Human Resource Development: Richard Branson - Case Study Example

Human Resource Development: Richard Branson Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Human Resource Development: Richard Branson The success of any company requires great effective management. Presently, good managers have become the most important assets that a company can ever have (Gualco, 2010). Without a good manager, a business is destined to fail. In fact, there are numerous small and large businesses that have been set up, but ended up collapsing just few months or years after their formation. The failure of most of companies is attributed to lack of effective managers. Successful businesses, however, are guided by good managers something that has been demonstrated worldwide. Good managers succeed because they create a good vision for organization, create and maintain conducive working environment, as well as ensuring that employees are highly motivated to pursue success, as well as inspired to follow the vision of a company. Richard Branson of the Virgin Group is no doubt one of the world’s greatest living entrepreneurs and managers. Branson came from a very humble family background, having even dropped out of school to start a magazine business called “Student” (Dearlove, 2007). Since then, Branson has not looked behind and has emerged as one of the greatest managers, having founded the Virgin Group that is amongst the most successful businesses today. This document will discuss Richard Branson success as a manager and highlight the attributes that have contributed to his effectiveness as a manager. The document will also discuss the kind of training and development needed to enhance such attributes in people aspiring to a managerial role. Richard Branson is one of the most inspiring and successful managers of the 21st century. Branson is a British entrepreneur who emerged from a humble background and passed his passion to become one of the most successful business managers in the world. Branson’s story has surprised many considering that the entrepreneur dropped out of high school just at the age of 15 years to start his first business, “Student Magazine.” Branson says that people around him were very skeptical about his move and even advised him to continue with his education in order to be able to find a good job later when he graduates (Dearlove, 2007). However, Branson disregarded such pieces of advice and concentrated on building his business, which he had a lot of passion. Branson later formed the Virgin record store through a partnership with his friend. After a decade of business success, Branson left his partner to venture in the airline industry. It was then that the great entrepreneur founded the Virgin Atlantic airline that is currently among the most profitable airline in Europe. Virgin Atlantic has been a strong competitor with the British Airways, which it gives a huge challenge after the Virgin Atlantic, introduced the low cost airline (Branson, 2014). In addition to the airline industry, Branson owns and runs many other successful companies that falls under the Virgin Group that has a net worth estimated at more the $10 billion. Attributes That Have Contributed To His Effectiveness as a Manager Although Branson is amongst the most effective and successful managers in the business world, it took Branson a lot to make Virgin Group succeeds despite the strong competition from rival firms. Branson has quite a number of attributes that has made him succeed, where others have failed. Firstly, Branson is a risk taker. Branson reveals that he is someone who is willing to try new things by venturing in a business notwithstanding the risk exposure (Dearlove, 2007). According to Gualco (2010), a good entrepreneur and manager must be someone willing to take risk since any business has risk exposure. However, as a manager, Branson has always ensured that he protects the downside. In other words, Branson always tries as much as he can to limit the business exposure to losses before proceeding to start a new business venture. This was an attribute Branson demonstrated in 1987 when he ventured into the airline industry with Virgin Atlantic. Branson made a deal with Boeing to acquire the 747 jet and operate it for one year and that Boeing would have to take back the jet after one year of operation if it does not operate as intended. So far, Branson has started more than 500 firms over two hundreds of which he has shut down for failure (Branson, 2014). Secondly, Branson’s success as a manager is largely attributed to the fact that he is customer-centric. In Branson’s words, unless a manager is customer-centric, the business cannot survive (Dearlove, 2007). Accordingly, Branson puts customers at the heart of his business. He ensures that customers receive quality products and services all the time. In fact, to ensure customer satisfaction, Branson regularly call his customers to seek their experience about the quality of services they get so that improvements can be made to ensure that customers remain satisfied all the time. For instance, at one time, Branson called a passenger who normally uses Virgin America, where he learned that passengers do not want the airline to offer hot towels on a scorching Las Vegas day (Branson, 2014). Branson then provided management with this information, which led to a change of policy to the provision of a cold towel offered the days when it is hot. Accordingly, keeping close contact with customers is an attribute that has contributed to Branson’s success as a manager. Thirdly, Branson’s effectiveness as a manager is attributed to the fact that he is a master delegator. Branson understands that running a successful business require teamwork and working closely with the employees. As such, Branson has consistently ensured that the people who surrounds him are those who can help make his vision a reality Accordingly, Branson ensures that the day-to-day running of his businesses are delegated to some of his employees. Branson (2014) reveals that delegating day-to-day activities has ensured that he is left free to craft a vision for the business, thus success. Fourthly, Branson’s effectiveness as a manager is linked to him being a great innovator. Today, businesses compete greatly in terms of innovation. Gualco (2010) argues that, not unless a company keeps up with innovation and the introduction of new technologies, the chances of such companies surviving is very slim. Branson, however, being a manager who is never afraid of challenges has demonstrated great innovation skills that has ensured that Virgin Group keeps up with the latest technologies, consequently ensuring its success For instance, just recently, Virgin Atlantic airline launched the first ever glass-bottomed passenger plane in the world. This is meant to provide passengers with enhanced customer experience as they fly in Virgin Atlantic (Branson, 2014). In fact, the Virgin Atlantic has seen an increase in the number of passengers booking to fly in the aircraft, thereby giving Virgin Atlantic a competitive edge over rivals, such as the British Airways. Additionally, Branson has also embraced quite a number of technologies that has helped spur Virgin Group to success. Branson has also achieved a lot as a manager because of his great communication skills. Gualco (2010) argues that effective communication is a critical skill required of managers to succeed. Branson has demonstrated great communication skills, which has helped him create a working environment, where everyone feels valued and appreciated. Branson maintains close contact with his employees all the time through e-mails, phones, and in-person and even via Skype. This has ensured that Branson maintains a conducive work environment, where every employee feels at ease (Dearlove, 2007). The strong communication skills have also helped Branson ensure that conflicts are solved immediately they arise because he has created an environment where employees are free to air their grievances. The other attribute that has made Branson an effective manager is the fact that he is not only very honest, but also transparent (Branson, 2014). People close to Branson say that he is a manager who hates keeping things personal. Instead, he is a manager who keeps Virgin Group staff updated with any information that he feels they should know, whether it is a concern or success. This has ensured that all the employees of Virgin Atlantic understand everything that is happening in the company. Pillai (2011) argues that keeping employees updated of the goings on in a company is important for business success as it makes employees feel part of the company and that their support is valued. Additionally, Branson has succeeded as a manager because he values its employees. Branson states that employees are his first greatest assets. As such, he ensures that they are treated with respect and are highly motivated all the time to encourage them to put effort for the achievement of Virgin Group goals and objectives (Branson, 2014). Branson ensures all these by offering its employees attractive packages, offering development opportunities, work-life programs and many other benefits, such as health cover. It is because of high employee satisfaction that Virgin Group has not witnessed employee dissentient as has been with many companies. The Kind of Training and Development Needed To Enhance Such Attributes in People Aspiring To a Managerial Role There has been a strong debate within the business field as to whether or not leaders are born or made. Some theorists have maintained that great leaders are born not made (Prokopenko, 1998). However, evidence has shown that leaders can be made through effective training and development programs. Therefore, for those aspiring to become great managers like Branson, there are various training and development programs that can be used to enhance the attributes needed of an effective manager. Firstly, it has been noted that effective managers require good communication skills. Good communication skills help managers create an environment, where employees feel valued through feedback (Prokopenko, 1998). To develop good communication, an employee aspiring to become a manager should start by engaging in simple interactions with colleagues. However, the person should ensure that the communication skills are practiced every day in different settings, such as social and professional. It is critical to note that, developing effective communication skills take time, but every time one practice communication skills, the perfect one becomes. Secondly, those aspiring to become managers can be trained and developed through delegation. Delegation refers to the act of assigning employees some managerial duties to do on behalf of the manager. Delegation gives employees the opportunity to develop managerial skills that they would not otherwise know if they are not given the opportunity to do managerial tasks through delegation (Prokopenko, 1998). In fact, Branson stated that, delegation has played a critical role in Virgin Group as it has helped in the development of employees to become future managers of the company. Branson says that, through delegation, Virgin Group has been able to develop managerial skills of many of its staff that currently assist Branson in conducting the day-to-day activities. Thirdly, developing the managerial skills of aspiring employees to managerial positions can be achieved through promotion. Promotion has been demonstrated as an effective way of training and developing the skills of managers. Pillai (2011) attributes this to the fact that promotion means that an employee is given a more challenging role to play in the organization. As a result, they get to develop new skills that are critical for them in becoming effective future managers. Conclusion Good managers are critical for the success of any business. Certainly, without good management, a business is destined to failure. This has been demonstrated in many companies that have collapsed because of poor management. Accordingly, this is a confirmation that good managers are a key asset for an organization. Good managers succeed since they create a good vision for organization, create and maintain conducive working environment, as well as ensure that employees are highly motivated to pursue success. Richard Branson of the Virgin Group happens to be one of the greatest and most successful business managers of the 21st century, having made the Virgin Group a successful multibillion business venture. Branson’s success as a manger is attributed to many attributes, including being a risk taker with a focus on protecting the downside, highly customer-centric, master delegator, innovator, effective communication skills, transparent and honest, as well as the fact that he value his employees and treats them with respect. However, training and developing employees aspiring to become managers might require training them on communication skills, training through delegation or promotion to a more challenging role than their previous position. References Branson, R. (2014). The Virgin way: Everything I know about leadership. Cambridge: Penguin Publishing Group. Dearlove, D. (2007). Business the Richard Branson way: 10 secrets of the world's greatest brand builder. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Gualco, D. (2010). The good manager: A guide for the twenty-first century manager. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse. Pillai, K. (2011). Essence of a manager. London: Springer Science & Business Media. Prokopenko, J. (1998). Management development: A guide for the profession. New York, NY: International Labour Office. Read More