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Management of M&S

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Bus 1004 – Introduction to Management

Introduction

The aim of this assignment is to understand and explore the main principles of the way Marks and Spencer’s operates. In the assignment I will be examine the strengths and weaknesses of the company, however the most critical issues which will be covered in the essay is the leadership and management style and corporate culture of Marks and Spencer’s. Furthermore I will analyse to what extent o regard leadership and management style as the key factors in accounting for Marks and Spencer’s relative underperformance over the last 20 years.

Explain 5 strengths and 5 weaknesses of Marks and Spencer’s

Referring back to the case study, we can see that Marks and Spencer have a very well known recognition of their brand, which links to quality. In the late 1880’s the company introduced the ‘St Michael’ logo as a sign of quality. With the brand linked to quality has helped the company build loyalty with their customers as they always ensure that their products are consistent and of high quality. This has of course helped Marks and Spencer gain rewards in terms of profit. Another strength which the company comprise is the good reputation of customer service. Marks and Spencer’s tend to focus a lot on their customer services; with one of their fundamental principles was to ‘provide friendly, helpful service and greater shopping comfort and convenience to customers’ Marks and Spencer’s assistants all carried tape measures to assure a good fit and also exchanging and refunding in the company was not a problem. This helped the company gain loyalty and good relationships with their customers.

Another strength which the company posses is they have gained a long term relationship with its suppliers and due to that mutual relationship they have gained they gain many benefits as they can closely work with their suppliers

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