Management of M&S

The business I have chosen for this investigation is ASDA superstore. This is a large chain of supermarkets throughout Britain which retails clothes, merchandise, food, and electronics etc. in this part of my course work I will briefly explain the aims and objectives of ASDA I will also explain the external factors which affect the aims and objectives of the business however I will first be talking about a brief history of ASDA.

Technology is very important in the retail market. In order to grow your business, make their business more secure and complete with the competitors, Marks and Spencer has to move along with the new technology. To do this they must manage their brands carefully. Major brand marketers often spend huge amounts on

Marks and Spencer Group (M&S) is the premier retailer in clothing, foods and home ware within the United Kingdom. The company’s commitment to quality, value, service, innovation and trust is a key contributor to their success as a high street retailer in the UK. Their current core UK operations centre around three divisions, food, general merchandise (including clothing and home ware), and the financial services industry. Therefore Tesco plc is the prime UK retailer to analyse and compare growth, financial performance and the financial status of M&S Plc in line with other competitors within the same industry.

The internal analysis of the company paints a picture of a firm that is well endowed with resources, both human and capital. The company boasts of an asset base of $11.4 billion according to the financial reports for the year 2012. This is huge, and it shows that the company is well grounded and has the capacity to gain a competitive edge in the highly competitive retail market in which it operates (Britton & Jorissen, 2007).

Part A of this report examines the resources and capabilities of Marks & Spencer (M&S) up to the mid 1990's and how they lead to creating a superior competitive advantage (CA) over all competitors.

This report will demonstrate, apply and evaluate knowledge and understanding of key managerial disciplines of the chosen high street retailer, Marks and Spencer, in different real-world global contexts. According to the report by Deloitte, the retail industry is undergoing immense changes and faces a tough competitive

Marks & Spencer is a large company listed on various stock markets, which a widely spread operations in many countries. The size of operations of the company and high reputation in the

Marks and Spencer (M&S) p.l.c. is one of the largest retailers in the United Kingdom with a selling space of 12.5 million square feet, was established in 1884 as ‘Penny bazaar’. M&S sells clothing, food, footwear, gifts and home furnishings in its 760 stores around the world. The company’s wholly own and franchise stores operates in Europe, Hong Kong, Far East, Australia, Middle East, the Bahamas and Bermuda making a total of 34 countries.

This document/report throws light on the business environment of Marks and Spencers and the analysis of strategic position, strategic direction, success criteria and backed up by future recommendations for the company based on all the mentioned aspects. The frameworks used to analyse the company are:

As a clothing store which is focusing on local designed and European designed clothes, our products are going to be high-end, fashionable, green and unique.

With the support of relevant examples, examine the development of management theories and how these theories may affect the management practices in PRIMARK:

Marks & Spencer was once a top-of-the-line company in terms of its quality and selection. However, it is reported that the company has become" an out-of-date, uncompetitive blur on the UK stock market. The decline for Marks & Spencer began in the latter part of the 1990s and due to the pressure of a "changing economic demand causing Marks & Spencer to undergo continual business realignment"¦" (IBM, Ltd. 2005, p.1)

* The company has to suffer economical loss due to its cyclic nature of production. The production does not run at full efficiency every time. This leads to the waste of energy, money and resources.

Marks and Spencer (M & S) was started by Michael Marks and later joint by a partner Tom Spencer in 1884. It is one of the largest British retailers that sold clothes, home furnishings, food, gifts etc. and was formerly known as St. Michael. It has markets in Europe, Far East, America and Asia. The company suffered a series of losses and a dip in the market share from a few years before the stepping down of the then CEO, Sir Richard Greenbury, in 1999. In 2001 the company underwent a drastic strategic change and the

Peter Spurgeon and Robert Cragg (2007) contend the current attention paid to the importance of leadership has diminished the value and contribution of management. The discussion concerning leadership and management, at the most extreme, is inclined to portray leadership as 'good' and management as 'bad'. These constraints are rooted in the proposition that people do not want to be managed, with its connotations of bureaucracy and control, but are happy to follow a leader toward a vision. At the core of this perception is the belief that leaders are concerned with the future and with the people in the system, while managers are focused upon greater efficiency and immediate results.