Discuss below in a 3000 words:
Case study : The Virgin Group by Boddy, David
1. Set out an analysis of the key forces in the general environment (both national and international) which have an influence on the business. Among the key forces are Political, Economic, Legal, Socio-cultural, Environmental/Ecological, and Technological.
2. Conduct a Five Forces analysis of one of the Virgin companies, Among the forces are new entrants, substitutes, buyers, suppliers and competitors.
3. Conduct a SWOT analysis. Among the issues to be addressed are the business response to the threats and opportunities; was the business reactive or proactive? how the business activities are organised? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Judgement on the business ability to respond.
4. Are the decisions mentioned in the Case programmed or non-programmed? And why? Refer to the material on Virgin Rail, and identify an example of the ‘dependency' of decisions.
5. On balance, does the Virgin story support the planned or the emergent view of strategy? And Why?
6. Which generic strategies has Virgin Group followed? And Why?
7. What new issues appear to be facing the company that were not mentioned in the case?