Malaysian Airline as the Major Airline Operator of Malaysia - Case Study Example

Business Communication Element A - Communication Plan Executive Summary The report is based on the communication strategies of the Malaysian Airline System. The image of Malaysian Airline System, based in Kuala Lumpur, has been deteriorating since last year due to two consecutive accidents of aircraft MH17 and MH370. These incidents have caused severe financial loss of the organization. Based on the analysis of the internal and external environment of the organization, the senior communication manager has decided to design an effective communication procedure. The communication venture has been designed to impart the organizational messages to the stakeholders. The primary motive of this venture is to increase the customer trust and erase the fear from the passengers. This report has also evaluated a press release to convey the current activities to their stakeholders. Situational Analysis Malaysian airline is the major airline operator of Malaysia whose primary hub is Kuala Lumpur International Airport (Strydom, 2005). This airlines company was established in the year of 1937 with twin engine and 8-seater aircrafts. Throughout the years, the airline has grown widely to fulfil the demand of consumers from all over the world (Malaysia Airlines, 2012). During the year of 2014, the company has experienced two major crashes which have degraded the global reputation and its financial condition (The New York Times, 2014). The organization therefore needs to put in strong efforts to design a strategic plan which will help them to rebuild their global reputation and financial position. This paper will carry out a situational analysis in order to evaluate the internal and external business environment of Malaysian Airline and to assess their capabilities, resources and customers. SWOT analysis The SWOT analysis of Malaysian Airline System will help in understanding the external opportunities and threats as well as the internal strength and weaknesses of the organization. This analysis will provide further assistance to the organization to evaluate new market strategies (Piercy and Giles, 1989). Strength The major strength of this organization is their strong brand image in the domestic and international market. The flight attendants and the cabin crew of Malaysian Airlines are very well trained. The airlines have a wide range of services which helps them to attract consumers from different economical background. The organization has diversified its revenue stream across six continents which have reduced their revenue risk (CAPA Centre for aviation, 2015). Weakness The airline has faced a financial loss of around $170 million in the year of 2012 and 2013. This reduction in profit margin of the organization has adversely affected the sustainability of the organization. In the year of 2014, the Malaysian Airlines has faced two major mishaps such as the shot down of their MH17 aircraft and disappearance of the MH370 aircraft. These disasters have decreased the reputation of this airline in the global market (CAPA Centre for aviation, 2015). Opportunity The introduction of Firefly, the new low cost aircraft of Malaysian Airlines, helps them to attract a large number of customers. The requirement of travelling due to business purposes is increasing day by day among consumers. This has a positive influence on the business expansion of these airlines. The disposable income of consumers in developing countries is gradually increasing. This situation is encouraging customers to seek luxurious travelling options (Malaysia Airlines, 2012). Threat The presence of a large number of competitors is one of the major threats of this organization. These competitors include British airways, Air Asia, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines. The privet jet facilities provided by various multinational organisations are reducing the numbers of business travellers through the general airlines. Terrorism and political issues in various geographical locations is affecting the tourism industry. This is also affecting the confidence of commuters to avail airlines. Now a day the airline authorities are facing strict government rules and regulations. This regulation can affect the profit margin of the organization (Malaysia Airlines, 2012). PEST Analysis The external environment of the organization has been done with the help of the PEST analysis. Political Political environment of various regions has a great influence on the business operation. The political condition and terrorism activities of South East Asia have a huge effect on the flight plans of Malaysian Airlines. The airlines need to stop their flight operation for uncertainties due to the nuisance in those locations. These situations sometimes adversely affect the profitability of the organization (Malaysia Airlines, 2012). Government investments and intervention assist the organization to lower their operational costs as well as the flight charges. Therefore, foreign airlines find it very tough to compete the price of Malaysian Airline. This situation provides competitive advantage to the organization in their niche market. On the other hand, their profitability is hampered by the recent policy of minimum wages. Due to this policy they are required to increase the salary of their employees to a certain level. This situation is prohibiting them to achieve their desired profit level (CAPA Centre for aviation, 2015). Economic The Malaysian Airline System has expanded their business in almost 60 countries. This business ventures generally expose the organization to various risks of exchange rate fluctuation. These fluctuations of different economic condition of different geographical locations impact on the currency exchange rates. This situation further impacts on the overseas trading facilities of Malaysian Airlines. The economical crisis of European regions has a hiked the fuel charges within these regions. Therefore, it has affected the profitability of the Malaysian Airline operations in those areas (The New York Times, 2014). Social The business ventures of Malaysia are growing day by day (Malaysia Airlines, 2012). The region is inviting various foreign investments. Due to these economical changes the region is witnessing higher living style within the population. The fast life and requirement of luxury are influencing the population to demand for the best facility in terms of travelling. Business personnel are frequently travelling to overseas due to their business requirements. They require efficient and good services in a reasonable price. Malaysian Airline offers business class facilities to the commuter within a reasonable price (The New York Times, 2014). Technological Technological advancements have influenced the organization to introduce different facilities to their customers. These facilities include mobile applications for easy ticket booking and flight time checking and internet telecommunication services for the ease of the communications with the customers (The New York Times, 2014). Technological advancement not only assisted the organization to improve their customer communication, it also helps them to increase their safety measurements (The New York Times, 2014). Communication Strategy Identifying the Target Audiences The unfortunate incident of the two aircraft crashes of this airline has severely affected the organizational reputation in the global market. It has decreased the number of commuters of Malaysian Airlines. Various investors are neglecting the business prospects of this organization. Regular travelers are also avoiding the flight of Malaysian Airlines (Jansen, 2014). Due to these situations, the organization is facing a huge decline in their profit margin. This market condition has also lowered down their market share price (Bishop, 2014). Designing new communicational strategies to attract new travelers towards this airline is the prime responsibility of the communication authorities of this organization. The management of communication department needs to ensure that all the communications procedures with their stakeholders have been designed in a clear manner. They need to structure their communication plan in such a way that it can assure their customers about the safety measurement taken by the organization. The target audience of Malaysian Airline will be the frequent domestic and international travelers, various travel agencies and new investors. The organization needs to design a communication procedure for their service providers and suppliers, and also to maintain the relationship and continuity of their supplies. Due to those accidents, the airline has lost various skilled employees. A large number of employees also have left the job due to the market condition (Jansen, 2014). Therefore, the organization also needs to focus on their communication procedure with job seekers to restructure their workforce. Determining the Communication Objectives (SMART) Setting objective is the most essential part of any plan. Objective ensures whether the plan is following right direction, measurement and possesses ability to focus on the areas of improvement (Shahin and Mahbod, 2007). The proper utilization of SMART goal setting model ensures that the objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, time bound and realistic (Fall, 2004). There are three major targets for the organization in terms of their communication venture such as the communication procedure should be very specific in nature, it should be measurable in terms of the ultimate goal achievement of the organization and the venture must be follow a specific timeframe to complete. The objective of the communication strategies of Malaysian Airlines need to be very specific in nature to avoid ambiguities. The communication activities of the organization must be targeted towards their potential customers, daily commuters, share holders and investors. Their communication procedure needs to be very specific to impart the safety message to their stakeholders. These messages need to ensure the stakeholders about the future precautions taken by the organization. The main motives of the organization to design the effective communication procedure are to increase the number of passengers and the market share price of the organization. The senior communication officer needs to be very careful in monitoring this parameter to understand the success rate of the communicational activities in attracting new customers. The senior communication manager needs to monitor the employee turnover rate in a regular basis to gauge the success of the communication venture. This communication venture should be a short term goal of the organization (Fall, 2004). So, the activities should be completed within the span of three months. The management needs to be very active and cautious as the market reputation of the organization is degrading day by day. In the span of three months, the organization needs to collect the consumer data, sort out the investors and set up meetings with all the required media houses. Therefore, they need to focus on launching their communication venture by the end of the period. Designing Message for the communication The proper design of communication infrastructure for each part of strategy implementation is very essential for any organization (Frascara, 2004). The design of communicational message is dependent on three major appeal or themes such as emotional benefits, rational themes and moral appeal (Padgett and Allen, 1997). This appeal will assist the organization to highlight their motives plans and procedures to improve the safety measures and technologies of the passenger flights so that they can eliminate the risks of further accidents. Their messages also need to be designed in such a way that it will ensure the commuters that their safety is the prime concern of the organization. This will help them to erase fear from consumer’s mind. These messages are designed to gain the trust of the customers and to create a positive impression about their services (Stephens, Malone and Bailey, 2005). The theory of moral appeal states that the message which is intended to change the opinion and the mental setup of the consumers should posses a clear conclusion. This kind of messages should deliver a proper final opinion of the communicator to the audience (Frascara, 2004). The conclusion of the message must highlight different reasons about the benefits of travelling through Malaysian Airline. A successful communication procedure must earn the attention, desire and interest of the stakeholders. The message needs to be tailored in such a way that it can attract their desired audience easily. The current value additions of the organization, such as new safety features and safety regulations, need to be communicated to gain the attention of the consumers. Highlighting on the consumer safety and introducing new facilities will assist the organization to grow investor’s interest towards their business proposal. The communication procedure also needs to emphasize the activities of the organization to achieve the proposed goal. This will give a positive impression about the organization to their stakeholders and help them to gain their trust. Communication Channels Choosing right communication media is very essential to guarantee a proper delivery of the messages (Tarone, 1981). The organization needs to select different communication media as per the nature of their audience. They need to focus on those media which will give them the absolute exposure. The organization needs to select television advertising, news broadcasts, business magazine and public relation activities for communicating the message with the daily commuters, business travelers and potential customers. To communicate with their shareholders, they need to publish their messages in their annual financial report and organization sustainability report. The investors can be contacted through various press meetings, board meetings and annual report. To converse with their workforce they must use their own website and intra-mail network. Communication channels/Time February March April 1st fortnight 2nd fortnight 3rd fortnight 4th fortnight 5th fortnight 6th fortnight Press meeting             board meetings             Publishing annual report and sustainability report             TV advertising             News broadcast             advertisement on Business magazine         PR activities             Analysing and monitoring the performance of all the channels             The organization need to start their activities with the press meeting to communicate their plans to the audiences. They need to divide the utilization of different communicational channels into six fortnights. They need to organize board meetings with investors and suppliers in first, third and fifth fortnights. They also need to select a panel which will concentrate on the TV advertising in the first two fortnights. That will give a boost to their communications with the consumers. The organization need to hire PR professionals for the first three fortnights to enhance their market reputation. They also allocate certain budget for these activities to carry out successfully. They need to focus on advertising through business magazine on alternative fortnights. The organization need to allocate the last two fortnights to analyze and monitor the performances of each channel in comparison to their desired result. Summary of desirable outcomes for the company This communicational activity of Malaysian Airlines will help them to re-establish in the global aviation industry by gaining the trust of their stakeholders. The effective communication procedure will assist the organization to eliminate the fear from the mind of their customers. Advertising through TV, journals and magazine will increase the customer awareness. The advertisement will also give the details of the safety measurements and new technologies of the organization. Therefore, it will help the organization to increase the passenger traffic. The verbal and written communication with the investors and shareholders will help the organization to convey their future financial prospects. It will increase the possibilities of financial investment for future business goals. The proper communication activities with the employees will enhance the satisfaction rate of the workforce. Therefore, it will reduce the turnover rate of the organization. The communication procedure through different channels will be measures and monitored by a certain section of the communication department. Their measurement procedure will concentrate on the changes in the number of passengers for the different operations of Malaysian Airline in different countries. The measurement will also be done by analyzing the increase in the share values and the frequency of new investment offers. Element B - Press release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Malaysia Airlines Communications Department Phone No.: +603 7840 4485/3884 Email: media@malaysiaairlines.com Malaysian Airlines System connecting with the globe Malaysia, January 15, 2015 The reputation of Malaysian Airline System has been collapsed due to the consecutive accidents of flight MH17 and MH370 in the year of 2014. The incident has deeply frightened the commuters and stakeholders of the company. The organization is working hard to revive their reputation through a number of well planned steps to improve the systems and technologies of their flights. They are planning to increase their investment for the development of their aircraft technologies. After witnessing a huge financial and reputational loss, Malaysian Airline has geared up to introduce few constructive changes in their communication procedure and flight operations. These changes will enhance the safety measurement of these flights and assist the organization to regain their former reputation. The top management of the organization has ensured that they will pay required attention towards the investigation of those accidents and will restructure their flight operations accordingly. The company spokesperson has announced that their main concern is to bring back their loyal commuters and increase the trust within the stakeholders. They have also mentioned that the organization is focusing on modification of few flight regulations to increase the safety measurement of the operation. Presently, the company is indulging themselves in advanced research and development procedure to introduce innovative and safe facilities for their consumers. They are hiring a number of qualified engineers and collaborating with leading aircraft security organizations. The objective of this partnership is to create a new navigation system and to improve their back box device. The incorporation of new technologies in the navigation system of their flight operations will improve their real life flight monitoring operations. It will also improve the communication facilities between pilot and flight navigation department. The organization is introducing wireless climate sensor devices for all of their domestic and international flights. This device will provide a great help to the pilots to rapidly monitor the climatic changes of different location. Mr. Christopher Mueller, the CEO of Malaysian Airline System, has stated that the improvement in black box devices will help the controller team of the organization in quick identification of any malfunctioning of the aircraft. Malaysian Airline System is the leading company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The two main flight hubs of the company are Kuala Lumpur International Airport and Kota Kinabalu. Malaysia Airline System is one of the acclaimed organizations of global aviation industry. They are serving 114 geographical destinations with the help of more than 100 aircrafts. The company is diversified in the fields of airline servicing, maintenance and freight transportation. Malaysian Airline System has the intention to broaden the horizon of their current business plans by involving the stakeholders in their every decision making process. The future vision of all Malaysian Airline System is to improve the reputation of the organization to their global clients and recognized as a leading airline of Malaysia. ######## Reference List Bishop, J., 2014. Can Malaysia Airlines restore its reputation? [online] Available at [Accessed 15 January 2015]. CAPA Centre for aviation, 2015. Malaysia Airlines. 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