Organisation Structure and Leadership Styles at Virgin Airlines

1) Introducing Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Virgin Atlantic airlines was formed in June, 1984. This airline’s CEO is Shai Weiss (Legatos, J, 2019). Richard Branson is currently the president and founder of Virgin Atlantic (Goldstein, M, 2019). The main office of this airline is situated in Crawley, UK. Virgin Atlantic was first called British Atlantic airways. Whereas, Richard Branson then joined British Atlantic through partnership with Alan Hellary and Randolph Fields, the co-founders. After joining Richard Branson changed the company’s name into Virgin Atlantic airlines (Australian, N, 2016). The very first flight of this intercontinental airline took place on the 22nd of June, 1984 from London, Gatwick airport to New Jersey, Newark Liberty airport (Scott, N, 2016).

Virgin Atlantic flies globally in numerous countries like China, South Africa, India, Brazil and etc. Virgin Atlantic airlines operates in continents such as, America, Asia, Africa and etc (Virgin Atlantic LTD, 2019).

The products and services Virgin offer to the public are different cabin classes in Virgin Atlantic planes which are economy, premium and upper class, these are offered in every passenger plane (Virgin Atlantic LTD, 2019). Similarly, Virgin also offers Virgin Atlantic Cargo which has access to over 400 international destinations to deliver parcels and goods (Virgin Atlantic Cargo LTD, 2019). Likewise, Virgin also offers Virgin Holidays in multiple destinations worldwide with different holiday categories (Virgin Holidays LTD, 2019).

Moreover, the total financial revenue of Virgin Atlantic airlines for 2018 was £2,780.6 billion (Virgin Atlantic LTD, 2018).

2) Suitable Organisational Structure

The hierarchal structure is suitable for Virgin Atlantic airlines. This structure is typically utilised by large businesses. It has a lengthy chain of command because the chief executive is on the very top, followed by senior managers, then assistant managers and lastly workers. Consequently, this structure is well organised, distinctly outlines supremacy and rises business productivity with the use of promotion as motivation for workers. (Northern Ireland Business Info LTD, 2019).

Advantages:

• First advantage for Virgin Atlantic is that employees will recognise the different levels of responsibilities and authorities as it will be well defined and noticeably visible because of the hierarchal clear chain of command.
• Second advantage for Virgin Atlantic is that employees are more likely to be motivated and perform better because of the opportunities of promotions available as they would know what rank is next.

(Dontigney, E, 2019)

• Third advantage for Virgin Atlantic is that employees can be able to develop and specialise expertise in the areas they are working in because they are going to be assigned in specific fields (Colette, L, Meehan, 2019).
• Fourth advantage for Virgin Atlantic is that this structure takes off pressure from entry level employees. This allows employees to be less stressed out as they would only have to meet requirements rather than the top-level employees who have to make the challenging organisational decisions (Gaille, B, 2018).

Disadvantages:

• First disadvantage for Virgin Atlantic is that communication can be time consuming and less efficient to pass on information, due to the high number of various departments and employees.
• Second disadvantage for Virgin Atlantic is that different departments may compete with one another, this would lead to decisions benefiting one department rather than the business itself.

(Colette, L, Meehan, 2019).

• Third disadvantage for Virgin Atlantic is that decision making and efficiency may slow down as organisations that use this structure tend to change very slowly to consumer and market requirements (Learn Management 2 LTD, 2018).
• Fourth disadvantage for Virgin Atlantic is that this structure creates unequal treatment for lower level employees. Employees may become less demotivated and quit as higher level employees are often respected too much for work, they didn’t even carry out themselves (Gaille, B, 2018).

3) Key Definitions of Leadership and Management

Leadership is setting a vision or direction for workers to follow (Myers, S, 2019). A leader’s role is to motivate employees in order to accomplish the company’s targets and goals (Ward, S, 2019). For example, Richard Branson used leadership to keep an eye out for talent and open doors for his followers, created a positive work environment, delegated tasks and responsibilities effectively, learned and listened to others and thought differently in order to inspire and direct his followers to success (Half, R, 2018).

Management is a person or a group of people that supervise employees in order to attain desired objectives and goals. A manager’s role is to monitor and organise individuals so that the company’s visions and purposes are met (Wilkinson, J, 2013). For example, Richard Branson used management to handle business finances and budgets, planned for resources, used great communication, solved problems efficiently, motivated employees with rewards (Corporate Finance Institution LTD, 2019) and showed respect to everyone equally so that set goals were achieved smoothly by his employees (Smith, R, 2018).

4) Coaching Sessions

(ONE ASPECT)

The aspect leaders and managers can benefit from is the 3 m’s of listening which are, me listening, micro listening and macro listening. Leaders and managers can benefit from this in order to listen to information their colleagues and employees are providing. Me listening can be used by leaders and managers….

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5) Reviewing and Analysing Some of The Key Leadership Styles

Laissez Faire leadership style is great for employees as it allows them to work freely without any pressure from leaders whereas, for leaders this style can be very negative as they are accountable for their employee’s actions. Laissez Faire means leave alone (Chappelow, J, 2019). Laissez Faire leadership enables the workforce to make the choices themselves. This is because laissez faire leaders are laid back. Laissez faire leadership enables the leader to provide the required tools and resources needed to achieve goals but, employees receive very slight guidance and from their leader (Cherry, K, 2019). This is because employees are given freedom to make their own decisions on achieving targets. However, the leader has to take accountability for the actions of the employees (Alanacozens, 2012).

Charismatic leadership type is brilliant as it motivates employees a lot to accomplish goals more effectively however, leaders and employees have to take risks to come out of their comfort zone which can be really challenging. Charismatic means inspiring others (Lexico LTD, 2019). Charismatic leadership type enables visions, influence, inspiration and excitement for employees. This is because charismatic leaders use good communication to persuade employees. Charismatic leaders demonstrate great dedication, focus, and creativity to employees in order to reach objectives and goals. Charismatic leaders also sacrifice their own ease and comfort to accomplish goals. This motivates followers to do the same so that they are copying their leader’s qualities and traits (Sisk, A, 2018).

Democratic leadership type is the best out of the other leaderships because it enables employees to be treated equally also, employees and leaders contribute together and this creates opportunities for employees to build a better relationship with their leader. Democratic means rule by the people (Robert, A, 2019). Democratic leadership type allows employees to partake in making decisions. Democratic leadership focuses on equality. Everyone is given opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas in the decisions making procedure in order to accomplish aims and goals (Cherry, K, 2019). For example, Richard Branson used democratic leadership to persuade his employees to share opinions and ideas with him even though he decided on the final result. Another example of Richard Branson is when it came to solving problems, he used to encourage his employees to participate in looking for efficient solutions (Alanacozens, 2012).

References

• Legatos, J. (2019) C-Suite: Shai Wiess, CEO, Virgin Atlantic. Page 1 and 2. Available from: https://apex.aero/2019/08/14/csuite-shai-weiss-ceo-virgin-atlantic (Accessed 8 October 2019)
• Goldstein, M. (2019) Richard Branson And Virgin Atlantic Airways: The Next 35 Years. Page 1. Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelgoldstein/2019/07/05/richard-branson-and-virgin-atlantic-airways-the-next-35-years/#c2c549777704 (Accessed 8 October 2019)
• Australian, N. (2016) How Virgin Airlines Started. Page 1, 2 and 3. Available from: https://medium.com/@australiannumbers/how-virgin-airlines-started-e81cf71a0450 (Accessed 8 October 2019)
• Scott, N. (2016) Virgin Atlantic Airway’s. Page 4. Available from: https://www.iata.org/events/Documents/RFID/Day%201%20Virgin%20Atlantic%20Airways_Scott.pdf (Accessed 8 October 2019)
• Virgin Atlantic LTD. (2019) Route Map. Page 1 and 2. Available from: https://www.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/destinations/route-map.html (Accessed 8 October 2019)
• Virgin Atlantic LTD. (2019) Our Cabins. Page 1 and 2. Available from: https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/on-the-flight/cabin-and-seats.html (Accessed 22 October 2019)
• Virgin Atlantic Cargo LTD. (2019) Just Ride. Page 1. Available from: https://www.virginatlanticcargo.com/gb/en/our-products/just-ride.html (Accessed 22 October 2019)
• Virgin Holidays LTD. (2019) Our Holiday Destinations. Page 1. Available from: https://www.virginholidays.co.uk/destinations (Accessed 22 October 2019)
• Virgin Atlantic LTD. (2018) Annual Report 2018. Page 66. Available from: https://fr.zone-secure.net/-/virginatlantic/annualreport2018/-/#page=68 (Accessed 8 October 2019)
• Northern Ireland Business Info LTD. (2019) Business Organisational Structure. Page 1. Available from: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/flat-and-hierarchical-organisational-structures (Accessed 9 October 2019)
• Dontigney, E. (2019) What Are the Advantages & Disadvantages of Hierarchal Structure? Page 1. Available from: https://bizfluent.com/info-8536984-advantages-disadvantages-hierarchical-structure.html (Accessed 9 October 2019)
• Learn Management 2 LTD. (2018) Hierarchal Structure. Page 1. Available from: https://www.learnmanagement2.com/hierarchical%20structure.htm (Accessed 9 October 2019)
• Colette, L. Meehan. (2019) Flat Vs. Hierarchal Organizational Structure. Page 1 and 2. Available from: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/flat-vs-hierarchical-organizational-structure-724.html (Accessed 9 October 2019)
• Gaille, B. (2018) 15 Hierarchal Organizational Structure Advantages and Disadvantages. Page 1, 2 and 3. Available from: https://brandongaille.com/15-hierarchical-organizational-structure-advantages-and-disadvantages/ (Accessed 22 October 2019)

• Myers, S. (2019) Definitions of Leadership and Management. Page 1. Available from: https://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/leadership/management/definitions-of-leadership-and-management/ (Accessed 14 October 2019)
• Ward, S. (2019) Leadership Definition. What Is Leadership? And Can You Learn to Be A Good Leader? Page 1. Available from: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/leadership-definition-2948275 (Accessed 14 October 2019)
• Half, R. (2018) 9 Leadership Skills from Sir Richard Branson. Page 1, 2 and 3. Available from: https://www.roberthalf.ae/advice/people-management/9-leadership-skills-sir-richard-branson (Accessed 22 October 2019)
• Wilkinson, J. (2013) Management Definition. Page 1. Available from: https://strategiccfo.com/management-definition/ (Accessed 14 October 2019)
• Corporate Finance Institution LTD. (2019) A List of Attributes or Abilities That an Executive Should Possess in Order to Fulfil Specific Tasks in an Organisation. Page 1, 2 and 3. Available from: https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/careers/soft-skills/management-skills/ (Accessed 22 October 2019)
• Smith, R. (2018) The Top 5 Examples Good Managers Set for Their Teams. Page 1, 2 and 3. Available from: https://www.insightsforprofessionals.com/management/leadership/examples-good-managers-set-for-their-teams

• Chappelow, J. (2019) Laissez-Faire. Page 1. Available from: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/laissezfaire.asp (Accessed 16 October 2019)
• Cherry, K. (2019) Pros and Cons of Laissez-Faire Leadership. Page 1. Available from: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-laissez-faire-leadership-2795316 (Accessed 17 October 2019)
• Lexico LTD. (2019) Charismatic. Page 1. Available from: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/charismatic (Accessed 17 October 2019)
• Sisk, A. (2018) Charismatic Leadership Theories. Page 1 and 2. Available from: https://bizfluent.com/about-7416354-charismatic-leadership-theories.html (Accessed 17 October 2019)
• Robert, A. (2019) Democracy. Page 1. Available from: https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy (Accessed 17 October 2019)
• Cherry, K. (2019) The Democratic Style of Leadership, Characteristics, Benefits, Drawbacks, and Famous Examples. Page 1. Available from: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-democratic-leadership-2795315 (Accessed 16 October 2019)
• Alanacozens. (2012) Sir Richard Branson. Page 1, 2 and 3. Available from: https://3kete.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/sir-richard-branson/ (Accessed 17 October 2019)