Learning for the Realization of Strategy - Essay Example

Leadership Of Richard Branson a) Rule breaker- One of his key elements is being a game changer. Sir Richard is a high school dropout who never really learned or explored the rules extensively (Dearlove, 2007). However, he has managed to change the traditional business rules whereby the organizational culture is determined by the employees. Virgin group culture is expressed as “don’t sweat, rules were meant to be broken” The company transforms the business status quo by introducing new rules and providing valued products and services at affordable prices. b)Listening- Richard Branson highly regards listening as one of the vital principles in virgin group. He treasures his employees’ insights in order to evaluate his success or failures and forge ahead. The trait enables the employees to learn from among themselves, from the industry and also from the mistakes they make in order to reach their desired levels. The company’s strategy stipulates “…reach for the skies and screw business as usual.” The company values learning for the realization of its strategy. In addition, the leader carry’s a notebook in every sitting so as to listen and jot down vital views in order to transform the ideas into actual strategies (Dearlove, 2007). c)Being passionate- the entrepreneur is occasionally passionate in everything that he does. Based on Dearlove (2007) he continuously engages the employees to be happy and passionate in their activities in order to achieve. His confesses that his $5 billion worth has been propelled by his passion and fun at work. The employees are paid below the market wage-price but are still loyal and passionate to the company. 2.a)Adventuring- Richard is highly adventurous both in business and social life. The entrepreneur is occasionally spontaneous in his business endeavors and never backs down for fear of criticisms or failures. In Dearlove (2007) the company has over 400 companies and partnerships which have aggressively attacked the market in order to attain new heights. The company has instilled the entrepreneurial spirit in its people; who are frequently advised to try new things. The adventuring spirit is supported by the company’s policy ‘to screw the rules and make mistakes’ since rules were made to be broken. b) Minimal bureaucracy- The entrepreneur is a down to earth person who despite his billions, occasionally engages with the employees or other members of the community in a cup coffee, community or corporate social responsibilities. Virgin group has an open social policy where the management and the employees are seen as team-players instead of two separate entities. The company also allows the employees to intermarry in order to promote team work and loyalty within the organization. The management are also at liberty to advise the leader on his plans and new ideas to cultivate team work within the organization (Dearlove, 2007). c) Communication- Richard Branson is passionate about interactions with his employees. He believes that there should be no barriers between the organization’s levels in order to foster team work. Through the company’s Pixar Campus, the employees from its various subsidiaries can interact and share new ideas. d) Delegation- Richard has a tendency of initiating new ideas and letting the employees finish on their own (Dearlove, 2007). The employees are further allowed to initiate their own ideas in the group. 3. a) Unique management policy; Virgin Group’s “allow line manager bypass” is a unique policy aimed at motivating employees to skip formal channel in idea incubation. In many organizations, an idea is only implemented after following the organization’s standard procedures. However, in Virgin group, the entrepreneur allows the employees to directly contact him for proposal submissions in order to promote quick implementations. Fertig (2013) illustrates the policy would be prohibited for organizations’ that employ bureaucratic or autocratic leadership. This is because the organizations’ utilize centralization as its major form of governance. Autocratic organizations rely on top decision making process only which not only prevents employees’ engagements but also subsequent innovations. b) Free culture- The company’s free culture allows the employees to formulate and implement objectives based on their objective value. The employees are even allowed to make mistakes in order to foster learning. One of his influential statements states “don’t sweat, rules were made to be broken” which allows the employees to perform their duties at ease without principally minding their repercussions. Additionally, the company promotes interrelationships within the organization whereby the employees can court and marry if need be. The culture instills unity between the members and enhances accountability among them. The informal and unconventional culture solidifies the employees’ loyalty to the organization (Fertig, 2013). The approach is greatly important for organizations that embrace hierarchy culture, so as to realize innovations and increase employee participations and their motivation levels. Hierarchy cultures are normally controlled and structured limiting innovations and management-employee interrelationships. 4. The entrepreneur has a habit of carrying a notebook and writing things down. The businessman confirms that successful people learn from the ideas and mistakes of others. The entrepreneur confesses he had dyslexia since childhood which necessitated him to jot things down, the practice he has maintained up to date. It is from this perspective that he empowers his employees as well as other stakeholders not to fear being themselves or make mistakes (Fertig, 2013). Fertig (2013) explains Sir Branson believes in instituting change which is only achieved through learning and implementing new strategies by its stakeholders. Richard Branson regards himself as a rule breaker who did not study and follow the business status quo but instituted his own guidelines. In addition, Sir Richard Branson does not believe in barriers within its organizational levels. The employees have the power to consult him personally without passing through the required management levels. The leader understands the consequences of organizational barriers and stringently prohibits the policy. The leader frequently holds social gatherings so as he can communicate with the employees in a different setting while they are at ease. Interactions with people; the businessman believes that for employees and others to rise up the ranks or be recognized, they have to build interpersonal relationships with others. The businessman interacts with stakeholders at tea-breaks and lunch-breaks so as to share insights and have a personal interaction with them (Fertig, 2013). Richard Branson believes in delegation within his enterprise. The leader believes no one can excel at everything and therefore, tasks have to be delegated to enhance specialization. 5. As a manager, the company lacks bureaucracy and on the contrary, it institutes free culture. The span of control at Virgin Group is decentralized. Another important aspect I noticed is that the most of the management personnel are either relatives, friends or associates to the entrepreneur which creates a unique bond within the company. As a manager, I have complete control over my decision making process with reference to the business unit which I manage. Furthermore, I am also have full control over my day to day running of my business unit. Fertig (2013) confirms even though the company has over 400 business units, each business unit functions as independent franchises which are self sufficient. The management personnel’s also form part of the advisory team to the visionary leader, Richard Branson. As a manager, I have the capacity to assess the leader’s ideas, advise him on his strategy plan and assessment of a new management member (Fertig, 2013).The management are viewed as team players whereby the performance of a manager is evaluated based on the success of the team. The management do not have to incorporate ownership oversight at every stage provided the targets are comprehensively realized. The policy necessitates operations to run smoothly from the management and employees side of view. Mills (2007) outlines the company employs a fun culture within its framework. The management as well as the employees have a fun attitude in order to institute self fulfillment during their operations. In general, the company employs a free culture which is highly productive in instituting leadership and promoting cohesiveness between management and employees. 6. Richard Branson is indeed a global leader. Transformational leaders normally lead by example whereby Sir Richard is promoting stewardship within the globe. The leader joins other renowned people like Bill Gates in giving back to the community. Through the ‘Giving Pledge’ initiative, the big hearted entrepreneur donates approximately half of his fortunes to the charity (Mills, 2007). The charity is aimed at raising money for the less privileged in order to advocate equality and humanitarianism within the globe. Richard Branson also formed the B Team; which is a global nonprofit organization aimed at assisting the various communities and projects beyond borders. The projects incorporate the employees which forms a unique way of forming a bond among them, and promoting the organization’s success. The leader employs communication and charismatic skills to divert from the traditional leadership criteria. The leader shares his vision with his employs in order to motivate them and achieve success as a collective family (Mills, 2007). Based on Mills (2007) Richard Ransom as a transformational leader employs uniform management criterion across all nations. He lacks central governance head-office where he operates from his family homes making employees at ease. He formulates free culture so as the employees can perform at their fullest potential effectively. 7. The founder has successfully maneuvered to make ‘Virgin’ a reputable brand over the last 41 years. The next 5 years would be no different but more breakthroughs due to his risk taking enthusiasms with exemplary passion. The entrepreneur has engaged in several sectors including mobile phones, financial services, airlines, entertainment, healthcare, jewelry, electronics, retail; which is evident that he engages in almost every vital sector. The entrepreneur is a top notch risk taker who tries new things without compromise. In some recent years, Sir Richard tried to concur Coca Cola by his product line Virgin Cola which however failed and instead never gave up (Goldsmith, McArthur & AMA, 2010). Over the next 5 years, it is no surprise if he ventures into another already dominated market and perform even better. He’s risk taking adventure can be traced and supported by his first adventure when he dropped out of high-school to sell his magazine (Goldsmith, McArthur & AMA, 2010). His prowess is further conceptualized when he first ventured into the airline industry and believed that the business would succeed within a lifespan of 1 year which miraculously it deed. Goldsmith, McArthur & AMA (2010) notes Sir Richard incorporates fun during his business adventures which a unique characteristic among entrepreneurs. In the next years, the leader is most likely to take on aggressive endeavors in the industry due to his uncompromising visions and outstanding passion. The leader reveals that fun is the center of all his success and any entrepreneur who lacks fun in his or her operations is deemed to fail. His unique management style and vision makes him and is sure to make wonders in the next 5 years to come. References Dearlove, D. (2007). Business the Richard Branson way: 10 secrets of the worlds greatest brand builder. Chichester, UK: Capstone. Fertig, D. (2013). Richard Branson. London: Raintree. Mills, A. J. (2007). Organizational behaviour in a global context. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview Press. Goldsmith, M., Baldoni, J., McArthur, S., & American Management Association. (2010). The AMA handbook of leadership. New York: American Management Association. Read More