Saturday, February 22, 2020

Marks And Spencers Business Strategy Assignment

Marks And Spencers Business Strategy - Assignment Example The company has a very humble beginning but it has grown significantly over time to become a leader within the business industry of its operations. The company has dominated the British market for a long time. Its dominance is attributed to the value and quality of the clothing products that it offers its customers with a view of gaining their loyalty to its products. Marketing Week, (2005, p. 9) reveals that it is through the value that Marks and Spencer has for the needs of the customers that shoppers have been obliged to desire its products as opposed to those of the competitors. With time, the company has grown and diversified its products significantly and in addition to clothing, the company provides its customers with furniture, food and loan services. This paper gives a critical discussion and analysis of the business strategy of Marks and Spencer Plc with a view of analyzing and evaluating the company’s strategy using Porters Generic Strategy Framework. Moreover, the company is assessed in terms of acceptability, feasibility and suitability toward all of its stakeholders. Analyzing Marks and Spencer’s Strategy Business Strategy In 1999, the glory that Marks and Spencer had in the market started to crumble. This was illustrated by the fall in profits. As a result of the failure that the company experienced, it has endeavored to apply the most suitable business strategy so that it would remain competitive within the market and maintain its glory. Davies (1999, p. 60) points out that Marks and Spencer adopted a Competitive Strategy Model and Value Chain so that it would recover from the previous failures and challenges and thus maintain its competitive advantage while remaining as the market leader of the industry of its operation.... Davies (1999, p. 60) points out that Marks and Spencer adopted a Competitive Strategy Model and Value Chain so that it would recover from the previous failures and challenges and thus maintain its competitive advantage while remaining as the market leader of the industry of its operation. Kenny (2009) adds that it is through the Competitive Strategy Model and Value Chain that Marks and Spencer has regained its glory which is revealed by its current success and competitiveness in the market. The SWO analysis of the company which reflects its competitiveness is presented in Appendix 1. Business Environment and Strategy Datamonitor (2007, p. 1) demonstrates that the five forces of generic Strategies as postulated by Porter have been proved to be the most effective aids for businesses in the attainment of a competitive edge within the business environment. The key areas under which Porters Generic Strategy Framework analyzes businesses the power of suppliers, the power of buyers, the thr eat of substitutes, the threat of entry and the competitive rivalry. Grundy (2005, p. 195) explains that the business environment involves various forces which determine the success of a company and these include competition and economic, social, legal and cultural forces. The ability of a company to survive the challenges which the environment presents it with is determined by the implementation of a suitable business strategy which ensures that a competitive advantage is gained and attained. Beaver (1999, p. 325) recommends a Competitive Strategy Model as a way of allowing a company to overcome the environmental forces and thus become a market leader and the most competitive business in the market. Therefore the implementation of the Competitive Strategy Model by Marks and Spencer

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Persuasive Memo Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Persuasive Memo - Research Paper Example Lexington has a healthy population of African and Hispanic community which is a cause for rise of social crime in the society. As per ( City Rating,2013)â€Å"In 2010 the city violent crime rate in Lexington was higher than the violent crime rate in Kentucky by 136.81% and the city property crime rate in Lexington was higher than the property crime rate in Kentucky by 44%†.The young Africans and Hispanics are more into substance abuse and crimes as poverty and social ignorance lead them to this. It is the obligation and responsibility of Corporate like Cold stream laboratories to perform activities that can upgrade the community and people living it. So a social awareness centre would bring youth who are misled together and enhance their knowledge about drug abuse and criminal activities. They will be guided to stop addictive substances and lead life which is productive and beneficial. Operation of Social Awareness centre The operation of the social awareness starts with estab lishing a building in a right location with facilities needed for it. The next important thing is appointment of right professionals in the centre. A social awareness centre must have more of voluntary workers who are keen on social support work. Only important therapists and medical experts need to be hired with pay. The social awareness centre must operate on a daily basis and should consider people from all social backgrounds. People should be given assistance free of cost and the quality of service should be of highest standard. The centre should be operating from morning to evening and would not work round the clock. Hygiene must be of highest priority at all times. The operation of the social awareness centre must be in an organized manner and the all the details of the people getting the service need to be recorded. It is also the duty of the volunteer social workers to find people who need the service .The centre must have all the records and activities being monitored by a managerial head that would also look out for any discrepancies. The centre needs to have different therapy which deals with different issues. The people coming in would be analyzed first for their problems and then the needed service will be provided. According to ( Brooks, 2013) â€Å"A top priority for many organizations today is corporate social responsibility, which focuses on how businesses deal with their environmental, social and economic impacts†. Implementation of Social Awareness Centre Implementing the program starts with a blue print of the centre and proper planning of the staff needed and the working system. A business plan is the foundation in implementing a corporate social responsibility program. Measurable targets needs to be set along with performance standards. The commitments need to be strategized and employees need to hand over responsibilities. The needs of the local community need to be analyzed and decision needs to be made accordingly. The senior ma nagement needs to finalize the goals and strategies of the program. According to (Hohnen, 2007) â€Å"When implementing a CSR strategy, companies should recognize and respect local and cultural differences, while maintaining high and consistent global standards and policies†. It is very important to make decisions regarding the financial and human resources needed for the program. The code of conduct, guidelines of the centre needs to be established. Responsibility and authority of the employees