Assignment 3

Assignment 3

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  Running Head: LEADERSHIP– RICHARD BRANSON 1 Leadership – Richard Branson Gregory Eason Strayer University Modern Management Dr. Edwin Quinn, Jr. September 10, 2013
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 2 Leadership – Richard Branson Introduction “A Leader is one who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way” – John C. Maxwell. A leader has certain skills and characteristics which they display so as to enhance the performance of the organization as well as themselves. Great leaders set the example of attainment of new heights by having different traits which influences others and shape the behavior of others in a particular direction. The leaders generally displays different characteristics such as self-confidence, strong decision making, motivation, which helps in influencing their followers and enhancing their performance and the growth of the organization. Leader - Richard Branson The numerous changes that a 21st century manager will face during his or her career are due to globalization, government regulations, increased competition, new products, and sophisticated technology (Brown, 2011). How well a manager adapts to organizational change has serious implications for the survival of an organization because managers are often the drivers of change (Furst & Cable, 2008; Karp & Helgo, 2008). With the increasing competition across the globe, the managers are enhancing the leadership skills. One of the leader who has displayed his leadership skills is the CEO of Virgin group Richard Branson. Virgin Group is a privately held diversified holding company, operating over 200 companies worldwide in a range of sectors including transportation, financial services, retail, mobile telephony, entertainment, soft drinks, travel, wines, publishing, space tourism and cosmetics among others. The group operates primarily in the UK, the US, Canada, Africa, Australia, Asia and other European countries. It is headquartered in London, the UK and employs about 50,000 people.
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 3 Richard Branson has displayed different leadership style with which he has been able to enhance the profitability of the company and has helped the company to reach the limits of the sky. The dynamic nature of the external environment in which organizations operate requires the management of the organization to take a proactive approach on the assets of the organization. Management Control is inevitable in the business world and the survival of organizations depends on their adaptability. This is due to the fact that management of company is becoming popular in today‟s time. The duties of a manager are to make systematic the working, to show the pathways, coordinate the employees within the organization employed in different departments of the company. Richard Branson is undoubtedly an unconventional leader and the leadership style of this „amazing‟ leadership style was beyond the text of university books. There was not any feature of consensus building and consultative in his trait of personality. He is a "high- maintenance co-worker" who demanded excellence from his staff and is known for his blunt delivery of criticism. The indisputable outcome of his personality is the result of his sheer genius nature in combination with his extraordinary ability to articulate his vision in reality. He also have the capacity to bring his staff members, customers and investors to have faith on his vision and face the reality. His visionary came from the setback he have faced in his career. He has a strong focus on both technology and management prevailing in the business world go side by side. Without the help of the other no organization can exist for long. So there should be proper interaction of culture in the corporate, management and leadership, human resources and last but not least the advanced technological issues in order to make a well-organized company.
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 4 To manage the proper working in the organization, the management has to keep in mind the following points- Nature of the information covers all the part of information i.e how it is needed, evaluated, what are the legal consideration along it and also what its limitations are. In the management of information data is properly captured, verified and stored effectively, processing and distribution of information, dividing it among the users of the system. The tools, plans or collectively say strategies of information system keep track that in which manner the workforce is to be used to get the required targets in any business organization With his innovative thinking and visionary goal, he has been successful in establishing his business. His approach and philosophy towards business is very clear, he focuses on cost efficiency so as to create value. He believes in cost efficiency, low complexities and profitability which has been stated as a cornerstones of building a strong business. He has established Virgin group brand a sign of dependability and leadership, giving added confidence and assurance. Taking into consideration, Richard Branson is characterized by charismatic traits. Behavioral theory rests on the assumption that Great Leaders are made not born. This theory differentiates a leader from a non leader on the perspective of the behavioral characteristics possessed by the leader. Richard Branson displays different behaviors which set him under this particular theory; he has become a role model for many youngsters displaying the behavior of a role leader. Richard Branson has a great concern about his employees as well as production of the company. Situational Leadership takes into consideration that how a leader behaves in different situations and how well is he capable of handling the particular
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 5 situation. Richard Branson has tackled with different situations in a positive way and have resulted in success, even during the time of recession, he was able to generate profits. Motivation is extremely necessary if an individual is working in an organization. Mainly it depends on the environment and management of the organization that what motivational approach they use to motivate their employees. The manager is personally responsible for the entire organization which includes the content of the personal space of the user and the complete project. In such a large organization it is very essential to build a healthy and creative working culture. Steven used incentive approach for motivating his employees. There were certain incentives which were aligned to be given to us depending on our performances. Using this approach there was not even a single employee who was debarred from incentives. Point scheme was used to enlist the performance of the employee. The management see that all the employees can satisfy their own needs, utilize their potential and at the same time contribute to the aims of the organization. There were rewards such as gift cards, free meals, promotions, pins, certificates, recognitions and much more to motivate the employees. The employees were rewarded for meeting our performance goals or exceeding standards. Leadership Theories applicable on Richard Branson: Trait theories: Richard Branson displays the trait of charismatic leaders, he clearly communicate with the employees and maintain their enthusiastic and excitement level. He displays high level of self confidence and self esteem. Communication is the key for leadership at the Virgin Group. The Virgin Group‟s goal is to provide all employees with as much information as the executives have. Employees who know what‟s going on understand how their work boosts the collective well being of all the employees, and that translates into motivation. Few of the traits that can be taken into consideration under this theories which is applicable to
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 6 Richard Branson is self confident, Cooperative, energetic, ambitious and achievement oriented. These are the few traits which has enabled in success of Richard Branson. Behavioral Theories: The Managerial Grid: Richard Branson had acquired a behavior which rests upon concern for its employee and production. Richard Branson displays Team Management behavior which states his commitment towards his employees and tasks which leads into a relationship of trust and respect. Situational Leadership: Path-goal Theory, Richard Branson, is highly motivated, he is motivated to achieve the group as well as the organizational goals, he makes assure that he has control over the outcomes. Through this theory he focuses on the performance of the employees is enhanced by the training and the motivation that is provided to the employees. Strong emphasis is given on the goal of the organization than on the personal goals and requirement of an individual in this theory. Under this theory, Tony displays a leadership style changes as per the situation that the he encounters. He changes behaviors to fit the situation (environmental contingencies and subordinate contingencies). Hersey and Blanchard’s Situation theory: Leaders should adapt their style to follower development style (or 'maturity'), based on how ready and willing the follower is to perform required tasks (that is, their competence and motivation). Richard Branson displays Selling characteristics depicting high task and high relationship with his subordinates. Richard Branson spend a major time with his employees to motivate them and advise them so as to improve their performance. Richard Branson is also seen to follow servant leadership to show is commitment towards his employees and task.
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 7 Contingency Theories: Virgin Group follows ‘Visionary Model’ of Leadership. Mr. Richard Branson, is one of the visionary leader who believes in innovation and have a strong vision for future. This vision and the focus on communication and training its subordinates, he successfully empowers his subordinates by helping them to become self-sufficient and confident in doing their work. He motivates his employees to innovate and move ahead of its competitors. Richard Branson displays the trait of charismatic leaders, he clearly communicate with the employees and maintain their enthusiastic and excitement level. He displays high level of self confidence and self esteem. Communication is the key for leadership at the Virgin Group. The Virgin Group‟s goal is to provide all employees with as much information as the executives have. Employees who know what‟s going on understand how their work boosts the collective well being of all the employees, and that translates into motivation. Tony makes a move in facilitating his group towards a common goal. He displays several interpersonal and decisional roles. He displays Autocratic role, by adopting cost efficient and cost effective measures he focuses on productivity of the organization. He focuses on Performance and Maintenance, both these styles are displayed by Tony so as to enhance the productivity of the organization. Richard Branson has focused on developing the people. He has worked on identifying the key potential of their employees and tried to enhance that. He focuses on motivating their employees so that they are able to accomplish their goals. Richard Branson has strong Charismatic style, he excelled in very early age of his life. He has successfully handled different and difficult situations and has emerged as successful person. He developed several leadership roles by being an ideal for youngsters in early ages of life. He is characterized by high self confidence, and conviction in one‟s belief. Conger and Kanungo brought into picture different traits of Charismatic leader which
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 8 involved High Self-confidence, Have a Vision, Ability to Articulate the Vision (speaking ability), Strong Convictions about the Vision, Extraordinary behaviour (e.g., self-sacrifice), Perceived as Agents of Change, Environmental Sensitivity (threats, opportunities). All these characteristics can be viewed in Richard Branson. Thus, he is an example of Charismatic leader. Richard Branson believes in creativity. Creativity is essential to the performance of new product development teams. In the rapidly changing, more competitive new economy, teams need to engage in divergent thinking in which they put aside typical assumptions. Tony think creativity as a competency which comprises a set of knowledge, skills, behaviors and attitudes, which is within our ability to develop rather than as a gift granted to the special few. He follows five P model of creativity i.e. Passion, Persistence, Persuasion, Playfulness and Positivity. He makes a strong move to work creatively and encourages his employees to do the same. For enhancing creativity he adopts open climate in his organization, empowered staff, knowledge sharing systems, partnerships outside the organization, different communication patterns and strong interpersonal ties among team member. Leadership qualities of Richard Branson: Richard Branson brings into picture the servant leadership quality and Inspirational leadership quality. His strong vision for the future, self awareness and empathy are the major qualities of Leadership that Richard Branson inherit. The leadership quality that Richard presents are Charismatic Leadership style, visionary and innovative thinking. His self awareness, empathy, strong vision, and leadership traits are the major success factors of Richard Branson. He analyzed and studied the internal environment of the organization and made several changes in the internal environment so as to bring the changes. He made Virgin
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 9 Group as one of the best organizations to work in. He focused on several strategies and implemented the strategies. Implementation is related to organisational change to the extent that the operationalisation in some strategies may require significant change to the process, structures and sometimes the cultures of organisations. Conclusion With the charismatic and servant leadership skills Richard Branson has strongly focused on enhancing the company‟s performance and making Virgin group as one of the best companies to work on.
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 10 References Bohlander George & Scott Snell, 2010, Managing Human Resource, 15th edition, South- western, Cengage Learning Decenzo David A & Robbins Stephen P, 8th Edition, Fundamental of Human Resource Management, Wiley Tamara J Erikson and Lynda Graton, Harvard Business Review, What It means to work here William J, Rothwell (2003), Planning and Managing Human Resource., HRD Press K Aswathappa,(2005), Human Resource and Personnel Management, Fourth edition Earning the right to lead in defining moments: The act of taking leadership, The journal of value based leadership, Volume III, Issue 1, winter/Spring 2010 William Scott (2003), Performance Improvement Interventions: Their Similarities and Differences, the Journal for quality and participation, Spring 2003 Jiayan Liu, Transformational Leadership and Employee Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Trust in the Leader and Self-Efficacy John C. Maxwell, 2005, The 360 degree leaders, Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. James D. Boulgarides, William A. Cohen (2001), Leadership style vs. Leadership tactics, published by The Journal of Applied Management and Enrepreneurship (Spring 2001, Vol. 6, No. 1pp. 59-73). Edmondson, Bohmer & Pisano (2001) “Speeding up team learning,” Harvard Business Review Goleman (1998) “What makes a leader?” Harvard Business Review Martin (2007) “How successful leaders think,” Harvard Business Review Sonnenfeld & Ward (2007) “Firing back: How great leaders rebound after career disasters,” Harvard Business Review
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  LEADERSHIP – RICHARDBRANSON 11 Jessica Hanna and Dustin Klein, (2011), Sir Richard Branson: Great brands, virgin brands, Branson brands, from: Smart business Orange country, September 2011 Grant, Robert M. (2004). “Case 15: Richard Branson and the Virgin Group of Companies in 2004.”Blackwell Publishing.com. Branson, Richard (1998). Losing My Virginity. New York: Three Rivers Press. Page 25