Richard Branson and the Virgin Group Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Richard Branson and the Virgin Group - Coursework Example The group’s activities span such disparate lines of business as music, airlines, rail transport, movie industry, financial services, telecommunications, soft drinks, space travel, tourism, health services and much more. As can be expected, some of the ventures did not live up to the expectations, inviting criticism of the limits to which a brand’s power can be stretched by reckless and unrelated diversification. At the same time, the unique leadership that Branson provides with commonsense approach, changing corporate and functional strategies continuously, laying focus on corporate governance, customer satisfaction and employee-motivation belie the flamboyant extrovert who exploits every opportunity to enhance Virgin’s brand power for success of the various ventures under its umbrella. The case study explores the story of an entrepreneur who dares to challenge established notions of limits of brand dilution, diversification into unrelated areas, value of commons ense in business, and informality in organizational/communication matters. Talking to the Forbes magazine on 1 February 1997, Branson said, â€Å"If you can run one company, you can run any company. You can learn the nuances of a particular industry in two months. And it is so great being in so many different businesses. That is the fun of it† (Anon., n.d., coursework.info). The last part is a give away (the fun and enjoyment of being in business) for the Branson persona. Occasional failure or short-on-performance does not dilute Branson’s vision for making Virgin as one of the world’s leading brands. Failures While the Virgin Record Company and related businesses were highly successful, Branson’s move into the highly competitive airlines industry and challenging the major established players with cheap travel plans was not so successful. In fact, in the early 1990s, Branson had to sell off his first love, the music company, in order to support the falter ing Virgin Atlantic Airways, which faced intense competition from the British Airways, the dominant player. Although Virgin Atlantic Airways started off well since its inception in 1984 and went public in 1986, the stock market crash of 1987 led to crash of its share prices forcing Branson to buy back the public stock and turn it into a private firm once again (Anon., n.d., coursework.info). The Virgin Group’s cable company NTL planned acquisition of a stake in the media and entertainment business which was dominated by Rupert Murdoch, by acquiring nearly 20% stake in the company ITV (Barr, 2006; Clothier, CNN, 2006). These plans were thwarted by Rupert Murdoch’s BSkyB, who outbid NTL. This episode exposed Branson’s inability to accept defeat in grace. Another criticism of the Virgin Group has been its inability to fully integrate local cultural nuances into its management policies and branded products. In order to overcome this situation, Branson brought in a w ell-known marketing specialist Ashley Stockwell, as Virgin’s Brand Marketing Director (Anon., n.d., coursework.info). Branson’s foray into the movie industry with the acquisition of MGM in 1995 was again a failure, which he readily accepted and described it as a premature decision (Anon., n.d., coursework.info). Reasons for success Branson’

Limited Brands INC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10500 words

Limited Brands INC - Essay Example Limited Brands INC The report will commence with a brief preview of the company after which it will commence with the analysis of the company on various angles. First, the company will conduct an internal analysis of the company to establish how internal factors affect or shape up the company. Secondly, the report will focus on the external analysis that was carried out in order to establish how external factors influence the company and how the company has been forced to readjust or realign itself with the external factors. The third analysis of the company will focus on the financial aspect and in this regard, the report will analyze the company’s financial ratios. It is important to note that these analyses were aimed at establishing key problems that the business faces and hinder it from prospering further. Findings from the analyses carried out showed that the company faced four critical problems that include dealing with poor brands that makes the company less competitive in an industry revered for superior brands. The second problem that was established is lack of resources, which hinder it from competing competitively in the market. Third problem was inadequate technology within the company, which means that it is unable to decrease cost and operate more efficiently. The fourth problem that was established was that the company presently suffers from positioning within the market, which reduces its ability to compete competitively.