1.0 Introduction
The purpose of this report is to analyse one of the most significant models/ideas Richard Branson presented to organisations today, then to find out how effective it contributes to a wide range of issue or problems of the current business world. Additionally, this report will discuss the possible issues that could be arisen when the model/idea is implemented in the real business situations. The report is categorised into four main chapters as follows: 2.0 the background of Richard Branson, 3.0 description of his idea/model, 4.0 critical assessment of contribution, and 5.0 Quinn Competing Values on his idea/model.
2.0 Background
“Screw it, let’s do it! I don’t know anything about either sciences or theories, but if you would take the challenge, so would I” (Richard 2010) Richard Charles Nicholas Branson, one of the most respected in the business world, reacted when he was offered with an around-the-world hot air balloon flight in 1987. Richard Branson (born 18 July 1950) is known as a billionaire adventurer, English business tycoon, icon of many other fields, but he is mostly recognised as a founder of the Virgin Group. In his early life, Richard was dropped out of school due to dyslexia, so then he rather opened up a youth magazine firm called, ‘student’ as his first business at the age of 16 in 1966. By 1969, he changed his business to a mail-order record company, where he began to use the name, ‘Virgin’, then he continuously expanded his business to more than approximately 400 businesses since the 1980s and onwards. In spite of his busy works, Richard never stopped contributing on a great deal of issues around the world. With respect to his remarkable achievements, Richard was elected as one of the best eleven leading the world. Richard Branson is indeed a man who surmounts the adversities throughout his life by ceaselessly adventuring and challenging of his own and becomes one of the most successful in the world.
3.0 Screw
References: a) Alistair, G. (2013) Insurers back fund with focus on Asia and Africa | Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013 | Akamai, G. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a8210a42-1581-11e3-b519-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2lKrmA5kS. [Accessed 21 November 2013] b) Boddy, D., 2011. Management: An Introduction. 5th ed. Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. c) Quinn, R. E. & Cameron, K. S. (1983): Organizational Life Cycles and Shifting Criteria of Effectiveness. Management Science, 29: 33-51. d) Richard, B. (2013): Screw Business As Usual. Edition. Published by arrangement with Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright Richard Branson, Virgin Books. 2013. e) Richard, B (2010). Screw It, Let 's Do It: Lessons in Life and Business (Expanded) Edition. Virgin Books. Assessment of sources For source (a) Alistair Gray, a management publisher/author, wrote about companies serving financial services to poorer people in Africa and Asia. Therefore, it was valuable as it included Leapfrog’s investment information which was then used as a reference for 3.1 case studies. Source (b) is a textbook for management students at Cass Business School and this was written by David Boddy, thus his book was helpful as it consists of a variety of management ideas from himself and others such as Quinn’s Competing Values. Moving on to source (c), it was written by Robert, E. Quinn and Cameron, K. S. This book helped me to understand about Quinn’s Competing Values Framework with more precise details than the one explained in source (b). Source (d) is a book written by Richard Branson (Guru) and it was the main book in which most data and information such as business ethics and world issue/problems were extracted, as this is a book which mainly elaborates about Richard Branson’s theory, ‘Screw Business As Usual’ As for source (f), it was written by Richard as well, and it was the most relevant to his biographical backgrounds and some strong quotes were found to use them in the main body.