Background
Marks & A ; Spencer is one of the taking retail merchants of UK. About 21 million people visit their shops every hebdomad. They operate around 895 shops around the Earth. 600 of these shops are in UK while 295 of these shops are operated in states outside UK.
The first Marks & A ; Spencer shop was opened in the twelvemonth 1894 at 21 Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester. The company was formed by a partnership between Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. Marks were a Litvak Jew from Poland and Spencer was a teller from Yorkshire.
Marks & A ; Spencer is the largest vesture retail merchant in United Kingdom. It is besides an upmarket nutrient retail merchant. It is the 43rd largest retail merchant in the universe. Now Marks & A ; Spencer has diversified into homewares, furniture and engineering.
In the twelvemonth 1998, Marks & A ; Spencer posted a pre-tax net income of GBP 1 billion. This was the first clip that a British retail merchant was able to make so. Marks & A ; Spencer is listed on the London Stock exchange.
Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Marks & A ; Spencer has managed to hold a turnaround. It posted significant net incomes over the last five old ages. In the twelvemonth 2008 the Time magazine ranked Marks & A ; Spencer as seventeenth in the list of top 100 alumnus employers.
Marks & A ; Spencer believes in the doctrine that the client is ever and wholly right. Most shops of Marks & A ; Spencer besides feature some kind of cordial reception offering like M & A ; S cafe and Espresso bars.
Post the economic crisis, Marks & A ; Spencer has renewed its focal point on cutting costs and bettering efficiency. The company closed down many of its unprofitable shops, like the 1s at Ripon and Balham, in early 2009 as portion of cost-cutting steps.
The human resources direction plays a great function in accomplishing such cost efficiencies. After the fiscal crisis, the consumers in many developed markets of Marks & A ; Spencer have become prudent. Savingss have increased and the extravagant, foolhardy ingestion seems to be a thing of the yesteryear. In such a scenario, retail merchants aim at capturing a greater portion of the clients ‘ ingestion.
The United Kingdom, which is the domestic and the most of import market of Marks & A ; Spencer, was badly hit by the economic recession. The U.K. economic system has still non come out of the throes of recession.
The thesis will look into the effectivity of human resources direction in Marks & A ; Spencer. How has the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer helped in the accomplishment of the aims of the organisation?
How has human resources direction contributed to the creative activity of value for the stakeholders of the organisation? Has the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer achieved the aims of the human resources map?
Does the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer follow a strategic attack to human resources direction? This thesis will research in deepness the function of human resources direction in Marks & A ; Spencer.
In the intensely competitory and dynamic retail industry the importance of employees as human resources is increased significantly. The employees act as the interface of the company with the clients. If they fail to fulfill the clients so the organisation will neglect to work the life-time value of the clients.
The human resources direction scheme at an organisation like Marks & A ; Spencer is an interesting topic for academic research. This subject is really of import from an empirical point of position. The human resources direction map in organisations is altering. From a transactional map it is germinating into a strategic one.
My personal ground for taking this subject was that I wanted to understand the function that human resources direction dramas in a retail organisation. The human resources direction of such an organisation will be effectual merely if it is able to accomplish its aims.
The chief aim of this research will be to find the grade of effectivity of the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer. The research will accomplish this nonsubjective by look intoing into the undermentioned inquiries:
Q1 ) To what extent has the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer helped in enabling the company to execute good on all the parametric quantities of its balanced scorecard?
Q2 ) Does the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer strategic in its attack?
Q3 ) Has Marks & A ; Spencer succeeded in transforming its human resources direction into a beginning of competitory advantage?
Q4 ) What are the schemes that the organisation preponderantly uses in its human resources direction?
Q5 ) How effectual has been the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer in making value for all the stakeholders of the organisation?
Through the above inquiries the thesis will endeavor for accomplishing the aims of the research. The human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer will be deemed to be effectual if it makes a important positive part to the accomplishment of the aims of the organisation.
This can merely be done if the human resources direction is able to lend to stakeholder value creative activity procedure of Marks & A ; Spencer. The chief stakeholders of Marks & A ; Spencer are: clients, employees, stockholders, providers, community and the province.
Human resources direction in the retail industry can go a beginning of much needed competitory advantage. The human resources direction schemes besides need to be tailored harmonizing to the selling scheme of the organisation.
The pick of the human resources scheme is besides influenced by the pick of the competitory scheme. Employees are the most of import nexus in the concatenation of execution of the competitory scheme of the organisation. The human resources and the human resources direction are hence in every facet of the organisational public presentation.
Literature Review
Human Resources Management is the direction of the human resources of the organisation. The earlier embodiment of human resources direction was personnel direction. But the terminology was changed to human resources direction when it was realized that the employees are one of the most of import resources of any organisation.
Another definition of human resources direction defines it as a set of procedures that employ people, develop their capacities and manages them so that they are able to carry through the demands of the occupation and the organisation.
There is a nexus between human resources direction and the organisational public presentation. This gives a strategic turn to the function that human resources direction dramas in organisations. It is non limited to transactional function.
The aim of any transactional map is to be every bit efficient as possible i.e. they aim for lowest costs. On the other manus a strategic map besides aims to be effectual. Effectiveness means making the right things.
An effectual human resources direction is one that is able to lend positively to the organisational public presentation. An effectual human resources direction influences the public presentation of the organisation on all the parametric quantities of its balanced scorecard [ Becker, B. and Gerhart, B. ( 1996 ) ].
The strategic human resources direction plays an of import function in hiking the productiveness of the employees. This enhanced productiveness of employees is translated into enhanced organisational productiveness which consequences in greater stockholder wealth and more stakeholder value ( Paauwe, 2009 ).
Pfeffer ( 1994 ) says that there are seven best patterns for accomplishing competitory advantage through people and constructing net incomes by seting people foremost. Harmonizing to Pfeffer these seven patterns are:
1 ) Supplying employee security.
2 ) Selective Hiring.
3 ) Training.
4 ) Sharing of information.
5 ) Self-managed squads.
6 ) High wage based on the organisational public presentation.
7 ) Decrease of position derived functions.
If the human resources direction of the organisation follows the above seven best patterns, it will go a beginning of competitory advantage for the organisation [ Pfeffer, 1994 ]. Pfeffer attack is the best pattern attack to strategic direction.
Organizational public presentation will be improved if there is a close perpendicular tantrum between the human resources direction patterns and the scheme of the company. This is the best fit attack to human resources direction.
The lifecycle approaches to human resources direction propound that HR patterns, policies and procedures can be mapped onto the phase of an organisation ‘s development or lifecycle ( Kochan & A ; Barocci, 1985 ).
Different human resources direction schemes suit different phases of the organisational lifecycle. A turning organisation needs a different human resources scheme from an organisation that has matured ( Storey, 2007 ).
Different competitory schemes besides require different human resources scheme. There should be a ‘best tantrum ‘ between the competitory scheme and human resources scheme of the organisation ( Paauwe, 2009 ).
The configurational theory argues for an attack that involves a close scrutiny of the organisation ‘s scheme so as to find the appropriate human resources scheme for the organisation. ( Delery & A ; Doty, 1996 )
The human resources scheme is drawn from the scheme of the organisation. This forms the Southern Cross of strategic human resources direction. The Resource Based View ( RBV ) considers human resources as the internal resources of the organisation.
The human resources can be used to make a sustainable competitory advantage for the organisation that is hard to copy by the rivals. The human resources direction plays the polar function in the direction of the human resources of the organisation.
The aim of human resources direction in every organisation is to pull and retain the best employees so that the organisation can be effectual in accomplishing its aims. Dave Ulrich ( 1996 ) defines human resources direction in footings of its four dimensions.
The four dimensions of human resources direction, harmonizing to Ulrich are: alteration direction, employee title-holder, disposal and strategic concern spouse. It is in the function of strategic concern spouse that human resources makes the greatest part to the organisational effectivity.
The human resources direction of an organisation will be considered to be effectual if it enables an organisation to execute good on all the four parametric quantities of the balanced scorecard. These parametric quantities of the balanced scorecard are:
The client position.
The employee position.
The fiscal position.
Internal processes position.
The human resources direction straight and indirectly influences all the above four parametric quantities of an organisation ‘s public presentation. An organisation can non prolong in the long tally if it fails to execute on all of the above parametric quantities.
An effectual human resources direction plays a proactive function instead than a reactive 1. The human resources direction scheme besides varies with the sector of the organisation. The human resources direction scheme of an organisation like Marks & A ; Spencer that operates in the retail sector may change from the human resources direction scheme of an organisation like Boeing that operates in the air power sector.
The human resources scheme of the organisation plays a critical function in the success or failure of any organisation. Most successful corporations, like Google, have efficaciously used human resources direction to make value.
Before make up one’s minding on the human resources scheme of an organisation, a elaborate industry analysis should be done. This industry analysis can be done utilizing theoretical accounts like Porter ‘s five forces theoretical account.
Effective human resources direction collaborates with the other maps like finance and selling to heighten the overall public presentation of the organisation. Human resources direction should non run in isolation.
The successful execution of the human resources scheme of the organisation is dependent on many other factors like the size of the organisation, the nature of the industry, nature of the industry and the organisational civilization.
The efficiency and effectivity of human resources direction is critical for the success of an organisation like Marks & A ; Spencer that operates in a extremely competitory environment.
The retail sector is one where the distinction between the different rivals is small or void. Employees play a really of import function because they act as the point of interface of the company with the clients. They besides implement the schemes of the organisation.
Research Methodology
The chief aim if this thesis is to find the effectivity of human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer. The research will look into into the undermentioned inquiries:
The grade of effectivity of the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer.
To what extent does human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer act upon the public presentation of the company on all the parametric quantities ( client, employees, fiscal, internal procedures ) of its balanced scorecard.
To what extent is the human resources direction strategic in attack?
What are the prevailing human resources schemes at Marks & A ; Spencer?
Is Human resources direction lending to the competitory advantage of Marks & A ; Spencer?
The research methodological analysis will utilize both primary research and secondary research. Primary research uses first manus primary beginnings of information. The primary research is original in nature. The chief advantages of primary research are:
Primary research is frequently more valid than secondary research since it is tailored for the intents of the research.
Primary research can throw up truly new and powerful penetrations.
The chief disadvantages of primary research are:
It requires a batch of resources.
It is really time-consuming.
Primary research is frequently hard to carry on as primary beginnings are hard to happen.
Secondary research uses secondary beginnings of informations and information. Secondary beginnings are those that already be. Examples of secondary beginnings are internet, diaries, authorities bureaus ‘ publications etc.
The chief advantages of secondary research are:
There are big Numberss of beginnings of secondary research available on the cyberspace and relevant publications.
It is easier to carry on and does non necessitate excessively many resources.
The chief disadvantages of secondary research are:
Information collected from secondary beginnings may frequently be non relevant or valid for the aims of the research.
It lacks originality.
This research will be preponderantly qualitative in nature. The qualitative research will be supplemented by simple quantitative research utilizing simple statistical theoretical accounts.
Research Method
Primary research will affect questioning the employees of the shops of Marks & A ; Spencer. These interviews will turn out to be a beginning of great penetration in understanding the employees ‘ position of Marks & A ; Spencer.
The clients of the Marks & A ; Spencer shops will be interviewed to find their degree of satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the service of Marks & A ; Spencer. This will assist in finding the impact of human resources direction on client satisfaction, client trueness etc.
The secondary research will be intensive and extended. It will analyse the fiscal statements of Marks & A ; Spencer and compare it with its challengers. The function that human resources direction has played in the fiscal public presentation of Marks & A ; Spencer will be determined through this.
The secondary research will besides concentrate on all the facets of the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer to find its effectivity.
After the research is complete the information and information collected will be analyzed. Wherever quantitative analysis is required it will be done? Qualitative analysis will be every bit nonsubjective as possible.
The findings of the research will be based on the above analysis. The findings will be followed by decisions and contemplations. The decisions will find the grade of effectivity of the human resources direction at Marks & A ; Spencer.
The contemplations will be the subjective sentiment of the research bookman. It will urge the ways in which the effectivity of the human resources direction can be enhanced so as to make more value for all the stakeholders of Marks & A ; Spencer.
The research methodological analysis will do in accomplishing the aims of the research. The sample size for the intents of the primary research will be 50. Secondary research will besides include industry analysis of the retail industry. This will assist in finding the place of Marks & A ; Spencer vis-a-vis its rivals.
The competitory scheme of Marks & A ; Spencer will be linked to the human resources scheme to find whether the pick of the human resources scheme is influenced by the pick of the competitory scheme of the organisation.
The research will be a valid 1. A valid research is that which measures what it intended to words. In other words, a research is valid if it is able to accomplish all its aims. The research methodological analysis will guarantee the cogency of this research.
A dependable research is one which gives consistent consequences when repeated. Reliability is a step of the credibleness of the findings of the research. Intensive research and nonsubjective analysis will guarantee the cogency of this research.
Timescale
There is sufficient slack in the clip estimated for the completion of each activity. This will guarantee that the thesis is submitted in clip and achieves its aims even if some unanticipated eventualities harvest up during its class.
The clip estimated for the assorted activities are as follows:
Submission and blessing of the research proposal: 1 hebdomad.
Primary research: 2 hebdomads.
Secondary research: 2 hebdomads.
Analysis of the informations and information collected: 2 hebdomads.
Decisions and Contemplation: 1 hebdomad.
Completing and redacting of the thesiss: 2 hebdomads.
Suitability
My academic demands, makings and my aptitude do me suited for this research. The subject of the proposal will be of great practical usage for my future functions. I have all the capablenesss and resources that are needed for the successful completion of this research.
I have good cognition of the topic of human resources direction. This cognition can be put to application during the class of this research. It will increase my apprehension of the topic and span the spread between the theoretical and empirical.
The primary research will show the challenge and the chance to make some fulfilling field work. The secondary research will throw up fresh positions, new thoughts and new penetrations on the topic of human resources direction.
I have ever felt that organisations and there human resources direction schemes still do non give due importance to the employees as an priceless beginning of competitory advantage for the organisation. This research will enable me to see if an organisation like Marks & A ; Spencer really has human resources direction schemes that are effectual in tackling this really valuable resource.
Ethical motives
Plagiarism is against the values of the research bookman. It will be wholly shunned in this thesis. The infusions from the plants of other research workers and authors on the topic have been used merely in the literature reappraisal subdivision.
Wherever they will be used they will be extensively referenced. The topics used in the primary research will be informed about the aims of their research. Their engagement in the primary research will hold no harmful affect on them. The whole research procedure will be ethical and transparent.
Mentions
Becker, B. and Gerhart, B. ( 1996 ), ‘The impact of human resource direction on organizational public presentation ‘, Academy of Management Journal 39 ( 4 ) 779-801
Delery, J. and Doty, H. ( 1996 ), ‘Modes of speculating in SHRM ‘, Academy of Management Journal, 39 ( 4 ), 802-835
Kochan, T. and Barocci, T. ( 1985 ), Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, LittleBrown
Paauwe, J. ( 2009 ), HRM and Performance: Accomplishment, Methodological Issues and Prospects ‘, Journal of Management Studies, 46 ( 1 )
Pfeffer, J. ( 1994 ), Competitive advantage through people, Harvard Business School Press
Prahalad, C. and Hamel, G. ( 1990 ) ‘The nucleus competencies of the administration ‘ Harvard Business Review
Storey, J. ( 2007 ) “ What is strategic HRM? ” Human Resource Management: A Critical Text, Thompson
Ulrich, Dave ( 1996 ). Human Resource Champions. The following docket for adding value and presenting consequences. Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press.
