Richard Branson Essays (Examples)

Branson

Describe Branson's leadership style in terms of the leadership models addressed in Chapters 10 and 11 and evaluate the likely effectiveness of that style in the U.S. today.

Sir Branson's leadership style is the combination of authentic and transformational. He believes in hiring staff that have the skills to perform effectively. he authentic leadership style leads the way to his skill to work with the understanding that people make mistakes and they can be corrected while the work continues. As a transformational leader he demonstrates the capability needed to foresee company development, inspire and empower staff. With these attributes it requires him to have balance as a leader in the day-to-day working environment while creating a productive work environment and focusing on company goals.

According to Chapter 1, "Leadership is the process of developing ideas and a vision, living by values that support those ideas and that vision, influencing…

This leader is known as a risk taker and someone who is always looking for new projects as attempts to elevate his business to new levels. With the input and help of a strong management staff, Virgin Group is comprised of retail, air travel, financial, music, books and telecommunications. Branson is at the helm of a multi-million dollar global business, so his leadership style has proven to be quite successful with his decision-making and people skills.

He developed his entrepreneur ability at an early age. As a person who by society's standards was not successful academically and suffered with dyslexia, he never let others define him. Instead what some saw as a weakness it was used to his advantage, while pursuing his dream of being a top business leader. Overall, his inexperience and personal treatment from others helped with creating a strong commitment to treating people with respect. "Virgin Group is an organization driven on casualness and data, one that is bottom heavy rather than one that is made difficult by upper-level management. (Richard Branson/Herb Kelleher-Leader Extraordinaire, 2012, Pg. 1).

For a number of years Branson has been leading global teams by recognizing how valuable staff is to the success of a business. The additional skill needed is to be aware of the societal and organizational culture and global laws that affect business. In Chapter 11, "Societal culture is shared motives, values, beliefs, identities, and interpretations or meanings of significant events that result from common experiences of member of collectives and are transmitted across generations (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011,

He also is the richest man in the world, and came from a high-achieving family. (His mother was a college regent and the head of United Way.)

Gates was known for years as an autonomous loner. He did not marry until he was nearly 40, and he keeps a very low public profile, unlike the more charismatic and outgoing Branson.

Gates is legendary for his need for dominance. Neither he nor Branson "need" to work anymore, they could live comfortably off their income for the rest of their lives. However, Gates continues to run Microsoft, and be involved in all the decision making. He is "transitioning" out of the leadership role to lead his charitable foundation, but it will take two years and he will still be involved in high-level decisions. It seems it is very difficult for him to give up the reins and he must dominate the company…

Hierarchy Leadership

Henry IV Part

There are many fears people have for the unknown. However, the confidence a leader has when facing unknown risks sets him apart. That is an aspect ichard Branson the Chief Executive Officer of the virgin group understands and takes to his advantage. He faces the risks coming his way with confidence as he drives his team towards the achievement of his company goals and objectives. For ichard Branson, there is always a positive end to every challenge faced, and that drives him courageously to face any difficulties. ichard Branson has managed setting up standards for a vast range of virgin logo. He has a vast empire, entertainment industries like Virgin records, telecommunications ventures like Virgin Mobile and airline business such as Virgin Atlantic Airways (Lambert, 2012). The major aim for ichard is self-achievement. This is a part of life; he has reached through several challenges.…

References

Branson, R. (2012). Richard Branson: Be a Leader - Not a Boss. BasinessDay, Retrieved from  http://www.business  day.co.zalarhcles/Content.aspx?iF162636

Branson R. (2011). How Can I Empower Employees? Entrepreneur, Rehievedfrom http://www.entrepreneur.co ml article/2l7 880

Branson, R. (2011). Look Good in a Corporate Photo. Bloomberg Businessweek,

Collins, J. (2001). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, Retrieved from http://www.sturgesspurtill.com.aullibrary/Leadership.pdf

Leadership

Few leaders so overtly and ostentatiously embody the concept of transformational leadership as Sir Richard Branson. Branson heads the mega company Virgin Group. The leader's unconventional personality has been described as vocal and flamboyant, (Management and Leadership of Richard Branson at Virgin Group Ltd., 2010). Although Branson is known for his personal charisma, he does not limit himself to a charismatic leadership style. Charismatic leaders operate on the assumption that Charm and grace are all that is needed to create followers, (Leadership Styles, Changing Minds).

From his charismatic character flows a natural leadership style that encourages personal freedom of choice at the managerial level. Thus, Richard Branson can be best appreciated as a transformational leader, and one who has extraordinary vision. Transformational leadership is characterized by the empowerment of workers to make decisions that promote organizational goals, visions, and values. Transformational leaders aim to achieve an articulated vision of…

"Management and Leadership of Richard Branson at Virgin Group Ltd." (2010). UPX Success. Retrieved online: http://www.upxsuccess.com/leadership_richard_branson.html

"Most Recognized Organizational Leadership Models." Retrieved online:  http://hubpages.com/hub/Global-Leadership-Models 

Murray, A. (n.d.). Leadership styles. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved online:  http://guides.wsj.com/management/developing-a-leadership-style/how-to-develop-a-leadership-style/

Organizational Leadership and Performance

The environment in which leaders of today operate is increasingly global. It is important to note, from the onset, that today's globalized environment significantly differs from the environment business operated in a couple of decades ago. In addition to being fast-paced, today's business environment is also more competitive and complex. The demands of the current era have meant that leaders of today must embrace new leadership approaches -- different from those applied by their predecessors two or three decades ago.

The Need to Appreciate Diversity

Today, every leader, as Daft (2014, p. 326) points out, "needs to understand the complexity of diversity issues, learn to create an inclusive culture, and support the development of minorities…" Unlike was the case a few decades ago, today's leaders are expected to lead teams of individuals, all of whom come from diverse backgrounds, ethnic roots, and have different motivations. It…

References

Adair, J. (2009). Leadership and Motivation: The Fifty-Fifty Rule and the Eight Key Principles of Motivating Others. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page Publishers.

Bell, A. (2011). Great Leadership: What it is and What it Takes in a Complex World. Mountain View, CA: Davies-Black Publishing.

Cancialosi, C. (2014). Today's Leaders Must Learn to Thrive in Disequilibrium. Retrieved from  http://www.forbes.com/sites/chriscancialosi/2014/07/28/todays-leaders-must-learn-to-thrive-in-disequilibrium/ 

Daft, R. (2014). The Leadership Experience (6th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning

He also held weekly cookouts and he stood in line with all the crew to show he was on equal footing for that day.

Peter Drucker

One of Abrashoff's heroes was Peter Drucker, often referred to as the "father" of the modern management theory. Drucker predicted the emergence of the innovative knowledge worker -- the kind of talented employee that electronics firms hire as often as they can -- and he developed a management style that sought to "…embrace team members' creativity and intellectual contributions," according to M.E. Oss, writing in Behavioral Healthcare. Drucker developed the idea of decentralizing the workplace, and viewing the workplace as a "human community" that should be built on full trust and deep respect for the worker, not just a place where profit is the sole motive (Byrne, et al., 2005). Drucker treated the workers as "assets" rather than "liabilities" and long before other management…

Works Cited

Abrashoff, Michael D. (2002). it's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn

Ship in the Navy. New York: Warner Books.

Alic, John a., and Harris, Martha Caldwell. (1986). Employment lessons from the electronics

Industry. Monthly Labor Review, 27-31.

Leadership

Analyze describe founding leader(s), leadership style, major business principles a profit-oriented entrepreneurial approach primary goal provide a product service consumers make a profit. 2. Analyze describe founding leader(s), leadership style, major business principles a social-responsibility oriented entrepreneurial approach primary goal make a positive impact society (people, families, ecology, similar) providing a product service consumers make a profit.

Leadership style refers to the method or manner in which a person provides guidance regarding a particular issue, implements plans or motivates people in order to get a particular job done or goal achieved Baumgartel, 1957.

There are there major leadership styles that are seen in the various leaders all over the world Lewin, 1944()

The first is the authoritarian or autocratic leader. This is the leader who is a dictator and tells his employees or servants what they want to be done, how they want it done and any recommendations that…

References

Baumgartel, H. (1957). Leadership Style as a Variable in Research Administration. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2(3), 344-360.

Hirschman, C. (2008). GIVING Voice to Employee Concerns. [Article]. HRMagazine, 53(8), 50-53.

Lewin, K. (1944). A Research Approach to Leadership Problems. Journal of Educational Sociology, 17(7), 392-398.

Schein, E.H. (1985). Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

However, during that time, the car sales industry was experiencing a recession and Virgin Cars was caught up in the midst of this recession. Therefore, even though through franchise agreements with manufacturers they could stock many cars without paying for them, car sales slumped considerably thus the company was not able to turn a profit.

Among the actions that could have been taken by Virgin Cars to make it successful was taking time to design the business plan and site their stores in order to make sure they gain the most competitive advantage. Secondly, by researching the car sales industry and profile the market before starting the business. By so doing, they would have been able to set more realistic expectations for car sales and device strategies to improve sales despite the recession.

Conclusion

Diversification as a strategy for business growth usually gives rise to successful companies. The strategy of…

References

Ansoff, I. (1957). Strategies for Diversification. Harvard Business Review, 35(5), 113-124.

Balmforth, J. (2009). Virgin Atlantic. London: Midland Publishing Limited.

Branson, R. (2006). Virgin Atlantic Airways. [Article]. Aviation Week & Space Technology, 165(13), 20-20.

Dominic, O.C. (2006). End of the road for Virgin Cars as Branson gets out, Sunday Times, the.

Survival Exercise

Leader: Abdulhamid Albakoush

Present: All Members

Absent: None

The first group exercise we embarked upon was a 'survival exercise.' The group was given a hypothetical life-and-death situation in which we all had to work together to make effective decisions to benefit the group. All of us had a mutually shared objective (survival) even though we may have had differences about the best way to achieve that objective. The group exercise thus began with a common focus, a necessary component of group formation.

The hypothetical situation was that we had just crash-landed in the Canadian wilderness. First, we had to list items that were most useful to take with us to survive on an individual basis before coming together to reach a consensus as a group about what we should do. Much like the situation would be in 'real life' we began as a group of disparate individuals, but…

Despite these constraints, it is reasonable to assume that anyone able to invest $100,000+ in a five-minute space flight will be able to afford the trip.

Future Trends.

Given NASA's historic lack of enthusiasm for commercial space travel, it is reasonable to conclude that private initiatives such as SpaceShipOne are going to remain at the forefront of private space travel in the near future. In fact, NASA's Strategic Plan only contains a minor reference to the importance of the commercialization of space in the section entitled "Administrator's Strategic Outlook," wherein the NASA administrator references six areas of interest as NASA priorities with commercial space ventures being only briefly mentioned at the end of the last area of interest (Hudgins, 2002). According to this author, "Barriers to space enterprise result from the way these important space policies treat space commerce. One can readily conclude that commercializing space is not a high…

References

Coren, M. (2004a, June 20). Commercial space travel next leap for mankind? CNN: Science and Space. Retrieved October 5, 2007 at  http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/06/18/ssone.flight.history/index.html .

2004b, July 14). Private craft soars into space, history. CNN: Science and Space. Retrieved October 5, 2007 at  http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/06/21/suborbital.test/index.html .

Graham-Rowe, D. (2007, January 18). UK rocket man who's racing the billionaires into space. The Evening Standard (London, England), 14.

Hudgins, E.L. (2002). Space: The free-market frontier. Washington, DC: Cato Institute.

Leadership

Comparing Characteristics of Leaders and Managers

The term leader and manager is often used in an interchangeable manner and it is likely that at some point most leaders have undertaken a management role. However, when looking at leaders and managers there are some distinct differences. These can be considered in terms of their characteristics and the way these characteristics manifest. A common theme in much literature is the way in which leaders may be identified as they have followers and inspire others

This refers to the concept of leaders having charisma. In this context there are many examples of leaders both good and bad. Leaders which fit in with this context include, John F. Kennedy former U.S. President, Nelson Mandela the South African leader, Richard Branson founder of the Virgin empire and Howard Schultz the CEO and inspiration behind Starbucks. These are all examples of charismatic leaders

. They…

Social Media etailing Applications: Opportunities and Threats

How Has Social Media Developed and What are the Benefits and Downsides of Using Social Media for etailers Today?

This study examines social business in general, how it developed and the benefits of using social media in particular. Second, this study provides a discussion concerning the potential positive as well as the effects of social business in the retail sector which is followed by a description of optimal business strategies for social media applications, the pros/cons of using these tools in the industry, and some representative case studies concerning companies that succeeded and some that recently failed in their use of social media. Finally, the study provides a summary of the research and important findings is followed by a series of recommendations concerning how retailers should use social media technologies in their own businesses in the concluding chapter.

Social Media Business Applications

Chapter…

References

About Honda. (2013). Honda. Available:  http://corporate.honda.com/america/philanthropy.aspx?id=philanthropy_overview . Last accessed 1 November 2013.

About Virgin. (2013). Virgin America. Available: http://www.virginamerica.com/about/airline-company.html.

Baumann, M. (2010, June). @Twitter Discloses Business Model #Promotedtweets RT.

Information Today, 27 (6) 1-5.

The 2007 BCB survey averaged out to 7.5 out of a possible 10 "with regard to the perception of the services it offers." In the section dedicated to Barcelona's "worldwide image" the 2007 survey reached 8 out of ten from those visitors participating in the survey.

Spain isn't the only attractive meetings tourism destination by any means. There are countries all over the world seeking to attract business travelers that are part of conventions, conferences, seminars and other business-related gatherings. China is also an appealing destination for meetings tourism. The Jiangsu Tourism Company spells out some "useful tips for Meeting Planning in China" (http://tastejiangsu.com).

The old Japanese saying, "The protruding nail gets hammered down" is linked by the travel service to the possibility that some business travelers that are part of a meetings tourism group may commit a "major faux pas" during the business sessions. Hence, the ebsite explains, one…

Works Cited

About.com. "What is Adventure Travel." Retrieved Nov. 16, 2010, from  http://www.adventuretravel.about.com . (2010).

Bawaba, Al. "Malaysia Still Has Room to Grow in Health Tourism, Says Liow." Malaysian

Government News. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2010, from GaleGroup.

Berger, Karen. "Types of Adventure Travel Tours: Challenges, Features of Soft, Medium, and Hard-Core Adventure Trips." Suite101.com. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2010, from  http://www.suite101.com  (2009).

There were problems with the plane however, and utan made modifications to create the Long Eze (the plane singer John Denver was flying when he was killed in 1997).

utan's construction techniques gained the attention of NASA, and he partnered with them and other aircraft corporations to design high-speed, low cost, delta-wing aircraft, like the AD-1 in 1980. utan formed Scaled Composites about this time, and spent much of this time working on very creative and innovative aircraft designs. His brother, ichard utan also joined the company during this time. utan's next challenge was to design an aircraft that could circle the globe without refueling. utan succeeded in this goal when he designed the Voyager, a masterpiece of engineering that indeed circled the globe with his brother Dick utan and Jeana Yeager on board in December 1986. They covered the entire globe in just about nine days, with eighteen gallons…

References

Editors. "About Rutan Aircraft Factory, Inc." RutanAircraft.com. 2003. 18 Sept. 2007. http://www.rutanaircraft.com/htmlpages/rutancompany.html

Editors. "Scaled Composites." Scaled.com. 2007. 18 Sept. 2007.  http://www.scaled.com/ 

Heppenheimer, T.A. A Brief History of Flight: From Balloons to Mach 3 and Beyond. New York: Wiley, 2001.

Space Vehicles for Future Space Tourism

Developing Space Vehicles for Future Space Tourism

Today, certain individuals in the developing countries could be viewing "space tourism" as vocabulary. Nonetheless, in the developed countries, this term is turning to be more familiar and gradually becoming a holiday experience for world Forbes. This is an expensive venture that is exciting, stunning, adventurous, and relatively remains the least exploited phenomena in the world history. Since the first "space tour" in 2001, the rich stamps their foot on a fact that wherever they can go, the poor cannot manage to go, and what the poor can do, they can do best. Over the past few decades, the general perception about space tourism has been changing yearly. History reveals that this perception considered space tourism as a "science fiction." However, this term currently gains recognition and is becoming the most important grand target for the growing…

References

Ashford, D.M. (1984). Space tourism: Key to the universe? Journal of Spaceflight, 26(4), 123-

Bono, P. (1973). The reusable booster paradox: Aircraft technology or operations? Journal of Space Flight, 9(3), 379-387.

Broz, T.A. (1985). NASA administrator rules out shuttle for space tourism. Commerce on Space Tourism, 9(8), 68-77.

Gerard, M. & Jefferson, P. (1998). International cooperation in space: New government and industry relationships. Journal of Space Exploration, 9(5), 27-39.

USAA
Executive Summary
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) specializes in providing insurance for individuals and families of the military community. From auto insurance to renters insurance to flood and life insurance, USAA is there for service men and women who have put themselves on the front lines to serve their country. For that reason, USAA is there to serve them: indeed, the company’s slogan is: “We know what it means to serve” (USAA, 2018). The organization also offers investment products, loans, banking services, advice, mortgage assistance and more. This paper will provide the mission and vision statement of USAA, describe the types of products the organization offers and discuss best practices and motivation techniques used by the company from an employee’s perspective.
Mission
The mission of USAA “is to facilitate the financial security of its members, associates, and their families through provision of a full range of highly competitive…

Reflecting on Management
1
The new managerial skills that I learned about were related to the importance and value of managing an environment (not just workers) so as to cultivate a workplace culture that promotes the vision and goals of the organization (Daft, 2015). To this end, I learned about how crucial it is to have a sense of duty and ethics and have the ability to communicate this sense to workers. As Schyns and Schilling (2013) show, when leaders and managers fail to lead by example, they create a divide between employees and management that can quickly lead to a sour culture and a collapse in productivity and morale. An ethical perspective and skill set helps to provide the organization with the right type of values that all workers can embrace. When a manager lacks an ethical framework for approaching the job of management, it opens the door to…

Abstract
This paper focuses on questions of ethics and unethical behavior in the workplace. It discusses what leaders can do to better create an ethical environment in which people are respected and ethical values are promoted. It provides some examples from the real world of what happens when organizations fail to act ethically, and it also examines some of the problems that led to the disaster that was the 2007-2008 economic collapse. Ethical principles such as utilitarianism and virtue ethics are explained in connection with these discussions. The issues of diversity and discrimination are evaluated at length, and the issue of corporate sponsored volunteer programs is discussed as well.
Keywords: ethics, workplace ethics, leadership ethics, organizational ethics
1
Some of the most common forms of unethical behavior in our workforce today consist of misuse of company funds, misuse of company time, fraudulent activity, and lying. There are many different examples…

MLK’s Style
Martin Luther King used ethos, logos and pathos in his Letter from Birmingham Jail by appealing to an ethical justification for his stance, making an emotional appeal, and making an appeal to logic. From the standpoint of ethos—or ethics—King states that he is there in Birmingham “because injustice is here” (King, 1963). As a Baptist minister and a leader of the civil rights movement, he feels he has duty and moral responsibility to be Alabama. He notes, moreover, that he did not show up uninvited but rather that because of “organizational ties,” he was asked to come and represent his organization, which had chapters all over. Thus, King was not an outsider inserting himself into regional politics but rather a concerned leader of a group that was directly impacted by the racism in Birmingham and thus he had a moral responsibility to take ownership of the issue.
King…

Frequent virtual meetings at the onset of the change team would be required to create a sense of teamwork and also to clarify roles. The virtual team can take full advantage of technologies that enable collaboration. By keeping in mind the core vision and its underlying values, a virtual change team can be every bit as effective as a live one.

eference

Hay, I. (n.d.). Transformational leadership. etrieved online: http://www.leadingtoday.org/weleadinlearning/transformationalleadership.htm

Lim, J.Y. (n.d.). Transformational Leadership, Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness in Sport Organizations. etrieved online: http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/transformational-leadership-organizational-culture-and-organizational-effectiveness-sport-or

Yukl, G.A. (2002). Leading change in organizations. etrieved online: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:3HhW9jlhnmMJ:www.hss.doe.gov/deprep/archive/oversight/OrgCultureList/YuklOnCulture.pdf+yukl+functional+change&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShM_w6gqSrEzWZ-uUX-v-AkxkiiFJutzoFrD6O2zj5Hu1zrCbgTzEL33_cpW5nN-aMhYqy_2HLWsdJVQq5fbn9wNqxrJTZlpnMXKi283D4M4IGnfc1QgUBErPwk7Khr-5zne&sig=AHIEtb3ujTiWDQkDjiKKZZD-jvFmpeTyw

Yukl, G.A. (2008). The importance of flexible leadership. etrieved online: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:0ZB72AcLc6kJ:www.kaplandevries.com/images/uploads/Importance_of_FL_SIOP08Yukl.pdf+multiple-linkage+model:+yulk&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiDSwYcHX-gcBwH_QGKITxVgh5HmHfX5IYnSzMaPH0DDnOa5andwhqokJYcLSMmJ1-IUf0ZB9VPF0ib9x-tJseuG8kScir9-yK0zgNN073O-nAtAGysTtLJGXIQ6ua_aOYoBD&sig=AHIEtbQbvVU6LmhLhTJcWpWDpnUytxw1Q

Yukl, G.A. (2010). Leadership in Organizations. Prentice-Hall.

Reference

Hay, I. (n.d.). Transformational leadership. Retrieved online:  http://www.leadingtoday.org/weleadinlearning/transformationalleadership.htm 

Lim, J.Y. (n.d.). Transformational Leadership, Organizational Culture and Organizational Effectiveness in Sport Organizations. Retrieved online:  http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/transformational-leadership-organizational-culture-and-organizational-effectiveness-sport-or 

Yukl, G.A. (2002). Leading change in organizations. Retrieved online:  http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:3HhW9jlhnmMJ:www.hss.doe.gov/deprep/archive/oversight/OrgCultureList/YuklOnCulture.pdf+yukl+functional+change&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShM_w6gqSrEzWZ-uUX-v-AkxkiiFJutzoFrD6O2zRj5Hu1zrCbgTzEL33_cpW5nN-aMhYqy_2HLWsdJVQq5fbn9wNRqxrJTZlpnMXKi283D4M4IGnfc1QgUBErPwk7KRhr-5zne&sig=AHIEtbR3ujTiWDQkDjiKKZZD-jvFmpeTyw 

Yukl, G.A. (2008). The importance of flexible leadership. Retrieved online:  http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:0ZB72AcLc6kJ:www.kaplandevries.com/images/uploads/Importance_of_FL_SIOP08Yukl.pdf+multiple-linkage+model:+yulk&hl=en&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESiDSwYcHX-gcBwH_QGKITxVgh5HmHfX5IYnSzMaRPH0DDnOa5andwhqokJYcLSRMmJ1-IUf0ZB9VPF0ib9x-tJseuG8kScir9-yK0zgNN073O-nAtAGysTtLJGXIQ6ua_aOYoBD&sig=AHIEtbQbvVU6LmhLhTJRcWpWDpnUytxw1Q

It is quite apparent that if the subordinates are not happy with the leader or the decisions that he makes, they will not work to the best of their ability.

A practical example of this sort of leadership is of Sir Richard Branson who is the owner of the Virgin Company. It should be noted that till this day, the company has a total of 50,000 employees. Despite having so many employees and such busy schedule, Sir Branson always looks after his employees and makes sure that none of their queries go un answered. He personally checks their emails or letters and replies to them. All his employees know that he goes thorough the email therefore they provide their input regarding company decisions as well. This sort of leadership exemplifies the notion that importance should be given to the subordinates as well. It is true that leaders may face tough…

Works cited

Fiedler, Fred Edward. "A contingency model of leadership effectiveness.." Advances in experimental social psychology. By Berkowtiz, Leonard. 1st ed. New York: Academic press, 2013. Print.

Kipnis, David. The powerholders. Chicago: The Univ. Of Chicago Press, 1976. Print.

Pruitt, Dean G. And Jeffrey Z. Rubin. Social conflict. New York: Random House, 1986. Print.

Van Der Vliert, Evert . Complex Interpersonal Conflict Behavior. London: Psychology Press, 1997. Print.

Aviation Book

According to Pilarski (2007), "the financial situation of the airline industry, especially in the U.S.A., has been between disaster and catastrophe," (p. 3). Financial wizards like Warren Buffet have made "bombastic pronouncements" related to the economic illnesses of the airline industry (9). Dynamic entrepreneur ichard Branson, himself seduced by the desire to own an airline, has likewise stated, "How do you become a millionaire? Start as a billionaire, and then buy an airline," (cited in "In-Depth Drilldown Of The Airline Industry - Part 1, 2012). Airline companies operate with razor-thin profit margins, if any at all. Moreover, the situation was bad enough befofre but has grown worse since September 11. "Since 9/11, we've seen tremendous changes surrounding the airline industry: security, regulations, and operational costs. Overall, these variables have had tremendous, and far-bearing, negative impacts on the industry," ("In-Depth Drilldown Of The Airline Industry - Part 1," 2012).…

References

"Global airline industry profits to falter at $3bn in 2012," (2012). New Statesman. June 11, 2012 Retrieved online:  http://www.newstatesman.com/business/transport/2012/06/global-airline-industry-profits-falter-3bn-2012 

"In-Depth Drilldown Of The Airline Industry - Part 1," (2012). Retieved online:  http://seekingalpha.com/article/644991-in-depth-drilldown-of-the-airline-industry-part-1http://seekingalpha.com/article/644991-in-depth-drilldown-of-the-airline-industry-part-1 

Pilarski, A.M. (2007). Why Can't We Make Money in Aviation? Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

Pilarski, A.M. (2010). The fallacy of airline mergers: Two drunks holding unto each other will not walk straight. Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Retrieved online:  http://www.avitas.com/publications/adampilarskiarticles/The%20Fallacy%20of%20Airline%20Mergers%20Two%20Drunks%20Holding%20Unto%20Each%20Other%20Will%20Not%20Walk%20Straight.pdf

Leadership is difficult to quantify; studying it empirically is not a simple task, because so many different variables can be considered as the potential result of leadership. If we want to evaluate the leadership of a given CEO -- for example, to assess the leadership achievements of Mo Abudu, founder and CEO of EbonyLive TV and its various affiliated ventures (Inspire Africa, VLA) -- what statistics should we be measuring? The most popular measurement, of course, is purely financial, and regards a CEO as the sole motivating factor behind any company's economic performance -- most studies that examine Steve Jobs's leadership at Apple are quick to mention that, at the moment of Jobs's death, Apple actually had more money in the bank than the United States government (Isaacson 2012). But it is naive to assume that merely counting cash is a good way to measure leadership, just as rapid growth…

Referencess

Chen, C, Van Velsor, E. (1996) New directions for research and practice in diversity leadership. The Leadership Quarterly 7: 285-302.

Isaacson, W. (2012) Steve Jobs. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE publications.

Dangers linger in any relationship where one party holds power and the other party gives it. Any student of leadership, must recognize that tripwire, and assiduously avoid it through correctly recognizing the dangers that abuse of power can bring.

orks Cited

Bass, B., Atwater, L., & Avolio, B. (2008). The Transformational and Transactional Leadership of Men and omen. Applied Psychology, 5-34.

Beverly Alimo-MetcalfAlban-Metcalfe, J., Bradley, M., Mariathasan, J., & Samele, C. (2008). The impact of engaging leadership on performance, attitudes to work and well-being at work: A longitudinal study. Journal of Health Organisation and Management, 586-598.

Beyer, J. (1999). Taming and promoting charisma to change organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 307-330.

Bolman, L., & Deal, T. (1991). Reframing Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pedler, M., Burgoyne, J., & Boydell, T. (1944). A Manager's Guide To Self-Development 4th ed. London: McGraw-Hill.

Ulrich, D., Zenger, J., Smallwood, N., & . (1953; CR 1999). Results-Based…

Works Cited

Bass, B., Atwater, L., & Avolio, B. (2008). The Transformational and Transactional Leadership of Men and Women. Applied Psychology, 5-34.

Beverly Alimo-MetcalfAlban-Metcalfe, J., Bradley, M., Mariathasan, J., & Samele, C. (2008). The impact of engaging leadership on performance, attitudes to work and well-being at work: A longitudinal study. Journal of Health Organisation and Management, 586-598.

Beyer, J. (1999). Taming and promoting charisma to change organizations. The Leadership Quarterly, 307-330.

Bolman, L., & Deal, T. (1991). Reframing Organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Perhaps the Puffin project could be incorporated into the Spaceship 2 project in the future by allowing the six passenger Spaceship 2 craft the unique ability to give individual passengers the option of individual exploration of space or the air.

Technology

Technologically speaking, the Spaceship 2 project represents a hybrid of humans' best technologies. Since the ship itself would be carried to high altitudes by the White Knight, it does not have to incorporate any fuel weight into the flight vehicle itself. Considerations like these allow for greater scope of development of the passenger vehicle itself, as well as a roomier, more comfortable experience. The Puffin vehicle, while environmentally friendly, would be difficult to use in space without large fuel sources or solar panels. The technologies that are being developed and tested by NASA and the Ames esearch Center are more forward-looking.

These future technologies include ion engines, which would…

References

Ames Research Center (2011). "Advanced Propulsion." White paper found online July

22, 2011 at:

 http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/teacher/lessons/contributed/thomas/Adv.prop/advprop.htm .

NASA (2011). "NASA Issues Announcement For Solar Electric Propulsion Studies."

However, there is some common sense in knowing when government is necessary and when too much government is detrimental to quality of life.

A world without government would be a much worse world, one in which crimes proliferated, in which an economy would be impossible to maintain on a global scale, and in which public works projects could not be maintained feasibly. Too much government, such as with socialist and communist systems, do not work well because they restrict the rights and freedoms of people. However, too many Americans believe that any government is bad. Before Americans forget what government is good for, they should remember that governments pay for schools because citizens agree that an educated population is a safe and happy population. Governments also create public works projects that allow citizens to enjoy clean drinking water, communication networks, and transportation systems. Anarchy and complete privatization might be fun…

References

Amy, D.J. (2007). Stealth Deregulation: The Untold Story.

Benson, E. T (1968). The proper role of government. Retrieved online:  http://laissez-fairerepublic.com/benson.htm 

Feinman, R.D. (2004). Government's Role. Retrieved online: http://robertdfeinman.com/society/government_role.html

Halloran, L. (2011). Deficit Forces Question: What Is Government's Role? NPR. Retrieved online:  http://www.npr.org/2011/04/12/135352906/deficit-forces-question-what-is-governments-role

Virgin Airlines -- Financial and Strategic Assessment

Financial Assessment

Virgin America has quickly established itself as one of the premier airlines operating throughout North America, generating $760M in Operating evenues as of the close of its latest fiscal period reporting a Net Loss of $19M and operating margin of -1.6%. As Virgin competes in a very price-driven and capital-intensive industry, their latest financial results the exceptionally high pressure on new entrants into commercial aviation. Their latest financial results are shown in Appendix A: Virgin America Consolidated Statement of Operations and Appendix B: Comparative Operating Statistics, both obtained from the company's website.

Analyzing their financial condition indicates just how challenging the launch and successful operation of an airline is. Their fuel costs increased 66.9% for the nine months between September 30, 2010 to September 30, 20112, and Aircraft Maintenance increased 51.5% in the same period. Both of these figures are shown…

References

De Roos, N., Mills, G., & Whelan, S. (2010). Pricing dynamics in the Australian airline market. Economic Record, 86(275), 545.

Deutschman, A. (2004, The gonzo way of branding. Fast Company, (87), 90-96.

Goldsborough, R. (2006). Traveling with technology, and its glitches. Tech Directions, 66(5), 15-15.

Hazledine, T. (2011). Price discrimination in Australasian air travel markets. New Zealand Economic Papers, 45(3), 311.

Leadership Skills

Reference list:

1. Tasler, N. (2010). Five Secrets of Charismatic leadership. BusinessWeek. Retrieved March 20, 2012 from  

Level 5 Leadership: Which is harder to cultivate within yourself: humility or will?

Level 5 leadership involves what Collins (2001) calls the "paradoxical blend of humility and will," (p. 13). As a result, Level 5 leaders are "a study in duality," as they exhibit other binaries, such as being both humble and fearless; both modest and willful (Collins, 2001). The complexity of human character makes it possible to hold two seemingly disparate qualities in check at any one time, knowing exactly when, how, and why to turn on one binary (like humility) versus the other. Collins expands upon the concept of Level 5 leadership in the opening sections of From Good to Great because Level 5 leadership is central to effectively motivating others and promoting the values of an organization.

Both humility and will are difficult qualities to perfect. All leaders possess both humility and will to a greater or…

References

"Humility Key to Effective Leadership," (2011). Science Daily. Dec 8, 2011. Retrieved online:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111208173643.htm 

Sears, D. (2009). Incentive compensation best retention tactic. The Ladders. Retrieved online:  http://www.career-line.com/job-search-news/incentive-pay-beats-salary-as-top-employee-motivation-retention-tool/attachment/incentive-compensation-best-retention-tactic/ 

Van Herpen, M., Van Praag, M. & Cools, K. (2005). The effects of performance measurement and compensation on motivation: An empirical study. De Economist 153(3): 303-329.

Tourism and Hospitality Industries: Management

Integration of Travel and Hospitality Companies

Vertical integration has been a major trend in corporate business in profit-based and consumer-based industries over the past several decades, particularly as more specialized and dynamic good and services are being offered with wider global distribution. There have been many examples of vertical integration in the travel and hospitality industry within the past several decades, although due to the volatility of industries based upon consumer activity with disposable income during the recession since 2008, it is a somewhat risky maneuver, particularly in the acquisition of transportation companies.

The general principle of vertical integration, however, leads to greater profit margins as two or more related ventures are purchased by the same entity, thus lowering overhead and eliminating external expenditure. Vertical integration is particularly of benefit for the development of travel and hospitality packages that seek to offer savings to customers…

References

Hargrave, A. (2011)"The Ownership of Travel and Tourism Organisations: Takeovers"  http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/1619/tourism/business/activity/ownership.htm 

George Lafferty, Anthony van Fossen, Integrating the tourism industry: problems and strategies, Tourism Management, Volume 22, Issue 1, February 2001, Pages 11-19.

John Tribe, The competitive, technological, political and sociocultural environment, The Economics of Recreation, Leisure and Tourism (Fourth Edition), Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2011, Pages 173-204.

Ludwig Theuvsen, Vertical Integration in the European Package Tour Business, Annals of Tourism Research, Volume 31, Issue 2, April 2004, Pages 475-478.

Ursula Burns

In February of 2010, Ursula Burns became the chief executive of Xerox Corporation. Burns has successfully led the Xerox Corporation through difficult financial straits, by divesting much of the outmoded commodity-based business strategies towards a broader service-oriented one. epositioning the company has enabled Xerox to weather the economic storms, poised for a bright future. A large part of the reason for the positive outlook for Xerox is the leadership style of Ursula Burns, and the corporate culture Burns subsequently creates.

Several leadership theories can provide a foundation for describing Burns' leadership styles and philosophies. Trait theory suggests that Burns's success as a leader is partly or fully rooted in her innate personality traits: her notable extraversion, toughness, and commitment to the Xerox company. Burns is known for being assertive, as well as creative in her approach towards managing the company and managing organizational change, too. The President of…

References

Bryant, A. (2010). Xerox's new chief tries to redefine its culture. New York Times. Feb 20, 2010. Retrieved online:  http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/business/21xerox.html?pagewanted=all 

McGirt, E. (2011). Fresh copy: how Ursula Burns reinvented Xerox. Fast Company. Nov 19, 2011. Retrieved online:  http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/161/ursula-burns-xerox 

Organizational Behavior

Global and Domestic Marketing Decisions

Of course, it's tempting to think of business decisions as occurring in a perfect economic bubble -- wouldn't it be nice to simply prepare a strategic SOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis based on one's industry alone? Alas -- or fortunately, depending on one's perspective, however, no company exists within such a comfortable bubble in today's business environment. (SOT Analysis, 2004) Today, companies must keep abreast of the profound technical, cultural, and ethical shifts that have occurred in today's business climate, reflecting the more forward-thinking yet bearish attitude climate of the 21st century, as opposed to the 1990s.

Technology

From a technological point-of-view, the Internet has changed global and domestic commerce. In particular, cultural industries such as the music industry have been impacted. No longer can music companies simply bank on the popularity of an individual artist. Nor can music and entertainment companies ignore…

Works Cited

Berenson, Alex. (September 23, 2004) "Ex-Chief of Computer Associates Is Indicted on Fraud Charges." The New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/23/business/23computer.html 

Glassman, Mark. (September 26, 2004) "And Now, a Message From Our Sponsor." The New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/media/040927MOSTWANTED.html 

Hansell, Saul. (September 27, 2004) Music Sites Ask, 'Why Buy If You Can Rent?' The New York Times.  http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/27/technology/27music.html 

SWOT Analysis. (2004)

Rule breaking, innovation or ethical dilemma?

Annotated Bibliography

People often think that in order to run a business, or be a leader, one must adhere to all the rules. But the old saying "Some rules are made to be broken" rings true. Many successful entrepreneurs have had to make decisions that would ultimately be seen as rule breaking, even at times, illegal. That is just how the world works. People must make tough decisions in order to make it in the tough worlds of business, politics, and even medicine.

This paper focuses on several articles along with an annotated bibliography to demonstrate the effectiveness of rule breaking in reaching one's goals in business and entrepreneurial endeavors. So many greats like Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, etc., have broken rules in order to get to where they are now. In fact, wise leaders often take risks to get things accomplished. Any entrepreneur…

Organizations

Management Theory

Case Summary: In 2013, when new Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer overturned the flexible work at home policies, it created a maelstrom of media response. Public responses fell on both sides of the issue, while it seemed most Yahoo employees were outraged. The disruption to personal lives became a pivotal point in the discussions -- arrangements that enable parents to work-at-home, for instance, are not easily changed. But, more central was the message communicated to Yahoo employees: The CEO (and likely a slew of other managers at the organization) did not trust telecommuting employees to efficaciously conduct their professional duties outside of the direct oversight of their managers. Note that many of the telecommuting Yahoo employees worked at home only one or two days per week. Women particularly took issue with the workaholic Mayer's decision: she came on board when she was five months pregnant and took a…

References. Please focus on analyses and recommendations, not on retelling the chapter or describing what happened in unnecessary detail.

Paper criteria:

At the same time, it will help to identify what issues will shape the future of air passenger transportation in Asia.

1.6: Hypothesis

he introduction of LCCs in the North American and European markets started a trend that is beginning to unfold in Asia (with the birth of Asian-based LCCs). Part of this is in response to the increases in passenger traffic and the effects of globalization. However, there have been similar airlines in the past, which have tried and failed using the same kinds of business models. A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than, Oasis Hong Kong. his was a low cost carrier that attempted to enter the medium to long haul leisure / business travel market between Hong Kong and London Gatwick. he problem was that they were no match for the FSCs, which offered: more flights and greater flexibility. his is…

This information is useful, because it can highlight some of the different challenges facing the industry. Where, these different factors could affect the profitability of many carriers and the fares / services that they are providing to consumers. This can be used in conjunction with the results of the surveys; to see how the overall cost structure is having an impact upon both Thai Asia Air and Thai Airways. Once this takes place, it could provide a more complete picture, as to how these different challenges are affecting the industry and what could be the possible impact in the future.

Moreover, Gluckman (2007) discussed on the impact that Air Asia has had upon the industry. Where, their low costs and no frills have helped the company to be able to redefine the sector. The reason why is because Air Asia has a very low labor cost structure in comparison with the traditional airlines. Evidence of this can be seen by looking no further than the fact that their labor costs typically account for 17% of the total operating expenses for the company. While the industry average is 30% to 40%, of the total operating expenses that normal airlines must pay. At the same time, the company will fly to airports that are less congested (which have lower landing fees) and they fly reconditioned aircraft. The results of these actions were that Air Asia would redefine the industry by showing how low cost structures, could allow an airline to be competitive. The problem is that the labor costs of Air Asia are some of the lowest in the world. When you compare this to other low costs carriers in markets such as North America or Europe, this is just of fraction of what the LCCs are paying. Over the course of time, as incomes continue to increase, the cost of labour will rise towards the industry average. This is significant, because it shows how Air Asia has identified ways that it can compete over the short to medium term. However, over the long-term is when the airline will face the possibility of having it business model go through severe challenges, as it will not be able to maintain these low costs indefinably.

This information is important, because it shows how Air Asia and many of the other LCCs are able to remain competitive. As their overall labour costs, are significantly lower than any

Leadership and Employability

eport on Accounting and need of Strategic Leadership

Accountants at the management levels can be depended upon to have technical accounting expertise to give organizations the financial knowhow they need to fulfill statutory reporting requirements. However, management accounting also entails supporting the enterprise. Management accountants can combine analysis and accounting skills with their business understanding, making them able to give reliable performance metrics and forward looking, evidence-based management information. Management accounting skills are very much in demand. We are aware of many others who are not fortunate in this context. About 75 million young people are not employed, whilst employers still cannot find individuals with the right skills to grow their businesses (CGMA eport, 2014). This report aims to inform and make young accounting graduates aware of ways to become effective accounting department team members and to eventually grow into future finance directors within businesses. A firm…

References

ACCA. (2013). The importance of strategic financial leadership in the UK public sector in a time of financial austerity. UK.

Accountingverse Team. (2015). What is accounting?. Introduction to Accounting.

Accountingverse.com. Retrieved from  http://www.accountingverse.com/accounting-basics/whatis-accounting.html 

CEO Services, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership. (2008). The Challenge of Financial Leadership. American Society of Association Executives ™ (ASAE), Washington. Retrieved from  http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/whitepaperdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=34618

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of LeadershipJohn Maxwells (1998) 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership looks at how to win over followers and identifies 21 specific factors that make great leaders. Some of it is ability, some of it is influence, some of it is the adherence to the process of development, and some of it is vision. There are several other factors as well as Maxwell spends a chapter on each one, providing anecdotal evidence to support his points.Each of the laws that Maxwell (1998) identifies and discusses are well worthy of a leader. Some of the other laws include the notion that leaders should be stronger than their followers because followers want to follow someone who is greater or stronger than themselves. Leaders tend to be intuitiveat least the great ones doand to emphasize this point Maxwell (1998) describes the intuition of Norman Schwarzkopf. Leaders also tend to attract others…

ReferencesConger, Jay A. (1989). Leadership: The art of empowering others. Academy of Management Executive, 3 (1), 17- 25.Maxwell, J. (1998). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks: CA: Sage Publications.Stogdill, R. M. (1948). Personal factors associated with leadership: A survey of the literature.Journal of Psychology, 25, 3571.

Virgin's Organizational Culture

Model of the organization

Organizational culture is built around three aspects: (1) complexity, (2) formalization, and (3) centralization.

Complexity: Complexity depends on the hierarchical structure of the organization, the larger it is generally the more complex it is. Complexity, then, is reduced to three tiers: vertical, horizontal, and geographical.

Vertical: The larger the depth of layer the more 'vertical' the organization is. A complex and broad organization, therefore, would generally have more layers than one less complex (Bartol, Twein, Matthews, & Martin, 2007). Branson was an exception to this. Though leader of exceedingly broad and complex operations, he managed to reduce the structure of verticality by splitting Virgin Groups up into multiple small companies. Branson believed that employees preferred to work under small companies than under large impersonal corporations. By the late 1980s, for instance, he had fragmented his collection of companies into more than 100 loosely…

Sources

Bartol, K., Twein, M., Matthews, G., & Martin, D. 2007, Management: A Pacific Rim Focus, Prentice-Hall, Sydney.

Burns, T. & Stalker, G.M., 1961, The Management of Innovation, Tavistock, London.

Cherrington, D.J. Orgnizational Behavior, 1994. USA: Alleyn & Bacon

Cooperrider, D.L., & Godwin, L. 2010. 'Positive Organization Development: Innovation-inspired Change in an Economy and Ecology of Strengths'. Appreciative Inquiry Commons.  http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/intro/comment.cfm

Griffith Hotel

Case Study- Griffith Hotel

The Griffith Hotel is a luxurious hotel that opened in Tel Aviv during 2005. The Griffith Hotel attracts tourists and high ranking diplomats from around the world as guests. The Griffith Hotel is modernized and has a robust 560 rooms to accommodate its vast clientele. The general manager and the higher level management team believe that providing the best customer service is the key to present and future success for the Griffith Hotel. ecently, the front-office manager Simon and his staff have not been meeting the customer service standards.

Five major problems are plaguing Simon and his staff at the Griffith Hotel. The problems are Simon's incompetence as a manager due to the lack of interpersonal skills, a sub-par cross-training program, an ineffective front-office department, a front-desk dilemma, and incorrect use of the satisfaction surveys. An in-depth look of interpersonal skills has been researched…

References

Brown, R. (2011). Prejudice: it's social psychology. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.

Daft, R.L., & Lane, P.G. (2007). The leadership experience. Mason, OH: Thomson Learning.

Ellis, R. (2009). Communication skills: step ladders to success for the professional. Chicago, IL: Intellect Books.

Hayes, J. (2003). Interpersonal skills at work. NY, NY: Routledge.

According to Fitzpatrick & Keegan (2010), "This use of historical ecology to study "the complex, historical interactions between human populations and the ecosystems they have inhabited" (Kirch 1997a, p.2; see also Crumley (ed.) 1994), has been applied in other parts of the world to observe anthropogenic changes through time. Archaeologists, influenced by a wide array of scientific fields, have taken a keen interest in understanding how humans adapted, influenced, modified, and impacted their environment. This is a difficult endeavor, however, because "environments change and the magnitude of change are never constant" (O'Brien 2001, pp. 29-30). (Fitzpatrick, Keegan, pg. 30, 2007)

Fitzpatrick & Keegan point to the uses of historical ecology to investigate the interrelationships between humans and the biosphere. The importance of noting environmental changes as separate from human involvement may be erroneous. Environmental changes are hinted by proponents of historical ecology to have been initiated by humans through their…

References

Anderson, a. 2009, Epilogue: Changing Archaeological Perspectives upon Historical Ecology in the Pacific Islands1, University Press of Hawaii.

Balee W. (1998), Historical Ecology: Premises and Postulates -- Chapter 1.

Bird DW., Richardson JL., Veth PM., Barham AJ. (2002) Explaining Shellfish Variability in Middens on the Meriam Islands, Torres Strait, Australia. Journal of Archaeological Science, 29, 457-469

Erlandson, Rick (2010) Archaeology Meets Marine Ecology: The Antiquity of Maritime Cultures and Human Impacts on Marine Fisheries and Ecosystems.