The report will be based on the analysis of the case study based on Virgin Atlantic Airways and the issues that were faced by the management of the company related to strike threats from the management. Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited is an airlines company of British origin and they have head office in the United Kingdom. The organization was established in the year 1984 under the name of British Atlantic Airways. The airways were planned by the two co-founders of the company Alan Hellary and Randolph Fields so that they can fly between Falkland Islands and London (Virginatlantic.com. 2018).
The shares of the company were sold to Sir Richard Branson after many disagreements related to the management of the company. The name of the company was then changed to Virgin Atlantic Airways after the management had changed. This analysis will be mainly based on the various factors related to the management of the company. The factors of analysis are, management practice, leadership style, effective building of the teams, effective building of the medium of communication, organizational performance and rewards system. These factors will be further analysed based on the systems in the management of Virgin Atlantic Airways.
Leadership style can be defined as the ways by which a leader mainly provides direction, implements the plans and thereby motivates the employees. Many different types of leadership styles have been proposed in this context and this relates to the ways the leaders manage the employees. The five different types of leadership styles are, authoritarian, democratic, transactional, transformational and Laissez-faire. The different styles of leadership are suitable for different organizations and are related to the needs of that particular company. The style of leadership mainly depends on factors like, nature of the business, dynamics of the teams within the organization, external environment in the market and the personalities of the employees (Strom, Sears and Kelly 2014).
The leadership style that is followed in Virgin Atlantic is mainly related to the organizational culture that was developed by Sir Richard Branson. The founder of the organization has been successfully exercising the transformational and charismatic styles of leadership. The leadership of Branson has been described as transformational and the major reason behind this was his informal style and the lack of hierarchy in the company. The charismatic feature of his leadership was the linkage between the organization and Branson which has developed over the years (Holten and Brenner 2015).
The personality of Branson was quite adventurous in nature which has helped in developing the brand image of Virgin. The encouragement that has been provided to the employees is based on his transformational style of leadership where the employees are included in the organizational processes. The market share of Virgin has also increased due to the transformational type of leadership that has been depicted by Branson. This style of leadership has also been able to increase innovations in the organizational processes since its inception (Nguyen et al. 2017).
The success of the management related strategies of Virgin Atlantic Airways was mainly related to the building of foundations of the company. The strategy was mainly based on leisure markets and the businesses which drive effectiveness and efficiency. The mission of the organization was related to the view of Virgin according to the statement “to embrace the human spirit and let it fly”. The organization had started growing in the early 90s when had purchased many planes and expanded their network so that they can increase their profitability. Branson had sold around 49% of the total shares of the company to the Singapore Airlines and he also received the knighthood was his services provided towards entrepreneurship (Choi, Kim and Kang 2017).
Richard Branson had started his working career in the 60s with a magazine that was started by him named, “Student”. He established himself as an entrepreneur who did not follow the usual rules related to the business. He started Virgin Atlantic after selling his records company and thereby he was able to build the business practices that were related to a competitive marketplace. The development of effective business strategies is based on the people within the organization and in the external environment as well. The strategy related to organization can be defined as the plan of action which can describe the allocation of resources and other activities in an organization (Mittal and Dhar 2015).
The major strategy that was devised by Branson was related to the improvement of the performance of the company with respect to the profitability and growth. This improvement will not only benefit the organization; it will also improve the working conditions for the employees. The major aim of Virgin Airways was to manage their brand in an effective manner and Branson had devised many plans related to this strategy (Renko et al. 2015). This strategy mainly deals with the way the organization promises the customers about the offerings of products. The important factor that affects the brand image of the company is related to satisfaction levels of the customers. The management practices of the company were related to the ways by which they develop loyalty for their brand and further improve the revenues of the company (Scott et al. 2017).
Virgin Atlantic Airways has been leading the innovation related areas in the industry for a long time. The internal communication related processes of the company are also quite innovative in nature. The company had an ethos related to the trying of new ways and being brave so that the customers can be benefitted. The company has been using wearable technologies like Apple’s iBeacon and Google Glass so that the staff can communicate with the customers. Internal communication can play an important role in the encouraging and nurturing the corporate culture which can drive innovation in the company. Innovation plays a crucial part in the strategic narrative and the organization uses the process of internal messaging in the face-to-face and the digital channels (Karanges et al. 2015).
The perspective of the customers has always been considered most important for innovation in the company and this encourages the staff in the organization. The staff then try to play a part in providing feedback and coming up with the new ideas. The senior leaders of the company also try to connect with the employees and they listen to the issues that are faced by the staff. This process of communication is essential to inspire innovation in the workforce. This innovative process of two-way communication helps in ensuring that the ideas of the staff are heard and implemented in the company. The employee base of Virgin Atlantic Airways consisted more than 9000 employees which was considered to be a great force related to sales. The brand of the company is considered as their major asset and this increases the levels of pride among the staff (Deetz and Eger 2014).
The employees of the company work with the teams related to PR, social media and marketing so that they can maximize the opportunities related to the building of brands. The company has been rolling out the process related to the advocacy programs of the employees so that they can be motivated. The employees are made aware of the ways by which the brand content can be shared with the help of social channels. The main aim of this process was related to the empowering and encouraging of the staff related to the exciting ways of business. The three major factors related to the future of the internal communications in an organization are, the high levels related to employee engagement, the holistic view of communication and the supporting the business with the help of changes (Jing and Avery 2016).
Employee motivation is related to the building of effective teams in the organization which can be divided into two parts mainly, extrinsic and intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is related to the motivation related to the absence of external factors like, co-workers and pay promotion. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is related to the many compensational factors in the organization like, career opportunities, financial rewards and co-workers. Motivation in the various organizations can be further divided into different perspectives including, process-based, need-based and learning-based (Fila et al. 2014).
The need-based perspective is related to the ways by which humans or employees are motivated with the help of their deficiencies or needs. The theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is considered as the most popular theory related to needs of employees. This theory is used by the Virgin Atlantic Airways in an effective manner so that they can motivate their staff at the various levels of the hierarchy. The implementation of this theory in the organization is mainly related to the ways by which the motivation and the satisfaction levels of the employees are increased. The motivation related initiatives of the company have helped in the effective building of teams so that the organizational objectives can be attained successfully (Baker and Sinkula 2015).
The passion and spirit of the Virgin Atlantic Airways keeps the brand of the company alive and the rewards are provided to the staff of the company with the help of the concessionary packages. The organization offers many benefits to the staff so that they can enjoy their lives to the fullest. The company provides private medical plans to the employees so that they receive healthcare for themselves and their loved ones. The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is provided by the Virgin Atlantic Airways as a part of their Workplace Options. This program is related to a confidential and anonymous specialist information mainly organised for the employees who are UK based. The employees are also provided with flexible hours of working so that they can manage their work lives and personal lives in an effective manner (Wang et al. 2014).
Other major benefits that are provided to the employees includes the Defined Contribution Pension Plan which was contract based. The plan was related to retirement savings with the help of salary sacrifice so that it can provide income to the employees in the future. Employees are also provided with bikes in exchange of a part of their salary so that they get an easy conveyance to work. The employees are given opportunities related to the purchase of holidays for themselves and their families in exchange of a part of their income (Bullock, Stritch and Rainey 2015).
Richard Branson was able to lead the organization towards huge success with the help of his different and flamboyant style of leadership. The business values that have been set by Branson had a remarkable power and this had led Virgin Atlantic towards the position that it holds presently. The major features that were related to the services or products of the brand of Virgin Atlantic were, innovative, high quality, value for money, challenging the alternatives and having a sense of fun. The major objective of Branson related to the airlines was to provide high levels of service in affordable prices (Birasnav 2014).
The organization has been able bring a revolution in the airlines industry with the innovative services provided by them related to entertainment and on-board. The company also provides benefits to the customers including, lounges which had the quality of a spa and included services like, haircuts, showers, manicures and many more. It became the first airlines which offered choices of two types of meals for the economy class customers as well. Virgin Atlantic was able to become an airline favourite within a short span of time and won many awards and recognitions for their services (Wang et al. 2014).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded with the learning that the transformational style of leadership of Branson has been able to bring the organization in the topmost position in the industry. The benefits that were provided to the employees of the company and the facilities provided to the customers were the major factors related to the brand image of the company. Branson had proved himself as a unique and effective leader of Virgin Atlantic Airways by improving the operations of the company. The effective communication process of the organization has also acted as the major factor related to the success of the Virgin Atlantic Airways.
References
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