M2- Analyse how the structures of two contrasting businesses allow each to achieve its aims and
objectives
Marks and Spencer
Organisational Structure
Marks and Spencer have a flat organisational structure after delayering a number of layers from the
hierarchy previously in 2016 which gave the employees greater individual responsibility within their
departments. This is because the chief executive, Steve Rowe views quicker decision making as key
to addressing his number one priority which is to fix M&S’ underperforming home and clothes
business. Due to this, employees have to make quicker decisions and explain and justify them which
increases their accountability without increasing the company’s expenditure. For example, Steve
Rowe has given:
Helen Weir, his chief finance officer, additional responsibility for strategy implementation.
Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, the executive director of marketing & international, greater
responsibility for Plan A which is M&S’ environmental programme.
Andy Adcock, Jo Jenkins, Sacha Berendji and Paul Friston, the new operating committee,
greater accountability for the day to day running of M&S as well as for the development and
execution of strategies.
Steve Rowe, the chief executive thinks that a ‘simpler management with a smaller, more focused
team running M&S will lead to more efficient decision making and move us closer to our customers.’
This is why he gave his employees greater responsibility in certain areas so they become more
inclined in making good and worthy decisions that can speed up management.
Advantages
The advantages of Marks and Spencer having a flat organisational structure are:
A flat structure removes excess layers of management so improves the coordination and
speed of communication between employees.
Eliminating the salaries of middle management reduces M&S’ costs which keeps
expenditures low.
It elevates the employees’ level of responsibility in the organisation which motivates them to
work harder so they don’t make poor decisions that they would get the blame for.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages of Marks and Spencer having a flat organisational structure are:
A flat structure has the potential of decreasing workforce productivity as it assumes that
each worker is going to work to their full potential every day. But this can be proved wrong
as it lacks close supervision of workers which means they can get away with not working at
all on some days.
This structure works well for small organisations but not large organisations like Marks and
Spencer. This is because the structure isn’t scalable as the company can potentially have a
high level of growth over a short period. Therefore, the fast growth in the company can
cause the organisation to lose control resulting in unproductive behaviours and poor
decision-making experiences.
It can hinder employee retention because many employees who are highly skilled and want
to look for more opportunities like working their way up to the chain of command to
advance their skills. However, there are fewer middle management positions in a flat
structure which would make the employees seek to find a new job instead of staying put.
, In conclusion, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages meaning that the flat structure isn’t
suitable for M&S because employee demotivation is more likely to occur than employee motivation.
This is because rapid growth of the business may result in an unproductive workforce leading to
poor decision-making processes and a lack of work being completed which affects the company’s
internal performance negatively.
Aims and Objectives:
1. They want their customers to choose M&S products and services because they're informed
about the healthier and more sustainable options they offer.
2. They need their colleagues to be fully involved in developing and promoting the business.
3. They need to find ways for their operations and supply chains to become even more
efficient.
4. They want to reduce their costs by £350 million by 2021.
5. They want to ensure their 50 key raw materials come from a sustainable source.
6. They want to help 10 million people live happier and healthier lives.
How does Marks and Spencer achieve their aims and objectives?
The aims and objectives of Marks and Spencer are achieved under each department for example,
Finance, Marketing and HR through having a good manager/director to lead the group of employees.
This is because no business can expect to be successful without effective leadership. A good leader
inspires by guiding and motivating a group of people whilst directing them to achieve the business’
goals.
M&S are organised in the sense that the chief executive, Steve Rowe, has given the right people the
right responsibility based on their abilities and skill sets. For instance, the director for the finance
department is Humphrey Singer, the director for the marketing department is Sharry Cramond and
the director for HR is Harriet Hounsell. Therefore, the skilled directors are specialised in their area of
functional area to be in charge of so it is their job to ensure that they are on top of everything to
help reach the company’s objectives.
However, the structure type may at times cause the directors to lose control where the employees
go through demotivation and unproductivity resulting in a lack of work being done as some
employees may not be well committed in helping the company to achieve their goals. To avoid this
from occurring, M&S reward their employees by giving out bonuses to them. When M&S do well
financially, they want their employees to feel the benefit too so they have a number of bonus
schemes on offer that reward the employees for helping to reach the businesses goals. Therefore,
this motivates them to work to their full potential so they can take advantage of the rewards
Marks and Spencer also includes an employee-of-the-month award on its
internal communications page, which recognises employees that illustrate M&S’s values of being
innovative and inspirational. The award also acknowledges outstanding achievements by M&S
workers who show passion and commitment to their co-workers, and go the extra mile for
customers. Each month, workers submit their nominations to their line manager and one employee
is selected from the nominations. The winner is chosen each month by the department that the
winner belongs to. This scheme motivates the employees to work hard by being productive at all
times under the intentions of gaining positive attention for a month.
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