...the customers is referred to as organizational behaviour. “Organizational behaviour is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and organizational structure have on behaviour within the organization, for the purpose of applying such knowledge towards improving an organizational effectiveness” (Dhar & Dhar, 2002). This analysis is key for any organization because it aids the employee to have a better understanding of their role in the organization and also help them to understand the basics of Work Psychology which is about people’s behaviour, thoughts and emotions related to their work. It can be used to improve our understanding and management of people (including ourselves) at work and how their individual performance/actions will bring about improvements in overall performance of the organization (Arnold, et al., 2010). According to Luthans (2004), the result of interaction and interdependency between formal organizations and the human factor variables is what Organizational behaviour is all about. This essay has been prepared to critically examine these human factors, and organization structure, leadership that is effective, organizational culture which facilitates team work and motivation, in successful organization. The essay will draw useful inferences using the case study of the Virgin group. An...
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...presents two leaders with some brief biographies, characteristics and their contribution to their individual company. It would then conclude who is the more effective leader by providing with some aspects of leadership and leadership framework. 2.0 WHAT IS LEADERSHIP AND CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADER? 2.1 WHAT IS LEADERSHIP? Leadership is an interesting and widely discussed subject and has been described by James MacGregor Burns (1978) as “one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on Earth”. Northouse (2010) defines leadership being a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. The leadership definition that I favour and think is more suited to the 21st century is “The process by which an agent induces a subordinate to behave in a desired manner” (Bennis, cited in Hughes, Ginnett and Curphy 2012). Largely because of the nature of the subject and obvious differences in opinions – leadership is often misunderstood and compared with the concept of management; while there is no denying that leadership is a process that is very much similar to management in many ways but these two are quite distinguishable functions. The widespread...
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...Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd Case Study Sharon Dunbar Dr. Tressa Shavers BUS 520 March 1,2012 Overview – Virgin Group, Ltd. The Virgin Group, Ltd. is a British based venture capital organization founded by Richard Branson, incorporated in 1989. The focus of their business group is travel, entertainment, and lifestyle, and while actually incorporating as a venture capital group in the late 1980s, they had a number of activities in the 1970s. To date, Virgin has created more than 300 companies globally, employing over 50,000 people in 30 countries. In 2009, global revenues exceeded $18 billion US with a portfolio that continues to grow. The company believes in making a difference, and is quite particular about the manner in which they invest, or assist in marketing new ventures. Several things appear to ensure that anything that has a Virgin brand is successful: 1) the brand, 2) Richard Branson’s reputation; 3) empowering of talent; and 4) the management style engendered by Branson which flows down to almost every aspect of the organization. The company prides itself on sound, sustainable philosophies and posits the notion that there are six identifiers that characterize the company: • Lower the carbon footprint of all Virgin represented projects • The Gaia concept – one living world – use the planet’s resources responsibly • Equality...
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... Date Introduction Richard Branson, the CEO of Virgin Group, has a management style that draws criticism and praise in almost equal measure. First, he has no real office or headquarters for his large business empire and rarely calls meetings of directors. In addition, he has no unique computer skills that many other 21st century self-made billionaires boast. However, he has special leadership and motivational skills that hold his business together and brings out the best in his staff. This paper will explore in detail Branson’ leadership style, skills, and draw inferences about qualities in employees that would fit in well at Virgin Atlantic. Branson’s leadership styles First, Branson can be termed as an evangelist of what he believes in- the Virgin brand. As a result, the CEO is always talking to people outside his organization about what the organization believes in. Within the organization, he is able to get people on board those projects that the company undertakes. The people in return communicate the message to those they interact with. They get to understand their roles in the team that Branson helps them envision through motivational talks. The result of continually doing so is the development of an organizational culture that encourages people to work on their own and serve the company as if they were the owners (Waqar, 2012). Branson is able to make them see the company’s success as their own. As part of the evangelistic...
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...Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Assignment 4 Professor Leadership and Organizational Behavior February 26, 2012 Since the beginning of history humans have lived in groups guided by the group leader; in which leader is either chosen for his characteristics or born into through cast. No matter the culture this is similar through the human race. Humans need someone to guide them, teach them, someone to look up to. Without followers there is no leader. “That is, leader is a term applied by observers to someone whose behaviors and characteristics match the observers’ implicit leadership preferences” (Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W., Jr. (2011). They are different type of leaders and leadership style depending on the situation and solution needed at that moment by the followers. In my opinion good leaders have shown to be flexible enough to switch between leadership styles depending on the demands of the situation. One of the worlds most intriguing, succesful and enduring entrepreneurial business leaders today is Richard Branson, someone who takes control of the situation by conveying a clear vision and goals for the team, a marked passion for the work and an ability to make the group feel recharged and energized. I consider Richard Branson to be a transformational leader, a leader with vision, confident, motivation, passion and determination. He is the founder of Virgin Group Ltd. “Born July 18, 1950, in Surrey, England, Sir...
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...Virgin Mobile USA is a brand extension of Virgin, a U.K.-based company founded by Sir Richard Branson. The company led by CEO Dan Schulman was founded under Virgin's mission statement which stated "we believe in making a difference. In our customer's eyes, Virgin stands for value, for money, quality, innovation, fun and a sense of competitive challenge... we look for opportunities where we can offer something better, fresher, and more valuable, and we seize them. We often move into areas where the competition is complacent... We are pro-active and quick to act, often leaving bigger and more cumbersome organizations in our wake." (1) Virgin Mobile USA had a number of things going for them despite a crowded cellular marketplace. For starters, they had a CEO who had experience in telecom as he was formerly an executive with AT&T. Schulman also had experience with successful pricing strategies and technology as former CEO of Priceline.com. The biggest plus for the startup was the support and backing by its management and stakeholders who genuinely wanted to garner success against the perception of another market saturated run poorly with complacency and poor customer service. The bar was set high for success, as Schulman's goal was to have acquired 3 million customers by their fourth year of operation. I believe that Virgin Mobile USA took a big gamble in targeting a niche that was essentially written off by the other players in the industry as being largely unprofitable. Perhaps...
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...Assignment Title: QANTAS, JETSTAR AND VIRGIN AUSTRALIA A TALE OF CHANGING STRATEGIES Topic code and name | BUSN 3055 | Word count | 2020 | 1. Differentiated pricing is among the widely practiced Revenue Management tactics in which a firm offers its products/services at differentiated prices to distinct markets. And this tactic has been noticed by airline industry for more than four decades. Revenue Management also known as Yield Management has been well recognized as an essential practice in many businesses, and it is defined as the set of strategies adopted by a business to improve its profitability (Philips, 2005). It is among the most important applications of management science and operation research (Bell, 1998). Qantas, Australia’s foremost domestic and international carrier, established Jetstar in May 2004 as a budget airline. Its purpose is to cover the low-cost segment of the market, which began in around the year 2000 with the launch of a competitor, Virgin Blue. Until the time Jetstar began operations, Virgin Blue had been successfully eroding Qantas’s air market share, indeed with the collapsing of Ansett Airlines (Easdown, 2002), and capture around one-third of domestic airline market. In response, Jetstar was also designed to be a no-frills carrier, predominantly targeted at the leisure market. (Case Study) Market segmentation is a strategy that involved dividing the target market into subsets of consumers who have common needs and priorities....
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...Page» Business and Management Sir Richard Brason, Virgin Group, Case Study, Assignment 4 In: Business and Management Sir Richard Brason, Virgin Group, Case Study, Assignment 4 Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Assignment 4 Professor Leadership and Organizational Behavior February 26, 2012 Since the beginning of history humans have lived in groups guided by the group leader; in which leader is either chosen for his characteristics or born into through cast. No matter the culture this is similar through the human race. Humans need someone to guide them, teach them, someone to look up to. Without followers there is no leader. “That is, leader is a term applied by observers to someone whose behaviors and characteristics match the observers’ implicit leadership preferences” (Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. W., Jr. (2011). They are different type of leaders and leadership style depending on the situation and solution needed at that moment by the followers. In my opinion good leaders have shown to be flexible enough to switch between leadership styles depending on the demands of the situation. One of the worlds most intriguing, succesful and enduring entrepreneurial business leaders today is Richard Branson, someone who takes control of the situation by conveying a clear vision and goals for the team, a marked passion for the work and an ability to make the group feel recharged and energized. I consider Richard Branson...
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...Liberty Global acquires Virgin Media Deal No 1601443609 Deal overview Deal type Deal status Deal value Acquisition 100% Completed 18,121,672 th EUR * Target name VIRGIN MEDIA INC. Country United States of America Activity Cable broadband Internet, satellite television and fixed telephone telecommunications broadcasting services BvD ID number US593778247 Mobile broadband and telephone telecommunications services Acquiror name LIBERTY GLOBAL PLC Country United Kingdom Activity Telephone telecommunications services Fixed telephone communications services Internet service provider Regulatory bodies European Commission (European Union) Deal structure & dates Deal type Deal sub-type Deal financing Deal method of payment Acquisition 100% Recommended bid Public takeover New bank facilities Capital increase - vendor placing Deal status Rumour date Announced date Completed date Completed 05/02/2013 05/02/2013 07/06/2013 Debt assumed Shares Cash Deal values Deal value 18,121,672 th EUR * Native currency USD BvD ID number GB08379990 Deal equity value Deal enterprise value Deal modelled enterprise value Deal total target value n.a. 18,121,672 th EUR n.a. 18,121,672 th EUR * Modelled Fee Income 42,000 th EUR Pre-deal target financials & multiples VIRGIN MEDIA INC. Consolidated statements 31/12/2012 12 months Unqual Local GAAP 10-K th EUR 0.75507 Pre-deal target operating revenue/turnover Pre-deal Pre-deal Pre-deal Pre-deal Pre-deal Pre-deal Pre-deal Pre-deal...
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...EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This plan seeks to investigate the viability of establishing Virgin Mobile in Nigeria, then launch upon conviction that the environment is conducive and how we will get our mapped-out target to use our services. For purpose of analysing the business environment, PESTEL and SWOT analysis was used and the focus was basically on the telecommunication industry. PESTEL demonstrated that the environment is conducive for our company and products though there are a couple social unrests such as bombing but the Nigerian government is doing all it can to stop the situation. Nigeria is a developing country and so to continue to increase the rate of development, the government has removed all stringent restrictions on foreign direct investment. International companies can now own and invest in businesses in the country but with the help of an accredited agent in the Country. The process of licencing, registration and incorporation is now easier and flexible. The country’s population is 161 million and is forecasted to grow at 2.553% per annum and the telecommunication industry has entered the maturity stage where the highest profit can be made. These are opportunities for our company to invest though the competition in the industry is high. There is high rate of innovation and retaliation amongst the top four GSM service providers in the market but the quality of call and internet services offered is bad and customers are complaining and considering joining the CDMA...
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...The Virgin Group, LTD Roxanna Farris Professor: Trista Avent Organization Behavior August 26, 2012 The Virgin Group, LTD 1. Describe Branson’s leadership style in terms of the leadership models addressed in Chapters 10 and 11 and evaluate the likely effectiveness of that style in the U.S. today. Sir Branson’s leadership style is the combination of authentic and transformational. He believes in hiring staff that have the skills to perform effectively. The authentic leadership style leads the way to his skill to work with the understanding that people make mistakes and they can be corrected while the work continues. As a transformational leader he demonstrates the capability needed to foresee company development, inspire and empower staff. With these attributes it requires him to have balance as a leader in the day-to-day working environment while creating a productive work environment and focusing on company goals. According to Chapter 1, “Leadership is the process of developing ideas and a vision, living by values that support those ideas and that vision, influencing others to embrace them in their own behaviors and making hard decisions about human and other resources”. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, pg. 290). Even though the company has taken losses from different endeavors the CEO continues to envision new ways to transform the business to newer heights. Because of his compassion for his workers, the concept to work harder and smarter helps the...
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...ranson. The young entrepreneur’s guide to success according to SUCCESS STORY f there is one man who has defined entrepreneurial success for a generation of young and ambitious business hopefuls, it’s Sir Richard Branson. Posterboy for the anti-establishment and underdog turned benchmark-of-accomplishment, his sincere smile and candid approach to business are wonderfully alluring. He also evokes an every-man quality that says, “hey, if I can do this, you can too”, and since Foundr Magazine is founded on many of the values and driving forces that Branson is famous for, we thought he would be an absolute goldmine of advice for those of us who are starting out on our own entrepreneurial journeys. He’s also a bit of a rock star of the business world, so we were a little bit star-struck by his offer to answer some of our questions in an exclusive interview. I Does the world’s greatest mentor have a mentor of his own? S omething that many people define as critical to their success is identifying great mentors. For most of us, that means finding someone who can help you develop your business and leadership skills, or coach and guide you through specific challenges. And when you’re starting out, it might seem like there is the potential for mentoring from lots of the people you meet. But what about when you’re at the top of your game – is having a great mentor still important? Branson claims that it is, but when you’re already at the...
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...Resarch Paper Virgin Group Jonas Rosario-Lora Table of Contents Executive Summary3-4 Literature Review4 Bullets A-C4-12 Discussion 12-17 Conclusion17-18 Reference18-22 Executive Summary The matter of this company is to observer there recent change, and how we can identify the change the organizational change. Using the company’s management models, leadership styles and strategic management change, to figure out if the change is making the company profitable. Can the company sustain the change process and fit best with the condition without having resistance in change to hurt the company. Virgin America is in the verge of losing it’s shareholders and investor, since the day it lunch in 2007 and the following four years the company has been losing over 395million dollars. There Expenses are lower than the main airline carriers, primarily, it’s not inexpensive sufficiently to participate rivalry against competitors like JetBlue or Spirit. Virgin America has been embraced to create a honest low- cost structure, While it’s competitors have reduced their cost structure significantly, customers are not eager to pay a high premium to have the ability to enjoy TV on there flights and have a free checked bag “which is why JetBlue will likely be charging for the first bag soon”. There mission statement is to rethinking what it means to fly economy, by producing the leading low-cost luxury airline. The company established an impressive goal, to create the procedure...
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...Business environment Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Business environment A business environment can be identified as the combination of both external and internal factors that have an effect on the company’s operations. Factors found in the business environment will include the suppliers, clients, owner, and its competition. The company’s operation will also be affected by the government’s policies and the laws that affect any business operation. The internal environment can be defined as the conditions and factors found within the organization that have an effect on the behavior of the employees. This factors that can be identified with the internal environment will include the leadership styles, the organization culture and the organization mission statement. The external environment can be defied as the conditions and factors that surround the organization affecting the organizations activities and choices. Dell It’s a multinational computer company that is based in America, it develops, sells and supports computers and computer related services and products. It’s one of the largest technological companies that enjoy a large share in the world. Internal environment The internal business environment is identified to be multidimensional; hence it will be affected by political, economic, social and technological factors. Each factor will be affected by the base in which the company is set up. This base will determine...
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...in sports contributed to his confidence as a young entrepreneur (Branson, 2007). B. PROFESSIONAL HISTORY At the age of 16 Branson dropped out of the Stowe School to start a youth culture magazine called Student. Student was launched in 1966 as a, for students by students magazine. Branson made a list of the 50 top advertisers in the UK and one by one made phone calls selling the magazine’s advertising space. Richard ran the first edition of 50,000 copies for free, after he covered the cost of production with adverting revenues (Knappenberger, 2011). In 1969 Branson began his virgin empire with the launch of a mail order record service. By 1972 the mail order record service provided Branson with the capital to start his own recording studio in Oxfordshire. After a postal strike nearly killed his mail order record service in 1971, Branson took what little money he had left and in 1973 formed Virgin Records. Branson had trouble getting the record label started. One of Virgin’s first artists Mike Oldfield was nearly finished with the music business when Branson convinced him to perform a show in exchange for Branson’s car, a Bentley which he...
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