Prophecies in The Odyssey and Oedipus the King Research Paper

Prophecies in The Odyssey and Oedipus the King - Research Paper Example One of the key purposes of using the prophecies is to reveal to the readers at the outset itself, the course, the work or the main protagonist will take. Although, it may reveal the crux of the plot, on the other level, it will heighten the curiosity of the readers regarding whether the prophecies will come true or how the prophecies will come true. Another key perspective of using prophecies is to state the fact that human lives will always be controlled by superior powers or external forces, without any chance of them controlling it. This perspective of prophecy was aptly used in the Greek works, Oedipus the King and The Odyssey. This paper will discuss how the lives of the main protagonists Oedipus and Odysseus were dictated by these prophecies, with Oedipus’ prophecies leading to his downfall and tragedy, while prophecies for Odysseus leading to success. Oedipus fate, it seems, has been sealed even before he is born, with the prophecy coming from Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. As King Laius and Jocasta did not have any children after many years of marriage, they consulted the Oracle at Delphi regarding their childlessness. The Oracle gave out the prophecy that if Jocasta bears a son, that son would kill her husband King Laius and will also marry her. This prophecy was recollected by Jocasta later, â€Å"An oracle once came to Laius declaring he was doomed/To perish by the hand of his own son, A Child that should be born to him by me† (Sophocles 51). To prevent his prophecy from actualizing only Oedipus was ordered to be killed. However, he survives and was cared by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife Merope, who raise him as their own. After hearing rumors that Polybus and Merope are not his real biological parents, he coincidently meets the same Oracle at Delphi to clarify his doubts. Without directly answering Oedipus’ question on parentage, the Oracle again repeats the earlier prophecy but in different words, from the perspective of Oedipus. Oedipus

Penn Square Bank & Down Corning Bankruptcy Essay Example for Free

Penn Square Bank Down Corning Bankruptcy Essay According to Norm Bowie, â€Å"sometimes being moral enhances the bottom line rather than reduces it† (Hartman, 2005, p108). Unfortunately, in the instances of Penn Square Bank and the Dow Corning bankruptcy, that may not have been the case. The following will examine the particulars of these situations and discuss the ethical issues present for each. Penn Square Bank Penn Square Bank was a small bank that played a large role in the Oklahoma banking crisis of the early 1980s. In an effort to maximize on the profits of the booming oil industry, the upper management of Penn Square Bank cut corners in several areas of its new lending division. Documentation to support million-dollar loans became lax. Collateral valuation and revenue recognition was severely over estimated without verification of the documentation to support such claims. Loan contracts were with casual deals and unspecific terms. Credit was extended based upon unverified personal letters paid for by the client. These documentation errors led to loans not properly secured (Caskey, 1985). In addition, Penn Square was more and more money, which facilitated errors in revenue recognition as the bank accepted over estimated valuation claims without requiring loan or interest payments. Thus, on paper the bank looked successful without ever possessing the funds to support its lending endeavors. Finally, credit was extended without true verification of asset valuation or proper documentation, and re-extended when the client could not produce the payments necessary to support the lofty loans (Caskey, 1985). Each of Penn Square Bank’s actions represents a form of financial statement fraud, which led to its downfall in 1982. According to Fraud Examination, there are three ways to deter financial statement fraud: (1) reduce the pressure to commit the fraud, (2) reduce the opportunity to commit the fraud, and (3) reduce the rationalization of the fraud (Wells, 2005). However, in this instance, most if not all of the fraud committed can be attributed to demanding goals set by Penn State Bank owner, Bill Jennings. As explained by Hartman, the â€Å"driving force† of â€Å"profit maximization† created a business environment to facilitate fraud (2005). Because profit was the sole motivator, documentation was inadequate, collateral valuation and revenue recognition was overstated, and credit extension was unverified and inferior. Instead,  Penn Square Bank should have considered the following measures: †¢An oversight or review board should be been established to oversee verification of credit or collateral valuation and determine the risk associated with each loan. †¢Documentation requirements should have been heavily enforced and maintained by the review board. †¢Contract and loan deals should have been regulated to the office with strict documentation requirements. †¢Disclosures should have been made regarding the lack of loan and interest payments. †¢Asset valuation and revenue recognition should have been accurately portrayed to investors, clients, and potential buyers. †¢Upper management should have established company ethical standards and enforced these standards with strict consequences for violation without exception. Unfortunately, all the measures to deter fraud that should have been considered were undermined by the owner’s overwhelming demand for success. Thus, Jennings’ need to maximize profits and increase sales created the pressure, opportunity, and rationalization to commit each action of fraud. Dow Corning Bankruptcy Dow Corning Corporation is the big name in silicone and silicone-based material production. But in 1995, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect itself from lawsuits regarding their silicone-based breast implants. Some advocated that the action was an effort to â€Å"avoid compensating women for their injuries† (Book review, 1996, p7). However, according to Hartman, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is intended to protect companies from creditors while it undergoes restructuring in an effort to stave off liquidation. By doing so, the company continues business, pays taxes, and provide jobs but is allowed time to reorganize to triumph over its economic hardship (Hartman, 2005). The ethical challenge is to use Chapter 11 as it is intended – as a restructuring tool to avoid losing everything – rather than file for Chapter 11 as a way of cheating its creditors out of owed money. Hartman suggests that what is ethical in regard to bankruptcy is to go beyond what the laws require and uphold the debt agreements made with creditors (Hartman, 2005). Dow Corning seemed to have that same perspective. Nine years later the company emerged from bankruptcy after settling the lawsuits for a payout of $3.3 billion over the next 15 years (Arndt, 2004). During the time under Chapter 11, the company reorganized  itself to refocus silicone production to develop fabrics, materials, and pharmaceutical products (Arndt, 2004). These sales and expanding markets will help Dow Corning to pay its debts to the 300,000 women named in the settlement (Sissell, 2004). Thus, Dow Corning is Chapter 11 bankruptcy free but still upholding its ethical obligation to the wronged party and its creditors. Although Dow Corning’s actions following the Chapter 11 emergence was ethically sound, its actions leading to the filing was anything but. Problems with Dow Corning’s silicone breast implants began as early as 1984 when they lost a lawsuit claiming the implant caused medical illness such as autoimmune disease. During the investigation for this lawsuit, lawyers found evidence showing Dow Corning executives were aware of complaints from doctors, concerns about the lack of long-term testing, and cases of the implant bursting during surgery. In addition, the study that supposedly proved the effectiveness and safety of the product revealed detrimental long-term effects on the animals under experimentation (Book review, 1996). However, throughout all the breast implant concerns, Down Corning continued to advocate the safety of their product going as far as to hire high profile and extremely expensive teams of legal and public relations specialists. In addition, allegations were present of executives attempting to destroy damning internal documents suggesting upper management was trying to cover up its liability in the claims. The 1984 lawsuit found Dow Corning guilty of fraud and deceit stating the company provided inferior and incomplete information by understating the risks to make an informed decision (Book review, 1996). More important, it revealed the unethical behavior of the executives and company as a whole.

Slave Trade in 1807 Essay -- England

In order to ascertain how significant beliefs and ideologies were in contributing to the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, and the eventual abolition of slavery in 1833, this assignment will consider moral, political,economic and religious factors which culminated into these two distinct reforms. It will explore the influence of Enlightenment; the impact of non-conformists; the role of individuals and resistance from slaves themselves. Additionally, it will look at the attitudes concerning the Atlantic slave trade and slavery from different perspectives. Justifications which were gleaned from the Bible, and from Antiquity, regarding the differences between white and black people meant that for much of the eighteenth century enslaving Africans was generally accepted. However, from the 1800s these beliefs and ideologies were challenged, and both slavery and the slave trade were progressively questioned and condemned. Enlightenment thinkers were instrumental in debates in which reason and intellect were dominant. They believed that individuals had the capacity to improve both themselves, and their environment. Underpinning Enlightenment ideas were the concepts of human and natural rights. Furthermore, the idea that the fundamental right of property is one's own person diminished the argument that any attack on slavery was an attack on property. Enlightened ideas influenced individuals such as Adam Smith who was concerned with economic policy,and Elizabeth Heyrick, who was a middle-class Quaker who pushed for immediate emancipation. (Unit 16,pp.87) Anthology 4.4 (a) and (b) provides definitions of slavery and the slave trade. The principal points raised are that men were born free and equal so slavery was contrary to natural... ... ideologies which resulted in the anti-slavery stance which was integral for political reform. The abolition of the slave trade did not result in the immediate emancipation of slavery, the role of individuals who worked tirelessly with the development of campaigning techniques such as, mass petitioning, door-to-door campaigning, public meetings and the gathering of evidence were extremely valuable to the anti-slavery movement. Even still this process was a long one, and one that involved ordinary people, resistance from slaves themselves and pressure groups. Beliefs and ideologies, were therefore, the most fundamental factor for the abolition of both the Atlantic slave trade (1807) and slave emancipation (1833). The position of parliament and the enactments which resulted were heavily influenced by the beliefs and ideas of people who collectively made a difference.

Just in Time Inventory Management Essay

Just In Time Inventory Management Definition: Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory management is the process of ordering and receiving inventory for production and customer sales only as it is needed and not before. This means that the company does not hold safety stock and operates with low inventory levels. This strategy helps companies lower their inventory carrying costs. Just-in-time inventory management is a cost-cutting inventory management strategy though it can lead to stock-outs. The goal of JIT is to improve return on investment by reducing non-essential costs. http://bizfinance.about.com/od/glossaryj/g/Just-In-Time-Jit-Inventory-Management.htm http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-justintime-inventory-21407.html Advantages & Disadvantages of Just-in-Time Inventory by Neil Kokemuller, Demand Media Companies turnover significant inventory control to suppliers with just-in-time inventory. Related Articles * The Advantages of Just-in-Time Inventory Systems†¨ * Advantages & Disadvantages of Excess Inventory†¨ * Examples of Just-in-Time Inventory * Just in Time Inventory Definition * Advantages & Disadvantages of Matrix Organizational Structures in Business Organizations†¨ * The Disadvantages of Buy-Hold-Sell Inventory Just-in-time (JIT) inventory refers to an inventory management system with objectives of having inventory readily available to meet demand, but not to a point of excess where you must stockpile extra products. Maintaining inventory takes time and has costs, which is what motivates companies to implement JIT programs. Ads by Google Production management Comprehensive SCM, SRM & WMS Suite from Epicor. Learn More.Epicor.com / Distribution Customer Needs Balancing the goals of avoiding stock outs while minimizing inventory costs is at the heart of just-in-time inventory. One of the main benefits of automated and efficient inventory replenishment systems is that you can quickly respond to reduced inventory levels. Companies are now equipped to pull back on stock in a given product category and ramp up inventory in another as customer needs and interests change. Inventory Costs Minimization of inventory management costs is a primary driver and benefit of just-in-time practices. Inventory management has costs, and when you reduce the amount of holding space and staff required with JIT, the company can invest the savings in business growth and other opportunities, points out the Accounting for Management website. You also have less likelihood of throwing out product that gets old or expires, meaning reduced waste. Coordination A disadvantage of managing a just-in-time inventory system is that it requires significant coordination between retailers and suppliers in the distribution channel. Retailers often put major trust in suppliers by syncing their computer systems with suppliers so they can more directly monitor inventory levels at stores or in distribution centers to initiate rapid response to low stock levels. This usually means build up of technology infrastructure, which is costly. This coordinated effort is more involving on the whole than less time intensive inventory management systems. Risks Just-in-time inventory is not without risks. By nature of what it is, companies using JIT intend to walk a fine line between having too much and too little inventory. If company buyers fail to adjust quickly to increased demand or if suppliers have distribution problems, the business risks  upsetting customers with stock outs. If buyers over compensate and buy extra inventory to avoid stock outs, the company could experience higher inventory costs and the potential for waste. Sponsored Links MYOB Accounting Software Simple, Reliable & Secure Solutions Call Now for a Free Demonstration! www.globalbiz.com.sg Web Database App Software Deploy data-driven web applications straight from your database! Try it www.ironspeed.com Primavera P6 PPM Software Software | Consultation | Implementation | Support | www.crownsys.com.sg / Primavera IT Help Desk Software Web-based IT Help Desk with Asset Mgmt. Free version too. Try Now! www.ManageEngine.com / Help_Desk References (2) About the Author Neil Kokemuller has been an active writer and content media website developer since 2007. He wrote regular feature articles for LiveCharts for three years and has been a college marketing professor since 2004. He has four years of additional professional experience in marketing, retail and small business, and he holds a Master of Business Administration from Iowa State University. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-inflating-inventory-38062.html The Disadvantages of Inflating Inventory by Cynthia Myers, Demand Media Carrying a large inventory incurs certain costs. Related Articles * Disadvantages of Buying Inventory in December * Advantages & Disadvantages to a Manual Inventory Control System†¨ * The Disadvantages of Buy-Hold-Sell Inventory * Disadvantages of High Inventory Levels * Advantages & Disadvantages of Excess Inventory†¨ * The Disadvantages of the Continuous Inventory System Increasing inventory in times of rising costs allows you to take advantage of lower prices now, which can result in increased profits as you sell off the inventory. But inflating inventory also carries significant disadvantages. The right inventory strategy for you depends on the business you’re in, your profits and losses and your ability to comfortably carry an inflated inventory. Analyzing your individual situation will tell you if the disadvantages of inflated inventory apply to you. Ads by Google Excel Spreadsheet Templates Fill-in the blanks & easily create any business document! Download NowBiztree.com Increased Costs The costs of inventory go beyond the purchase price of the goods or materials in your inventory. You must pay for space in which to store your inventory. If the inventory is perishable, you’ll rack up utility bills to heat and cool the space. You may need additional personnel to handle the inventory. If you buy materials or goods at a steep enough discount, your savings may be enough to offset these additional costs, but in many cases the cost of adding to your inventory cancel out your savings. Increased Taxes The Internal Revenue Service considers your inventory to be an asset, and you’re required to pay taxes on the inventory in stock at the end of the year. This is the reason you see many businesses hold Inventory Reduction Sales at year’s end. These businesses are looking to reduce their tax burden by selling off excess inventory. If, instead of selling off inventory, you’re focused on accumulating it, you could find yourself with a bigger tax bill. Before you build up your inventory, you should consider the possible tax implications of doing so. Spoilage Losses Most goods have a shelf life — a period after which they begin to deteriorate and spoil. For perishables such as food this can be a relatively short period. Durable goods have a longer shelf life, but even these can lose value over time. Fashions or household goods go out of style, fabrics fade  or are susceptible to damage from dust, insects or fire. If you build up too much inventory, you could be left with a quantity of useless goods on hand, resulting in a loss. Other Considerations When you increase your inventory because you come across a good deal on goods or materials, or because you think the prices will increase in the future, you’re gambling that your predictions about the future will come true. If, for example, the price of the goods and materials falls, you’re left holding an inventory of items for which you paid more than the current market rate. If you decide to inflate your inventory, double and triple check the information that led you to believe doing so was a good idea, and consider all the implications to your bottom line. What Is the Purpose of Just-in-Time Inventory Systems? by Luanne Kelchner, Demand Media Just in Time reduces stored inventory. Related Articles * Inventory & Work Order Systems * An Introduction to Inventory Management Systems * The Advantages of Just-in-Time Inventory Systems†¨ * Examples of Just-in-Time Inventory * Just in Time Inventory Definition * Advantages & Disadvantages of Just-in-Time Inventory Companies use a Just-in-Time manufacturing and inventory management system to improve the efficiency of the company and reduce costs. The system requires manufacturers to purchase only when customer orders create a demand. Companies must develop a relationship with vendors to ensure parts reach the facility in time to manufacture products for the customer request. Businesses only produce inventory when there is a customer order in place. The system does not allow the business to produce or store excess inventory. Just-in-Time systems work in large and small organizations and those that produce products or services. With adjustments, the principles of Just-in-Time inventory management and manufacturing can work in any business. Ads by Google Systems engineering Production & Process Manager Jobs Submit Resume to Apply Now!Monster.com.sg / Systems+engineering Reduce Inventory Costs Using a Just-in-Time inventory system reduces the amount of material on hand in the production facility. Companies can reduce the cost to store and maintain excess inventory and eliminate the risk of materials becoming obsolete while in storage. High inventory quantities tie up company funds, which could otherwise benefit other areas of the business such as the research and development of new products. With the reduction in inventory costs, companies can expand and grow their businesses. Lead Time Reduction Just-in-Time manufacturing also uses a pull system to move materials through the production cycle. For example, in a manufacturing business, materials do not move to the next step on an assembly line until that step or station is ready. This reduces the stockpiling of unfinished product at any stage in the production process. When the company eliminates bottlenecks, production speed or lead-time is faster. Process engineers must determine the maximum quantity any station in the production process can have waiting. While workers may sit idle waiting to move production to the next step, the process is more efficient. Efficient Manufacturing Layout Companies must create a layout on the production floor to move materials through the process efficiently. Some companies must move workstations closer together to eliminate steps in the work process. This leads to a more efficient manufacturing layout that can significantly reduce lead tIme. Building products efficiently is a primary focus for a company implementing a lean manufacturing system. Improve Customer Satisfaction Companies implement a Just-in-Time system or lean manufacturing to satisfy the demands of customers. The voice of the customer is always present in a Just-in-Time manufacturing environment. Reductions in lead time and costs can help a company deliver a product to the customer faster and for a lower price.

Richard Branson Leadership Essay

Introduction I have chosen to write the profile of a Business leader who I admire on Richard Branson. Branson is a English business magnate, best known as the founder and chairman of Virgin Group of more than 400 companies. According to Wagner and Hollenback (2009), leadership is ‘the use of non-coercive and symbolic influence to direct and coordinate the activities of the members of an organised group toward the accomplishment of group objectives. According to Clark (2010), there are three main leadership styles. These are autocratic, democratic and laissez faire. In order to be an effective leader, managers should use all three leadership styles. A good leader should be able to judge which leadership style is most appropriate in a given situation. Research carried out by the University of Michigan and Ohio State University suggests that there are a number of behavioural and leadership theories. These theories outline different aspects of a leader’s behaviour or leadership style which may differentiate those who are effective leaders from those who are not. For example, the University of Michigan identified two general classes of supervisory behaviour. These are employee oriented and job production oriented behaviours. Research carried out by the Ohio State University is very similar to the above piece of research. They identify the two classes of supervisory behaviour styles as a considerate style i.e. employee oriented and an initiating structure style i.e. job production oriented. Similarly to the two above pieces of research, Fiedler identifies two different leadership styles. These are relationship motivated leaders i.e. employee oriented/considerate style and task motivated leaders i.e. job production oriented/initiating structure style. Another piece of research conducted by House identifies four different behavioural styles. They are as follows: directive leadership, supportive leadership, participative leadership and achievement oriented leadership. In order for a manager to be an effective leader they must also be able to perform their roles effectively. A modern leader has fourteen main roles. Richard Branson’s Profile Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was born on the 18th of July 1950 in Blackheath, London. In his youth, Branson was not an impressive student. He was dyslexic and near-sighted, but he could always make things happen. When  he was seventeen, attending school at Stowe, Richard and a classmate started a magazine, Student . When doing an interview with The Guardian he stated â€Å" it was aimed at giving young people a voice on key issues such as the Vietnam War†. He sold  £6,000 worth of advertising in its first edition, which was launched in 1966. The first run of 50,000 copies was disseminated for free, after Branson covered the costs with advertising. This was important business and sales experience for Branson and what he learnt during this time benefited him over time. While running the Student from a basement in London, Richard noticed that stores were not discounting records. Richard began to run ads in the Student offering records at discount prices. The orders flooded in and record sales soon became more profitable than subscription sales. Richard quickly set up an office above an old shoe store and Virgin was born (http://www.lemonadestories.com/virgin.html). The name â€Å"Virgin† was suggested by one of Branson’s early employees because they were all new at business. It was from this point that the Virgin brand grew. Earning enough money from his record store, Branson in 1972 launched the record label Virgin Records with Nik Powell and bought a country estate, in which he installed a recording studio. Mike Oldfield, whose debut album Tubular Bells (1973) was Virgin Records’ first release and a chart-topping best-seller. Virgin Records had other notable artists such as â€Å"The Sex Pistols† and â€Å"Culture Club†. n 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI for  £500 million. Virgin Atlantic had its inaugural flight in 1984 on its then only route between London and New York. After adding a route from Gatwick to Miami in 1986, Virgin Atlantic celebrated its 1,000,00th passenger in 1987. In 2011 Virgin Atlantic carried 5.3 million passengers, making it the eighth largest UK airline in terms of passenger volume. Branson has added other airlines to his Virgin empire such as Virgin Express which operates in Brussles, Virgin Australia and Virgin America. Not being one to shy away from a challenge Branson has had many other ambitious business ventures such as Virgin Vodka, Virgin Cola, the gay night club Heaven, Virgin Cosmetics, Virgin Money, Virgin Cars, F1 team Virgin Racing and most famously Virgin Galactic which plans to provide sub-orbital spaceflights to space tourists, suborbital launches for space science missions and orbital launches of small satellites. He himself frequently  states that all of these ventures are â€Å"calculated risks† which is hard to argue against seeing as Branson is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to the Forbes 2011 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of US$4.2 billion. Bransons ambitious and risky are not just limited to the business world as he has broke several world records and attempted many more, for example he completed the first balloon flight across the Atlantic in 1996. All these business and adventuring feats make Branson a truly admiral business leader role model. Branson’s Career and Leadership Style Branson’s career has been hugely successful from leaving school at 16 to go on to become the 4th richest U.K. resident is remarkable. Branson is clear in his book â€Å"Screw it, let’s do it† (2007) about how he has achieved this: â€Å"I have no secret. There are no rules to follow in business. I just work hard and, as I always have done, believe I can do it† With this being said he has combatted the tediousness of working hard by indulging himself in whatever he does, taking a genuine interest and having fun with it: â€Å"A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.† Bransons leadership style is undeniably democratic. Although a democratic leader will the final decision, he or she invites other members of the team to contribute to the decision-making process. This is not only increase job satisfaction by involving employees or team meam members in what’s going on, but it also helps develop people’s skills. Employees and team members feel in control of their own destiny, such as the promotion they desire and so are motivated to work hard by more than just a financial reward. Branson professes this in an interview with Kets De Vries (1998) : â€Å": I’m absolutely certain that it’s a question of the kind of people you have, and the way you motivate them. I’m sure that’s what makes any company successful. If you can motivate your people, use their creative potential, you can get through bad times and you can enjoy the good times together. If you fail to motivate your people, your company is doomed†¦.If your employees are happy and smiling and enjoying their work, they will perform well. Consequently, the customers wiIl enjoy their experience with your com- pany. If your employees are sad and miserable and not  having a good time, the customers will be equally miserable.† In the same interview Branson says he often rewards employees: â€Å"We like to reward our key performers for their creative contribution†¦ I suppose that we have made maybe 15 or 20 multimillionaires through this structure.† Branson applies this personal approach when assessing new business like when Virgin Money took over Northern Bank: â€Å"When we launched Virgin Money, I met with staff members at branches up and down the country. The insight those visits gave me were priceless. If I ever needed convincing that investing in a bank was the right thing to do, well, the stories I heard that week confirmed it. To see so many employees enthusiastic and proud to be working for Virgin made me even more excited about the future of our bank. We very much wanted Virgin Money to be the start of something different, and it was great to see that everyone was onboard. I’ve found that if you ensure that your staff and customers are happy and that your product or service is of good quality, the finances often take care of themselves.† What I could learn from Sir Richard Branson Through my study of Branson I have took many snippets of advice which I hope to use during my career in business after I complete my studies. Branson is an avid ambassador for his democratic style of leadership: â€Å"Having a personality of caring about people is important. You can’t be a good leader unless you generally like people. That is how you bring out the best in them.’ This is definitely a characteristic I want to weave into my leadership fibre. This approach has served Virgin well over the years as in his book, Branson (2009), he mentions a positive outside perspective of working for Virgin which is echoed by the agreement of Virgin staff who enjoy working there. â€Å"Virgin people have told me that at the end of a tiring day, when they are off duty, having a drink in the pub, or a meal, they’re occasionally asked where they work. When they say, â€Å"With Virgin,† the enquirer usually replies, â€Å"Lucky you! That must be a great place to work!† Our staffs usually agrees.† In addition to this extracted advice he gives open advice to anyone who wants  to join him in being an entrepreneur. Forbes magazine (2012) pitched Sir Branson the question â€Å"What are your top three pieces of advice for young entrepreneurs?† to which he responded: â€Å"1. Create a strong culture of excellence – roll up your sleeves and work alongside your staff and take care of them. 2. Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself if it helps your business. 3. Find ways to equally prioritize people, planet and profits – because it CAN be done.† These three points offer up key things to take on board if you are to succeed. Have high standards to give you an edge over competition and if needs be work on the ground level with your staff to set an example of how you expect things to be done. Take risks even if there is a chance it may make you look silly if it fails, it could help your business and you should lose your ego for the sake of your business. And finally your staff are your greatest resource, environmental and ethical procedures should be taken, Branson has become environmentally aware ever since a speech Al Gore gave him and he has even set up a green fuel business, and do all you can to ensure your business is running profitably. He insists these three things can be done together.Branson is a master marketer and communicator. Forbes (2012), When Richard Branson had the idea of launching Virgin Atlantic, he pitched it to his fellow directors who had no previous experience in the airline business. He delivered the idea simply, concisely, and effectively. Branson offers leaders and entrepreneurs this advice: â€Å"It is vitally important to present a clear, concise plan that investors can easily understand and repeat to their own people. In the first meeting avoid overly complicated, numbers-laden presentations.† Presentations are supposed to be about getting your point across effectively, you could have the most statistical, graphically stunning and hilariously funny presentation to have ever been seen but if the people you are pitching it to don’t come out of that meeting 100% sure what the point you were trying to make was and interested in your idea then you have failed in your objective.As well as learning from Branson’s successes and teachings, there is equally as much to learn from his failings. He expresses this himself: â€Å"You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.† Branson’s book â€Å"Business stripped bare† even has a whole chapter called â€Å"Damage Report†. One anecdote goes as follows: â€Å"I was nineteen years old and driving a shipment of records to Belgium when I stumbled on the fact that records  bought in Great Britain that were intended for export were not subject to purchase tax. So I bought the records I needed, pretended they were export, and then sold them to British customers. The whole ploy involved driving four Transit vans loaded with records to Dover, taking them to France, then returning on the next ferry with the records still on board. It not only was illegal, it was really pretty stupid. In May 1969, I was caught red handed by HM Custom and Excise†¦ But I learned a very important lesson: never do anything that means you can’t sleep at night.† This is a huge piece of advice and something we can learn from and hopefully avoid from encountering ourselves. It cost Richard  £60,000 and took almost 3 years for him to patch up such a loss. Illegal doings can almost certainly cost a business its existence and shouldn’t even be thought about. Conclusion Michael Walenius (2010) concludes in his analyses of Branson’s leadership that â€Å"Sir Richard has got a very high degree of consideration and participation in what he does, but at the same time he is very involved in the structure setting at the start of a new business. He is definitively a relationship-oriented leader who is good at aligning people and giving them emotional support and encouragement. He seems to fall into the segment of being a participative and consultative leader. His very strong charisma seems to make anyone listen and follow him.† I find it extremely difficult to disagree with this evaluation. Branson is an iconic leader who prioritises his employees and their well-being. He follows his belief that a happy employee will work harder, create a happier and better working environment, infect customers with their pleasantness, resulting with a happy and loyal customer who then by word of mouth praise the business leading to increased revenue. He is extremely insightful with his advice on presentations, assessing business opportunities and acknowledging and learning from your mistakes. With an estimated wealth of  £4.3 billion, 400+ companies under his name including the 7th biggest airline in the U.K., the first commercial space travel business and most importantly a well-respected name that’s held in high regard in the public eye Branson truly is the business leader who I most admire and most envy. References: Books: Wagner, J.A. and Hollenback, J.R. (2009) Organizational Behaviour: Securing Competitive Advantage, Michigan: Taylor and Francis Richard Branson (2009) Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur. London. Virgin Books.Branson, Richard (29 March 2007). Screw It, Let’s Do It. London. Virgin Books Websites: Clark, D. (2010) ‘Leadership Styles’ [online] (Cited 3 February 2012) Available from Kets De Vries (1998) Charisma in Action: (online) (cited 2 December 2012) Available from < http://molar.crb.ucp.pt/cursos/2%C2%BA%20Ciclo%20-%20Mestrados/Gest%C3%A3o/2007-09/DGRH/Papers/Charisma%20in%20action%20PPP.pdf> Richard Branson (2012) Richard Branson on How to Delegate Control of Your Finances (online) (cited on 2 December 2012) Available from < http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224879> Carmine Gallo (2011) Richard Branson: The One Skill Leaders Need to Learn (online) (cited 2 December) Available from < http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2011/06/29/richard-branson-the-one-skill-leaders-need-to-learn/> Michael Walenius (2010) The leadership style of Sir Richard Branson (online) (cited 2 December) Available from < http://michael.walenius.com/?p=141>