LONGITUDINAL STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT STUDY RECENT PAST INTRODUCTION Virgin Group limited is a venture capital conglomerate founded in 1970 by Sir Richard Branson with interest in transportation, travel, mobile, financial services, media, music and fitness. It employs about 50,000 people in more than 30 countries, comprising of 300 companies and brand, with 11.5 billion pounds in revenue as at 2009, (Virgin website). (Adapted from Rob Abdul, 2001)
It started as a mail order business and gradually moved in retailing and It is pertinent to note here that Virgin Atlantic has won numerous customer service award. The expansion of Virgin and the increasing pressure on cash led to another shift in strategy this time rather than go public again, it was decided that a joint venture would suit the present time and this strategy was pursued aggressively. Eventually Virgin music was sold off as making a dramatic shift from the entertainment industry to travel and airlines. The launching of new businesses eventually led Branson to return to selling off equity stakes. 49% of Virgin Atlantic stakes were sold. By the middle of the last decade Virgin companies now comprised of several holdings companies and over 200 operating company. Using Virgin Atlantic as an example of how Virgin differentiates its businesses from others to give it a competitive edge. Virgin customers enjoys such privileges that other passengers don’t even get in first class having hair stylist and massages in-flight and personal controlled passenger screen. VIRGIN RECORDS This was a mail order business which later grew to a record company where he signed artist that was not appealing to the main stream music labels and even though suffered some setback during the 1979 to 1982 recession the company soon turned around and was soon making a lot of profit. VIRGIN CARGO As Virgin Atlantic was still in the infancy stage of planning Branson thought of taking advantage of the freight service and by the
Related Documents: Longitudinal Strategic Development Study Essay
600, Wellington, New Zealand b Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden Abstract How do firms use business networks when they internationalise? To answer this question, a longitudinal case study of four manufacturing firms in a small open economy such as New Zealand is used. This paper includes a dynamic element in the study of internationalisation by using Johanson and Mattsson’s (1988) model [Internationalization in industrial systems — a network approach. In P. J. Buckley, & P. N. Ghauri, The…
Managing Strategic Change on Nokia’s high-end Smartphone segment Contents Background 3 Problem statement: 4 Objective: 4 Research questions: 4 Methodology 5 Research activities planned: 5 Research approach: 6 Research Design: 6 Research limitations: 6 Referencing 7 Report outline: 9 Timescale 10 Resources 11 Background The high-end Smartphone market segment has developed tremendously in the recent years. The beginning of this growth was marked by Apple…
prevent homelessness, most states opt not to do so, and therefore they fail to draw federal dollars to support such initiatives” (Fowler, Toro, & Miles, 2009 p.1). Research has provided evidence that community dynamics play an intricate role in development and strength of a mental health disorder in an individual’s life. The parting or separation of parents, divorce or separation, economic matters, and seclusion are leading influences homelessness youth with a mental illness. Nonetheless, its undercurrents…
Int. J. of Human Resource Management 13:6 September 2002 853-864 [ 1J Routledge g ^ Taytor 6. FrandiCroi Human resource management and the performance of Western firms in China Ingmar Bjorkman and Fan Xiucheng Abstract The study examines the relationship between human resource management and organizational performance in sixty-two manufacturing Chinese-Western joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries located in different parts of the People's Republic of China. A positive relation was found…
| Declaration: I certify that this assignment is entirely my own work. I have provided full referencing to the work of others. The material in this paper has not been submitted for assessment in any other formal course of study. Teacher/Trainer to complete Mark Awarded: Out Of: | | |…
Submitted by Alex Matsika - Best Assignment (M. Comm. Strategic Mgt. & Corp. Gov) Midlands State University 2013 Introduction Formality refers to the degree to which participation, responsibility, authority, and discretion in decision-making are specified in strategic management. Formality is an important consideration in the pursuit of strategic management, because greater formality is usually positively correlated with the cost, comprehensiveness, accuracy, and success of planning. A number…
Table of Contents Introduction 3 Company Background 3 The Case 4 Literature Review 5 Change Theories 5 Leadership 5 Psychological Contract & Motivation 5 Critical Analysis 6 Recommendations 6 References 7 Introduction Changes have never been as fast-paced as in the modern world, driven by technological advancements, consumerism, easy information sharing, and knowledge intensity. Businesses have to be constantly aware of their external environment and of the potential changes…
new product development (NPD) processes and marketing decisions, measured from the dispersion of these activities among functional areas. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted across 424 small and medium-sized furniture manufacturing companies. In total, eight hypotheses were proposed and tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – Most important among the study’s findings was that inter-firm relationships and inter-functional processes are relevant for the study of organizational…
Approaches in Technology Entrepreneurship: Dilemmas and Choices – Bricolage Versus Breakthrough Zhangjin Chen Student ID: 8450274 Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship Course Unite Code: BMAN61001 The University of Manchester December 2012 CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 2.0 Bricolage versus Breakthrough----------------------------------------------------------- 2 2.1 Starting Position…
marketing—case studies. 2. Marketing—China—Case studies. 3. Marketing—Japan—Case studies. 4. International business enterprises—Case studies. I. Paliwoda, Stanley J. HF1416.A38 1991 658.8 48—dc20 90–37092 CIP CONTENTS Introduction vii Part I Challenging the international marketing literature 1 Research developments in international marketing: a European perspective David Ford and Leo Leonidou 2 Success factors of export marketing: a meta-analytic critique of the empirical studies Hans Georg Gemünden…