MAN133 International Business Issues and Practice Assignment Sample 2023

Introduction

The business world offers a lot of challenges and opportunities for the company and it is important for them to have effective project management. Businesses need to focus on working on different projects while operating the enterprise. In general terms, project management is being referred to as the process of managing the different activities of the project and achieving the objectives and completing the project at a specific time (Safapour et. al. 2020).

The aim of this report is to discuss the topic of project management in the context of businesses. For explaining the concept of project management in detail the report will focus on considering the case of Marks and Spencer. This is an international retail company which is offering diversified products to their customers around the world. In this report, the researcher would discuss that how project management is conducted in the chosen organisation and how they are managing their projects. The project management of Marks and Spencer will be critically evaluated in this report. The different stages of the project management process and the key areas of project management like planning, stakeholder engagement, and risk management would be explored properly in this report. In this analysis, the researcher would focus on explaining the different concepts with the help of appropriate examples.

Content and analysis

Introduction to Project management

While operating the organisation the management needs to work on different projects and all the projects are having a major role to play in the success of the company. There are different reasons due to which the businesses need to take on a project. In general terms project is being defined as the sequence of tasks that are being performed for achieving the common goals and objectives (Antwi, 2020). It is important for businesses to have effective project management in the company which can help them in managing the projects in an effective manner.

Project management is being referred to as the process of applying the knowledge, tools, technologies, and skills for doing all the project activities in an effective manner so that they can help the firm in meeting the project requirements. In the present competitive world, businesses focus on having employees who are having effective project management skills.

Project management in the context of the businesses is defined as the process of using the human resource, financial resource, and material resources in a well-organised manner so that they can make the project successful. In support of this Papke-Shields and Boyer-Wright, (2017) had mentioned that project management can be understood as an effective strategy for businesses. If the company is having better project management then it helps them in bringing an effective change in the company.

Sánchez Gómez, (2017) had mentioned in their study that when the businesses are working on any of the projects then it is important for them to focus on the principles and techniques of project management which can help them in making the project successful. The study explains that the main objective of project management is to make the project successful so that it can add value to the company. In contrast to this Ackah, (2020) had mentioned that if the company fails in managing the project effectively or completing the project on time then it leads to having a significant negative impact on the firm.

In the view of Dandage et. al. (2018) the employees of the company need to have better knowledge related to project management. For managing the projects in an appropriate manner it is important for the firm to have better skills and knowledge related to project management which can help them in completing the project on time.

Businesses need to work on a lot of different projects for operating effectively in the present business world. When the company is offering the products and services to the customers then they have to bring a lot of changes as per the changing business environment (al Habibi, 2019). Project management is important for businesses as it helps them in implementing the change in an effective manner and helping the firm in achieving the aims and objectives of the company. Khomyakov et. al. (2020) had described in their study that when the organisations are focusing on making the projects successful it is important for them to focus on planning, risk management, and stakeholder engagement as well.

Project management for Marks and Spencer

Mark and Spencer are one of the leading retailers of the world which is offering diversified products to their customers. The company is operating at an international level and had to manage a lot of business activities across the borders. The case company is operating in a competitive business environment due to which it is important for them to have an effective management system. For the businesses like the case company, it is crucial to have effective project management in the company. The project management department needs to have highly skilled and knowledgeable employees who can deliver better service to the company by managing the different projects in an effective manner.

M&S is a retail sector organisation and for such businesses, it is important to have an effective project manager who can manage the projects related to retail planning and all the different aspects of the project management with the company (Taylor, 2019). For businesses operating in the retail sector project management is defined as the process of planning, organising, securing, leading, and controlling all the resources in an effective manner so that the company can get better benefits. The retail sector is transforming continuously and it had become important for the retail sector businesses to focus on bringing better technological advancement in the working processes.

In the present era due to the greater transformation in the retail sector, project management had gained a lot of importance for the case company. M&S works on different projects for implementing better changes in the organisation with the changing business environment and transformation of the retail sector (Power et. al. 2020). If the businesses like M&S focus on having effective project management in the company then it can help the company in successful project management. When the retail sector organisation is having better project management then it helps them in receiving better benefits from it like an increase in the sales, improvement in the working process, reducing the unnecessary cost, and leading the firm towards success.

Project management process

When the company is working on any of the projects then it is important for them to focus on applying the project management process in an effective manner. This process would help the company is working on the project ina well-planned and systematic manner. Project management is a systematic approach to doing the project and making it successful for the company. Perkins et. al. (2018) had mentioned the five different stages or the phases of project management. According to this study, the different stage of project management includes the initiation stage, planning, execution, monitoring, and project closure. All the stages of project management are equally important and it is crucial for the project management team to work effectively in all the stages.

Figure 1: Project management process

(Source: Self-made)

Project initiation is the first stage of the project and in this stage the company needs to focus on collecting all the information related to the project. When the case company is working on this stage then they focus on consulting the project with all the stakeholders and sharing all the specifications of the project with them. Along with this the in this stage, the businesses need to focus on conducting the situational analysis which can help them in understanding the impact of the new project on the business in an effective manner.

Project planning is the most important part of the overall project management process. The business needs to focus on planning all the things related to the project in advance. This stage of the process is having a higher impact on all other stages (JalaliSohi et. al. 2020). While planning the project all the different factors are required to be taken into account by the project manager and the project management team. After this execution of the plan is also a significant stage of the project management because in this stage the company needs to focus on applying the plan to the company in an effective manner.

When the plan is executed then it is important for the company to focus on monitoring the effectiveness of the project and how it is working. If the case company implements any of the plans then it is important for them to focus on monitoring the performance of the project and addressing the issue if they face any of the issues (Markosyan and Ghahramanyan, 2019). Then the last stage of the project is project closure if the project had successfully achieved its aims and objectives then the project is closed.

For explaining this let us take the example of Amazon which is an e-commerce company offering a wide range of products to customers across the globe. The company is having an effective project management system and they have developed effective strategies for making the project successful. If Amazon is looking for bringing change in any of the processes then they focus on developing an effective project management plan for it. When the plan is developed then the project manager focuses on tracking and measuring the performance of the new process implemented (Balyurko, 2021). Also, they set clear objectives for the project which helps them in analysing that the project had achieved them or not.

Stakeholder involvement in the Project Management

When the company is working on any of the projects then it is important for them to focus on ensuring that all the stakeholders should get involved in the project. Stakeholders are playing a major role in the organisation and when they are working on the project then all the stakeholders should be involved in the planning and decision making of the project (Davis, 2017). For a project, the different stakeholders are the project manager, the project team, the organisation, the resource manager, executives, and the investors of the company, the company owner, and the customers as well.

If all the stakeholders are included in the project then it helps the company in uncovering the potential risks and this would help them in developing an effective plan. While making an effective plan for the project all the stakeholders are required to be engaged and involved in the decision-making process as it helps the company in enhancing transparency among the employees (Derakhshan et. al. 2019). Along with this better stakeholder engagements helps in developing better trust, communication, and cooperation among them which are important for the success of the project. Mark and Spencer are considered about their stakeholders and they focus on involving them in the project and decision making as well. The company focuses on having better alignment with its stakeholders while working on any of the projects (Aragonés-Beltrán et. al. 2017). Mark and Spencer need to have effective employees in the project management team of the company which can help them in developing communication and cooperation among all the stakeholders.

Risk management in project

Risk is an important thing for the company as the businesses face a lot of risks while working in a business environment. Risk management is an important part of project management as the risk is having the potential to affect the overall outcome of the project. In general terms, risk management is being referred to as a process of taking strategic decisions which can help the firms in reducing the chances of risk and helps in managing the risk (Samimi, 2020). There are several risk factors associated with the project and it is important for the project management team to reduce the chances or risk and manage them in an effective manner. The case company focuses on developing effective communication among the members of the project management team and conducting detailed research for analysing the potential risks. M&S focuses on managing the risks in an effective manner because according to them the risks are having a higher potential to affect the entire organisation to a greater extent.

Figure 2: Risk management

(Source: self-made)

For example, if we consider the present scenarios then all the businesses are highly affected by the pandemic situation due to Covid-19. In this situation, retailers like Mark and Spenser are focusing on bringing significant changes in their working pattern and for this they are focusing on developing effective plans (Martin-Neuninger and Ruby, 2020). When a company focuses on bringing the change then it is important for them to develop a better project plan so that they can implement the changes effectively. In this project, the major risk for the company would be related to the health and safety of the employees and their customers. For reducing this risk, Mark and Spencer need to focus on developing better rules and regulations and precaution measures for ensuring the safety of their products and services. For reducing the risk of spread of the corona virus the company needs to provide proper PPE kits, sanitisers, and masks to their employees when they are working in the workplace. This would increase the cost of the project for the company but it will help in reducing the risk.

If we consider the case of Tesco then the company is focusing on adopting the change in their working pattern due to coronavirus pandemic. They have developed an effective project plan for rapid implementation of the change in their business operations. The company had evaluated the risks which are likely to be faced by them while implementing this plan (MacIntyre and Wang, 2020). Tesco had analysed that there is a risk of shortage of availability of the food items on the online stores. Along with this, they have also evaluated that there are chances that they face a lack of availability of the human resource for delivering the products to the customers as the online purchase had increased.

For managing this risk in an appropriate manner they have just doubled their capacity for online grocery shopping. This had helped them in meeting the market requirements and bringing change successfully by offering groceries through the online platform. For having an appropriate number of employees to work at the different distribution centre the company had recruited 50,000 temporary employees for supporting the company by working as the delivery drivers (ICAEW, 2020). From this example, it can be said that Mark and Spenser should also focus on developing better strategies for managing the risk in an appropriate manner while working on any of the projects.

Mark and Spencer is operating in highly dynamic business environment and due to this they face different risks and if the company fails in managing those risks then it would affect the overall performance of the company. Different factors of the business environment are affecting the businesses and develop risk for the company. M&S is having effective employees in the firm and better management which help them in managing the risks in an effective manner (UK Essay, 2017). For example in the present pandemic situation due to the economic slowdown the businesses are experiencing loss and this increasing the financial risk for the company. But the case company is working effectively to reduce the risk of negative impact of the economic slowdown on the company. It can be said that if the company is not having better risk management then it would affect the overall performance of the company (Bahroun and Harbi, 2015).

Importance of planning in project management

Planning is the most important part of project management, whenever the company is looking forward to work on any of the opportunities or bringing change then they needs to develop an effective plan for that project. An effective project plan is the first step towards making the project successful. If the company is not having a systematic project then are not able to work on the project in an appropriate manner (Galli, 2018). For example, if Mark and Spencer works on any of the project then they should focus on proper resource allocation, developing an proper schedule for the project, making all the resources available and estimating the overall cost of the project. If the company would focus on these factors then this will help them in solving the issues related to the lack of planning of the project.

Case study of project management at M&S

For understanding the project management of M&S in detail let us take an example of the project which is being managed by M&S. The case company is operating at the global level and due to this reason they have to focus on attaining sustainability and operating in a more environmentally friendly manner (Amasiatu and Shah, 2018). With the increasing technological advancement, the company had decided to develop a plan for a five-year transformation. Bringing change in the retail management structure is not an easy task as the company needs to work on a lot of different factors. M&S is focusing on making their store operations more technologically advanced for gaining a competitive advantage over others.

In 2018 the company had developed this project plan and in this project, they are focusing on introducing the new technology operating model for the company. M&S had focused on having proper planning and for this they have conducted detailed marketing research which had helped them in analysing that what are the expected benefits the company can receive from the project (Mark and Spencer, 2018). The transformation project is having a better potential to improve the overall customer experience and this would help the company in gaining a competitive advantage over others. While planning for this project the company had analysed the excepted benefits for the company and they found that the change in the firm will add value to the company.

When the company is developing the project they should have focused on setting small targets for them so that it would help them in analysing the performance of their project when they are working on the project. Instead of it, the company had developed the goal for the project that by the end of 2021/22 this project and the technology transformation program would help the company in delivering the annual efficiencies of c. £30 m. M&S had appointed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as their technology partner. The company is working for bringing the transformation for the employees, customers, and shareholders but they should have focused on shareholder engagement.

For the project initiation, the company had started focusing on working on this project and had started taking consultation from the stakeholders. In the pandemic situation, the company had analysed that making use of the latest technologies can help them in transforming their business practices in an effective manner. It can be said that the company had focused on using this pandemic situation as an opportunity for them to transform their business immediately. As the company is already working on the transformation project they have decided to bring the digital transformation as soon as possible (Mark and Spencer, 2020).

From this case, it can be said that the company is having effective planning for the project and are working on it in an effective manner but they need to focus on using the project management strategies. The transformation is a significant change for the company and for this, it is important for them to use the different strategies which can help them in managing the project in a more effective manner (Kholbaev and Alimov 2020). A more systematic approach to project management can help the company in receiving better outcomes from the project. In case if the company immediately takes the actions and if they face issues in implementing the changes then it might lead to failure. So it can be said that the company should have focused on sticking to their project plan only and working as per that only. Bringing a change in a systematic manner is crucial for making the project successful.

Recommendations

Mark and Spencer are operating in one of the highly competitive industry and it is important for them to focus on having an effective project management team. The retail sector and transforming continuously, hence the case company needs to focus on having an effective and flexible project management team that can develop the project plan and can implement the change quickly. If the project management reacts faster and works effectively on the project then it can help the company in gaining a competitive advantage over others. The case company is working hard on their projects but if they focus on applying effective project management strategies then it can help them in managing their projects in a more appropriate manner.

It can be recommended that when the company is working on any of the projects then all the things need to be clear to all the stakeholders in the planning stage only. In the planning stage, the company needs to focus on developing the project aims and objectives and finalising the project detail (Montes-Guerra et. al. 2021). From the beginning, the company needs to make it clear that the project needs to be successful as they had invested better capital in the project. Mark and Spencer need to ensure that all the team members working on the project need to have clear roles and responsibilities. This would help them in increasing accountability.

One of the important strategies on which the case company should focus is that selecting the right team. The project manager needs to ensure that they should select the individuals who are having better task management skills, communication, risk management, scheduling, negotiation, critical thinking, and cost management skills (Meng and Boyd, 2017). If the project team members are having these skills then it would help them in working effectively and making the project successful.

Project risks are having a significant influence on the outcomes of the project and if the company fails in identifying and managing the risk in an effective manner then it will lead to the failure of the project (Haughey, 2018). M&S needs to focus on appointing an effective project manager who can use their skills for taking preventive actions and corrective measures so that they can reduce the project risks.

Also when the company completes any of the projects then it is important for them to focus on monitoring the outcomes of the project. When the company focuses on evaluating the project then it helps them in analysing them their strengths and weaknesses in the context of the project management (Galli, 2017). This helps the company in making improvements in their project management and ensures that next time the company would manage the project in a more appropriate manner.

Conclusion

The above-mentioned report had described the concept of project management for the businesses. The present report had interpreted that project management is important for all the businesses and it is important for the organisations to have effective project management teams who can help the company in completing the projects successfully. It concludes that the company needs to focus on applying the project management process and following its all the stages in an appropriate manner. The researcher had critically evaluated the project management of Mark and Spencer and found that the company is working on the different factors but they needs to use effective strategies in their project management.

The report had recommended the different strategies for M&S which can help the company in completing the projects in more systematic manner. The recommendations had focuses on the important areas of the project management like risk management, project planning and better stakeholder engagement in the project. It can be said that if the case company would focus on using applying the recommended strategies then it would help them in completing the projects on time with better efficiency. Along with this the report had also described better knowledge related to the way in which the organisations can focus on managing the projects in their firms.

References

Journals and Books

Ackah, D., 2020. The Distinction between Project Failure and Project Management Failure. Project management, pp.01-13.

al Habibi, B., 2019. HR practices of Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Primark, and Sainsbury’s (Doctoral dissertation, University of Science & Technology).

Amasiatu, C.V. and Shah, M.H., 2018. First party fraud management: framework for the retail industry. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management.

Antwi, S., 2020. Project Management Plan for “GH Buy”: A Proposed Online Shopping Platform.

Aragonés-Beltrán, P., García-Melón, M. and Montesinos-Valera, J., 2017. How to assess stakeholders’ influence in project management? A proposal based on the Analytic Network Process. International journal of project management, 35(3), pp.451-462.

Bahroun, M. and Harbi, S., 2015, October. Risk management in the modern retail supply chain: Lessons from a case study and literature review. In 2015 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Systems Management (IESM) (pp. 1161-1170). IEEE.

Dandage, R.V., Mantha, S.S., Rane, S.B. and Bhoola, V., 2018. Analysis of interactions among barriers in project risk management. Journal of Industrial Engineering International, 14(1), pp.153-169.

Davis, K., 2017. An empirical investigation into different stakeholder groups perception of project success. International Journal of Project Management, 35(4), pp.604-617.

Derakhshan, R., Turner, R. and Mancini, M., 2019. Project governance and stakeholders: a literature review. International Journal of Project Management, 37(1), pp.98-116.

Galli, B.J., 2017. Risk management in project environments: Reflection of the standard process. The Journal of Modern Project Management, 5(2).

Galli, B.J., 2018. Decision-Making Tools and Strategic Planning in Project Environments: The Overlap Of The Two Concepts. The Journal of Modern Project Management, 6(2).

Haughey, D., 2018. The role of the project manager. Project Smart, faculty. northseattle. edu.

JalaliSohi, A., Bosch-Rekveldt, M. and Hertogh, M., 2020. Four stages of making project management flexible: insight, importance, implementation and improvement. Organization, technology & management in construction: an international journal, 12(1), pp.2117-2136.

Kholbaev PhD, B. and Alimov PhD, B., 2020. IMPORTANCE OF THE PLANNING TOOL IN PROJECT EFFICIENCY. International Finance and Accounting, 2020(5), p.24.

Khomyakov, I., Mirgalimova, R. and Sillitti, A., 2020, March. An investigation of the project management approaches of agile and plan-based companies. In Proceedings of the 35th Annual ACM Symposium on Applied Computing (pp. 1662-1665).

MacIntyre, C.R. and Wang, Q., 2020. Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection for prevention of COVID-19. The Lancet, 395(10242), pp.1950-1951.

Markosyan, A.K. and Ghahramanyan, M.G., 2019. PROJECT MANAGEMENT: MAIN STAGES AND APPROACHES. Известиявысокихтехнологий, (2), pp.30-35.

Martin-Neuninger, R. and Ruby, M.B., 2020. What does food retail research tell us about the implications of coronavirus (COVID-19) for grocery purchasing habits?. Frontiers in Psychology, 11.

Meng, X. and Boyd, P., 2017. The role of the project manager in relationship management. International Journal of Project Management, 35(5), pp.717-728.

Montes-Guerra, M.I., Diez-Silva, H.M., Silva, H.F.C. and Pérez, T.V., 2021. Adoption of Good Project Management Practices in the International Cooperation Sector in Colombia. In Project Management and Engineering Research (pp. 477-489). Springer, Cham.

Papke-Shields, K.E. and Boyer-Wright, K.M., 2017. Strategic planning characteristics applied to project management. International Journal of Project Management, 35(2), pp.169-179.

Perkins, D., Jugdev, K. and Mathur, G., 2018. Characteristics of project management assets and project management process outcomes: an exploratory factor analysis. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management (IJITPM), 9(1), pp.59-77.

Power, M., Doherty, B., Pybus, K. and Pickett, K., 2020. How COVID-19 has exposed inequalities in the UK food system: The case of UK food and poverty. Emerald Open Research, 2.

Safapour, E., Kermanshachi, S. and Jafari, A., 2020, July. Effective Project Management Principles and Strategies in Transportation Infrastructure Projects. In Creative Construction e-Conference 2020 (pp. 126-135). Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

Samimi, A., 2020. Risk Management in Information Technology. Progress in Chemical and Biochemical Research, pp.130-134.

Sánchez Gómez, M.D.L.C., 2017. Development and implementation of a Project Management Plan for a BEXUS21 experiment.

Taylor, A., 2019. An exploratory study of the relationship between job insecurity and employee engagement focusing on temporary employees in the retailing industry in the United Kingdom| Case study: Marks and Spencer Group plc.

Online

Balyurko, I. (2021). 9 Amazon Project Management Strategies for Success [Online]. Available through: <https://www.ecomengine.com/blog/project-management-strategies-amazon-sellers>

ICAEW, (2020). Adapting to COVID-19: the Tesco story [Online]. Available through:<https://www.icaew.com/insights/interviews-and-profiles/2020/july-2020/adapting-to-covid19-the-tesco-story>

Mark and Spencer, (2018). MARKS & SPENCER ANNOUNCES TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION PROGRAMME [Online]. [Available through]: <https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/2018/marks-and-spencer-announces-technology-transformation-programme>.

Mark and Spencer, (2020). M&S ANNOUNCES PROPOSALS TO ACCELERATE THE TRANSFORMATION OF ITS RETAIL MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE [Online]. [Available through]: <https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/media/press-releases/5e0f046f7880b21924350282/m-and-s-announces-proposals-to-accelerate-transformation-of-its-retail-management-structure#:~:text=The%20aim%20of%20M%26S’%20transformation,and%20this%20has%20not%20changed.&text=M%26S%20will%20never%20be%20the,between%20the%20centre%20and%20frontline>.

UK Essay, (2017). Marks and Spencer: Processes of Change. [Online]. Available through:<https://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/the-ongoing-process-of-change-at-marks-and-spencer-business-essay.php>

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