Ryanair Airline Employees - Case Study Example

Ryanair Employees The core business of any profit making organization is axiomatically that or making profit and while there are numerous factors upon which this objective is anchored none is as important as the customers. Basically, businesses exist for the sake of those who patronize them; ergo without customers there can be no industry (Bosma, Van Praag, Thurik & De Wit, 2004). That said, the second most important stakeholder without whom the firm would collapse is the employee, the competence motivation and drive of an employees is in most cases directly proportional to the level of customer satisfaction. Ultimately; when employees are happy, they tend to work better and produce good results increasing the productivity of the firm and making it more valuable for stakeholders (Nishii, Lepak & Schneider, 2008). The effectiveness of the staff is however not something that happens automatically and management must be sure to provide the right mix of elements and conditions so that their staff can be both motivated to work efficiently and feel valued and appreciated. To this end, the firm needs must put in place a variety of factors such as social corporate responsibility, reward schemes as well as treating them in an ethical and protecting from them from exploitation. In the Airline industry, CRS is very important in the airline industry since it is one of the main ways they make name for themselves in in the eyes of both the general population and their clients (Coles, Dinan & Fenclova, 2009). The subject of this paper is Rynair airline which will be examined in the context of its interaction with the staff with attention to the nature of the relationship and making recommendations on how the situation can be improved. However before endeavouring to make the changes it is important that their effect on the overall productivity of the firm is always taken to account to avoid compromising the interests of the customers. To be successful a firm must be treat its customers well, which as aforementioned makes them the most important stakeholder, when customers are dissatisfied with the quality of service, they will in most cases leave for the competition. Unfortunately, this does not necessarily apply to employees sometimes a firm can treat them badly with the intention of improving the firms bottom line and actually succeed. This is because employees cannot leave as easily as customers given that jobs are not very easy to come by and some will sacrifice their happiness and in some cases even dignity for the sake of the job. It is this fact that makes it so important to explore how employees are treated by the firm in question since it ultimately supplies a view into the attitude of the management towards them. In the course of the last 2 years the average staff numbers of Rynair airways has risen to over 9,000, in this number about 350 people have been promoted as the firm tries to promote the staff’s personal and professional development along with itself (O’Connell and Williams, 2005). Even when many European airlines are cutting their staff, the airline keeps hiring and promoting which attests to its commitment to caring for their staff. The firm is renowned for being outspoken on job creation and provision of job security for its members of staff which is based on the belief that grateful employees will always be more effective than a disgruntled and unsecure one. According to a document released on their website, the firm mission an vision for is; to improve the productivity of the already highly productive staff through commissions for booking on-board sales and employee compensation schemes (Strategy, n.d). They may not be the highest paying airline in the market but they claim that they always strive to ensure their salaries compare favourably to those in other airlines (Creaton, 2014). Despite the apparently commendable way they claim to treat their workers, there is a different version of issues more so in the media with current and former staff members complaining that they are exploited underpaid and underworked. Some of the claims that have put the ethicalness of the firm management practices in relation to employees to question include the fact that they are only paid for the hours they spend on the air and as long as they are on the ground they are “off”, therefore many of the hours they spent for pre-flight briefings were not compensated and in a sense they were actually not permanent employees (Rush, 2013). In addition part of the CPR involved posing for calendar pictures that would be used to raise money for a charity selected by management. This charity was chosen based on the region that had provided most bookings for the company each year; the calendar pics were compulsorily for the female staff and in some cases they are expected to be in bikinis. By no stretch of the imagination does one find this to be both exploitative and sexist since clearly the firm uses their images for promotional purposes without paying them and yet they are forced into doing it. In regard to the gender discrimination aspect of the concept, it appears that women are picked for their sex appeal which the firm exploits to sell calendars which are meant for charity but also subtly to reward their loyal customers. How true this is, one cannot be absolutely sure but when quizzed about the allegations, one of the firm’s managers argued that before one commits to work for the firms they read and sign a contract. By this he is both claiming that one should not complain and indirectly admitting that the accusations are true but not wrong since after all they are in the contract. In view of the issue that have been discussed above it this paper will undertake to make several recommendations with the intention of helping improve the situation for employees in the company. It is apparent from complains quoted above that leadership in the company is highly dictatorial and company centred. This can be mitigated by having the leaders in the airline undergoing training in transformational and transactional leadership techniques. All things considered, while the firm may make profits a significant part of them can be attributed poor remuneration to the employees. To a significant extent this is likely to negatively impacts on their ability to deliver top notch service, according to James Macgregor, transformational leadership is a process through which leaders and their followers work in harmony to achieve organizational goals (Bass and Riggio, 2005). To keep employees motivated they need to be made to feel secure in their job and this can be done through frequent consultation with the management so they can tell how the stuff would like to be treated. Job security will have a direct and positive impact on the primary shareholders who are the customers. When employees are insecure at their job or they fee discontented with the way they are treated by their superiors, they will be likely to underperform or even spend time and effort looking for better jobs. The airline has been accused of among other things, only paying their staff when they are on air but ignoring the briefing and ground duties that are nevertheless a part of their job. This significantly reduce their ability to be competitive in view of the fact that their staff are extrinsically motivated, working for the sake or money and to avoid getting fired rather than because they enjoy their job. The second recommendation is that the firm should focus on staff motivation, given that complains of the employees as mentioned above, it is clear that that the airline is relatively strict on employees and the emphasis on getting the most out of them lends credence to the assumption that they are product rather than employee centred. While having overworked employees may in the short term translate in high profits that the firm is currently enjoying, the theory of motivation by Maslow posits that in such a situation employees will work to protect their need for security rather than self-esteem and actualization (Rad and Yarmohammadian, 2006). Therefore, if the employees were to get a better paying job, there is a high chance they would leave since the primary motivation in their case is money. Some of the methods that can be used to motivate the staff apart from reward schemes include, paid vacations as well as making them feel that their work is being appreciated (Forsyth, 2006). Schemes such as the calendar photos should be made optional and those who take part ought to be rewarded appropriately since their job description does not after all include providing free advertising services. Employees in this organization should be actively involved in the social corporate responsibilities but not compulsory but voluntary basis. The firm chooses a charity based on the level of commitment a region has shown and especially this is not really charity by a sort of rewards scheme. Instead of having them pose for calendar photos as the managers could in the spirit of transformational and transactional leadership consult with the staff so they can come up with the avenue they think is best for the SCR efforts. Finally, some of the practices of the firm such as charging customers for services such as using the toilet or even surcharging disabled clients for assistance when boarding and alighting have been highly criticized within and without the aviation world (Sparrow, 2013). A huge fraction of the airlines profit is from non-flight related income such as charging and surcharging for services as well as selling food and drink items including water to customers. Some of the services the staff are expected to sell are mostly free in most flights and it is likely to cause the staff embarrassment when for example one is told to surcharge someone for being overweight which like the issue of female staff posing for camera pictures bespeaks a subtle form of discrimination. The staff morale is also likely to be lowered by the fact that they constantly have to offer what would be considered non-stander services in the aviation industry for the sake of increasing the bottom line. In conclusion, Rynair Airline has a duty to ensure that its second most valuable stakeholders after the customers who according to this paper are the employees are well motivated and rewarded so that they can provide better services. Implementing the changes to Rynair airways is undoubtedly likely to be a challenging task; for one while admitting that the leadership may not be to a large extent transformational, one must take cognizance of the fact that their methods have been successful so far. The airline is one of the best low cost airlines in terms of customer volume and it is also very profitable, this begs the question of how to implement a change that to many of the managers may not be necessary. Apart from opposition by management, there is the issue of involving employees in CRS on a voluntary basis; the firm may have for example to hire models if their staff refuses to take part in the picture. This would be no doubt expensive and as a result, such a move may be resisted since a great part of the firm’s profits is derived from saving on costs. Nevertheless, in the long run, it they made it voluntary and paid the staff for it they may not spend as much and the staff may even come up with other creative ways to give back to the society. The seven P formula can be used to analyses the role of employees in the success of the airline as well as the adjustments that can be made in the recommendations to improve their performance in relation the firm without having negative effects on the final product. The seven Ps represent: product, price, promotion, place, packaging, positioning and people. The main product of the airline is the in and out of flight services they offer, some of the challenges employees face as has been aforementioned stem from the fact that this product is sometimes tainted by unethical practices they are required to carry out. For example, as aforementioned, when they are made to charge customers for being too heavy or even requiring special attention on account of disability. The airline should take steps to ensure that the employee’s sense of ethics is not negatively affected by making them carry out such duties. Where staff is concerned, the people element of the marketing mix is without a doubt the most relevant. People in this context directly refer to them and the role they play in helping the firm achieve its goals and objectives. In this respect the staff should be well treated and respected if the firm is to expect good performance from them both in the short and long term. Prices in this case can be used to refer to the cost the firm is willing to incur for the sake of their staff, this does not only involves salaries but also other costs for purposes of rewards, paid holidays and other perks. While they may cost money to provide in the short term and perhaps erode the profitability, they are essential in regard to the firm acting in an ethical manner. For instance when employees are compelled to go on three months leave without pay, the employer is essentially refusing to recognize their status as permanent staff while at the same time denying them the chance to make money within or without the firm in their free time. Promotion has to do with advertisement and publicity for the sake of the firm, Rynair, has spends a great deal for this purpose annually and part of it is tied up with SCR activities. As aforementioned part of this is done when staffs are required to pose for a photo for the firm’s calendar which is both part of SCR and regular promotion. This can be critiqued from an ethical point of view since it makes the firm appear as if it is exploiting and even to some extent discriminating against female members of staff. In the short run the firm may make extra money from limiting benefits of the staff while making them work longer and harder under challenging conditions, nonetheless, in the short run the cost of having a satisfied workforce will grossly be outstripped by the benefits. When employees are made part of the decision making process, they will be more likely to be productive and innovative since they feel their part is both valued and appreciated. This will go a long way in creating competitive advantage for the airline since it is a service industry and there is a direct connection between employee satisfaction and quality of service. As matter stand, the airline is not primarily popular because of the quality of service but rather their low cost flights and services. This means that any other company providing better services was to reduce their prices to match with Rynair, there is possibility they would end up making major inroads into the customer base. References Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2005). Transformational leadership. Psychology Press. Bosma, N., Van Praag, M., Thurik, R., & De Wit, G. (2004). The value of human and social capital investments for the business performance of startups. Small Business Economics, 23(3), 227-236. Coles, T., Dinan, C., & Fenclova, E. 2009. Corporate social responsibility among low-fares airlines: current practices and future trends. University of Exeter. Creaton, S. (2014). Ryanair: How a small Irish airline conquered Europe. London: Aurum Press. Forsyth, P. (2006). Motivating your staff [positive staff motivation]. Engineering Management, 16(1), 22-23. Nishii, L. H., Lepak, D. P., & Schneider, B. (2008). Employee attributions of the “why” of HR practices: Their effects on employee attitudes and behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Personnel psychology, 61(3), 503-545. O’Connell, J. F., & Williams, G. (2005). Passengers’ perceptions of low cost airlines and full service carriers: A case study involving Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines. Journal of Air Transport Management, 11(4), 259-272. Rad, A. M. M., & Yarmohammadian, M. H. (2006). A study of relationship between managers leadership style and employees job satisfaction.Leadership in Health Services, 19(2), 11-28. Rush, J. 2013. Ryanair cabin crew are only paid for hours spent in the air, have to pay £1,800 for compulsory training and are forced to take three months unpaid leave, claims former air hostess. Mail Online. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2326003/Ryanair-air-hostess-blows-whistle-contract-staff-forced-months-unpaid-leave-buy-uniforms.html Sparrow, J. 2013. Can Ryanairs New Culture Take Off? Huffington Post. Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/jane-sparrow/can-ryanairs-new-culture-_b_3993301.html Strategy. n.d. Available at: https://www.ryanair.com/doc/investor/Strategy.pdf Read More