Outlining Major Benefits of CRM in Commercial Aircraft Operations - Literature review Example

Leadership Change Management Table of Contents Introduction 4 Evaluating Relevance of the Crew Relationship Management (CRM) for Running Commercial Operations 5 Outlining Major Benefits of CRM in Commercial Aircraft Operations 6 Builds Collaborative Environment 6 Improves Decision Making Process 6 Empowers Risk Management Skills 7 Improves Quality Management 7 Outlining Relevant Guidelines to Achieve Benefits of CRM 7 Regulation and Scheduling 8 Critical Assessment of CRM in the context of Relevant Leadership Theories 9 Regulating Information Flow 9 Directing and Coordinating Aircrew Members 10 Motivating and Aircrew Members 10 Decision Making Process 10 Critical Assessment of Roles of Leadership in CRM Regarding Its Transferability to the Other Organisation 11 Limitations of Using Of the CRM-Based Leadership Skills 13 Conclusion 14 References 15 Introduction The concept of leadership can be defined as a set of competencies or traits of an individual that influence thoughts and behavioural aspects of the other individuals. An effective form of leadership often involves a number of strong attributes that empower not only the performance level of the staff members, but the elements also enable members to improve their personal and professional goals (Wagener, 2014). In relation to the recent phenomenon, leadership is one of the most critical determinants in Crew Relationship Management (CRM) processes. The leadership position in the CRM function provides equal opportunity and priority to each individual ranging from first officer to other crew members. An individual with higher level of leadership skills can develop their current position, regardless of their consigned roles and responsibilities within the CRM processes (Neil Kreys CRM Developers Forum, 2005). Keeping with the academic concept of leadership and its various types of skills, the primary purpose of this essay is to critically evaluate the relevance of CRM for developing or running an effective commercial business operation. In this regard, the discussion of the essay will include outlining CRM and its major advantages within an aircraft business operation by considering relevant guidelines that are given to the air crew members. In order to justify the relevance, the study will also consider nature of the environment along with people involved in the aircraft crew operations. In addition, the essay also tends to critically evaluate the limitations of transferability and takes into account the wide range of commercial business operations that are likely to inhibit such transfers. Evaluating Relevance of the Crew Relationship Management (CRM) for Running Commercial Operations An effective leadership approach involves range of personal traits and ideas that influence the thoughts, values and perceptions of his/her followers. The primary objectives of an effective leadership approach can be accomplished by understanding the goals, expectations of each individual or group and using examples and persuasion. With regard to the understanding of different academic studies, it has been ascertained that leaders are often considered as catalyst or master of influence, while an organisation tends to focus on implementing change. In this context, the leadership skills of an individual should be enlarged in accordance with the long-term improvement regarding the career of each crew members. In order to successfully accomplish each leadership goal, an individual need to emphasise teamwork and build strong relationship with each crew member, regardless of their job positions or roles in the organisation (Lashley, 1998). In relation to the current competitive scenario, the leadership skills have wide range of beneficial aspects that enable individuals to understand different situations and make effective decisions for both safety and efficiency of the crew members. According to the in-depth analysis of the aircraft incident investigators, it has been ascertained that the personality differences of the leader have major influence on the behaviour along with performance of the crew members within a particular commercial aircraft organisation (Helmreich & et. al., n.d.). Few major benefits that can be attributed from leadership in commercial aircraft organisation have been detailed in the following discussion. Outlining Major Benefits of CRM in Commercial Aircraft Operations Builds Collaborative Environment In relation of the recent phenomenon, the relationship between the pilots and co-pilots has been considered as one of the major activities of a leader of a particular airline industry. Captains or the first officer of the aircrafts highly emphasised building strong relationship with other co-crew members while making decisions regarding various situations (Helmreich & et. al., n.d.). In this regard, the process of maintaining equal respect, team work and adequate cooperation among each group of crew members can be considered as the major set of attributes to be focused by a leader. Therefore, an effective collaboration among the crew members can be regarded as one of the major and key factors of CRM process (Midkiff & et. al., 2004). Improves Decision Making Process The execution of an effective CRM approach can also be considered as a key tool for an aircraft industry to improve the decision making skills of the leaders and other crew members. In this regard, the approach is highly effective not only to focus on error management, but to dictate safety statistics of the aircrafts and identify errors that are made by the crew members. In order to effectively deal with the man-made errors, the CRM model provides a critical understanding to the pilot, co-pilot and other crew members to recognise possible errors and help them to make appropriate decisions. Thus, it is evident that CRM provides major support for the leaders along with other crew members to strengthen their decision making skills and to deal with different complexities (Capriglione & et. al., n.d.). Empowers Risk Management Skills In relation to recent development in aircraft commercialisation, CRM has been evolved in terms of providing appropriate training and development activities associated with risk management processes. In this context, the model, i.e. CRM tends to focus on developing effective measures for possible risk factors in order to mitigate hazardous conditions. Moreover, the model also focuses on recognising workload situations along with possible unsafe attitude or behavioural patterns of the crew members within the aircraft. The approach also helps first officers and pilots or co-pilots to get effective control over situational awareness to maintain efficiency and safety of the commercial aircrafts (Neil Kreys CRM Developers Forum, 2005). Improves Quality Management The executive of CRM also provides major contributions towards the quality of services of the aircrafts by managing time, efficiency and safety of each crew members. The process of adequate management regarding controlling functions enables first officers and other crew members to maintain appropriate time of the aircrafts. Moreover, the effectual communication process as well as appropriate steps of training of each crew member ensures organisations to streamline quality of their aircraft services (Wirtz & Heracleous, 2014). Outlining Relevant Guidelines to Achieve Benefits of CRM Majority of the global airlines operate their wide range of aircrafts under a system with prioritised goals including safety and efficiency, on-time arrivals and departures as well as operating economies. The commercial aircrafts are responsible to ensure adequate safety and efficiency on each of their operations. In this regard, the aircraft operators are likely to maintain few major guidelines in order to meet overall goals and objectives of their daily activities. Therefore, the following factors briefly specify the importance and roles to be adhered by the commercial aircraft organisations (Wiener & et. al., 2010). Regulation and Scheduling The airline operations performed by the global operators are primarily regulated by the country or area of registration along with the sovereignty under which the overall functions are conducted. In this regard, the governmental agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States and Joint Aviation Authority (JAA) in the Europe are responsible to develop strong regulatory guidelines and oversee each operational aspect of aircrafts. In the US, the general regulatory requirements for the commercial aircrafts are protected by the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR Section 14). The Part 135 in the CFR Section 14 includes a number of key regulatory guidelines for the aircrafts involving commercial operations. Moreover, the Section 67 in CFR Section 14 governs aircrew certification regarding their skills and abilities to raise the efficient and safety of the aircraft operations (Midkiff & et. al., 2004). In the context of Crew regulation and scheduling, the flight crews including first officer, pilots and co-pilots are also governed by a set of policies with the aim of promoting safety and efficiency of their operations. The policies of registration across the counties provide adequate training and developmental activities associated with both normal and emergency circumstances. Moreover, the scheduling of the aircrew members also requires going through annual recurrent training processes to ensure adequate safety and efficiency of the aircraft. The general scheduling process of the aircrew members requires two pilots to operate the cockpit equipments. The first officer of the aircraft basically located at the right seat of the cockpit along with the captain is responsible to oversee functions of the aircraft equipments (Midkiff & et. al., 2004). Critical Assessment of CRM in the context of Relevant Leadership Theories The leadership theories generally define a set of effective practices that enable the organisation to maintain adequate efficiency. Moreover, the leadership skill and competencies have also been witnessed to improve the direction and coordination procedures of the individuals or group and make them more competent with regard to their assigned roles. In the context of assessing leadership theories of the aircrew members, a major set of attributes have been outlined that govern the operational functions of the aircraft crew members. The following leadership skills define their roles and importance in the context of aircraft operation and assigned tasks of the crew members. Regulating Information Flow From a theoretical perspective, leaders are responsible to regulate, manage and control the flow of information across each employee assigned in different internal and external activities. In the context of directing and managing aircrew members, leaders also bear major set of activities. In this regard, the leaders involve communicating flight information and seek appropriate response and opinions from the aircrew members. Moreover, the leaders also provide relevant feedback by respecting responses of the crew members. In addition, the leaders regulate participation of each crew members with the aim of increasing efficiency and safety of the aircrafts (LeSag & et. al., 2010; Wiener & et. al., 1993). Directing and Coordinating Aircrew Members In order to ensure appropriate orientation of leadership skills, the leaders associated with present aircraft operations are likely to perform his/her activities like an aircrew manager. In this regard, directing and coordinating activities of each crew member along with administering their performance levels are often observed as few of the major roles of the leaders. In addition, an in-depth understanding of the situations and developing effective crew management plan with setting priorities have also been witnessed to enhance safety and efficiency of the aircrafts (Wiener & et. al., 1993). Motivating and Aircrew Members Motivating employees and revitalising their innate capabilities have been witnessed as few of the primary activities of a leader. In relation to the current commercial aircraft business industry, leaders are often observed to develop sophisticated working environment by maintaining positive relations with the crew members. Moreover, the leaders have also been recognised to improve performance of the commercial aircrew members through prioritising ideas and opinions of each crew member (Midkiff & et. al., 2004). Decision Making Process In relation to the current scenario in global aircraft operations, leaders are highly observed to modernise their decision making skills by assuming their primary responsibilities. In this regard, the leaders from different commercial aircraft areas are often involved in collecting and critically evaluating information regarding various aspects of the aircraft operations. Moreover, the leaders in the modern commercial aircraft industry have been identified to discover major competitive factors in response to the performance levels of each aircrew member and formulate appropriate decisions. In addition the individuals assigned with leading roles are likely to formulate effective strategic directions that can enable the aircrew members to reduce different types of operational errors and meet their functional and commercial goals (Flin & Martin, 2001). With reference to the aforesaid theoretical aspects, it is evident that the leadership roles and skills play a pivotal role for a commercial aircraft organisation. In relation to the different roles and responsibilities of the aircrew members, the leadership skills play a key role for each individual, to improve their operational efficiency and safety. Therefore, the theoretical implications regarding the leadership skills can also be regarded as a set of key activities that not only improves the operational efficiency but also observes reenergise behavioural patterns as well. Critical Assessment of Roles of Leadership in CRM Regarding Its Transferability to the Other Organisation With regard to the aforesaid discussion, it has been critically identified that leadership plays a key role for the commercial aircraft organisations in terms of streamlining operational efficiency and safety. In the context of various recent observations, however, leadership skills have also been recognised to undergo different obstacles due to the increasing pace of transferability with regard to job responsibilities or roles within an organisation. Therefore, the following discussion incorporates a critical analysis of the consequences that is to be attained by an organisation through implementing CRM part from the aircrew operation industry. In the context of organisation from other commercial industries, the approach of CRM can also be considered as an effective model for evolving performance and operational efficiency. According to an in-depth evaluation regarding the roles of leadership in CRM approach, leaders involve a wide range of activities with the aim of increasing operational efficiency of the organisations. This approach in this regard can be an effectively implemented in the organisations from different commercial sectors (U.S. Department of Transportation, 1999). For instance, the approach can boost the performance and operational efficiency of the organisations in the global fast-food or restaurant business industry. The execution of CRM model will enable the organisations from fast-food industry to gain adequate controlling and organising capability of the leaders. In relation to the fiercely emerging scenario in the global fast-food industry, organisations directly involve numerous employees with their multiple job responsibility. The execution of the model, in this context would significantly help each individual or staff member to accumulate better understanding of their behavioural aspects by streamlining communication mechanism of the model. Moreover, the model can also be considered as more effective in terms of improving operational efficiency of the employees. In this regard, the continuous focus on improving performance through continuous training and development can bring major improvement on the employees to boost their performance. Correspondingly, the leadership skill in the CRM approach also involves a valuable mechanism of empowering employees’ innate skills through respecting and equally prioritising their innovative ideas and opinions. The process of respecting and prioritising individual thoughts and ideas can enable the leaders to motivate employees along with strengthen their long-term relationship with the organisational objectives. However, the transferability of leadership styles and skills may also create major difficulties to the organisation in terms of improving performance efficiency of the employees. Few of the major limitations that might be raised due to the execution of CRM model have been briefly described as in the following discussion. Limitations of Using Of the CRM-Based Leadership Skills Although, the implementation of leadership styles provides a number of beneficial aspects beyond the aircraft business market, the leadership style or competencies might involve major challenges to the organisations from different other commercial sectors. In this context, managing change in the leadership practices can be regarded as one of the key factors to be affected due to the change in leadership style in the organisation. The primary limitation of the approach is to manage changes that might be required by the employees to improve their operational efficiency. The execution in this regard can bring reluctance amid the employees to adapt change and act in accordance with the CRM approach. The process may also lead to consume significant cost and time that can further impose major risks to the other organisations (Flin & Martin, 2001). Nevertheless, the implementation of leadership skills in the CRM process may also create complexities for the leaders to effectively control and manage behavioural skills and practices of the employees. In relation to the leadership skills to be required to effectively implement CRM approach, the leaders must need to gather information or opinion of each individual to improve performance efficiency. However, the practice may impose major risks to the leaders while effectively implementing the leadership approach of CRM process. Indeed, the process might impose delay on the operational functions in terms of gathering data from each individual or group of employees (Midkiff & et. al., 2004). Conclusion CRM can be referred as an essential function of any aircraft business operations. It is often considered as one of the most critical parts of knowledge in order to endure efficiency and safety. It provides a major support to the professional pilots along with co-pilots and other crew members as well as helps to keep their focus on few major concepts including aeronautical decision-making, risk and error management. In this regard, leadership is an integrated part of the overall CRM performance that provides an in-depth understanding about wide range of critical aspects that enable organisations to keep adequate safety along with efficiency of the aircraft functions. In order to increase performance and operational efficiency, leadership plays a pivotal role in CRM that facilitate organisation not only to improve operational efficiency, but also to advance personal skills and competencies of each individual. The study reveals a set of effective factors regarding the influence of leadership on the CRM process that can also improve the operational efficiency and safety of different organisations from various commercial sectors. References Capriglione, C. M. & et. al., No Date. 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