Entrepreneurship: The Virgin Group

Abstract

Richard Branson the chief Executive of the Virgin Group is well known for making successful businesses out of 'crazy ideas'. It is a known fact that Branson can make any business profitable in the most unusual ways, he does it all himself, be it dressing like a bride or flying in a hot air balloon. Branson is the most innovative entrepreneur of the 21st century. He is known for his Virgin brand, a banner that represents his organization and he is also known to be a leader with informality and information. Branson values people at the bottom level of the organization, and encourages them to move upwards through his various incentive plans.

1. Aim

This report will research and examine the nature and leadership factor of the most successful British entrepreneur and the CEO of Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson. It will carry on explaining Branson's informal leadership styles applying various theories and using real life instances.

English: Sir Richard Branson at the eTalk Festival...

Richard Branson at the Virgin America OC Launch.

The Sweetapples with Sir. Richard Branson

2. Definition of Entrepreneurship

Murray and Richard (1986) in their book " Entrepreneur and Economist" define, "Entrepreneurship is a dynamic process created and managed by an individual (the entrepreneur), which strives to exploit economic innovation to create new value in the market, who has entrepreneurial mind with a strong need for achievement"(p.15). The most interesting point of this definition is the purpose of value creation and the need for recognition.

3. A brief biography of Sir Richard Branson (1950 - Present)

Founder and mastermind of the Virgin business enterprise, Richard Branson was born on July 18, 1950 into a middle class traditional Christian family in the English county of Surrey. As a teenager (17 years), his entrepreneurial ways began early when he and his friend Gems started a student magazine called the 'student' (Bower 2000, P. 12).

In addition to his...