Principles of Management - British Airways - Essay Example

British Airways (BA) is among the leading global, premium, and the largest scheduled international airlines of the world, serving the most appropriately located airports in the world, headquartered in the United Kingdom (Albedelghany & Abdelghany 4). With London being the principal business location as well as the world’s largest premium travel market, the airline has a significant presence at Gatwick and Heathrow. In conjunction with their scheduled passenger services, the airline also operates an air cargo business across the world.

Formed in 1974 with the merging of British European Airways Corporation and British Overseas Airways Corporation, BA benefited in 1976 when the UK government changed the aviation policies to end competition from British Caledonian, which was the second-largest British Airline at that time. BA was later privatized in 1987 and merged with Iberia in 2011 (Buckingham 14). At the beginning of 2010, the organization had over 41,000 permanent employees. Prior to the 2011 merger, BA was strategizing on how to create a leaner organization that had a distinctive and high-performing culture through their flagship program of change, which they named Compete 2012. The program was to transform the airline over a three-year period and help them achieve their vision of the leading premium airline globally. It was to impact their ways of interacting with each other, how individual performance would be measured and promotions conducted, and create a platform for developing and rewarding talent. Coupled with BA’s commitment to being a responsible organization, the programs were also intended to achieve environmental targets while putting relationships with vital suppliers on a new scale and carrying on with the tradition of promoting communities in creative ways.  

            To achieve the planned Compete 2012 strategies, BA restructured its top management in 2008 with a third of the team leaving under a voluntary retrenchment scheme. At the same time, the organization was redesigned to promote better leadership, governance, and customer focus, making it more efficient. The restructuring also encouraged more employees to shift between functions and gain more experience while finding better outlets for their skills. With the understanding that a frontline global premium organization has to be effective and bold in developing potential and current leaders, the airline introduced the High-Performance Leadership (HPL) system in the same year (Buckingham 23). The HPL was an integrated system that linked objective setting, business strategy, reward, and development. Initially focused on top management, the system had a thorough assessment mechanism designed to identify gifted leaders and present them with appropriate support and tools to grow the development. The airline also outlined, communicated, and started measuring the personal performance of employees against three capacities thought to be essential in leaders, on top of operational excellence. They included communicating a shared vision, inspiring and motivating others, and agreeing on accountabilities.

            Leadership is executed from the top, which previously had nine directorate heads under the leadership of the Chief Executive (Johnson, Scholes &Whittington 11). It is presently split into two teams; one under the Customer and Operations Executive, and the other under the Management Board. The Management Board, with weekly meetings, is charged with the organization’s strategic direction and vision. On the other hand, the Customer and Operations Executive team, also with weekly meetings, accounts for the day-by-day safety standards, operational performance, and customer service. The director of security and safety as well as the legal director report to the Chief Executive. The organization also developed specific behaviors to enable leaders to understand what the management expects of them for each capability, and they are receiving support through a range of development programs that include external courses and forums, networks, and executive coaching (Johnson, Scholes &Whittington 9).   

            In personal feedback, BA’s loyalty program, the Executive Club, has served a noble purpose by rewarding loyal customers that have helped the organization keep flying its flag amidst excruciating competition. The management came up with a well-thought plan that features multiple tiers and includes benefits like access to devoted fast queues and special lounges. Corporate customers are also encouraged to enroll in premier incentive programs.