Introduction

Background of the study

Corporate strategies are long-term goals that the organisations prepare for creating corporate values and achieve organisational success. These strategies do not only pertain to one single aspect but also includes detailed organisational analysis like the industry analysis, competitor analysis and external and internal environmental analysis (Nithisathian et al. 2018).  The business proposal clearly tries to bring out the necessity of a solid corporate strategy for enhancing the productivity and revenue of any organisation. The example of Marks and Spencer has been taken for the research proposal. The annual reports of the previous and the current year have been considered, and the key performance areas are analysed along with the strategies to reach the outcome. In order to come up to the conclusion, the proposal has thoroughly indicated the statement problem, research aims, objectives and questions, literature review and the methodology.

Problem statement 

In the current competitive scenario, proper corporate strategies play a significant role for accomplishing the success of businesses but preparing such a strategy is complex in nature. Several organisations have failed because of poor planning and organising. For such a reason, it is very important for the managers within the business organisation to think critically on the corporate issues and addressing them properly. Organisations lose their market share and customer loyalty if inappropriate strategies are implemented. The industrial life cycle of the organisation will depend on these corporate strategies.   

Rationale of the research

Several researches and proposals have been conducted and prepared in the past to prove the importance of corporate governance in organisational success. Past research, the result clearly suggests that increased focus is now given on corporate governance. With the evolution of technology, competition has increased, and the focus on these strategies has increased to combat the increased competition and enhance organisational revenues. However, these researches have focused more on the increasing use of corporate governance at a generic level. The past researches lack the focus on importance and impact on revenues.

Creation of a proper strategy at the corporate level and increasing revenue through the same has become an important issue in the current scenario, and the aim of the study is to analyse the importance of corporate governance in addressing the revenue in retail fashion.

Research aims and objectives

The aim of the research is to recognize the significance of corporate governance and strategies in the enhancement of revenue in the retail fashion market by focusing on Mark and Spencer. role

The research objectives are:

1. To understand and recognize the contribution and role of corporate strategies in revenue enhancement
2. To discover different aspects of analysis for preparing suitable corporate strategies

• To recommend potential means by which administration and management team can deduce a better solution than the existing ones

Research questions:

RQ1. What are the contribution and/or role of corporate governance in enhancing the revenue of the organisation?

RQ2. Does corporate strategy deals with generic analysis or there are different aspects to it?

RQ3. What are the probable means to come up to a better solution in the coming future?

Research hypothesis 

H₀: Suitable corporate strategies are not positively related to revenue enhancement within the organisation.

H₁: Suitable corporate strategies are positively related to revenue enhancement within the organisation.

Literature review: 

The concept of Corporate Governance:

There is a belief that survival and growth primarily depend upon ‘Corporate Governance Policies’ (Demirag 2018). It refers to the set of rules and guidelines in an organisation that ensures accountability and transparency within the organisation with respect to its stakeholders. It encompasses every aspect of the management, starting from the action plans until corporate disclosures (Tricker and Tricker 2015). It helps the organisation in attaining the company’s long-term objectives. Past research shows innumerable issues related to corporate governance a few of which are accountability issues, conflict of interest, violation of ethics, oversight issues and transparency (DHU and HBP 2019).

Corporate Issues and Strategies of Mark and Spencer

In order to determine the corporate issues it is very important for the organisation to perform industry and competitor analysis. Mark and Spencer is 135 years old public limited company that is specialised in the retail industry sector (Bernon 2018). This project report focuses on the fashion retail market of the company. The SWOT Analysis as per the previous researches and previous studies has been mentioned in brief in this segment. The company has a strong cash flow and a successful track of developing new products. It has a good performance in new markets. The weakness however is that it needs to invest more in technologies. It needs proper financial and marketing strategies to cope up with the recent challenges because of new entrants. The increasing operational cost and rising pay is a major threat that needs to be focused upon. The business operates as a family of accountable and responsible businesses that values all its stakeholders.

The organisation has faced several corporate governance issues starting from its transition from a family-controlled business to mainstream institutional ownership. It also went against corporate governance best practice in the year 2008. The company also compromised its quality in order to reduce the prices. The sub brands also lacked authority and consistency (Cullinane et al. 2019). Concerning these issues, the organisation has focused on restoring the basics, shaping the future and making M&S special. It has aimed in restring sustainability and profitability within five years.  

Methodology:

Research philosophy 

There are three types of research philosophies – Interpretivism, Realism and Positivism. This research considers the positivism philosophy as it is based on facts and sensory experiences and the issue is investigated in a critical and logical way.

Research design

Analytical research will be used out of the three research designs – exploratory, analytical and explanatory (McNichols and Stubben 2018). This design helps in getting exhaustive knowledge of the prevailing theories and assesses the study in a descriptive manner.

Data collection method

Both primary and secondary data has to be used. Primary data can be collected through survey, questionnaires and interviews and secondary data can be collected from previous researches and other printed and published online forms.

Data analysis technique

The quantitative data collected should be transformed into numerical data and the annual reports and those data are to be compared. The financial outcome should be compared with the strategic inputs in order to reach the conclusion.

Ethical consideration

The research methods will not force any respondents to participate in the survey. Any personal information will not to be shared publicly; the details of the respondents are not to be shared publicly and proper guidelines of research presentation is to be followed.

Limitation of the study

A research study can portray a range of potential limitations (Simonsohn et al. 2017). There is a problem regarding period. The respondents do not provide proper feedbacks every time and hence result may be wrong. Availability of all the resources also remains a question. However, the research must be planned accordingly to come up to a proper outcome.  

Gantt Chart

(Source: Created by author)

References:

Bernon, M., 2018. Sustainable supply chains: Marks & Spencer’s Plan A. The Business & Management Collection.

Cullinane, S., Browne, M., Karlsson, E. and Wang, Y., 2019. Retail Clothing Returns: A Review of Key Issues. In Contemporary Operations and Logistics (pp. 301-322). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

Demirag, I. ed., 2018. Corporate social responsibility, accountability and governance: Global perspectives. Routledge.

DHU, H. and HBP, C., 2019. Corporate Governance and Earnings Management: A.

McNichols, M.F. and Stubben, S.R., 2018. Research design issues in studies using discretionary accruals. Abacus, 54(2), pp.227-246.

Nithisathian, K., Wall, W.P., Thanitnan, C. and Ponwiritthon, R., 2018. Maintaining Indispensable Competitive Advantage: Corporate Strategy for 21st Century. RMUTL Journal of Business Administration and Liberal Arts, 6(1), pp.11-24.

Simonsohn, U., Nelson, L. and Simmons, J., 2017. Research Methodology, Design, and Analysis. Annual Review of Psychology, 69(1).

Tricker, R.B. and Tricker, R.I., 2015. Corporate governance: Principles, policies, and practices. Oxford University Press, USA.