6.Business Philosophy
About new venture
· Built not buy;
· Never let the facts get in the way of a good idea;
· People who have to ask the questions don’t understand;
· Ideas are debated and analysed at center;
· Branson immerses himself in a new venture until he understands the ins and outs of business and hand over it to a good managing director and financial controller;
· Give new company initial awareness by Branson’s public stunt.

About organizational structure
· A corporate strategy center around Branson by a small supporting team;
· Discrete and autonomic legal entities;
· Best not biggest;
· Small is beautiful;
· Virgin Charter.

About Human resource management
· Staff first, then customer and shareholders;
· Family rather than hierarchies;
· People matter, business should be shaped around people;
· Promotion-within and making-millionaires within policy and suitable people on suitable position;
· Trust the managers with full authority and offer them minority share options;
· A sense of involvement and loyalty to the smaller unit.

Part Two Strategic Development

1.Virgin current strategies:
Two main approaches to corporate strategy development
The prescriptive approach is one whose objective has been defined in advance and whose main elements have been have been developed before the strategy commences.
The emergent approach is a strategy whose final objects are unclear and whose elements are developed during the course of its life, as the strategy proceeds.
Considering the development process of virgin group, it draws on the emergent approach. The corporation level strategies adopted by Virgin can be summarized as the following aspects:

1.1 Corporate level strategy
1.1.1Unrelated diversification strategy: From early 1990s, the virgin began entering new sectors outside of its core activities of travel and retail. Virgin business as diversity as radio broadcasting, book publishing, and computer games found a home in the same stable as hotels, railways, personal computers, cola drinks, cinemas, and financial services. Thus, Virgin has more than one SBU in its portfolio, with little or relatedness between the SBUs. According to Ansoff’s product-market matrix, it is obviously that Virgin takes Unrelated Diversification Strategy to achieve growth.

1.1.2 Brand stretching strategy: Virgin is involved in planes, trains, finance, soft drinks, music, mobile phones, holidays, cars, wines, publishing, bridal wear - the lot! What tie all these businesses together are the values of Virgin brand and the attitude of people. To succeed, a brand must be memorable, distinctive and superior in at least one of these three areas. Based on the positioning, the product/service quality, quirky advertising and publicity stunts over time, low cost operation, strong marketing research and development, and the investment support for the brand. Virgin brand was recognized by 96% of UK consumers. In customers' eyes, the virgin name stands for value for money, quality, fun, innovation, success, and trust and identified with a range of business.

1.1.3 Joint ventures- a international and global business development /expansion strategy
Businesses are concerned with offer enhancements and offer extensions and with getting the resources to back these. The virgin faces similar resource allocation problems, but the access paths to resources are different. In the light of his stock market experience, Branson followed a path of growth through joint ventures with established companies. This approach permitted Virgin to expand, in terms of both product and geography. The joint achievement of economies of scale, cost reduction and movement down the experience curve, e.g. across a series of international or global markets. The joint operation of an international sale and marketing activity that would otherwise be unattainable for Virgin. This establishes international channels of distribution for the products or services of Virgin.

1.1.4 Retrenchment and divestiture strategies: two kinds of typical defense strategy.
At the beginning of ‘80s, recession and high inflation, combined with changing consumer tastes, severely affected the music business worldwide. Virgin registered losses of 0.4 million pounds in 1980 and 0.9 million pounds in 1981. With financial pressure mounting, Branson was forced to act belt-tightening measures that inevitably included laying off personnel.

In March 1992, Branson was a reluctant seller, but he was also a realist. Virgin Atlantic, the airline he had founded in the mid ‘80s,had been badly affected by the turmoil in the Middle East. Further complicating matters, the media were speculating on Virgins financial health. Virgin’s bankers were pressing ever more strongly for a sale to reduce debt. A large amount of cash is needed quickly and cannot be reasonably obtained from other sources. To transform Virgin’s financial situation, Branson accepted a 510 million pounds cash offer from Thorn EMI for his record lable Virgin Music, which was symbolically the heart of the Virgin Group.

1. 2. SBUs level strategy
1.2.1. Differentiation strategy and cost leadership strategy: According to Portor’s generic competition strategy theory, the SBU’s level strategies of Virgin were a combination of

Virgin looks for opportunities where they can offer something better, fresher and more valuable, and seize them. Virgin often moves into areas where the customer has traditionally received a poor deal, and where the competition is complacent. And with growing e-commerce activities, Virgin also look to deliver 'old' products and services in new ways. Virgin Atlantic is the company closest to Branson’s heart. Since its founding, the airline has relied on service, value-for-money, and innovation, dished up with panache and flair, to differentiate itself in the market.

1.3. Operational strategy
1.3.1 There was a typical human-resource-based strategy and worked well for the company in virgin. It places the emphasis on people in strategic development. Motivation, politics, culture and the desires of the individual are all important.

1.3.2 Proactive innovation strategy: Innovation is key driving of strategy. New concepts, new products and services, new markets, etc. all derive from the process of innovation. It may be used where the enterprise is in a position to gain significant competitive advantage from being the first to exploit a source of innovation opportunity. .

2. Managing SBU Portfolios
A strategic business unit (SBU)is a part of organization for which there is a distinct external market for goods and services.

2.1 BCG Matrix Analysis
The Boston Consulting Group’s growth-share matrix is the model of analysing the company’s portfolio of SBUs. The following figure plots the position of Virgin’s SBUs.