Gulf Air - Means Used to Motivate Employees and Improve the Human Resources Activities - Case Study Example

Gulf Air Report Name Class Unit Introduction Gulf Air is the national carrier for the kingdom of Bahrain. The airline was launched in 1950 as the Gulf Aviation Company. At the moment, Gulf Air is one of the largest airlines in the Middle East. The airline serves 43 cities in 24 countries. The airline has its hub in Bahrain international airport. Through gulf air, Bahrain is connected to the world (Gulf Air, 2015). The airline success is based on their organisational behaviour and human resource management (Thomas, 2008). This report analysis the means selected by gulf air to motivate their employees. This involves giving recommendations and supporting the arguments with relevant theories. The report then evaluates the HR activities of the organisation. This involves considering the traditional and modern practices to access the HR standpoint of the organisation. Lastly, recommendations to improve HR activities in the organisation are given. This involves considerations on the contemporary work situations. Means used to motivate employees at Gulf Air Employee motivation determines the success or failure of an organisation. To ensure the success of a company, the employers are expected to know what motivates their employees (Bratton and Gold, 2012). Understanding the concept of motivation can help managers who are inexperienced to know what makes their employees happy and motivated. Gulf Air has been able to motivate their employees in various ways. The airline starts by understanding their employees more and determining what motivates them (Bowen, 2000). The airline has three main means of motivating employees. First, they have deep understanding of their employees. Secondly, the airline has distributed the authority to the employees. This is through making the organisation structure less hierarchical which motivates the workers. Lastly, the airline has given a stable and suitable environment to work on. All these ensure that the employees are highly satisfied and motivated. The airline has been distributing the responsibilities among the employees which give them a sense of loyalty (Marvel, 2014). The management focuses on guiding the employees especially if a failure occurs. When the employee is guided, they are able to gain more knowledge and also to avoid future mistakes (Bratton and Gold, 2012). The relationship between the employee and management has led to better understanding. Employees are guided on their career path and provided with details on the potential opportunities. This motivates the employees to progress in their careers with gulf air. The working environment is suitable and appropriate for the employees. This is attained through several practices. The practices include health and safety procedures, open communication and continuous evaluation. This has helped in establishing a work environment which is appropriate for the employees (Thomas, 2008). Gulf Air leadership is tailored to ensure employees are fully motivated. This is through recognising that having a good leader has the ability to motivate the employees. This has been attained through use of consultative leadership. Leadership at Gulf Air leads to goal oriented behaviour among the employees. The leadership encourages the employees to work in achieving the organisational goals. The company leadership emphasizes on the attitudes and values in their leadership. Leaders at Gulf Air Company have been focusing on dimension of discretion, job demands and skills and competencies (Marvel, 2014). Leaders also avoid use of laissez faire behaviour and instead spend their time developing employees’ talent and giving them a supportive environment. This has made it possible for the organisation to have high performance standards (Kumar, 2011). The employee recognition programs at gulf air have helped a lot in motivating workers. Based on reinforcement theory, rewarding behaviour through recognition leads to high chances of repetition. The employees are able to perceive the relationship between their work performance and the reward they are given. Each of the reward given is related to their performance which leads to maximum motivation (Lauby, 2005). The rewards given by the airline are closely linked to the individual employee performance goals. Of late, the airline has been offering flexible benefits through individualising the reward system. The employees are allowed to choose a package that reflects their current performance (Thomas, 2008). Reinforcement is anything that leads to the desired behaviour being repeated. The use of positive reinforcement is very vital as evidenced at Gulf Air. The airline uses a pleasant reward based on attainment of a desired behaviour. For example, an employee who arrives early for work is praised which increases their likelihood to repeat the desired behaviour. When an incorrect behaviour occurs, the employer uses negative reinforcement to ensure that the unpleasant behaviour is not repeated. The employer stops reprimanding the employees once the incorrect behaviour has stopped (Bowen, 2000). Use of incentive plans is also evident at gulf air. The airline uses cash in some instances to motivate their employees. Rewards enable the employees to become more compliance with their work. The incentives used helps in encouraging the workforce and encourage work group behaviour at the airline. The incentive has helped in keeping the employees’ productive, creative and stimulating innovation (Bowen, 2000). Through the right kind of support, it is possible for the management to ensure that employees are encouraged. The employees are expected to be open and willing to accept the changes brought by the management to enhance their work performance (Kumar, 2011). The management and employees are thus expected to work together to create an environment where everyone is motivated. Gulf Air should utilise the Maslow needs theory. Based on the theory, employees are motivated first by fulfilling their own needs. This is at the bottom of the pyramid where everyone starts. Once the basic needs are satisfied, the employees move to the next level of pyramid. The needs must be met to avoid the employee falling back in the pyramid (Garg and Rastogi, 2006). The first level of needs that the organisation must ensure are met is the psychological needs. This is based on the basic needs such as food, water, shelter and clothing (Bratton and Gold, 2012). The next level is the security where the person must feel secure as well as their family. For the environment to be safe, the surrounding must have stability and predictability. There must be financial security so that employees have a certain future. This can be attained by the airline through providing their employees with life insurances and attractive retirement packages (Garg and Rastogi, 2006). The employees require having an affiliation. This is a sense of being loved and part of a family. It is important for the airline to know that employees like being part of a group and in an all-inclusive workplace (Kumar, 2011). Gulf Air must ensure that the workplace is like a family. This is through making sure employees are able to work as a family with high level of acceptance (Romero and Kleiner, 2000). At the fourth level, the employee self-esteem is required. This is how the employees view themselves. This involves one having self-respect and a high image of themselves and self-respect. It involves having self-worth and respecting others. Lastly, gulf airline must ensure that those employees in the final hierarchy of needs are catered for. This is self-actualisation stage where employee has met all the stages in the hierarchy of needs. Despite this, it is important to note that no one is completely self-actualised. Employees will continue striving to be better and utilise their talent in the best way possible. The management should realise that employees will be motivated to meet their needs until they attain self-actualisation (Bowen, 2000). There is also a need to look at Hertzberg theory when designing motivation program at Gulf Air. The following figure simplifies the Hertzberg theory. Fig.1, (Herzberg, 1966). Most of the organisation believes that money is the main motivator. Despite this, research shows that non-monetary motivators play a major role than money. Utilising monetary rewards leads to the organisation using a lot of cash directly. The financial rewards are not a long term motivator and employee forgets them later in their careers. Thus, use of monetary incentives does not have a long term impact on the employees. The incentives face a risk of being expected or unappreciated. Despite this, Gulf Air has to ensure that they use the right form of incentive for their employees. This is due to fact that if the incentives are used properly, they act as very important tools in employees’ motivation. They can help the employees in understanding that their contribution to the firm is appreciated (Romero and Kleiner, 2000). The figure below shows how different factors contribute to motivation. Fig.2, http://chinalawflash.com/2013/12/10/law-management-and-retention-of-chinese-staff-doing-business-in-china/ Financial incentives are closely tied to the firm budget. When the economic times are hard, they become hard to implement. This implies that when the firm fail to implement financial incentives due to economic times, employees may become discouraged hence reducing their productivity. Thus, the management of gulf airlines must be very careful with monetary based motivation (Rynes, Gerhart and Minette, 2004). Gulf Air management should increase their focus on non-financial motivations to bring out the best from their team. This is due to fact that non-monetary incentives are plenty and hence enhance management creativity. The airline has to look at the individual employee and decide the best non-financial reward to motivate them with. The airline should base their non-financial incentives on the idea of recognition. This is due to fact that recognition is a major motivator for the employees. Recognition can only be effective if they are delivered appropriately and have a meaning attached. The rewards given must have a meaning and based on an action that the management want to be repeated (Bratton and Gold, 2012). There are different ways in which gulf air can implement effective recognition. The most fundamental way is through use of verbal complement (Bratton and Gold, 2012). This is through acknowledging the employees if they are able to perform the job well. Use of a compliment will make the employees feel they are doing the right job and contributing positively to the firm. The organisation can also form a habit of acknowledging the best performing employees in front of their peers (Romero and Kleiner, 2000). Lastly, the organisation can implement a job rotation program for their employees. This will allow employees to explore others jobs within Gulf airlines. The move will prevent the employees from becoming bored with their own job. This initiative may not work in all sectors but can be important in sectors where specialisation is not high. Job sharing is vital in enhancing flexibility and ensuring that the workers are happy (Tsai, Yen, Huang and Huang, 2007). The figure below shows the urgency for improvement in employee engagement through motivation. Source: http://www.gallup.com/topic/employee_engagement.aspx Critical evaluation of HR activities of the Gulf Air and assessment of the HR standpoint Human Resource Management (HRM) is an essential part of any business (Bratton and Gold, 2012). In the service firms such as airlines, human resource activities are inherent. At the gulf airlines, human resource activities start at the hiring process. The airline has a rigorous and strict selection process. The applicants in the organisation are expected to meet a set criterion where academic qualifications, age, skills and personality are analysed. After this, the employees are taken through a round of interviews, confidence test and lastly a psychometric test. After employees are selected, they are taken through a rigorous training exercise. During the training employees are monitored and monthly reports filled by their supervisors. This is their probation period. Those who fail to pass during this period can have their probation extended or training terminated. The training process which is coordinated by the human resource department is one of the strictest in the industry. This ensures that only those who are capable can become airline employees. The methods used during this period include both traditional and modern training. Employees are taught on team work, use of IT facilities among others. The airline is known for their heavy emphasis on selection, training and motivating their staff. Gulf Air has invested heavily on employee training and retention. This is due to fact that training is the key to success in an airline. The newly recruited air cabin crew are expected to undergo a four month long intensive training. Use of continuous training and retraining has been one of the vital aspects in the success of gulf airlines (Lepak, Liao, Chung and Harden, 2006). The airline has been empowering their employees to make decisions independently. This is especially the front office staffs that are expected to handle customers on their own. Empowerment of the front line employees has been very important in the airline service delivery. To encourage appropriate behaviour, the airline has been committed to rewards and recognition. This is due to fact that rewards and recognition are the key factors in encouraging appropriate behaviour (Jiang, Lepak, Hu and Baer, 2012). The airline has been suing various forms of rewards and recognition based on financial and non-financial means. This has helped a lot in improving the firm performance. The airline success can be attributed to their motivated staff. At gulf airlines, the HR activities have enabled creation of an excellent service, cost consciousness and adaptability. Despite the use of modern human resource practices, there is still evidence of the traditional model of human resource. This is where the HR department designs the work for the employees. The employees are seen as resources which have to be managed (Jiang, Lepak, Hu and Baer, 2012). Over the last few years, the airline has been working hard to move from the traditional era of human resource management. This is through putting the employees ahead of the system (Bratton and Gold, 2012). The airline has been making the customers to be in charge instead of the managers. The employees are given more power and accountability. Use of strategic human resource management (SHRM) has become vital in the aviation industry. At gulf airlines, strategic human resource management has been used in career opportunities, training, appraisal, job identification and profit sharing. This has played a strategic role in the success of the airline. SHRM can be viewed as an intersection between the human resource management and strategic management. This is through use of human resource management which is planned and activities aimed at helping the firm to attain its goals (Lepak, Liao Chung and Harden, 2006). Gulf Air stands as one of the most improved airline in human resource management. The airline has been able to move from the traditional HRM approach and embraced SHRM. The airline has a professional team in human resource management. The employees come before the system at the airline. The airline has a closely interconnected workforce who is capable of sharing information in an instantaneous way. The employees are hired and appraised based on their expertise and performance rather than their ability to follow set of instructions. The airline is characterised by organised teams which has high performance. There is constant feedback among the employees and management. The management are also involved in the workers processes. This is through engaging the team and coming up with work plans (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The human resource management at the airline can be described as successful. This is due to fact that the airline has been using practices that recognises the value of the human capital in the airline. The airline has been able to improve their performance through effective human resource management. The organisation has excelled in planning through the human resource department. In recruitment, the airline uses both internet and offline means to get the best candidates. The process of recruitment in the airline is one of the most successful. The airline also performs well in health and safety for the workers. This is through their people centred management that puts the employees’ health on the front (Lepak, Liao, Chung and Harden, 2006). Good human resource practices at gulf airlines have led to an increase in employees’ motivation. The workers are more willing to do a better job. Despite this, there is still room for improvement in the airline HR department. Recommendations to improve the HR activities in Gulf Air Human resource management is directly related to the firm performance. In an organisation, HR practices should be able to complement each other. There is a need to be a fit between the HR practices and systems used by an organisation (Guest, 2011). HR systems are also expected to be in line with the competitive strategy used by the business. In the airline industry, HR management have proved the existing symbiotic relationship between the performance and HR practices. It is important for gulf airline it use HRM practices in increasing the employee skills and abilities. This also involves working to improve attitudes and motivation among the employees (Marchington and Grugulis, 2000). It is important for Gulf Air to move towards people based management (Guest, 2002). The airline has been very obsessed with the idea of talent management. Through use of technology, the airline has been able to host a lot of programs aimed at talent management programs. The HR department have been able to show the management the need of having talent management. The airline must start looking at their employees as consumers. They must tailor the talent management programs so that they can get the maximum output from their employees (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). It would be important for Gulf Air to adopt the Guest model of human resource management. This is through adoption of the 6 dimensions of analysis proposed by the model. The dimension of analysis that should be embraced are HRM strategy, HRM practices, HRM outcomes, behaviour outcomes, performances outcomes and financial outcomes. This is based on the assumption that HRM is distinct from the traditional model of personnel management. At the moment, gulf airlines have not fully adopted the guest model of HRM. This is evidenced on their HR practices which are in the process of moving from traditional HR to modern view of HRM (Guest, 2002). The airline should continue ensuring that there is employee engagement and selection. This is through selecting employees who are capable of taking challenge and opportunities for growth. The airline must maintain their working environment in a context that is able to attract prospective employees. The HR department must be ready to use an evidence based selection process for their employees. This will make it possible for the airline to have employees who are engaged in their work. This is based on the guest model where individual differences in propensity to be engaged are noted (Wright and Boswell, 2002). The airline should be ready to provide the newcomers with adequate resources that are capable of satisfying their needs. The airline must work in reducing uncertainty among the workers and capitalise on their enthusiasm through the HR department. The HR department has a role to ensure that there are conditions that foster engagement among the employees (Marchington and Grugulis, 2000). For the airline, the employee engagement must be integrated within the human resource management. Employee commitment, job satisfaction and motivation are vital areas of the HRM and firm performance. Based on the modern view of HR, the airline must treat their employees as the most valuable assets (Bratton and Gold, 2012). The airline must continue upholding the employees since they are the source of competitive advantage. The airline can gain commitment through motivating, good communication skills and leadership. Based on the Guest model, there is a positive relationship between organisation performance and the HRM. This must be exploited by the airline for it to remain competitive (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The airline has been moving away from personnel management mind-set to human resource management mind-set. This is through treating their employees as resources rather than machines (Bratton and Gold, 2012). This is a trend that must continue with full support from the management. The airline must be ready to continue being more people centric in their human resource management. The employees must continue being treated as a special resource capable of providing a competitive advantage. Competitive advantage in the airline can only be attained through skills, creativity and experience of the employees. The airline must invest in human resource that is capable of attaining the sustainable competitive advantage. This is through completely abandoning the traditional personnel management and embracing the HRM (Wright and Boswell, 2002). Conclusion To sum up, the report have analysed Gulf Air which is the national carrier for Bahrain. The airline has been performing well in the industry. Through use of different motivation means, the airline has been able to motivate their employees in a great way. The airline has been using monetary and non-monetary motivation to reinforce positive actions by the employees. The airline also provides a good Woking environment and leadership which is able to motivate employees. Despite this, it is important to reduce the use of monetary incentives. The airline should focus more on non-financial incentives such as verbal compliments and support. The airline must also use Maslow needs theory in their motivation program. The airline human resource can be described as successful. Despite this, the HR department must continue working from the PM mind-set to modern HRM mind-set. The airline should also consider fully adopting the Guest model of HRM. The employees must be treated as the most important resource in the airline to gain a competitive advantage. The traditional PM mind-set will have to be abandoned and modern HRM adopted. 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