Investigation of Emirates Group's Human Resource Management - Case Study Example

The Emirates Group Joel Macdonald Due: 11/02/11 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 4 Emirates Airlines, an entity of The Emirates Group, have proved to be amongst the fastest growing companies in the air transport industry. The company has a confident management team at its helm that oversees all the functions of the company in an effective manner. This report analyses the external factor that is influencing the performance of the company as depicted by the annual report and the various financial statements that have been posted on its website or other public available material. The strategic human resource management strategy that is in operation will go along way in providing the pointers towards the current position of the company and how effective this strategy will be in the prevailing circumstances. 4 Discussion 4 Theories of human resource management 4 Human resource management at the Emirates Airlines 6 Conclusion 11 Recommendations 11 References 13 Executive Summary In today’s dynamic world of business, turbulent times are proving to be more recurrent than ever, prompting any business that wants to remain competitive to come up with long-term management programs to deal with such fragile circumstances. Strategic human resource management practices have proved to be important when planning the long-term strategies of large corporations. In this respect, The Emirates Group will be investigated and this report will explicitly demonstrate the essence of strategic human resource management planning. After reviewing the company’s financial report and business strategies this paper has focused on two of human resource theories that are currently evident in the Emirates Group business. This report will also examine a number of the external environmental factors that adversely affect The Emirates Group operations. The current internal environmental factors that influence the Emirates Group as well as strategies that were applied maintaining the company’s competitive edge despite the unpredictable economic condition are also discussed in this paper. The public relation policies and practices that have been used to ensure the company remains at the top have also been looked at. Lastly, the global financial crisis is discussed, as well as what strategies Emirates implemented in order to mitigate the effect of the biggest financial crisis the company had experienced since the initial establishment of The Emirates Group (Buhler, 2002). Introduction Emirates Airlines, an entity of The Emirates Group, have proved to be amongst the fastest growing companies in the air transport industry. The company has a confident management team at its helm that oversees all the functions of the company in an effective manner. This report analyses the external factor that is influencing the performance of the company as depicted by the annual report and the various financial statements that have been posted on its website or other public available material. The strategic human resource management strategy that is in operation will go along way in providing the pointers towards the current position of the company and how effective this strategy will be in the prevailing circumstances. Discussion Theories of human resource management Theory X The theory mostly has been proven to be counter effective in modern time practice. Management views employees as being inherently lazy and will always avoid work as much as possible and they dislike it. Management has the view that workers need to be closely supervised and systems of controls that are comprehensive should be developed. A hierarchical structure is required with a very narrow span of control. This theory portrays that employees will show little ambition without an incentive program and will keep away from responsibility as much as possible. Theory X relies heavily on coercion and threat to ensure compliance. Belief of this theory builds up highly restrictive supervision, mistrust, and punitive atmosphere. Everything must end in the blaming of someone. The employees are on the job for money. The theory is the major cause of diseconomies of scale in large organizations (Poole, 1999). Theory Y In the theory management assumes that employees are self-motivated and ambitious and exercise self control. The employees their physical and mental work duties assigned to them. Work is natural as play. The employees have ability for creative problem solving and their talents are under utilized in most cases. Given the right atmosphere the employees will adapt to look for and accept responsibility and self-direction and self-control in accomplishing objectives to which they are committed. Most employees will want to do well at work given with the right conditions. Strong motivation is drawn from the satisfaction of doing the job. In this theory Macgregor argues that managers should be open to a more positive view of workers and then possibilities created. Trust with employees is created which is very important for human resource development. Open communication is encouraged creating a comfortable environment in which subordinates reducing the difference between superior-subordinate relationship. Decision making is shared and subordinate are given a chance to make decision. The theory is a positive view of the employees. Human resource management at the Emirates Airlines External factors Emirates Airline is an international company operating in six continents worldwide and is faced with some challenges as far as the management of human resource is concerned. Having to draw its workforce from over one hundred and twenty countries all over the world is challenge since individual countries have their labour laws and regulations that must be adhered to. This calls for understanding of the intricate legislation on labour or workers in the different countries. Besides the company now has to be flexible in each of these countries and have a management style that applies to that country without contravening the set laws and regulations. Despite of this the management has to have a centralized headquarter regardless of having autonomous recruiting agents in every center (Al-Abed, 2003). We have countries that have affirmative allocation for slots in management area. A local must be included in the management and moreover the other positions may have a recommended ration. Apart from that there is always pressure from workers union some even requesting for unnecessary or unrealistic demands. Fearing pressure from such unions makes it difficult for the human resource department to administer disciplinary action like through sacking. Consequently they have to bear with uncooperative or underperforming workers. There will be calls for strikes even for the slightest reason in some cases. As an effort of giving back to the society Emirates Airline has to be involved in number activities that include the Airline having a football academy to scout and groom young talents. This is in an effort to improve public relations and create a positive public image. The Airline management has to grapple with a number of things to appeal to the right work force to be attracted in the company (Bamber, 2009). Internal factor Human resource management result into the satisfaction of the employees and they consequently work efficiently. The human resource management has the aim of assisting the organization inn meeting its objectives and strategic goals by effectively managing and maintaining employees. The emirates cabin crew is regarded as the best. The cabin crew consists of a variety of nationalities from every corner of the world. The crew comes from over 120 countries and speaks over 80 languages. Emirates spends between six and five percent of the revenue on training and development. Training and development have been taken seriously at Emirates airlines. Training puts more emphasis on the skills an employee will acquire and be used in his immediate job (Nel Piet, 2005). Big payoff on the side of the employer is guaranteed in terms of productivity and contribution of the employee. It is the culture and tradition of Emirates Airlines to follow a systematic approach as far as training is concerned. Theoretically this refers to assessment, training activity and the evaluation process. In the evaluation process the outcome of the training activity is measured. Assessment is there to ascertain the need of the training activity particularly if the consumer satisfaction is not being met. The management team at Emirates recognized the need for a better quality service as prompted by the frequent customer who used the airline. This propelled the objective as the Emirates airline did its best possible to provide the quality service to the valued customers in order to stay ahead of the competitors (Nel Piet, 2005). The training facility at the Emirates Airline is specifically built for her employee training. Classroom education forms part of the training activity. At this stage trainers share their opinions and exchange ideas with each other through that they expand their individual knowledge. The method is used as a basic method and not as an exclusive primary training method as done by others. The method is collaborated by other methods of training. The owning of an on-board shopping store and Dubai Duty Free by the Emirates Airline provides the trainee with an opportunity to equip themselves fully with the information about the whole range of products available. Particular classrooms are designed for this objective. Simulation which is another expensive method is used as part of training activity. Emirates Airline employs machine simulation. Equipments which are exact replicas of the equipments in the work environment are provided to the employees. Emirates commissioned 13 such machines to be used by its employees and they cover all types of the aircrafts (Ulrich, 2005). According to Buhler (2002), the simulators are very crucial in reference to emergency and safety training of the employees. The machines consist of audio and visual displays, and smoke simulators including flight kitchens for demonstration with fully functioning equipment. On job experience is another method utilized by Emirates Airline to train its employees. Bamber (2009), notes that during duty, the employees of Emirate Airlines are to employ purpose-built, arrival terminal and exclusive departure. The type of training removes the transfer of the learning situation to the job. Action learning is a type of learning that center on learning by experience. ‘Mock ups’ that enable the employees to get hands on training are also provided to the cabin crew of Emirates Airlines. Assignment related to problems and issues that are dealt with on the job are given and assessed as to how effectively they react to the issues. The assignment could either be group or individual assignment. Group work is geared towards strengthening an individual’s tolerance to coordination and team building. The management uses the method to assess individual’s weaknesses and strengths. Technology-wise Emirates Airlines uses Computer-Based and Audio-Visual training to equip the employees. Computer-Based training assists in enhancing the individual’s computer skills. Audio-Visual training helps individual comprehend real on-line situations and customer interactions. Intranet or internet browser is used to provide Web-Based training to the employees. This is accessible anywhere hence based suited to the cabin crew who are always on the move from destination to destination. After the training the evaluation step is used to measure the training activities and determine whether the set objectives have been attained. Numerous awards have been given for quality service by the Emirates Airlines. The cabin crew are famous for the experience they provide to the customers and are rated as one of the best Airlines in the world (Ulrich, 2005). In ancient times job lasted forever. So long as one had a job he did not think about job shift. In modern times careers are without boundary. Boundary-less careers are not limited to a particular organization and they expand through project based competency among firms in the industry network. This is compelled through modernization, increase in competition and restructuring of organization. Employees with a prior experience in customer care field are preferred are the Emirates Airline. An employee working in an organization that offers customer care is eligible to work in the airline sector. Career and human resource planning is used by companies to ensure that the right candidate for the job is selected. It comprises of training, retention, and analysis of staff. Emirates airlines require employees that are extrovert and open to confront emerging challenges. The crew is also required to operate in groups which consist of colleagues from different cultural backgrounds. The requirements are covered in the Human resource planning process of the Emirates Airline. During work every employee has certain rights which come with responsibilities. Owing to boundary-less careers in existence it is the responsibility of every employee to keep himself abreast with the required skills. Buhler (2002) notes that candidates looking forward to working at the Emirates Airline must at least have high school qualifications. The crew should be well groomed while on job duty. At the career plateau stage is where the probability of improvement or enhancement of is minimal. Emirates Airlines employees commence their career at grade two and proceed to business and first class depending on their performance. Senior flight supervisor is the highest position that can be attained by an employee at Emirates Airlines. In order to avoid the career plateau stage the employee can adopt career transition. The employee can change his career by changing from one country to another or going up or down the occupational ladder. Career transition could be planned or unplanned. Unplanned situations could be occasioned by family issues, environmental factors or illness (Poole, 1999). Conclusion This paper has outlined how the Emirates Group has developed its human resource management to be able to strategically position itself as a formidable competitor. It has also revealed that strategic human resource management should now be at the top of the agenda of the Emirates Group as the fundamental policies in human resource strategies. The Emirates Group seems to have intelligent contingency plans in overcoming severe external environmental factors, however the company could put more focus on it human resource management. Short term solutions to human resource management challenges are there to deal with minor problems but strategic human resource management should be the ideal way of dealing with chronic problems that are proving to be resilient in most circumstances. Recommendations For the Emirates Group, it is essential to modify its public relations approach so that it does not appear to the general public that it is only in existence for minting huge profits and more emphasis needs to be on the welfare of its employees and being more socially responsible. Having football academies linked to the Arsenal football club is a nice way of giving back to the community; however one could assume this is another public relations strategy to boost the image of the company. Moreover, the internal environmental factors should be addressed with more urgency and placed at higher priority to ensure that the employees maintain high morale, have high levels of communication and are motivated to deliver, especially during tougher economic times. Emirates Airline being a cosmopolitan organization alone does not guarantee fairness in job recruitment and promotion. The recruitment process should be as open and fair as possible so as to attract qualified and skilled personnel who may shy off if they know the process has some external influence. Every worker or employee is motivated if he knows that his work is being appreciated. There is no better appreciation than having special way of doing this by promoting hardworking workers or giving them extra responsibility that is accompanied by plenty of incentives. Employees will also feel good if they are accorded a well outlined leave benefit so that they have time to re-unite with their family. As much as the company wants to get the best from the workers, it must also offer the best to the best to the workers. Working conditions should be favourable and able to induce the optimal performance from the workers. When it comes to employees appraisal, the process should be just and unbiased so that a strife is not precipitated. Owing to dynamism in the current job place, the company should put in place a swift feedback mechanism in order to learn from time to time the needs of its workforce. Any disparities and differences should be dealt with in an amicable and quiet manner so that no more brawls are sparked. Moreover the retirement benefit plan should give a good send off to the workers and attract other qualified personnel to work for the company. Training of the employees should be done without discrimination and the needs should be determined without malice or vested interest. Compliance with the labour laws and regulations in each of the countries that Emirates Airline operates in is an imperative requirement. The management should sent personnel to learn about this labour requirements in the countries that it operates in so that it is not at loggerheads with the with the respective governments and workers union. Every affirmative consideration should be adhered to the later and the management should be up to date with the development of labour regulations in this specific countries. References Buhler, P. (2002). Human Resources Management: All the Information You Need to Manage Your Staff and Meet Your Business Objectives. Sheffield: Adams Media. Poole M. (1999). Human Resource Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, Volume 1. Ney York: Routledge. Nel Piet, S. et al. (2005). Human Resources Management. UK: Oxford University Press. Ulrich, D. (2005). The future of human resource management: 64 thought leaders explore the critical HR issues of today and tomorrow. London: John Wiley and Sons. Al-Abed, I. (2003). United Arab Emirates yearbook. Uae Yearbooks Series NY: Trident Press, Bamber G. (2009). Up in the air: how airlines can improve performance by engaging their employees. NY: Cornell University Press. Read More