – in one or more of their characteristics. This is a plan that could help the firm’s competitiveness to be increased against its rivals – both in the British and the international market. The R&D department could help to the development of totally new products – apart from the existing ones which are going to be improved, as possible, so that to become unique. The establishment of the R&D department could serve further business objectives, including quality and service. The R&D department would also support the development of additional business activities, like the opening of a chain of restaurants using the food sold in Marks and Spencer’s stores. Section 2: Plan of activities The establishment of the R&D department in Marks and Spencer would be completed through the following stages: a) estimation of the cost and the time that the potential project would require to be completed; at this phase, the risk involved with the operation of the particular department would be also estimated using appropriate theoretical and empirical models (Cummings, 2008), b) estimation of the firm’s cash availability – or else, identification of the firm’s ability to fund the specific project – in case of the need for additional funding, research would be made in the market for sources of funding of the particular business initiative – referring especially to potential public funds available for the realization of specific business schemes or other funds offered in order to achieve specific business aims – in this context, the cost for the establishment and the operation of the firm’s R&D department could be covered by another firm – e.g. one operating in the area of technology – that would require to be advertised through the particular activity, c) identification of the human resources; the firm’s managers would search primarily among the firms employees; those who have the most appropriate skills should be asked to participate in the development and the operation of the new organizational department – appropriately customized recruitment techniques could be used at this phase in accordance with the firms needs (York, 2009, Pfeffer, 1998), d) design of the departments exact structure – distribution of tasks among employees – hierarchy of powers, e) identification of technology required for the departments various operational activities, f) arrangement regarding the place where the new department will operate – provision for potential branches of the department in other regions both across Britain and internationally. At the next level, the machinery required for the operation of the specific department should be transferred at the departments place of establishment – responsibilities would be allocated to employees and the operation of the new department would start. It should be noted that provisions should be made for the establishment of an office – within the existing department – that would deal with the resolution of any emergent problem that could potentially appear in the context of the new departments operation. Section 3: Managing Activities The effectiveness in the management of the activities required for the implementation of the specific department would be ensured using the following methods: a) close monitoring of each phase – if necessary, employees of the firm – or other appropriately expertized individuals would be engaged in the particular activity – use of one or more supervisors of the project, b) development of regular report by the developers of each phase of the above project – the report would be submitted to the supervisor of the project and would be checked as of the application of the terms and conditions set in the projects initial plan, c) arrangement of regular meetings – at least twice a month – in which the developers of the project, its supervisor and the project manager would discuss on any issue that could possibly lead to delays in the completion of the project. The requirement for additional sources – monetary or human resources – would be also discussed in the context of these meetings. Other plans of managing the activities required for the implementation of the proposed project could be also applied – taking into consideration the resources available, the firms missions and objectives, the organizational environment but also the practices of competitors, especially those referring to similar activities (Ayers, 2002). It should be noted that the effective monitoring of the development of the above activities would be an indicator of the project managers capability to respond to the development of challenging business projects. In the case under examination, no similar activity had been undertaken by Marks and Spencer in the past. The establishment of a department with unique characteristics and a lot of demands in a multinational firm like Marks and Spencer would be therefore a major challenge for the project manager who involve in the relevant procedure. Section 4: Quality Systems In accordance with Hoyle (2007, 5) quality should be a strategic issue that involves the owners because it delivers fiscal performance; the typical focus for a quality management system is at the operations level. At a next level, the above researcher notes that quality management systems have to be designed by scratch – they cannot be simply established – having a standard form – in a particular organization (Hoyle, 2007, 65). Rather they should be designed taking into consideration the characteristics and the needs of a particular organization. Most commonly, a quality management system is designed using as the basis the standards set by the ISO 9000. In the case of the specific department (R & D) the quality management systems format would be depended on the following criteria: a) resources available – skills of employees, funds and equipment available – referring both to the quality and the quantity of resources, b) the organizational environment – including the human and the physical environment and c) the style of leadership and management used in the administration of the particular department (Hoyle, 2007, 71). The priority in this case would be the continuous Quality Improvement of the departments performance (Mears, 1995, 10). This target would be achieved by using an appropriately customized Total Quality Management scheme. The quality system implemented in the particular department should be designed followed the standards set by the ISO 9000; however, the examination of additional criteria, like the ones described above would be necessary in order to ensure the effectiveness and the credibility of the system. In accordance with Drucker (2007, 135) one of the main targets of the people involved in the development of a quality management system should be the creation of a system that could offer the highest possible quality at the lowest possible cost. Section 5: Health & Safety The issue of health and safety would be of significant importance for the succesful operation of the new department. Both these concepts would refer not only to the firms employees but also to the public in general. In this context, appropriate measures would be taken in advance to ensure that the operation of the new department will not lead to health or safety problems of either the employees and the local population – usually reference is made to the people living in the surrounding area; however, health and safety is a term used mostly with reference to the public – with no differentiation in terms of geographical, cultural or other characteristics of the people involved. Any measure taken towards the protection of health and safety should be closely supervised – as all other relevant organizational policies – by the project manager ensuring that all principles included in the relevant plan will be followed; the ability of the project manager to enforce changes would be tested at this point (Mullins, 2008, 485). Section 6: Performance Measures In accordance with Epstein et al. (2004, 189) measurement systems have to contribute to the implementation of the strategic orientations in guiding the action by ensuring short and long term performance evaluation. In other words, one of the key characteristics of measurement systems applied on modern organizations should be the potential to offer a credible provision for the organizational performance both in the short and the long term. The introduction and use of non-financial indicators for the evaluation of the departments expected performance in the future – would be another option towards the development of effective measurement system in the new department. These indicators could be used for the evaluation of the firms performance in the context of the Activity Based Costing (ABC). The use of strategic management accounting would be necessary at this point (Smith, 2005, 15) for the identification of both the financial and the non-financial indicators that will be used for the evaluation of the departments performance. Another approach available for the evaluation of the firms performance would be the Value Added Management. Through this approach the appropriateness of the firms products would be reviewed using as criteria their quality, their form, and their offering to the public – issues of time and place related with the offering of the firms products to the public (Smith, 2005, 4). Another model available for the measurement of the departments performance would be the Balance Scorecard. This model was introduced by Kaplan and Norton (1992, 1993) and is based on the view that performance measures could be grouped in four perspectives: a) the shareholders perspective, b) the customers perspective, c) the internal business processes perspective and d) the innovation and learning perspective (Eipstein et al., 2004, 324). A mixed model of management practices might would be required for the development of an effective performance measurement system – taking into consideration the volume of operational activities of the firm in the context of which this department will be established, see Figure 3 & 4 (Bettley et al., 2005, 265). In any case, the findings of the above methods – if used – could not be considered as reflecting a permanent business status. Because the department under evaluation will be a newly one there could be prospects for its development in the future – any assumption for its failure at its initial stages of its establishment would be of no value and credibility. References Ayers, J. (2002). Making supply chain management work: design, implementation, partnerships, technology, and profits. CRC Press Bettley, A., Mayle, D., Tantoush, T. (2005). Operations management: a strategic approach. SAGE Cameron, E., Green, M. (2004). Making sense of change management: a complete guide to the models, tools & techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers Carter, L., Ulrich, D., Goldsmith, M. (2005). Best practices in leadership development and organization change: how the best companies ensure meaningful change and sustainable leadership. John Wiley and Sons Cummings, T., Worley, C. (2008). Organization development & change. Cengage Learning Drucker, P. (2007). Management challenges for the 21st century. 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Performance measurement & management: a strategic approach to management accounting. SAGE Stellman, J. (1998). Encyclopaedia of occupational health and safety. International Labour Organization York, K. (2009). Applied Human Resource Management: Strategic Issues and Experiential Exercises. SAGE Publications Inc. Online sources Citywire, 2009, Marks and Spencer High Income, available at http://www.citywire.co.uk/adviser/fund-and-fund-manager-performance/-/unit-trusts/gbp-strategic-bond/fund-factsheet.aspx?FundID=9910&CitywireClassSchemeID=1&CitywireClassID=2260 Financial Times, 2009, Marks and Spencer, available at http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=uk:MKS Investment Markets, November 6, 2007, Good Performance from Marks and Spencer, available at http://www.investmentmarkets.co.uk/20071106-1182.html Marks and Spencer, corporate website, 2009, available at http://www.marksandspencer.com/ Telegraph, UK, Marks and Spencer news, 2009, available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/mks/ Appendix Figure 1 – Marks and Spencer – Organizational Structure Figure 2 – Force Field Diagram of Lewin (source: http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_lewin_force_field_analysis.html) Figure 3 – Marks and Spencer – share price (source: Financial Times, November 27, 2009) Total Returns on £1000 over 5 years3 years1 year To zoom in, click and drag on the graph. Figure 4 – Marks and Spencer, High Income, 2004-2009 (source: Citywire) Read More