MGNT601 - Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management

Assignment Task

Instruction

You and your group are required to review the powerpoint presentation (posted on Learn 2023) on Leadership and then attempt the following case study. Please note that you will not be able to submit the assignment on Learn 2023 after 23h00 on 3 May 2023 as the assessment closes at this time. Assignments submitted via email after the due date will be penalized, whereby, 5% will be deducted for each day that the assignment is late (including weekends), up to a maximum of 20 days.

This excludes the reference list (the Harvard system of referencing must be used), the cover page, contents page and appendices. NB: Your group assignment can be less than 6 pages. You will be awarded marks for the quality of the work presented as opposed to the quantity. The Writing Place will be useful to engage with while working on your assignments. All assignments must be accompanied by a signed declaration that the work submitted is your own and is not plagiarised in any way, and that all group members have made a fair contribution to developing the assignment. This declaration is included on the standard cover sheet that must be used for this assignment.

Plagiarism, which can be described as the use of somebody else’s words or ideas as if they were your own, is regarded as a serious offence for which UKZN has disciplinary procedures and penalties in place. (You will find UKZN’s plagiarism policy and procedures at. Students guilty of plagiarism may be given a mark of zero for the relevant piece of work, have an entry added onto their academic record and/or may be referred to the student Disciplinary Court. Students have in the past been expelled from the University as a result of cheating or plagiarism offences.

Turnitin should also be used. Turnitin determines how similar your assignment is to published material. It is crucial that you run your group assignment through Turnitin and address any problematic aspects (e.g. inadequate paraphrasing and/or referencing) before submission, in order to avoid charges of plagiarism. Submit your final drafts to Turnitin anti-plagiarism software to first generate a report. Only the front page of the report must be attached to the assignment and should not exceed a similarity index of 10%. In the event of the final result being in excess of 10% penalties will accrue and action will be taken

Sir Richard Branson’s Leadership Style

Background of Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson started displaying his leadership prowess at the early age of 16. He dropped out of high school and went on to start a youth-oriented magazine called “Student” in 1966. In its first edition, Branson’s publication sold $8,000 worth of adverts. Three years later, while living in a London commune, Branson started a company called Virgin, which offered mail-order records to obtain funds for his magazine. This record company performed well enough to let the self-made billionaire expand his venture. Branson then built a recording studio in 1972 in Oxfordshire.

Today, Branson is known for being an icon and adventurer. He has built an empire of 400 companies under the Virgin Group, which includes a bank, bridal wear, mobile phones, pension plans, music, hotel chain and an airline. His company is one of the most recognised and respected brands in the world. What makes this amazing man so inspirational is that he was a high-school dropout yet he turned himself into a billionaire after 40 years of hard work, determination and perseverance.

Leadership

Style Many people look up to Branson, not only for his lavish lifestyle but also for being a dynamic and symbolic entrepreneur with multi-coloured ideas for adverts, innovative strategies and a cheeky attitude. He is also admired for his leadership style with an aim to help create great leaders in any kind of workplace. Although he might have had his fair share of failures along the way, what makes him incredibly admirable is his determination to come out of it.

What makes Branson a successful leader are the words that are usually connected to his name like fun, anti-establishment, warm, friendly, risk-taker, adventurer, opportunist, fast, competitive, hard negotiator and workaholic. According to the trait theories of leadership, all of these characteristics make up a good leader.

Branson believes in himself, his ideas, employees and colleagues. He preached the importance of fun at work and that a smile is a very important quality of a leader because everything gets much easier if one shows a friendly face. Branson also believes that time management, hiring the right people and putting them in the right place are ingredients for success. Branson maintains a healthy leader-member relationship with all his staff. He treats his employees as equals, like family and with respect. He goes out of his way to give invitations to his junior members of staff for parties in his own home. 

The business tycoon also welcomes feedback and suggestions from his employees. Furthermore, he gives his staff the freedom to be creative. His organisation is made up of clusters and his staff are given the freedom to work without much interference from superiors.

His leadership style can, therefore, be described as more democratic and participative with a lot of emphasis being placed on caring for his employees. Branson leans toward a more collaborative culture where employees are encouraged to express themselves, to contribute and to challenge when it’s appropriate. The benefits of such an environment are that employees are more likely to feel respected and appreciated, develop loyalty and trust and make a positive contribution to the business.

Branson also believes that a great leader is someone who is genuinely interested in people and strives to bring out the best in them. He advised that it is important to build a great team that believes in what you do. Branson is people-oriented and believes that praise always encourages staff to flourish.

Another aspect that makes Branson a fantastic leader and an inspiration is that he has strong contingency and situational leadership skills. He’s always proactively looking for opportunities and takes every chance he gets to create a new company that is viable. Branson has also mastered the art of controlling situations and using techniques that will fit the situation and the context. Furthermore, he constantly proves that he has the ability to implement changes immediately. He said: “I’ve found that knowing your business and yourself can also help you to know when to follow your instincts, so you can find the courage to move ahead and ignore the advice of naysayers”.

Branson is also a transformational leader. He is able to adapt easily to change in organisational cultures. This is evidenced by the fact that he has bought new firms and transferred to new locations with his staff. According to Branson, "every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision and change. Trying to provoke positive change is a principle we've embedded across the Virgin family." What makes Branson a transformational leader is that he is able to rise in times of distress and major changes.

How does Branson motivate his employees?

Branson is a leader who puts his employees’ interests first. He believes that this approach will inspire them, motivate them to work harder and feel at home as members of the Virgin household. Branson’s corporate philosophy is that “people are our greatest asset,” and that employees should be given top-priority. Branson feels that making a personal connection to employees is crucial and he has very effectively developed loyalty from his team by sharing some of his vulnerabilities and displaying his emotions for certain socio-political causes.

According to Branson, Virgin employees are happy, comfortable and well looked after, which in turn leads to a higher quality, motivated and productive workforce. He adds: “when people are motivated, they commit themselves to the vision and to the mission statement of the organisation. Your vision should be inspirational enough to create a sense of pride amongst your people so they go above and beyond the bottom line”. 5

Branson believes that flexible working hours are likely to motivate employees. Virgin introduced a flexible working policy meaning that employees could work from wherever they want, whenever they want. This approach has worked for Virgin in that employees feel like the organisation trusts them, which makes them feel like a trusted and important member of the team, thereby, boosting happiness, motivation and productivity within the organisation.

One of the most surprising elements of Virgin’s organisational culture is the annual leave policy. Virgin has introduced unlimited annual leave for its employees. Branson got the idea from Netflix, who had introduced unlimited annual leave days to the company staff. After Virgin had introduced this policy, the productivity, creativity and motivation within the organisation had consequently increased.

Virgin adopts an old-school method of motivation by utilising bonuses to motivate employees. The company offers a discretionary bonus to high-performing employees which results in employees always being aware of their performance.

Virgin has ensured that regular training sessions are held for its employees. Training increases motivation and can show employees that the organisation cares about their career development and is willing to help them improve.

In the world of business, where shareholders control everything, Virgin continues to grow by doing things that are important to its employees and the customers. Virgin puts employees first, customers second and the shareholders third because it has seen the positive impact that engaged-employees can make in an organisation. This is employee engagement, the Richard Branson way!

Question

Goleman (2004 cited in Ehlers and Lazenby, 2020) found that effective leaders share an important similarity in that they all have a high degree of emotional intelligence. Fully discuss the five components of emotional intelligence and apply each of them, based on evidence from the article, to Sir Richard Branson. Further to this, briefly explain the five types of power (expert, reward, referent, coercive and legitimate power) and outline the types of power exhibited by Sir Richard Branson. In addition, outline your views on Sir Richard Branson’s leadership style and whether or not you deem it appropriate especially in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

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