Human_Variables

Human variables are significance in Virgin Group. Richard Branson, as the chairman of the Virgin Group, he is a really creative man. He launched over 350 companies in the brand of Virgin, which include transportation, music community services, media. The diversity of the company shows how creative and innovative Richard Branson is. The diversification could be also a reason of the so success of Virgin as the size of its target customers is very large. He did quite a lot of business ventures, such as space travel industry. He mentioned in his book “Business Stripped Bare” that he is a risk loving person. Risks are essential. Take no risks, and you will not succeed (Branson, 2008). The attitude of Richard Branson is largely significant to the risky business venture of Virgin Group. Therefore it shows that human variables are significant in managing a company. “Virgin’s first and most obvious distinctive resource is Richard Branson and the Virgin People that make up the organization. Richard Branson’s charismatic style and entrepreneurial flair is an asset that other organizations are unable to replicate, and it is his personality that is synonymous with the Virgin Brand and that makes the company unique.” (Virgin Corporate Strategy: http://sgentrepreneurs.com/contributors-corner/2007/01/29/virgin-corporate-strategy/ Retrieved on 1/11/2009) Apart from the effort of Richard Branson, human variables are also significant in the management of the Virgin Group, as the group employ lots of creative staff. As shown in the mission statement, the staffs are empowered and encouraged to provide creative ideas. There are various methods to communicate with the management team of the company, for both staff and the general public. The Virgin Group’s overall brand identity is built upon the founder Richard Branson’s philosophy which states that “if you keep your staff happy then the customer will be happy, and if you keep the customer happy then the shareholders are happy” (Branson, 1998). Therefore the management team of the Virgin Group follows the idea of Branson to treat the employees as valuable asset of the company and try to make them happy. Empowerment, delegation and fringe benefit are introduced within the company. It shows that human variables are significant in the management of the Virgin Group.