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Task 1

P1,2,3

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• Introduction to Virgin• Type of ownership- extent of owners liability of debt• The purpose, aims and objectives of virgin• Stakeholders • Contrast • Introduction to the British Red Cross-• Type of ownership- extent of owners liability of debt• The purpose, aims and objectives of virgin• Stakeholders

Task 1- P1

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Virgin

Virgin is a British multinational company which was founded in 1970 by the entrepreneur, Richard Branson. They have various different services such as, travel, entertainment and health care. They have an airline, TV broadband, telecommunications as well as the selling of products. Virgin have more than 400 companies world wide containing over 50,000 employees which are in over 50 countries. In 1970 the first ever business was launched and over a couple of years they opened up more businesses, such as Records stores, residential recording studio, films, books and Megastores. By 1984 they introduced the public to their airline for the first time and in 1985 virgin holidays arrived. In the 2000’s cars were bought out as well as the mobile phone company which was very triumphant.

https://www.virgin.com/about-us

http://www.virgin.com/time-machine/2000s

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Virgin is private limited company which is when the company is privately owned and in this case the owner is Richard Branson. This business is easy and inexpensive to set up, which is why private companies are normally the most common and successful. the ownership contains a number of shareholders as well as the main owner. A shareholder owns part of the company through stock ownership and invests their money into the business. By having shareholders it then makes it easier to open up new business ideas as there will always be people wanting to invest into the business.

Private limited companies are responsible for their own legal identity and the owners are not responsible for the debts. Due to the shareholders having limited liability it results in an advantage for the business. These businesses are there to make a profit either by selling products or providing a service and in this case Virgin provides both. The limited liability company will run more easily and be successful because they can only take the amount of money given into the business. This means more people will be interested in owning part of the business because if they do go into debt they will only lose the amount of money they gave in, no more than that.

Ownership

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An aim is a number of targets for where the business wants to be within a long period of time, 3-5 years. Most businesses aims include making a profit, survival, break even and growth. An objective is more detailed and specific then aims and are set only for a short time whereas the aims are not. To achieve the aims you have to have objectives to go with it. The objectives have to be Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic and have a suitable Time.

Aims and objectives-

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The aims and objectives for this business are:

.Become the best media provider in the world.

.Improve the services they offer.

.Obtain more channels from other providers, e.g. Sky.

.Go global.

.Raise market share (beat competitors).

These aims and objectives are good for their type of business because they are a company in need of making a profit and succeeding in that particular area. By providing a high standard they will then be superior to the other businesses and customers would want to shop at their company rather than somewhere else. This will then help them to expand and improve the business. The people who are responsible for making these aims are all the managers of each function. They will be able to please their stakeholders by appealing to their wants and needs and this will be easy because each department wants the same goals.

Aims and objectives for Virgin

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Stakeholder Virgin have internal and external stakeholders within the business. The internal stakeholders are the groups who work within a business, such as, owners and workers. External stakeholders do not work for the business and are not involved in the average day-to-day operation, for example, the community.

Virgins internal stakeholders includes banks, managers, employees and owners. Virgins external stakeholders include the customers, government and local community. If the business did not have stakeholders within the business it will be able to succeed and run easily.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/environment/stakeholders1.shtml

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Contrast The two businesses are very different from one and other, even though they are both making

money, it is for a different purpose. Virgin media provides a service to the public and is there to receive a profit, whereas The British Red Cross provides the service for free and gives the money to help the people in need. As virgin is a private business they have to employee people themselves and take them through a special process. The British Red Cross does not have to do this because they receive volunteers instead. Virgin and The British Red Cross are both within the private sector and are both tertiary sector which means they are selling the product or giving the public a service. In this case both the companies are providing a service as well as selling goods. Both business have the same stakeholders such as employees and customers, these both do the same job within the stakeholder sector which is to give their own opinion on how to improve the business and make more successful. They also are similar as their business both have shareholders.

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The British Red cross was founded in 1863 and are a global voluntary network which helps others in need. The company was founded by Robert Loyd-Lindsay and has expanded through out time. They help with conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies no matter where in the world they are located. If help was needed abroad they will help prepare for and recover them from the emergencies in their own communities. They have to fund raise for the charity so that they can then help the people who need it.

The British red cross

http://www.redcross.org.uk/en/About-us/Who-we-are/History-and-origin

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The British red cross is a charity which is also known as a ‘not for profit’ company. This means that their focus is to make money for those in needed instead of making a profit for themselves. They also do not employee people and instead have volunteers who work for them. These volunteers help to raise money and work for the company either by selling products or help to run an event. This type of ownership is easy because there are always volunteers willing to help out and the company also does not have to pay for them to work.

This company is a non profit business which means they never go into debt because the money is for people in need. The company will therefore be more successful as they will not have to owe any money to anyone and give the money to the charity instead. A board of director in a business is someone who is appointed to oversee the activities of a company. There are different type of boards such as, board of governors, board of managers, board of regents. All the board of directors make the decisions.

Ownership

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ownership.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/aims/limitedcompaniesrev1.shtml

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Aims and objectives

The aim and objective for the British red cross are:

.Help people around the world who are in need

. Raise money by relying on donations from the public

. Hold different events and fun activities to entice

These aims and objectives are good for that type of business as it will result in helping others who are less fortunate and are in need of donations to help them live a better life.By having an events aim it will help them to raise more money for the charity so they can receive as much donations as people are willing to give. These aims and objectives gives the business a clear goal of where they want to be in a few years time and who they want to have helped. The managers of all functional areas will set the aims and this will please the stakeholders because it is effecting their departments in a good way.

http://naep.org.uk/about_aims.html

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Stakeholders for The British Red Cross-

The external stakeholders, which are within The Red Cross, include the people who fund the charity, this may be the general public, local government, NHS or local council. Internal stakeholders, for example, finance department, managers and owners, are the opposite to external as they are working within the business whereas the external are not. These stakeholders all have an interest or concern about the business, therefore provides them ways of improving.

http://www.answers.com/Q/Who_are_red_cross_stakeholders

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/environment/stakeholders1.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/business/aims/partnershipsrev1.shtml

http://www.redcross.org.uk/About-us/Who-we-are/Governance-and-annual-reports/Our-governance/Our-senior-management-team

http://www.redcross.org.uk/en/About-us/Who-we-are/History-and-origin

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/jan/08/virgin-brands-richard-branson-owns

https://www.virgin.com/about-us

http://www.virgin.com/time-machine/2000s

Bibliography

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. Introduction into Tesco . Stakeholders for both Tesco and Virgin

. Organisational structure for Virgin and Tesco

. Which business has the larger span of control

P2

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Introduction into Tesco

Tesco is a well-known business which was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen from a market stall in London’s East End and has grown over many years. The business now operates in 12 countries around the world and has employed over 530,000 people. The company serves around tens of millions of customers every week. They try to provide the best prices and quality of products which then helps them to stay competitive with similar businesses such as Asda. Many products from different popular brands are sold in Tesco’s as well as their own brand, ‘tesco’s own’. These products are much cheaper than the other brands and this then entices people into the store.

http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=11

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Stakeholders for Tesco

The main stakeholders for Tesco are the customers, colleagues, suppliers, owners, trade unions, local communities, pressure groups, competitors and Governmental organisation. All of these stakeholders views and ideas are taken into account to make the company the best they can be. Customers tell the employees their own views and opinions of the business and their quality of service. They also will give Tesco ideas such as introducing discounts off the products to increase competition. The colleagues also give the company feedback through a number of different processes such as a Tesco colleague survey. Suppliers have a main value which is "treat people how we like to be treated“ and this is applied to their supplier service. The investors meet analyst from the financial institutions and this then represents their stakeholders. The trade unions help the employees with any problems within the work place. They will encourage strikes and campaigns to stop the problems from occurring again and this web link below shows a situation which happened in Tesco’s where the trade union had to step in. Local communities also effects the products which are supplied in Tesco’s because if it was in a different country their culture would be different from ours and their foods that they eat. For example, if their shops were in India they would not supply Yorkshire tea bags. http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/05/tescos-treatment-its-workers-shows-why-we-must-stop-subsidising-it

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The pressure groups are trying to make the business be more ethical and take care of the environment. One of the main organisations pressuring Tesco is Green peace and this is to help the environment stay clean. The competitors influence the pricing of the products as they are trying to compete with the lowest prices. They also use promotional techniques to reduce the prices of the products and when one company does this there is a domino effect as all the other companies try to compete. The non- governmental organisation helps with issues within the business and any concerns that they may have.

Stakeholders for Tesco

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The main stakeholders for virgin are the same as Tesco, owners, colleagues, customers, trade unions, suppliers, local communities, pressure groups, competitors and Governmental organisation. The owners run the business overall and are in charge of the other stakeholders. They are given the feedback, from employees or customers, then they take it into consideration and change what is needed. The employees give feedback on how the company is ran and what improvements virgin can make such as the products or the services they provide. The customers also tells the company how to improve their service or products, for example, the services on Virgin Atlantic flights and other issues such as pricing. By listening to the stakeholders Virgin will become more successful and then they will receive more profit. Trade unions steps in when their are problems with the treatment of the employees. If there are problems it can effect Virgin as they will be given a bad reputation. The suppliers can also influence Virgin as they may decide to rise the price of products or service. Local communities can effect the services which are given and products they sell. For example, in America they only provide the Virgin Atlantic service. The pressure groups would petition against the company if things are being ran ethnically and this could help to change the way virgin is ran. Competitors influence the prices of the products and services as they want to have the best prices so they can have the most customers. To compete with other companies prices have to be decreased as well as the standard of the product/services. The Government organisation provides them with grants and loans if needed.

Stakeholders for Virgin

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Tesco has an hierarchical structure due to the number of layers and the process of reporting to more than one person before the information is taken to the manager. Hierarchical structures are normally for large companies and this structure contains layers which are each controlled by one particular person. By having this structure it means information and instructions are carried from one person to another until it reaches the person needed (bottom of the structure). If problems occur and it is needed to be taken to that particular person the problem would then have to move up through the structure until it reaches the correct destination. Having an hierarchical structure means that they have a good close control of the workers. This means that the workers in Tesco will know what they have to do and when they have to do it so they will not have to wait around to receive the information.

Tesco’s organisational structure

Some of the function have a main director and a specific manger underneath it.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Tesco%E2%80%99s+organisational+structure&safe=active&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ha0_VIuFEYbtaI6LgugK&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=908&surl=1

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Virgin’s organisational structure

Virgin is part of a family rather than a hierarchy as they are able to run their own associations. The company helps one and other by providing solutions to the particular problems which eventually gets resolved. Virgin is a business which shares ideas, interests and goals that they want to achieve and this makes it easier for the business to run as they all want the same aim. Richard Branson provides all employees with the opportunity to make decisions that they believe will help the business and this is done unsupervised without following a chain of command which is what a lot of other large businesses would normally do. By having this structure it provides the employees with confidence as they are being allowed to make their own decisions within the management sector. Branson interacts directly with the employees to discuss ideas and feedback from either customers or the employees themselves. Virgins has a flat hierarchical structure which allows communication to be made if needed. However, it has to go through a number of people before reaching the main one.

http://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/the-virgin-group-an-insight-into-organizational-structure-and-culture-business-essay.php

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“Span of control” is to do with the management ratio with in a business. This means how many subordinates are controlled by the superior which is the top part of the structure. Virgin has a larger span of control compared to Tesco. This is because Virgin has a flat structure which allows the wider span of control, and decentralization. The structure allows Virgin’s employees to have more power and input within the business and the decisions made.

I believe that Tesco has a better span of control because the smaller structure means communication will be much easier. Everyone’s ideas and worries would be sent to that particular person much quicker, meaning it would then be sorted quicker.

Span of control

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/span-of-control.html

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http://www.answers.com/Q/Organisational_structure_of_tesco

http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=11

http://www.ukessays.com/essays/business/the-virgin-group-an-insight-into-organizational-structure-and-culture-business-essay.php

http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/span-of-control.html

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• Virgins functional areas• Tesco’s functional areas• Strategic plan for Virgin • Strategic plan for Tesco• Organisation structure for Virgin • Organisation structure for Tesco

P2

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Virgin

Virgin has a number of functional areas which includes human resources, finance, marketing and sales, administration, customer service and information technology. Human resources are in charge of hiring the right people for the right areas in Virgin, due to the amount of different functions. They are in charge of the training that the employees need for that particular areas. Further more, they decide whether or not the employees need a raise in payment and they also decide who will be fired for a strong reason. The finance department is in charge of the money that the business makes and the money that needs to be paid for certain areas such as manufacturing of the product. They are also in charge of filing taxes as well as the amount of cash flow the company is receiving. The marketing and sales department is responsible for the products appearance and making it stand out to the customers as well as advertising it to the public. Administration in Virgin processes all paper work for both external suppliers as well as internal people, such as bills from Virgins suppliers. They have to make sure all the employees are up-to-date with any changes within the organisation. For example, Virgin can decide to create a new product and therefore will need to inform all the staff such as the marketing department which will advertise the product. More over, administration arrange extra needs for the company such as company cars, travel and hotels where they will stay if they need to go on a business trip.

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The role of customer service, in Virgin, looks afters the customers queries. They ensure all the customers who have had a product or service sold by Virgin is of a good standard and therefore has had a good experience. When customers have questions or worries about the company, ‘customer service’s’ have to be professional and well mannered. If this is not the case then Virgin will be given a bad reputation towards the treatment of the companies customers. Information technology department is used to keep all data on record as well as communicating to other members of staff in Virgin.

As Virgin has tall, fat structure it means that their is one/two main people at the top and below them are other managers which each have a certain department to look after. These sections will have employees with different levels of authority and therefore each of the functional areas would have a high amount of staff. This means the information that is wanting to be given to manager has to go through number of departments.

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Tesco has the same functional areas as Virgin, these include human resources, finance, marketing and sales, administration, customer service and information technology. Human resources is responsible for payroll, benefits, hiring, firing and keeping up to date with the tax laws. The finance department in Tesco looks at the profits that are being made and what needs to be done to increase the profits such as advertisement and the products that they are selling. They also have to look where to find the cheapest products but still having a good high quality. Marketing and sales are in charge of advertising the products to the customers through many different ways. For example, TV advertisement, posters and billboards. The adverts must contain vital information such as the companies names and limited information about the product itself. The administration department are in charge of all the work within the Tesco’s office including internal and external departments. They are also in charge of supplying the company with extra needs such as business trips and hotels. Tesco are always on business trips to find new products which are better than the original ones. Customer service plays a big part in the companies reputation because if a customer is unsatisfied with their products they will then go to them to complain and if not dealt with correctly a formal complaint will be made. This could effect the company.

Tesco’s functional areas-

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Information technology department is in charge of the computer systems within Tesco. This includes the tills they work on and other EPOS (electric point of sale) equipment.

Due to the small span of control in Tesco's structure it means that each department has a number of different sections but only has one main manager. This makes it easier for the functional areas to communicate with other areas.

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Virgin’s strategic plan

Virgin Atlantic’s strategic plan is to fly a profitable airline which people will love to fly and where people love to work. Their focus is on improving customer services and leisure travellers, as well as setting new standards which all the workers have to follow. Their strategy is to ensure they are offering the best service , grow their business even further, and run an efficient, effective global airline.

Virgin media has a slightly different strategic plan and Richard Branson himself said: "At Virgin we go up against some very big companies and from a media spend point of view we’d struggle to compete with them," he said. "So it’s about the quality of media rather than quantity.

Their strategic plan is to make sure their media is better than other companies and to achieve this they have to make sure they have the best quality service/product. This will then attrack the customers to shop at their company.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/allaboutus/pressoffice/faq/strategy.jsp

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Tesco is built around the customers and colleagues, high-quality assets around the world and multiple opportunities for growth. These qualities are central for their Vision for the business.Tesco wants to be the most highly valued business by the customers, the communities, the committed colleagues and their shareholders.

The vision for the business has five elements-

. Wanted and needed around the world

. A growing business, full of opportunities

. Modern, innovative and full of ideas

. Winners locally whilst applying our skills globally

. Inspiring, earning trust and loyalty from customers, our colleagues and communities

These aims benefit Tesco because their business will then receive more profit as they would have expanded as well as having more customers buying their products.

Tesco strategic plan

http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=12

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Virgin has a lot more employees that they would have to go through to tell them their requests, unlike Tesco’s structure.

The top one is the ‘office of the secretary’ which has two other office work below it. under these are a huge number of other employees.

Virgin

http://2020projectmanagement.com/2013/10/the-organisational-breakdown-structure-obs/

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Here is Tesco’s organisational chart and it shows the number of layers within the businesses chart.

The top part of the chart shows one main person (manager) and below is the store manager, this has three people which are just below the store mangers role.

Feeding off of the three managers are a number of different employees which have to go through a small number of people to get to the main manager with their requests.

This structure benefits Tesco because communication is easily made between all the different functions. Therefore, decisions can be easily and quickly made.

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http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/ai412e/ai412e07.htm

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/114704336/Organisational-Chart--

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/role-customer-service-agent-737.html

http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=12

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1185372/media360-why-disruption-vital-virgin-medias-marketing-strategy