Challenges faced by Virgin Group

Discuss about the Competitive Strategy And Innovation of Virgin Group.

In this dynamic global business environment, changes are taking place which affects the performance of the business. It is vital for the business to cope with these changes of the dynamic business environment. Various challenges are being faced by the business due to these changes of the business environment. These challenges include competition, change in technology and change in the availability of resources. For coping with these challenges and enhancing the chances of survival, success and growth of the business, there is a need to adopt competitive strategies and innovative strategies or approaches. Organisations are utilising the strengths and capabilities for gaining competitive advantage. Innovation is an important part of the dynamic business environment so as to stay competitive in this competitive business environment. Different strategies are being adopted by the businesses for gaining a competitive advantage over the others and implementing innovation strategy.

The case of Virgin group has been selected for the execution of this assignment. Virgin group is a private company which is operating in the conglomerate industry. Headquarter of Virgin group is located in London, United Kingdom. It is offering services all around the globe. Products or services which are being offered by Virgin group are banking, books, commercial aviation, commercial spaceflight, consumer electronics, films, healthcare, internet, jewellery, mobile phones, music, radio, retail and travel (Virgin Group, 2017). Virgin group is operating in the dynamic business environment and is coping with the changing aspects of this business environment in a successful manner. For gaining an advantage over the others in the industry, there is a need to adopt a competitive strategy and providing innovative services or products to the customers. Expansion of the business is dependent on the manner business adopt strategies for gaining competitive advantage and providing innovative services by using innovation. Virgin group has adopted various competitive and innovation strategy for overcoming competition and changes in the technology.

There are various aspects of the business environment which act as a challenge in front of the business. These challenges can affect the performance of the business at large. For the purpose of coping with these challenges, initiatives need to be taken on the part of the organisation. Virgin media has faced various challenges which may have affected the performance of Virgin group. These challenges are listed below:

• Increasing competition: one of the most important challenges which is being faced by Virgin Group is competition. Competition in the business environment is increasing due to which the performance of the Virgin Group is getting affected. There are various companies which are operating in the same industry and using various strategies for attracting the customers towards them. The rise in competition affects the performance, profitability, growth and chances of success (MENA Report, 2012). Virgin Group is operating in different industries as it is offering a wide range of products or services. It is facing tough competition in the industry due to technology, cost, availability of resources and structure of the organisation. There is a need to overcome the weaknesses and utilise the strengths available for enhancing the performance of the business. Strategies need to be adopted for dealing with the increasing competition and analysis need to be done in the market for analysing the trend of competition in the market (Schofield, 2017).
• Availability of the resources: there are various resources which are being used by the business for the purpose of performing the operations of the business. Execution of the operations of the Virgin group is dependent on the availability of various resources. These resources include the requirement of effective and efficient human resource, availability of raw material, finance and machinery. These resources need to be arranged properly and in adequate quantity. These resources need to be utilised in the most suitable manner for the purpose of obtaining the desired outcome. Virgin group need to analyse the need of the resources and make an arrangement so as to meet the needs and expectations of the customers of the business (Taylor, 2013).
• Expansion: another challenge which is being faced by every business is expanding. Every organisation is operating with a motive to expand the area of operation in which it is operating. Expansion enhances the chances of growth and success of the business and helps in gaining large market share for dealing with the competition. Virgin group is offering a wide variety of products or services and is operating in different industries at the global Focus on Virgin Group is in the expansion of the area of operation by utilising the resources in an effective manner. For the expansion of the area of operation and attaining success in the different businesses of Virgin Group, there is a need to establish coordination between these businesses (Murphy, 2008).
• Lack of coordination between different business: a broad range of brands are being managed by the Virgin Group as it is operating in different industries for providing a wide range of services or products to the customers. The focus of Virgin Group is on enhancing the customer base of the business. But Virgin Group has faced lack of coordination between the different businesses. Virgin Group is not preparing any consolidated commercial and financial reports for the whole group. Virgin Group has faced negative cash flows in few businesses which have created a proper for the Virgin Group. Coordination between the different businesses of the Virgin Group is required for conducting the operations of different businesses in a better manner. This has affected the profitability of the business at large. The reputation of the whole Virgin Group is at risk as this lack of coordination and negative cash flows are affecting the reputation of the business adversely (Virgin Group, 2010).
• Irrelevant diversification: competition in the business environment is increasing with the change in the various factors of the business environment. Virgin Group has entered different industries at the global level and lack of coordination between these different businesses has affected the process of diversification of Virgin Group. Diversification can be done in an effective manner with the support of the whole group in a better manner. Relevant diversification promotes better implementation of the plans and attainment of the objectives of the organisation. Diversification strategy is implemented with a motive to expand the area of operation and enhancing the success chances of the business. Diversification needs to be done in a relevant manner and must be related to the other businesses of the group (Jia & Jing, 2012).
• The complicated structure of the organisation: a complicated organisational structure affects the growth of the business. An organisational structure of the business must be simple so as to effectively incorporate the changes in the business environment. Organisational structure of the business creates an impact on the projects of the business. Virgin Group has a complicated organisational structure which has resulted in negative synergy. The environment of the workplace and behaviour or attitude of the employees may get affected due to the complicated organisational structure. An appropriate organisational structure needs to be adopted for promoting flexibility so as to implement the changes in a better manner (Galliers & Leidner, 2010).
• Change in the technology: Another important challenge which is being faced by the organisations is changing in the technology used by the business. Technological advancements are taking place in the business environment which is affecting the performance and operations of the business. Virgin Group is focusing on this factor of the business environment so as to cope with the changing technology and enhancing the performance with the use of technological advancements. Analysis needs to be made of the technological changes taking place so as to analyse whether to use the technological change for enhancing the performance or not (Issa-Salwe, et. al., 2010).
• Concentrated profits: Profits of the Virgin Group are concentrated as there are different businesses being run by Virgin Group and few of these businesses are earning profits and few are suffering negative cash flows. This negative cash flows and dependency on few businesses for profits affect the performance of Virgin Group. This situation increases the dependency of the other businesses on one business. For enhancing profitability and effectiveness of the different businesses, there is a need to focus on profits generated by every business. Virgin Group is facing a challenge due to concentrated profits and is focusing on resolving the issue (Robinson, 2012).

Competitive strategies and innovations are crucial aspects of a business as these are effective in shaping the performance of the business. Competitive strategy and innovation strategy enhances the performance by developing competitiveness in the business for coping with the competition present in the business environment. Different strategies have been used by Virgin Group for enhancing the performance and coping with the various challenges faced by the group. Factors present in the business environment are creating an impact on the performance of the Virgin Group and strategies have been implemented by Virgin Group for managing the performance of the business (Qin, 2015). For being competitive and for maintaining a strong customer base business needs to adopt new technologies. These new technologies will help Virgin Group in gaining competitive advantage and performing well in the industry. Virgin group has used innovations for the purpose of dealing with the changing business environment. Strategies which are being adopted by Virgin Group for being competitive and dealing with the challenges faced by it include growth strategies, unrelated diversification strategy, differentiation strategy, risk management strategies, pricing strategies and new content strategy and recruitment and selection strategy (Virgin Media, 2009).

Competitive strategy and innovation

Growth strategies have been followed by Virgin Group for gaining a competitive advantage over the others in the industry. According to the business growth, strategies of Virgin Group plans to need to be prepared for the long-term duration for setting goals which business need to achieve. This has helped Virgin Group in analysing the risk factors and opportunities available to Virgin Group in the future. The focus of the business growth strategy of Virgin Group is on gathering a great team which performs the operations of the business as a team and supporting each other. Support is required from each other for performing the roles assigned. This strategy has enhanced the internal support to Virgin Group which has helped it in enhancing the performance and gaining competitive advantage (Lazo & Kase, 2010).

Unrelated diversification strategy has been adopted by Virgin Group. Differentiation strategy is being used by Virgin Group for enhancing the performance and coping with the challenges faced by the group. Virgin Group is offering various products and is operating different businesses. This strategy is a corporate strategy for the purpose of entering the new market or industry effectively and coping with the increasing competition. In this competitive world, there is a need to be competitive and provide innovative services (Notis, 2015). Virgin Group has entered different product lines for the expansion of the area of operation and enhancing the customer base of the business. Changes have been made in the manner in which expansion of the business of Virgin Group is done. Virgin Group has entered different sectors of the economy for the purpose of enhancing the performance. Unrelated diversification strategy has been adopted by Virgin Group for ensuring that the company is covering a large share of the market for different products or services (Vincent, 2010).

Risk management strategy is being adopted by Virgin Group for the purpose of coping with the risks faced by the group. Challenges present in the business environment results in an increase in the risks faced by the business. Virgin Group is engaged in long-term planning for formulating plans so as to take better decisions and enhancing the chances of growth of the business in the long run. Long-term planning is required for the purpose of forming a base or outline which will help in laying out a plan on the basis of which activities of the business will be carried out (Jones, 2011). Two risks have been faced by the Virgin Group are a dependency of the brand on Branson and cash crunch within companies. New products are being identified by the Virgin Group for the purpose of identifying the need of the customers and trend in the market. Virgin Group is operating independently and operating different businesses in different industries. This strategy will enhance the competitiveness of Virgin Group as the focus of Virgin Group is on performing well in the competitive business environment. Risk management strategy has helped the Virgin Group in dealing with the risk factors in a better manner and ensuring that these risk factors are not creating any impact on the performance of the business (Moreira, 2014).

Growth strategies

Pricing strategies is an effective competitive strategy which is being used by Virgin Group. In this competitive business environment, competitors of Virgin Group are reducing the prices of the products and on the other hand, Virgin Group is providing additional services and enhanced services for enhancing the satisfaction level of the customers. Prices of the products or services of Virgin Group are set by analysing the pricing strategies of the competitors for gaining knowledge of the industry (Macleod & Clarke, 2011). Virgin Group is performing well in the competitive environment with the use of this competitive strategy. Pricing strategies affect the profitability of the business as well as customer base of the business. This strategy has contributed towards the increase in the customer base and profitability of Virgin Group. Different products are being offered by Virgin Group on different prices so as to attract the customers by offering products of high quality at affordable prices (Redpath, et. al., 2016).

The new content strategy has been used by Virgin Group in which it has used big data. The motive behind adopting big data is to enhance the situation and to draw a better-targeted content strategy. Virgin Group has undergone a huge transformation in the last 10 years. Social platforms are being used by Virgin Group for the promotion of the products or services and enhancing the customer base of the business. With the use of this strategy, Virgin Group has been successful in attracting the customer or potential customers and analysing the needs of the customers of the business (Pisano, 2016). This strategy has helped Virgin Group in targeting the audience who are strategically important for the company. Identification can be done of the content areas with the help of this strategy and appeal to the target market. Different businesses are using new content strategy for targeting the customers and making an appeal to the targeted audience in a better manner. Knowledge of the audience of the business is developed with the help of this strategy. This strategy will enhance the performance of Virgin Group by enhancing the capabilities of Virgin Group (Feloni, 2015).

Recruitment and selection strategy has been adopted by Virgin Group for hiring effective and efficient workforce for the execution of the operations of the business. Recruitment and selection process is crucial for every business as the performance and productivity of the business are dependent on the quality of human resource. During the screening process of the recruitment and selection program, six key characteristics have been set for screening new employees (Rosenberg, 2015). These six characteristics ensure that efficient employees are being hired which enhances the productivity of the business. Forgetting hired in Virgin Group one need to have a passion for new ideas, making the creativity apparent and disclosing a record of thinking in a different way. Virgin Group has described the employees of the group as questioning, honest, amusing, cheeky, disruptive, restless and intelligent. This innovation has helped Virgin Group in enhancing the quality of the human resource of the group and performing the operations in a better manner. This strategy has enhanced the competitiveness of the Virgin Group (WBS, 2015).

Unrelated diversification strategy

Digital and social media marketing strategy has been followed by Virgin Group for enhancing the marketing function of the business. Use of social networking platforms in the business is increasing due to the variety of reasons or benefits. Social networking platforms are being used by the businesses for promoting or marketing the products or services in the market and attracting a large number of customers towards the business. Virgin Group has used social networking platforms for the purpose of promoting the different products which are being offered by the group and attracting the customers and potential customers. Social networking platforms have reduced the cost of the business as well as efforts of the business involved in the marketing of the products or services. Social networking enabled Virgin Group in reaching a large number of people in less time as social networks are being used by a wide number of people. Virgin Group is using these platforms for the analysis of market trends and demand and expectations of the customers (Ankeny, 2012).

Thus, these strategies have acted as the strength of Virgin Group and enhance the competitiveness of the company. Competitive strategies and innovations are an integral part of the business as these increases the chances of growth and holding large market share by dealing with the competition in the industry. All these strategies have been adopted by Virgin Group with a motive to enhance the performance and provide better quality services and products to the customers.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded from the above discussion that being competitive is an important element of the business environment. Every business needs to stay competitive and innovative so as to enhance the performance and deal with the changes taking place in the industry. Various strategies are being adopted by the business for the purpose of bringing innovation and competing with the competitors. Virgin Group is operating in different industries at the global level and it is must for Virgin Group to implement strategies for surviving and expanding the area of operation in the environment. Various challenges are being faced by the Virgin Group due to the change in the business. These challenges include rising level of competition, change in the technology, change in the availability of resources and change in the economic condition of the economy. These challenges need to be dealt in an effective manner with the application of suitable strategies or approaches. Virgin group has adopted various strategies with a motive to cope with the challenges faced. These strategies are being adopted by Virgin Group and implemented for enhancing their performance. Strategies adopted by Virgin Group include pricing strategies, new content strategy and recruitment and selection strategy, growth strategies, unrelated diversification strategy, differentiation strategy and risk management strategies.

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