Longitudinal Strategic Development Study
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 publishing. In 1986 Virgin was listed on the exchange, Branson soon got tired of the bureaucratic dealings associated with a public listed company and took back ownership of the company. The virgin group is run in a loose structure manner usually run by self-managed team that uses the brand name. He also had a philosophy that spins off new unit if a company got too big.
Branson manages the group with assistant from trust aides that have been with him for years. Virgin lends its brand name to businesses it thinks it can make a difference. It had five criteria of which four of them must be met. These criteria include innovation, challenge authority, value for money, quality and a growing market and value was added based on a Branson belief that the brand was the most important asset of the business, (esecourses.com).
Branson early traits form his beginnings revealed certain features that would guide his business philosophy in later years his nonconformist attitude and the use of friends and acquaintances to run his first venture, the student magazine.
The businesses in the Virgin Group:
VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS:
Branson was talked into founding a low cost transatlantic with a U.S Businessman, he went along with the plan against the
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 publishing. In 1986 Virgin was listed on the exchange, Branson soon got tired of the bureaucratic dealings associated with a public listed company and took back ownership of the company. The virgin group is run in a loose structure manner usually run by self-managed team that uses the brand name. He also had a philosophy that spins off new unit if a company got too big.
Branson manages the group with assistant from trust aides that have been with him for years. Virgin lends its brand name to businesses it thinks it can make a difference. It had five criteria of which four of them must be met. These criteria include innovation, challenge authority, value for money, quality and a growing market and value was added based on a Branson belief that the brand was the most important asset of the business, (esecourses.com).
Branson early traits form his beginnings revealed certain features that would guide his business philosophy in later years his nonconformist attitude and the use of friends and acquaintances to run his first venture, the student magazine.
The businesses in the Virgin Group:
VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS:
Branson was talked into founding a low cost transatlantic with a U.S Businessman, he went along with the plan against the