MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Introduction

Change is necessary for any business, as without change, a company may lose its competition in today’s fast-moving environment (Schleper et. al. 2021). http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment SampleAs world is changing every day, so is the needs of customers, hence a pace of change is surely required to boost the economy of any organisation. Business that readily do not accept changes fail to survive in the market.

The piece of work will identify the need for change in the organisation. Further it will also discuss different aspect of team collaborations and importance of formal and informal leaders in Marks and Spencer. The importance of PESTLE and SWOT analysis is also listed for better understanding of four aspects in an organisation.

Task 1: The case for change

The case study focuses on need for a digital transformation in British’s well known multinational company, Marks and Spencer. Marks and Spencer deals with food products, home care products, clothing, furniture and gifts collection with its headquarters in London (Jones and Comfort, 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

With technological advancements in the entire market, the need for changing business strategies has increased recently. The retail market in the United Kingdom is flourishing greatly due to changing demands of customers.

In such conditions, Marks and Spencer should adopt effective digital transformation techniques to fulfil the demands of customers (Whitfield et. al. 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Building new digital changes in the company will also alert them about the external threat such as increasing customer demands and brand swapping.

According to the UK business reports, Marks and Spencer aims at delivering best quality products to its clients, moreover they also strive to gain customer’s loyalty that will ultimately increase the growth of the company annually. As demands of customers is highly unpredictable, the manufacturers need to conduct through research about market trends before developing different strategies (Arustamyan et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Technological development was not so easy in past three decades but with social media platforms all around, the digitalization has become speedier and more effective (Verhoef and Bijmolt, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Online social media is accessed by almost every individual; hence digitalization for business can be best done through online platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Marks and Spencer want to use social media platforms for interacting with different people across the world to know their thoughts and opinions about the company.

Like every other company, Marks and Spencer also has rival companies such as Sainsbury, Morrison and Tesco that are in constant competition with them. To gain a competitive advantage in any market, every company needs to accept changes to grow its organisation (Gürel and Tat, 2017).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Cloud technology is one of the finest techniques that can be adopted by Marks and Spencer to enhance digitalisation.

Task 2: Capture insights

Depending upon the changing demands in market, a company adopts particular digital modification methods to promote its business activities globally. Any change can be beneficial if it is implemented in a positive way (Vlados, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Digital transformation can be incorporated in every section of the company to ensure work efficiency is high. Further it can also provide information about various changes taking place in the market.

Macro-economic trends

With increasing competition and customer demands, it is necessary to focus on external factors that can influence the growth of Marks and Spencer. Although, external factors cannot be controlled, but effective steps can be adopted to reduce the consequences associated with external trends of the market.

External factors include political, social, economic, technological, legal and environmental (Pazouki et. al. 2017).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample PESTLE analysis is a common method that helps in examining the intensity of changes required in a market.

Political factors can be controlled by updating themselves with government rules and regulations. Moreover, economic factors are entirely based on investment, exchange rates, interest rates and inflation in the market. High employment rate of any company signifies that the country is equipped with robust economic system where sales performance maximizes every year.

Customer’s demand and preferences play an important role in influencing the sales and production in a market. Marks and Spencer need to address the macro-economic trends in the British market to gain a competitive edge (Corejova et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Competitor analysis

Every company adopts various technologies and plans to survive in the fast-growing market. To compete with Tesco, Sainsbury and other multinational companies in the United Kingdom, Marks and Spencer needs to analyse the strategies and techniques of its rival organisations (Kuusela, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Porter’s five forces model can be best applied to analyse the competitor company.

The model provides a detailed insight about the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, threats of the substitutes and new entrants and threat of competitors. The last force of the model is known to estimate the level of competition in the market. Further, it will also help in developing proper strategies to overcome the competition.

Competitive framework is yet another strategy that illustrates different increasing demands in market. Marks and Spencer can design a group which addresses the needs of customers by online marketing methods.

It also helps in defining potential threats to the industry (Chanias, et. al. 2019). http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment SampleOnce the threats are identified, the head of the company can collaboratively work with other team members to mitigate potential causalities to the company

Partners

Partners can be stake holders in a company that shows interest in investing and handling company procedures (Correani et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Stakeholders or partner can prove beneficial in understanding the requirements of clients. SWOT analysis is one of the best methods to analyse the internal and external factors of the business environment.

The analysis is based on determining strength, weakness, threats and opportunities in a company. Examining all four aspects helps a business grow in proper way. Robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence are some of the technological advancements that can be adopted by Marks and Spencer (Mitroulis and Kitsios, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Effective partners and stakeholders will always develop robust strategies that only increase company’s revenue but also increases the customer satisfaction level.

Task 3: Make fast decisions

A change in any industry can bring positivity only when it is implemented on right time. In order to enhance growth, Marks and Spencer needs to develop immediate plans which can improve their business activities.

Further the managers and CEO also should work towards building a strong work force that can fulfil customer needs without any delay (Zimmer, 2019). http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment SampleIn a retail company like Marks and Spencer, the organisation not only needs to identify the changes, but also need to apply them as quickly as possible.

If the industry feels the necessity of adopting latest digital technologies for faster development, then they should take immediate yet sequential steps to apply digitalization. Before deciding major things in a company, Marks and Spencer needs to identify the reason behind any change (Korachi and Bounabat, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Second step could be gathering important information from relevant sources which could give details reports of the market. By collecting various information, you may find alternative method to implement a change.

SWOT analysis is best framework to be used here in identifying weakness and strength of other rival companies. Based on the relevant statistics and information, a company can select various options to be proposed.

With increasing modernization and digitalization, Marks and Spencer should embrace a practical change management approach that can provide satisfactory results in the industry (Morakanyane et. al. 2017).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample With hierarchical organisation, the need to change is examined the board of members and the CEO of the company. Marks and Spencer should implement a change in an appropriate manner so that employees of the companies readily accept the change.

Detailed communication is the key to manage any change successfully (Sebastian et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Face-to-face communication is the best way to convey the change to its employees. It can help in resolving queries really quick.

Task 4: Acquire and engage talents

Engaging talent is a difficult task for any company across the world. Every industry needs to hire suitable yet talented candidates that can increase sales and production in the market.

Human resources department is concerned with recruiting candidates for Marks and Spencer (Schleper et. al. 2021). http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Depending upon the selected criteria, every company has internal and external recruitments which allow a person to enrol themselves for a suitable job opening. Internal recruitment is a type of hiring which is subjected to transfer, promotion or deputation of employees.

External recruitment adopts different criteria for choosing right candidates. Marks and Spencer can choose external hiring which includes hiring through social media advertising, recruitment companies, walk-in interviews and job fairs (Jones and Comfort, 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Depending upon the size of the company, both internal and external recruitment can be used. The aim of engaging talents in a company is to build business to a next level. Once candidates are hired, the company needs to provide training and guidance for proper management.

Training is the only key to improve the existing skills in an employee. Skills can help an individual to flourish both in personal and professional life. If employees at Marks and Spencer are trained properly, they will instantly accept the change, but if they lack proper training and management skills, they will feel fearful and anxious to accept any change (Whitfield et. al. 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Open dialogue communication with all the workers at Marks and Spencer will definitely open the doors of success for the company. One on one communication will certainly help in facing complications in an organisation.

When employees are free to communicate with their managers, they feel motivated and appreciated towards work. Further, managers should also assess employee’s performance and reward them accordingly. Timely incentives and bonus can keep the motivation of employees high (Arustamyan et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Task 5: Create a digital-ready culture

Once the company has decided the type of change, they need, they can develop effective plans to implement them correctly. Board members and managers can form a team of informal and formal leaders that can promote a digital-ready culture (Verhoef and Bijmolt, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Formal leaders in Marks and Spencer are those individuals who are concerned with making significant decisions that can prove beneficial for the company.

The formal leader in the above cited company can be a head of information technology which can help in embracing new digital change in the company. The responsibility of formal leader is to design digital ready culture that can suit company’s environment. For effective digital strategies, the leaders must be open to communicate and discuss the criteria with its employees.

The role of informal leaders differs from that of formal leaders. Informal leader works toward providing motivation to the employees of Marks and Spencer (Gürel and Tat, 2017). http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment SampleAlso, they are responsible in examining training necessities of its staffs. Leaders should be equipped with proper leadership traits to lead a team successfully.

Every organisation works towards building a strong empire to survive in the market. A team of talented employees and strong leaders are the key to the company’s success. Formal leader is assigned a role of describing necessary information about digitalization to its staff members.

On other hand, informal leaders at Marks and Spencer do not possess rights to instructions or demonstrations unlike formal leaders. Informal leaders can guide and train its employees to produce a positive effect on company’s growth (Vlados, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Task 6: Steer collaboration

Quality growth and success at Marks and Spencer is ensured if proper team collaboration is practiced within the organisation. Team collaboration helps in attaining quality output and cohesive work environment which allows employees to work independently (Pazouki, et. al. 2017).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Marks and Spencer constantly work towards building a healthy environment to achieve its goals on time. A team collaboration is must as it reduces work pressure on any single employee, moreover it helps in sharing different ideas among the team. As Marks and Spencer is a multinational retail outlet, the workers need to work in a team to promote positive output for the company.

Often the productivity decreases, when employees are unaware or unclear about the goals of the industry (Corejova et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Hence a clear communication with all its employees is a key to increase productivity levels.

Multinational companies also promote team work as members of a team help each other in facilitating changes positively. Marks and Spencer will readily able to implement the digitalization change once it has cohesiveness and support of its employees. Without adaptability and cohesiveness, a company cannot increase the production and growth.

Retail companies, IT sector and other industries adopt the team collaboration method to establish a definite work culture for its employees. Every organisation promotes such work culture to ensure maximum creativity and utility from its resources (Kuusela, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample Collaboration not only helps in fulfilling customers demand easily and timely, but it also helps in identifying different demands of customers in the market of the United Kingdom.

Task 7: Select your leaders

As leaders at Marks and Spencer know the importance and need of digital transformation, they need to develop set of skills and attributes to initiate the change in the industry.

Without proper skills and strategies, the facilitated change may not produce positive consequences (Chanias et. al. 2019). http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment SampleHence a set of leaders should develop a clear purpose and plan before embracing any kind of change in Marks and Spencer.

Even when a company identifies the type of change needed in a company, they need to understand that accepting changes is a difficult task for any organisation. Every individual from leaders to employees may face multiple challenges while facilitating changes. A strong leader guides their employees about upcoming difficulties in digitalization (Sebastian et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Further proper training can help resolve all the issues without fear and anxiousness. Marks and Spencer aim towards building a strong market value in coming years, therefore, leaders of the company needs to have clear goal and vision for taking business forward (Correani et. al. 2020).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Leaders should treat every employee in such a way that they become capable of handling any dire circumstances without any hesitation. When a company increase the number of partners, they can implement changes more easily.

Every partner can take individual steps to increase the sales and growth of the company. Once leaders and partners are successful in designing proper plan, the culture and working environment of Marks and Spencer will never collapse. Rather it will probably be a positive step towards the company’s success (Mitroulis and Kitsios, 2019).http://MSc Management Leading through Digital Disruption Assignment Sample

Conclusion

From the thorough analysis, it can be concluded that for enhancing the sales in Marks and Spencer, it is necessary to identify and implement changes on time. Timely changes in the company can build a healthy environment that promotes motivation and appraisals for its employees.

Further, transformation is a critical need of the company to sustain the market place. Without adopting changes, a company fails to innovate and grow with time. Moreover, chances of failure increase in today’s competitive market. Large- and small-scale companies can only sustain in a market when they prepare themselves to adapt important changes.

References

Arustamyan, A., Al Taj, S. and Nasir, A., (2020). ROLE OF STRATEGIC MARKETING IN CREATING ORGANISATIONAL VALUE. Journal of Education & Humanities Research, University of Balochistan, Quetta-Pakistan, 10(2), pp.42-66.

Chanias, S., Myers, M.D. and Hess, T., (2019). Digital transformation strategy making in pre-digital organizations: The case of a financial services provider. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 28(1), pp.17-33.

Corejova, T., Rostasova, M. and Valicova, A., (2020). REMARKS ON THE EVALUATION OF THE STRATEGIC FOCUS OF THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, pp.304-311.

Correani, A., De Massis, A., Frattini, F., Petruzzelli, A.M. and Natalicchio, A., (2020). Implementing a digital strategy: Learning from the experience of three digital transformation projects. California Management Review, 62(4), pp.37-56.

Gürel, E. and Tat, M., (2017). SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research, 10(51).

Jones, P. and Comfort, D., (2020). An exploratory case study of resilience and the leading retailers in the UK. International Journal of Management Cases, 21(4), pp.5-18.

Korachi, Z. and Bounabat, B., (2019). Integrated Methodological Framework for Digital Transformation Strategy Building (IMFDS). International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications (IJACSA), 10(12), p.2019.

Kuusela, E., (2019). Sustainability trends effecting modern business practices. Routledge

Mitroulis, D. and Kitsios, F., (2019). Digital Transformation Strategy: a literature review’. In Proceedings of the 6th National Student Conference of HELORS, Xanthi, Greece (pp. 59-61).

Morakanyane, R., Grace, A.A. and O’Reilly, P., (2017). Conceptualizing Digital Transformation in Business Organizations: A Systematic Review of Literature. Bled eConference, 21.

Pazouki, M., Jozi, S.A. and Ziari, Y.A., (2017). Strategic management in urban environment using SWOT and QSPM model. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 3(2), pp.207-216.

Schleper, M.C., Gold, S., Trautrims, A. and Baldock, D., (2021). Pandemic-induced knowledge gaps in operations and supply chain management: COVID-19’s impacts on retailing. International Journal of Operations & Production Management.

Sebastian, I.M., Ross, J.W., Beath, C., Mocker, M., Moloney, K.G. and Fonstad, N.O., (2020). How big old companies navigate digital transformation. In Strategic Information Management (pp. 133-150). Routledge.

Verhoef, P.C. and Bijmolt, T.H., (2019). Marketing perspectives on digital business models: A framework and overview of the special issue. Sage.

Vlados, C., (2019). On a correlative and evolutionary SWOT analysis. Journal of Strategy and Management.

Whitfield, S., Beauchamp, E., Boyd, D.S., Burslem, D., Byg, A., Colledge, F., Cutler, M.E., Didena, M., Dougill, A., Foody, G. and Godbold, J.A., (2019). Exploring temporality in socio-ecological resilience through experiences of the 2015–16 El Niño across the Tropics. Global environmental change, 55, pp.1-14.

Zimmer, M.P., (2019). Improvising Digital Transformation: Strategy Unfolding in Acts of Organizational Improvisation. Sage.