Good Case Study About Training And Development As A Competitive Advantage

Introduction

Training and development of employees is one of the ways of achieving a competitive advantage over the competitors. This is so because it benefits the employees as well as the company. A motivated employee has a higher marginal productivity (Passemard C. 2000, 153). This paper, therefore, purposes to show analyze and demonstrate how M & S is in a good position to establish a competitive advantage over its competitors through a thorough and efficient training to its staff. This paper, therefore, purposes to show analyze and demonstrate how M & S is in a good position to establish a competitive advantage over its competitors through a thorough and efficient training to its staff.

Company Overview

Mark and Spencer plc. is a major multinational retailer in Britain headquartered in the City of Westminster, London. It was founded by Sir Marks and Thomas Spencer. Its specialty is in selling home products, clothing and luxury food products. The company operates under an income of 756.0 Euros by the year 2014, with revenue of 10.3 Euros billion as at 2014. Also as at 2014 Mark and Spencer had an approximate of 85,813 employees. The company was the first British retailer to hit a pre-tax profit of more than billion Euros. The company after that went into a slump, a surprise to its shareholders and business journalist among other concerned parties. M & S branded itself and made a good reputation out of selling only British made products in early 20th century however it withdrew the policy has from 1990s. M & S has a diverse range of workforce and is committed to an equal and active opportunities policy. They not only cover the recruitment and selection procedure, but runs through development and learning, promotion opportunities, appraisal and finally retirement. The company management is committed to equipping its workforce with necessary skills and improving their workers confidence at work.

Discussion

M&S has created a platform through which its employees receive training and development. The program is employee friendly whereby the employee works hand in hand and consultation with the manager. M & S uses profiling to see gaps in skills among its employee, with which they after that use it to determine the training that is required for a given employee. The employees’ performance appraisal is done where the employees discuss their progress with the line manager (Business Case Studies). After the gap is identified the line manager with the employee, discuss on a given plan for additional development in the coming year. The company runs two training programs on-the-job training which the employee carries out training activities to their place of work. The off-the-job training that takes place away from the workstation. This clear structure of training has benefited the company in the following ways.
Training and staff development assist M&S to connect the people who possess the right technical skill and business competence to the roles and duties they can carry out best. This ensures that as an employee moves from one position or out of the company, they are succeeded with a competent replacement. This is at the center of management succession (Business Case Studies). Training and development help individual employees create their career path as well as develop future leaders for the organization. These create a competitive advantage in that the company can sustain competent and creative employee in spite poaching of employees by the competitors. Secondly the marginal productivity of the employee increases hence increase in output. This is because training and development strengthen the bond between the employee and the company. The employees feel to be at home when at M&S, in other words they have a sense of owning the place.
Also, training and development give the company a competitive advantage since its staff would be aligned to the companies objectives for instance at M&S. M&S major strategies focus on three key areas which would boost their competitive advantage; first it aims Developing Value-for-money products needed by the customers. Training and developing its employees would bring new skills that assist to add value to its services and products (Passemard, C. 2000, 151). This enhances M&S to keep the prices for its products and services lower to benefit its consumers. Secondly it looks forward toward providing good services to the consumer to look after them. Good and improved skills for example communication skills would build a positive effect on customer service (Smith, c. 2004, 123). Lastly, it aims at investing in the environment around the store. Good technical skills in stock management and sales mean that M&S staff can use the stores to a better advantage leading to greater sales and profitability. Therefore, training of the employees would help M&S achieve the goals it targets hence gaining a better competitive advantage over its competitors.
In conclusion, it is evident that training and development of employees are worthwhile if a company needs to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors just as it is with M&S. The success in Mark and Spencer proof how beneficial such an investment can be. Even if the process is expensive, it is rewarding. Indeed, staff is the greatest asset a company can have.

References

Business Case Studies. The Role of training and development in career progression; Mark and
Spencer case study. Http;//businesscasestudies.co.uk
Passemard, C. (2000) Creating and sustaining superior performance by Michael E. Porter
Smith, S., and Mazin, R. (2004). The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Managers
And Human Resources Professionals. New York: AMACOM.