SirRichardBranson:managinggroupsandteamsatVirgin.

Sir Richard Branson is a global entrepreneur, involvedwith over 360 companies and chairman of the Virgin group ofcompanies. Branson is an 'author, adventurer, knight, patron,kajillionaire' and a personable manager. Branson has beenknown to have given out his private phone number to staff inorder to encourage them to communicate with him and engageas part of the Virgin team. He also has a great belief in helping others,particularlywithrespecttohumanitarianissues.Bransonhas a passion for assisting those businesses within the Virgin group that heidentifies as struggling. Notably,heisfamousfor his positive group mantra: 'Screw it, let's do it'.

In terms ofhis positive attitude towards Virgin group employees, Branson recommends hiringaworkforcethathasskills in excessofthoserequired. He also suggests hiring potential employees who are seen tobevery friendlyashesuggests thatthishasbeen a keycontributortohiscompany'sabilitytobuildsuccessfulteams.

TheVirgingroupofcompanieshasthecharacteristicsofatraditional group,thatis, twoormoreinterdependent individuals interacting and influencing each other in collective pursuit of a common goal'.Agroup does nothavethestructureof an organisation, nor does it have the lack of common goals orpurpose thatacrowdmight have.

WithintheVirgingroupofcompaniestherearebothformalandinformalgroups.These individualcompaniesthatmakeuptheVirginGroupof companies form what are called formal groups, 'officiallycreatedforaspecificpurpose'.

TheVirgingroupofcompaniesincludesformalandinformalworkgroups.FormalgroupsincludetaskgroupssuchasVirgingroundcrew and command groups such as the company board. Virgingroup activities may be temporary or permanent, for example, extra teams of temporarystaffmaybeemployedintheheightoftheholidayseasontocopewithextrademand.Informalgroups,suchasthoseamongflightcrewstaff,canincludeinterestgroupsandfriendshipgroups.Formalgroupsarecreatedbyorganisationssuch as Virgin for specificorganisationalpurposes, where informalgroups are set up by employees to serve the interests of themembers. Branson encourages this through the freedom he giveshis employees. He thinks it is important for employees higherup within the Virgin group to get to know employees on a morepersonal level outside work. George Homan's social exchange theory suggeststhatwithin formalgroups, team membershaverequiredactivities, interactions and required sentiments and givesentiments and values (that is, not requiredbutassumed). Goodteamworkand ahighlevelofcooperationmust existbetween theaircraftcaptain, co-pilot, navigator, flightattendants andgroundcrew toensure thattheirpassengers depart andarrivesafely.

Branson believes his company's success is related to keepingeach of the Virgin businesses small within the larger Virgin groupandhemaintainsa financialinterest ineachofthecompanies that he has established. Work groupbehaviour canbe divided intoinputs, processesandoutcomes.For example, inVirgin's recruitment division, appropriate inputs are vital. Theirskills must be relevant, they should have good interpersonalskills and groups should be diversified, including specialists intherecruitmentofpilots,graduates,flightattendantsandgroundcrew. Branson has placed considerable faith in his recruitmentteams to recruit people that fit the Virgin business strategy. Heseeks equal numbers of male and female employees withindepartmentstocreatethecorrectbalancewithinworkgroups. Employees are attracted to specific Virgin divisions becausethey enjoy the corporate activities theyspecialisein and valuetheircorporategoals.

Bransonsays,'everythingcomesdowntothepeopleyouhiretorunyourcompany they havetoloveit and believe in the products you sell'. He does not necessarilyhire people for their ability and experience, but rather for theirfriendliness. He claims a combination of friendly attitudes andgeneral skills has enabled his employees to fit into any jobwithinthegroup.

Group members have various roles to fulfil. There are grouptask roles such as that of a coordinator, information giver andinformationseeker. There arealsomaintenance rolessuchasastandardsetter,followerandencourager.Theseareallrolesthatare importanttotheflowofgroupwork.Groupssuchasairlinegroundcreworflightattendantteamsmustdevelopthroughaseriesofphasesidentifiedasforming,storming,norming, performingandlastlyadjourning.Whilesomepeoplewithina grouporteamwillbe allocated specific roles, emergentleadersmaysimplytakethese roles upon themselves. Employeescanalsotake onself-oriented roles,thatis,fortheir ownself-fulfilment. Theserolesmay includebeing an aggressor, blocker, recognition seeker or dominator Branson encourages teamworkandengagement withpeople andsuggests peopleshould haveafearlessnessofengagingwithpeople because conversations canchangetheworld'.

Group size is also a consideration. The ideal recommendedgroup size are teams of five or seven, the benefit being that anodd number can assist in avoiding a deadlock. Groups of thissize are not too small to hinder participation, nor are they toobigto discourage interaction. Theairline industryusesextensivegroup training for flight crew as well as ground crew. If groupsbecome too large, it can lead to the encouragement of social loafing. (Thesame appliesto socialgroups.). Branson suggests that it is better to branch into a second company than to grow larger as thegroup can remain more nimbleand focused.

Within a group, a lot of synergy comes from having a dynamic leader.Where there are positivesynergies,thegainsfrom expectedtobehaveinsanctionedwaystomaintainuniformityofcorporatestandards.Bransonsuggeststhatentrepreneursfindchallengesirresistibleand that to be a successful part of the Virgin team, a sense ofhumourand desiretohavefunareessential.

Group cohesiveness is also a vital part of team processes (e.g.torunsuccessfulin-flightservices).Themorecohesiveagroupis,thebetteritsperformancewillbe.To achievehighperformancelevels and quality service, members of the team should havesimilar attitudes and values. Performance is important, as it is positive for communication andjobsatisfaction.

. Define the characteristics of a group and identify how thesealign to groupbehavioursand performance within the Virgingroup of companies. Explain the strengths and weaknessesof these in terms of team memberbehaviourssuch ascohesiveness,conflictandperformance.(15 marks)

.Giveexamplesofhowsocialinteractions supportgroupactivitieswiththe Virgin in groupofcompanies.(15 marks)