...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 BUS 520 June 4, 2012 Introduction Sir Richard Branson is the kind of entrepreneur that will take the new millennium by the throat and take society to new levels. He is the kind of leader that takes risks and is not afraid to fail. You don’t go from be a high school drop to a multi-billionaire by being afraid to take risks. Mr. Branson has not always been successful but he has always taken a leadership role in any industry that he has chosen to enter. According to Hellreigel, D. & Slocum, J., (2011), Mr. Branson through his company Virgin Group, LTD, “has turned a lifelong disdain for conventional business wisdom into a multibillion dollar global conglomerate and one of the worlds most recognized brands” (p. 344). It is this knack for unconventionality that is the key to the Branson name and the Branson legacy. Even though Mr. Branson is a very successful entrepreneur, he is not universally liked in the conventional business world. According to Hellreigel, D. & Slocum, J., (2011), “Some have suggested that Branson and the Virgin brand attract almost a cult following, and it works both ways-many people admire Branson, but some detest him” (p. 344). Mr. Branson has been on the business scene for more than 45 years and during that time frame one thing can be said for how he conducts business and that is that his employees love him which contributes to that cult like following. The author will discuss Mr. Branson’s leadership...
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...Slocum, J. W., Jr. 2011). Leaders and leadership styles vary by industry, cultural upbringing, educational background and experiences gained throughout ones employment journey, but the ultimate goal for all leaders remains unchanged and that is to be successful. As a good leader, one needs to be flexible enough to be able to react accordingly depending on the issues and challenges at hand. Looking at our current fleet of global leaders, one can’t help but name Richard Branson as one of the most successful global leaders of our time. Richard Branson’s main characteristics are finding the right people for the right job, inspiring them to lead and be successful, drawing out the best things out of them. He likes leaders who love learning and have an inquisitive mind and also see life as one learning process. I consider Richard Branson to be a transformational leader, a leader with vision, confident, motivation, passion and determination. Richard Branson founded Virgin Group Ltd. “Born July 18, 1950, in Surrey, England, Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson struggled in school and dropped out at age 16, a decision that ultimately lead to the creation of Virgin Records in 1973. His entrepreneurial projects started in the music industry and expanded into other sectors making Branson a billionaire. His Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies, including the recent...
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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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...Abstract: My submission discusses the ways in which Richard Branson is seen as a leader. It shows which leadership theories that are used by him, in order to lead those that follow him, either through work or general enthusiasm for his leadership style, and how effectively those theories are applied. This submission covers details of Richard Branson’s early life and the beginning of his leadership. It then goes on to explain how his leadership style emerged as he began to run the Virgin Group. I then explained how Richard Branson is seen by the public, and how he has followers in the public that don’t work for him. After this, I consider which technical leadership theories are used by Richard Branson. I review how successful Richard Branson has been as a leader, by looking at how his followers respect him and follow in his footsteps. To conclude, I review Richard Branson from my own perspective. Introduction Before a leader can be analysed, one must define what leadership is. This is hard to do. It’s an intrinsic trait which is hard to define. Jackson and Parry (2008: 5) say that ‘leadership is like beauty – it is difficult to describe, but we certainly know it when we see it.' However, the general consensus is that leadership is influencing people in order to attain goals (Daft, 2008: 590). The leader that will be analysed in this essay is Richard Branson, who runs and owns the Virgin Group. He has demonstrated his leadership skills from the early age of just seventeen...
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...life or life style, one should look no further and admire Sir Richard Branson’s. He is a financially well of individual thanks to his entrepreneurship, an adventurous rock star that seems to just party and have fun every single time one sees him in the media. In order to live such a fabulous lifestyle, an individual should be able to have access to a lot of financial assets, such as credit cards, checks, and more importantly cash. In Sir Richard Branson’s case he has all that and more because of ways he created businesses and critical decisions he made since a young age and throughout his life. Born in July 18 1950, in the outskirts of London, Richard Charles Nicolas Branson was the oldest of Edward Branson and Eve Huntley Branson’s three kids. Because of a severe Dyslexia Richard had a very painful time in elementary, he barely knew how to read at eight years old and was completely lost when it came to numbers. “School was painful; I’d look at a blackboard and could not understand anything that was going on…Interestingly, if you look at the history of dyslexics, they often exceed quite exceptionally because they concentrate on the area where they are good at…” (Nr, 2013) Richard Branson’s created his first business when he was fifteen years old, this business was a magazine called Student. With a circulation of fifty thousand, the magazine was an instant hit. In 1970, because of need of money for the magazine, Richard Branson being the entrepreneur that he is created a record...
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...Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, LTD . Case Study BUS520 Dr. Sue Lowe December 4, 2012 Abstract Sir Richard Branson was born in Stowe in the United Kingdom in 1950; Branson first business venture was a student paper, which that started him at the age of 16. Sir Branson started this after he had decided to drop out of school. The decision to drop out of school might have been initiated by his seemingly troublesome period in his elementary school. He has a diagnosis of being dyslectic and he also performed poorly in school. Well in the 1970s Sir Branson started a mail order business and later on he started a record label then two years later the business was expanded with record stores named Virgin Records. The Virgin brand grew during the 1980s and 90s and Branson ventured into a airlines and called it the Virgin Atlantic Airways and also started a Virgin record label in America. In 2005 Branson started Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company, where the intention was to eventually reach orbital trips around the globe as well as going to the moon. Well as of Today the Virgin brand has over 200 different businesses, which is great. Sir Branson has differnet leadership models. He is differnet from others in so many ways. Sir Richard Branson is determined a very determined man with many leadership traits...
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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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...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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...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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...Time Table:- Bimal Sir:- 6:00pm to 8:00pm (Sunday). Sarangi Sir:- 4:00pm to 5:30pm (Sunday). 3:30pm to 5:30pm (Wednesday). Bisoi Sir:- 3:30pm to 5:00pm (Monday). 3:30pm to 5:00pm (Tuesday). Rita Madam:- 4:30pm to 5:45pm (Thrusday). 4:30pm to 5:45pm (Friday). Madhu Madam:- 6:00pm to 8:00pm (Tuesday). Monday Timetable:- 4:00am to 5:00am= Jogging 5:00am to 5:30am=Exercising 5:30am to 6:15am=School Study 6:15am to 7:00am=School Ready Time 7:00am to 2:00pm=School Time 2:00pm to 2:45pm=Rest to sleep 2:45pm to 3:30pm=Tuition Ready 3:30pm to 5:00pm=Physics Tuition 5:30pm to 6:45pm=Relax Time 6:45pm to 7:00pm=Tiffin 7:00pm to 10:30pm=Study Time 10:00pm to 4:00am=Sleep…………. Tuesday Timetable:- 4:00am to 5:00am= Jogging 5:00am to 5:30am=Exercising 5:30am to 6:15am=School Study 6:15am to 7:00am=School Ready Time 7:00am to 2:00pm=School Time 2:00pm to 2:45pm=Rest to sleep 2:45pm to 3:30pm=Tuition Ready 3:30pm to 5:00pm=Physics Tuition 5:00pm to 5:45pm=Tiffin 6:00pm to 8:00pm=Biology Tuition 8:30pm to 10:30pm=Study Time 10:00pm to 4:00am=Sleep…………. Wednesday Timetable:- 4:00am to 5:00am= Jogging 5:00am to 5:30am=Exercising 5:30am to 6:15am=School Study 6:15am to 7:00am=School Ready Time 7:00am to 2:00pm=School Time 2:00pm to 2:45pm=Rest to sleep 2:45pm to 3:30pm=Tuition Ready 3:30pm to 5:30pm=Mathematics Tuition 5:30pm to 6:45pm=Relax Time 6:45pm...
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...Dear Sir / Madam, I am college student at TheUniversity in Germany, where I follow “International Business and Management Studies” . For one of my courses, I have an assignment to interview a company where ICT is used significantly. The first thing that came in my head when I wanted to start this assignment was “Facebook”. Facebook has become one of the leading social network in the world. But behind this great company lies a mass of people who have realized it, and today employees do their best to improve this network. My mission for my course is to have an interview with a company like yours. For my assignment I made a few questions, I will be pleased if you can answer them. 1. Which operating system is currently being used, are there plans to change or update in the future? If so which new operating system will be used and when? 2. Which Office Application system is currently being used? Indicate the presentation of workers who use each application, (for example e-mail (Outlook) -100%) Are there plans to upgrade or change, if so when? 3. Which other ICT applications are used within the company and why? (Think about databases, CRMs, portals) 4. Where does the company see the future going to (in regards to ICT) 5. Does the company encourage home-workers and what facilities do they offer. 6. When an employee starts working (graduation at HBO level) what ICT skills are important for that employee to have. And if you can give a short interview about yourself...
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...Lionel’s men remained cold and aloof toward him ever since the incident with Alis. Even Perceval and Gawain remained distant, though Merlin and Ulrich remained supportive. Following late-morning sword drills, Lionel slurped lukewarm soup in his chamber, eschewing the midday meal in the Hall with his men. After he finished the last spoonful, he sat back and absently stared out his window as the sun bathing the landscape. He noticed his trousers seemed loose and he tightened the ties. Since his falling out with Alis, his appetite dulled and he’d lost weight. Lionel’s door creaked open and he spun around. There stood Berth with a bucket and scrub brush. She had the same look on her face so many other women had when they glanced at him—pity. “Sir Lionel, might I come in and clean? It’s a lovely day. Perhaps you could use some sunshine while I work in here?” What he wanted to do was crawl into bed and wallow, but he’d made excuses for days about how he had “work to do” and could not be distracted by cleaning. “Of course, Berth. Take your time.” Lionel affixed his swordbelt and cloak. Out in the corridor, Star, Pawl’s dog, bounded up to Lionel and pounced on Lionel, wagging her tail and licking his face. Shaking his head, Pawl came along. “Sorry about that. She is a touch overexuberant. And she clearly likes you.” “She’s about the only one these days.” Lionel scratched behind Star’s ears. “Oh, that’s not true. People will forget all about your issue and move on soon enough.” Lionel...
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...Essay #3 December 3, 2015 Living Comes With a Price There is a price every person must pay in order to be successful. Becoming rich comes with a price. Building a family comes with a price. Even your dreams need to be paid for. In order to achieve your goals or in this case, become filthy rich in rising Asia, you must work hard. In the book “How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia” by Mohsin Hamid, the protagonist of the novel, whom remains anonymous narrates his journey of becoming successful. The narrator’s lack of a stable relationship, no family support and bankrupt business; are the prices he must paid for being successful. The narrator after working part-time at a DVD’s shop after school, and falling in love with “the pretty girl”, he starts to think about his future. Being the youngest of the family, the protagonist is able to further his education obtaining a scholarship for the university. Joining a political organization became the only way he was able to secure his safety. The “pretty girl” becomes successful, being advertised on billboards around the city. Thinking about his future becomes crucial, thus he starts selling expired cans of food to small street vendors. During that time he is able to learn about the business and soon he is able to set up his own bottling water business. Although his business grows his lack of a stable relationship is tested. The narrator get married and has a son. The price he pays is not having a stable relationship. He got married...
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...Rupesh Doshi on Richard Branson Sir Richard Branson is the Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group – a multi-billion dollar, branded venture capital organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. I first came to know of Sir Richard when I studied abroad at the London School of Economics during the summer of 2001. One of my classmates suggested a great summer read - the book was titled Losing My Virginity. The title definitely put a smirk on my face but soon after he mentioned the name, my friend said the book was an autobiography of the person who founded Virgin Records, Virgin Megastore, and Virgin Atlantic Airways – Sir Richard Branson. Having heard of those companies, I took my friend’s suggestion and picked up a copy of the book to read on my trip to Asia. I rarely read a book to completion – but Losing My Virginity was an exception and probably the quickest book I have ever read. Engaged and enthralled by the book I came to admire Richard’s leadership and his way of living life. Professor Friedman’s Total Leadership course and the principles he has taught confirmed that Sir Richard Branson is the perfect case study of a leader who has achieved “total leadership” across the four domains of life – work, family, community and self. Richard was born in 1950 in London, the eldest of four siblings (He is 60 years old today). As a youth, he suffered from dyslexia – a learning disorder that impairs the ability to speak and read – which resulted in not only frustration but also...
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