...Schawbel: How would you describe your leadership style? How do you believe this style makes your company culture unique? Richard Branson: Rule-breaker – because I never learned the rules in the first place. To change the game is at the heart of what Virgin stands for, so the company culture has always been: “Don’t sweat it: rules were meant to be broken.” Schawbel: What is your process for selecting leaders at Virgin? What qualities do you look for in new leaders and what qualities are your biggest turnoffs? Branson: I’m quite involved in hiring for leadership and I look to hire my weaknesses. Personality before CV. A person who has multiple degrees in your field isn’t always better than someone with broad experience and a wonderful personality. I like to take chances on people, and whenever possible, promote from within – it sends a great message to everyone in the company when someone demonstrates a passion for the job and leadership skills at every step along the way and is rewarded with a leadership role. Schawbel: How did you originally come up with Virgin’s values, vision and mission and then find the right people who believed in you and the company? Branson: The Virgin values have and will always be the same: to change the game and challenge the status quo by providing a product or service of great use. My first business venture was Student magazine. Along the way, we saw gaps in the market where Virgin could play a role and can be an incredible force for...
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...RICHARD BRANSON BUSINESS LEADERSHIP ANALYSIS University of Colorado Denver Business School 1475 Lawrence Street Denver, Colorado, 80202 A. EARLY HISTORY Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on July 18th 1950 in Surry, England (Branson, 2009). Branson’s father was a barrister, a particular type of lawyer in the English law system. Branson’s mother was a flight attendant. Dyslexic since he was a child Branson never excelled academically; however, Branson did show promise as a leader early in life. After being moved from the Scaitcliffe School to the Stowe School, a boarding school, for being a “menace” he quickly became the captain of his cricket and soccer teams. Branson would later state that his ability 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...
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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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...Leadership Style The founder and CEO of Virgin Group business is the leaders and admired the world. Adventurer who loves the people and has been proposed driving global change to build a better and fairer world. Richard Branson talk to know what kind of leader is and as is his leadership as a visionary and above all a great leader. Also see how the leader was as a person of significant changes to be adored and admired by its employees for their great achievements and charisma he possesses. We could see as identified as a leader and to assess what kind of leader is this person to reach a level that gives samples of how to be a leader and an example for many. We will see here as defined and is a true leader. Is 61 years; He is charismatic, enthusiastic, shy and very polite. It is an iconoclast, his own brand and a traveling show. He did everything to promote your business: disguised dress, pirate, pilot, he cross the Pacific in a big balloon, sailing the Atlantic in a motor boat and spaceship Launcher One. He is adored by his employees, entrepreneurs revered. His group, which has 47,000 employees and a presence in 30 countries, had income of U.S. $ 21 million in 2011. Arguably Branson is a successful leader with 360 degrees. He's done well in almost everything he has undertaken, married for 23 years to the same woman, Joan Templeman-, two children, what you admire and accompanied in many of his adventures, and today is considered an example of a global leader, the last step...
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...Case Study – The Virgin Group: Structure, leadership and motivation This essay analyses organizational structuring of the Virgin Group, with a view to understanding the dynamics that have helped create a global conglomerate. A critical assessment is undertaken on three areas: the hierarchical form of the company, the style of leadership exhibited by Sir Richard Branson, and the approach adopted by management to motivate employees. Firstly, a comparative argument is made on whether the Virgin Group can be classified as a centralised or decentralised organization. These terms refer to division of power, capital, technical procedures and control in various units of a business. A centralised organization allows for minimal delegation to managers, with the chief executive retaining power over majority of the decisions. On the other end, a decentralised organization makes it possible for managers to exercise control without ownership oversight at each stage, provided goals and targets are met (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2007). Secondly, the essay aims to determine the leadership style practiced by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group’s chief executive officer (CEO). Two styles of leadership are used as reference point: transactional and transformational. According to Bass & Bass (2009), transactional leaders work within the organizational culture as it exists, with an awareness of the link between effort and reward. They motivate their employees by setting goals, and enforce control through...
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...Assignment 4: Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Due Week 8 and worth 100 points Read the Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. case study located in Chapter 11. Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you: 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. 2. Recommend a different leadership style (or combination of styles) that would make Branson an even more effective leader. 3. Determine how Branson would develop and lead a global team working on a major project (e.g., space tourism). 4. Discuss how you can incorporate some of Branson’s leadership qualities into you role at work or school. 5. Include three (3) external peer-reviewed sources to support your position. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: • Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions. • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length. The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are: • Explain the variety of leadership theories and roles. • Analyze...
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...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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...Corporate Leader (Sir Richard Branson) CEO (Virgin group) Name : Vipul Srivastava Roll no. : A43 Registration no. : 11101666 Section : SE101 Submitted to : Mr Maninder Singh Annexure-V- Cover Page for Academic Tasks Course Code: Course Title: | Course Instructor: | Academic Task No.: Academic Task Title: | Date of Allotment: Date of submission: | Student’s Roll no: Student’s Reg. no: | Evaluation Parameters: (Parameters on which student is to be evaluated- To be mentioned by students as specified at the time of assigning the task by the instructor) | Learning Outcomes: (Student to write briefly about learnings obtained from the academic tasks) Declaration: I declare that this Assignment is my individual work. I have not copied it from any other student‟s work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made explicitly in the text, nor has any part been written for me by any other person. Evaluator’s comments (For Instructor’s use only) General Observations Suggestions for Improvement Best part of assignment Evaluator‟s Signature and Date: Marks Obtained: Max. Marks: ………………………… ABSTRACT: Sir Richard Branson is the Founder and...
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...Sir Branson Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd Case Study 5/23/2012 BUS, 520 Abstract Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies. In 1970, he founded Virgin as a mail order record retailer, and shortly afterwards he opened a record shop in London. With around 200 companies in over 30 countries, the Virgin Group has now expanded into leisure, travel, tourism, mobile, broadband, TV, radio, music festivals, finance and health and through Virgin Green Fund. (Finkle, 2011) For the purposes of this discussion I have been tasked with answering the following questions related to leadership in a question and answer format. With the first question I am to describe Branson’s leadership style in terms of the leadership models addressed in Chapters 10 and 11 of the text and evaluate the likely effectiveness of that style in the U.S. today. Afterwards I am to, recommend a different leadership style (or combination of styles) that would make Branson an even more effective leader. Along with, determining how Branson would develop and lead a global team working on a major project (e.g., space tourism). Followed by the last question where I am to discuss how you can incorporate...
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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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...Branson has been tagged as a 'transformational leader' by management lexicon, with his maverick strategies and his stress on the Virgin Group as an organization driven on informality and information, one that's bottom heavy rather than strangled by top-level management. Although Branson says his success was not planned, and it just happened, he has said that he has 10 secrets to success: 1. You've got to challenge the big ones. 2. Keep it casual. 3. Haggle: everything is negotiable. 4. Have fun working. 5. Do the right things for the brand. 6. Smile for the cameras! 7. Don't lead "sheep", herd "cats". 8. Move like a bullet. 9. Size does matter. 10. Be a common, regular person. He was 9th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, worth just over £3billion. He is the No 1 Admired Businessman in Britain, and 2nd choice amongst youth for Prime Minister (after Tony Blair)[3]. He has a cameo appearance in the new Superman film, credited as "Shuttle Engineer", alongside his son Sam, with Virgin Galactic-esque commercial suborbital shuttle at the center of his storyline. He will have a cameo in the upcoming James Bond film Casino Royale as well. Although Branson says his success was not planned, and it 1. Introduction on team work 2. Richerd philosophy of team work 3. Example of team work 4. Some picture demonstrate team work Words of Wisdom Branson on building a business Don't bother doing something unless you're radically...
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...WEEKLY COURSE SCHEDULE – BUS 520 LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR The standard requirement for a 4.5 credit hour course is for students to spend 13.5 hours in weekly work. This includes preparation, activities, and papers. Week ONE July 2 – 8 Preparation, Activities, and Evaluation Preparation o Reading(s) o Chapter 1: Learning about Organizational Behavior o e-Activity o Use the Internet to research an especially effective leader and / or manager. Be prepared to discuss. Preparation o Reading(s) o Chapter 2: Individual and Organizational Ethics o Chapter 3: Understanding Individual Differences Preparation o Reading(s) o Chapter 4: Perceptions and Attributions o Chapter 5: Learning Concepts to Improve Performance o e-Activity: o Use the Internet to research a social learning theory applicable to the workplace that has not been addressed in Chapter 4. Be prepared to discuss. PAPER DUE: o Assignment 1: Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study. Please see Course Guide for Specific Questions which must be addressed in the paper. o Log into BUS520 Classroom on Blackboard (Bb); go to WEEK 3; scroll to the bottom of the week and submit your assignment using the Link found there. o Your paper is due Sunday, July 22 by 11:59 p.m. ET Preparation o Reading(s) o Chapter 6: Motivating Employees o Chapter 7: Motivation: Goal Setting and Reward Programs o e-Activity o Use the Internet to research a rewards program that has been especially effective at improving employee performance...
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...Sir Richard Branson, Chairman Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study International success for an organization requires the expansion of the company into the global market for exposure and the goal of increasing profit margins. Strong leadership skills are an essential key in the success for a global company. Judgment, positive attitude and entrepreneurial thinking, and motivational incentives are additional keys that contribute to the success of an organization. The strategic leadership ways and personality of Sir Richard Branson proved to be success in the company he led into the global market. His Virgin Galactic company had the vision to be the first company to offer passengers the opportunity to fly into space at the cost of an expensive price as the world’s first space line. In addition to offering the hopes of the first space line for customers, Branson wanted to expand the global presence even further by participating in joint-venture agreements in telecommunications with China. By incorporating their reputation into the foreign market, the exposure to an untapped market or competitive market, an organization is able to branch out with ideas that will produce additional profits. The leadership traits that Branson portrayed played a huge part in the motivation skills he used on his employees that increased production, Corporate leadership requires two important areas: content leadership (leader’s attributes and decision making skills) and context leadership (variables...
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...Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on July 18, 1950 in Surrey, England. His parents both worked blue collar jobs with average pay. At the age of 13 he transferred from an all-boys school to a boarding school. In the year 1966 Richard, noted to have dyslexia, dropped out of school at the age of 16. It was at this time that he actually began his first business endeavor. He started a youth-culture magazine by the name Student. This magazine which was ran by students, simply for students, grossed $8,000 on its first publication. Once Branson covered the costs with advertisings, the first print of 50,000 copies was distributed for free. Just 4 year later Branson began a record mail order business. A year later he founded chain of record stores, currently known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand expanded quickly throughout the 80’s. He went on to make the Virgin Records music label much larger, as well as, to create Virgin Atlantic Airways. The Sunday Times Rich List reports him to be worth over £4 billion (equivalent to US$7.8 billion). Sir Richard Branson is an anomaly. He started out a high school dropout and worked his way to being a multi-billionaire. Mr. Branson has become an icon as a leader in his business endeavors and the industries in which they are in. According to Hellreigel, D. & Slocum, J., (2011), through his company Virgin Group, LTD, Mr. Branson “has turned a lifelong disdain for conventional business wisdom into a multibillion dollar global...
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... Xiange Liu Huan Wang Introduction Virgin is the managing company for the branded private investment group, which had interests ranging from transportation, financial services, health and leisure, and media and telecom to space travel. Virgin’s founder Richard Branson,started the Virgin group in the 1970s, with Branson and Murphy had decided in 2005 that Virgin would focus on two additional pillars of growth: health& wellness, and financial service.In the past, Virgin had generally financed its expansion by selling equity in its operating companies,then, Murphy contemplated the group’s strategy for the next decade. Business Strategy Virgin Group’s corporate strategy is change due to the whole financial situation. At the beginning, Virgin Group is a branded private investment group and seeking an internal rate of return of 30% or more on investments per year. And the initial strategy includes, 1) The founder of Virgin Richard Branson is enthusiastic about his career. The ideas for new investments can came from various people, such as Richard and his meeting friends, entrepreneurs or colleagues. Also, once Richard got a new idea, he is very opportunistic and will spend one day to convoke his team and investment advisory board to strive for the new opportunities. 2) The Virgin Group enters many new business in partnership with other entrepreneurs or companies to share the capital costs and the risks...
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