Managing Operations In Emirate Airlines and Cathay Pacific AirLine - Case Study Example

Introduction Hardly many inventions can manage to change the way people live and also how they experience the world like the way inventing airplane has done. The airline industry offer air transport for passengers. The airlines companies own the airplanes or may lease them. Airlines Company differs in terms of capacity, some are smaller with one or two airplanes to transport mail and cargo, while other are big multinational companies with hundreds of aircrafts. However, organization operations of the airlines differ and impact highly in the success of this companies. (Doganis, 2001) Emirates Company profile Emirates airline is an airline company which is based in Dubai, united emirates (UAE) in the Middle East. The company is the biggest airline in the region operating passenger service. It has more than 2,350 flights per week flying to more than 91 cities in over than 61 countries located in six continents. It offers cargo services by use of its Emirates Sky cargo name. The company is based in Dubai international airport. Over 50 % of flights movements in and out of the Dubai airport are carried out by Emirates airplanes, and it is projected that by 2010 the figure will increase to 70%. The airline was established in 1985 by the government of Dubai and it has had a phenomenal growth to be among the largest airline not only in Asia but in the whole world. Emirates has a very strong brand image has been able to get various international wards, and it is set high standards in the industry of aircraft purchasing, service, safety and innovation. In Asia it is ranked as the tenth largest airline, and it is ninth in terms of international passenger volume. (Directory, 2007) Cathy pacific airways profile The airway company was formed way back in 1946 by an American pilot and business man Roy Farrell and an Australian pilot named Sydney de Kantzow. The two entrepreneurs started by operating in Shanghai, then they moved to Hong Kong and registered the company. The company carried out it services for a long time until it merged with BOAC in1960 and continued carrying out it service in Asia though many companies wanted to make an alliance with the company it has managed to run by itself. However the company had its share of problems brought about by Asian financial crisis and government policies. (Directory, 2007) How the wider economic environment impacts on their operations Various economic factors are indicators of the changing industry environment. These economical factors include; Fiscal policy rates, interest rate policy, currency exchange rates, consumer factors, quotas imposed on the product , import tariffs, inflation rate and national interests, expenditures, consumer wealth, etc. It is possible that the climate economy of the world dictates how the consumers of the aviation industry behave. Emirates airline has created an international fleet and increase its number of flights and destination in line with improved macro economy being witnessed in globally. However, the Cathay airline has been slow in changing it operations in relation to the wider economy. Cathay operations due they have been changing in response to the wider economy it is slow in doing so. (Doganis, 2001) What you consider the operations management issues facing the organizations Organizational effectiveness can be defined as the extent to which an organization has achieved its set objectives. Emirate Airline management effectiveness is reported to be high and it is argued that the main reason to its success is because of the measures taken by the entire management in response to changes in contemporary world of business. Emirates Airlines has been credited with building a strong human resource relationship which has enhanced the success of organization. The company recruits its employees based on their qualifications and their competence. Emirates Airlines have embarked on recruiting professionals that produces global culture. (Doganis, 2001) Emirates Airlines has also responded well in terms of new technologies that come up as a result of globalization. The company has incorporated the use of new technologies in production and operations activities which have seen significant management efficiency and thus attaining the company's leadership. On contra Cathay airline, there has been a substantial criticism that Cathay airline management has failed to be effective and efficient in its business activities because they have practiced unacceptable managerial activities of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. The company has not ensured that the respective managers of respective departments are well equipped with human, technical, and conceptual skills that give them an opportunity to integrate the managerial activities above in order to produce results expected from their departments. The absence of such skills by managers has led to the company performance decreasing in some of its potential markets. Operations performance objectives Operations management is an important issue and quality is placed first among the fives forces of performance. Many industry analysts believe that quality is the most important aspect as today's customer are more knowledgeable and consider quality against first. In aviation industry quality in viewed through the services that an airline offers and which range from customer care to the type of the aircrafts the company is using. Five Performance Objectives for Operations Comparison In terms of quality emirates have been at forefront insetting global standards by offering the best quality possible. The airline has acquired the most combatable and sophisticated aircrafts; the Boeing class, which offers high comfort to passengers. The airline has also embraced advanced technology which it offers it customers to ensure that they are very comfortable. The plan is to ensure that customers who use the airline have nothing to complain about the airline. Thus customer satisfaction and happiness is what the company focus to ensure that it retains its customers. On the other hand Cathay airline offers low quality services compared to the emirates airlines. The company also lacks latest aircrafts which comes with superior quality. Customer orientation in terms of quality is limited, as customer needs are not put first and quality offered is not up to customer requirements. The company also have little inside operation quality has it operations processes and activities are effective thus ineffectiveness in responding to customer needs. This can be explained in the figure below Speed This refers to how fast an organization is in responding to external and internal requests by the customer about a service or a product. There are internal and external aspects. Comparison between emirates and Cathay airline Emirates Company has been able capture a large segment of market because of its speed in responding to customer needs in a changing environment. The company invests highly in technology on its modern flight boasting as having one of the biggest single Boeing 777 aircrafts fleet which is renowned for its high efficiency. Yet again the Emirates have been able to offer low prices despite the fact it is offering high quality service. In addition it is among the most cost effective airlines in the world. (Butler & Keller, 2000) The company has been slow in responding to the changing global trends and customers needs. Basically the company has not been using speed in its operations has though it was approached by several companies to work together in improving its services but is refused. Thus, the company has operations lacks speed and the management is slow in formulating and adapting to both external and internal operations. (Butler & Keller, 2000) Dependability This refers to being reliable and on time, in means that a company is able to offer its customer good services and on time. In terms of aviation industry it means the dependability of the airline keeping its flight schedules and being able to departure and leave in on time. Comparison between emirates and Cathay airline Emirates has built a corporate culture of going to an extra mile to ensure that customers are given the best services which they can depend on the company has received several global awards as being the best airline. This shows how effective the airline is. The management realizes the being dependable makes customer have confidence in the airline and be able to use it more often. Dependability is ensured through effective operations and setting high internal organization operations. (Butler & Keller, 2000) Cathay Pacific Airline Though Cathay Pacific Airline has managed to be dependable by offering regular flights and improving its operations it can not match the dependability set by Emirates airlines. Being dependable also ensure that the organization is able to reduce its costs. Especially in the industry dependability is very important. (Morrison and Winston, 1997) Flexibility Flexibility is a more complex issue but the most important aspect is being able to change with changing trends. Flexibility calls for a company to be able to change its internal operations in some way. Comparison between emirates and Cathay airline Emirates Airlines have been a leader in innovation and in changing its operations according to the global trends and customer needs that keeps on changing. The industry changes its operations through organization structure and culture which has developed from regional to global culture and being able to offer more customer oriented services such as offering more economy passenger services and increasing the number of flights and destinations. (Morrison and Winston, 1997) In comparison to emirates Cathay Pacific Airline Company has not been much flexible in its operation. Looking at its history and operations it can be noted that the airline has been very slow in enacting changes in accordance to market trends. Cost Cost entails how an organization operation relates to cost of production. If the operation is efficient then the company can have low cost of production Comparison between emirates and Cathay airline Emirates airline is believed to be one of the most cost effective company in the industry. The company's operations have ensured that the company is highly cost effective. On the other hand Cathay airline has also been effective in its operation in relation to cost but it needs to improve. (Morrison and Winston, 1997) Conclusion It is clear that external and internal and external environmental factors play an important role in an organization decisions and operations. The internal analysis facilitates the formulation of strategic plan which requires a clear understanding of the internal strengths acquired over time and any weakness that adversely impact on performance. Distinctive competencies in operations are things that give a firm an advantage over similar businesses. Emirates airlines has been able to be successful in its business because of it effective organization operations. On the hand Cathay airline have been slow and ineffective in its operations and thus has recorded slow growth. Thus it is important that they an organization such as Cathay airline to redefine its operations. Reference: Butler, G.F., Keller, M.R. (2000): Handbook of Airline Operations. Aviation Week; McGraw-Hill Companies Davies, R.E.G. (1964): A history of the world's airlines, Oxford U.P Directory: (2007): World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-03, p. 77. Doganis, R. (2002): Flying off Course: The Economics of International Airlines, 3rd edition. Routledge, New York. Doganis, R. (2001): The Airline Business in the 21st Century. Routledge, New York, Morrison S. and Winston C. (1997): The fare skies: air transportation and Middle America, Brookings Fall, 1997; Smith, M. J. (2002): The airline encyclopaedia, 1909-2000. Scarecrow Press Read More