Problem
Sir Richard Branson is a global entrepreneur, involved with over 360 companies and chairman of the Virgin group of companies. Branson is an 'author, adventurer, knight, patron, kajillionaire' and a personable manager. Branson has been known to have given out his private phone number to staff in order to encourage them to communicate with him and engage as part of the Virgin team. He also has a great belief in helping others, particularly with respect to humanitarian issues. Branson has a passion for assisting those businesses within the Virgin group that he identifies as struggling. Notably, he is famous for his positive group mantra: 'Screw it, let's do it'.
In terms of his positive attitude towards Virgin group employees, Branson recommends hiring a workforce that has skills in excess of those required. He also suggests hiring potential employees who are seen to be very friendly as he suggests that this has been a key contributor to his company's ability to build successful teams.
The Virgin group of companies has the characteristics of a traditional group, that is, two or more interdependent individuals interacting and influencing each other in collective pursuit of a common goal'. A group does not have the structure of an organisation, nor does it have the lack of common goals or purpose that a crowd might have.
Within the Virgin group of companies there are both formal and informal groups. These individual companies that make up the Virgin Group of companies form what are called formal groups, 'officially created for a specific purpose'.
The Virgin group of companies includes formal and informal work groups. Formal groups include task groups such as Virgin ground crew and command groups such as the company board. Virgin group activities may be temporary or permanent, for example, extra teams of temporary staff may be employed in the height of the holiday season to cope with extra demand. Informal groups, such as those among flight crew staff, can include interest groups and friendship groups. Formal groups are created by organisations such as Virgin for specific organisational purposes, where informal groups are set up by employees to serve the interests of the members. Branson encourages this through the freedom he gives his employees. He thinks it is important for employees higher up within the Virgin group to get to know employees on a more personal level outside work. George Homan's social exchange theory suggests that within formal groups, team members have required activities, interactions and required sentiments and give sentiments and values (that is, not required but assumed). Good teamwork and a high level of cooperation must exist between the aircraft captain, co-pilot, navigator, flight attendants and ground crew to ensure that their passengers depart and arrive safely.
Branson believes his company's success is related to keeping each of the Virgin businesses small within the larger Virgin group and he maintains a financial interest in each of the companies that he has established. Work group behaviour can be divided into inputs, processes and outcomes. For example, in Virgin's recruitment division, appropriate inputs are vital. Their skills must be relevant, they should have good interpersonal skills and groups should be diversified, including specialists in the recruitment of pilots, graduates, flight attendants and ground crew. Branson has placed considerable faith in his recruitment teams to recruit people that fit the Virgin business strategy. He seeks equal numbers of male and female employees within departments to create the correct balance within work groups. Employees are attracted to specific Virgin divisions because they enjoy the corporate activities they specialise in and value their corporate goals.
Branson says, 'everything comes down to the people you hire to run your company they have to love it and believe in the products you sell'. He does not necessarily hire people for their ability and experience, but rather for their friendliness. He claims a combination of friendly attitudes and general skills has enabled his employees to fit into any job within the group.
Group members have various roles to fulfil. There are group task roles such as that of a coordinator, information giver and information seeker. There are also maintenance roles such as a standard setter, follower and encourager. These are all roles that are important to the flow of group work. Groups such as airline ground crew or flight attendant teams must develop through a series of phases identified as forming, storming, norming, performing and lastly adjourning. While some people within a group or team will be allocated specific roles, emergent leaders may simply take these roles upon themselves. Employees can also take on self-oriented roles, that is, for their own self-fulfilment. These roles may include being an aggressor, blocker, recognition seeker or dominator. Branson encourages teamwork and engagement with people and suggests people should have a fearlessness of engaging with people because conversations can change the world'.
Group size is also a consideration. The ideal recommended group size are teams of five or seven, the benefit being that an odd number can assist in avoiding a deadlock. Groups of this size are not too small to hinder participation, nor are they too big to discourage interaction. The airline industry uses extensive group training for flight crew as well as ground crew. If groups become too large, it can lead to the encouragement of social loafing. (The same applies to social groups.). Branson suggests that it is better to branch into a second company than to grow larger as the group can remain more nimble and focused.
Within a group, a lot of synergy comes from having a dynamic leader. Where there are positive synergies, the gains from expected to behave in sanctioned ways to maintain uniformity of corporate standards. Branson suggests that entrepreneurs find challenges irresistible and that to be a successful part of the Virgin team, a sense of humour and desire to have fun are essential.
Group cohesiveness is also a vital part of team processes (e.g. to run successful in-flight services). The more cohesive a group is, the better its performance will be. To achieve high performance levels and quality service, members of the team should have similar attitudes and values. Performance is important, as it is positive for communication and job satisfaction.
Kinicki, A, Scott-Ladd, B, & Perry, M 2017, Management : A Practical Introduction, McGraw-Hill Australia, Sydney.
Task
I. Identify the types of teams that exist
II. Stages of development and task roles influence the effectiveness of groups. Discuss how the various roles and stage of development are apparent and influence outcomes within the Virgin group of companies.