Performance Management Practice in Dubai International Airport - Case Study Example

Title: Performance Management Practice in Dubai International Airport Name Institution Date of submission Introduction Dubai International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world placed at 6th position. It is the primary airport that serves Dubai, UAE and other major airports in the world. The airport handled up to 70.4 million passengers and 2.37 million tons of cargo in 2014. It also registered more than 300,000 flight movements during the same year (Dubaiairports.ae, 2015). Dubai International Airports owns and manages all the operations of Dubai Airports and Al Maktoum International where all the operations are done in Dubai World Central (DWC) in Dubai. The organization was established in 2007 as a commercial entity. This came after the restructuring of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation that was established in July 1937 for the purpose of managing flying boats and aircrafts. Currently, Dubai international Airport has three main terminals which serve all airlines, serves scheduled and special flights and the one dedicated only for Emirates airlines. The airports under Dubai International Airport are mostly designed to support economic and social activities like aviation, tourism as well as logistics around the world. In May 2011, Dubai International Airport publicized its strategic plans which involved building of Concourse D to boost the operations from Concourse C for all airlines. The changing of names on the concourses made it easier for the passengers to have navigation in the airport thus improving the services offered by the airlines under Dubai International Airport. The growth traffic measured by passenger movements and airfreight movements has increased remarkably since the establishment of the organization in 2007. This shows how the organization is committed to its vision and goals (Elmehdi, 2012). Vision Organization’s vision is to change the aviation history, and become the leading airport company in the world. Goals To better both the social and economic state of Dubai through provision of high quality products and services that will eventually grow airport industry. To ensure that there is positive development towards achieving a sparkling and sustainable future where carbon production from the airlines and airports are neutralized. To monitor performance in a number of areas including waste disposal, energy conservation and environmental management. Objectives The main objective of Dubai International Airport is attached to the vision of the organization-To become the world number one airport both in terms of passenger number and all other service quality. Corporate strategy The corporate strategy of the organization is based on the leadership commitment where leaders are required to encourage and empower individuals to engage in active participation and improvement initiatives of the organization (Dubaiairports.ae, 2015). This has been achieved through: Ensuring that Airport’s environment is safe, secure and responsible for people, Increasing the capacity of people in order to meet economic growth demands, Delivering world class services and modernizations, and Strive to achieve its revenues value in the market. Performance management practices and its positive or negative effects on stakeholders Dubai International Airport has invested confidently on performance management practices as strength to achieve its vision. These practices are dedicated to form an effective performance culture which will help in linking all employees and teams’ performance to the corporate strategy and objectives of the organization. According to Gerrish (2013), performance culture measures the competency and develop an employee through the required standards. 1. Identification of learning and development needs of employees Dubai International Airport is committed to nurture personal growth of all people in the organization by ensuring that they are equipped with the required skills and knowledge for the to carry out assigned duties with confident. For example, in 2012, the organization released a comprehensive training and development portfolio containing courses to be undertaken by employees. These courses aimed at catering the training needs across all organization’s units. Besides the homegrown programs, the organization partnered with recognized training institutions to ensure that its people are well capacitated with Airport management programs. The results from this investment were positive towards the intended performance culture. About 81% of the employees took part in these programs and as a result, the learning and development programs provided an ideal environment which inspired interaction and commitment to duties and responsibilities. Also, employees were able to embrace the changing the changing technology and use it effectively to promote organization’s reputation. Dubai may have strained so much particularly in finance. Much money was allocated for these programs and it successful since 81% of employees were able to benefit from it and reflect the skills in their duties. The standard of services between 2012 and 2014 improved significantly and the organization was able to attract majority of passengers and airfreights (cargo services) (Elmehdi, 2012). 2. Rewards and recognition strategy The reward and recognition schemes in Dubai International Airport are intended to ensure that employees are engaged to the organizational activities. According to Aguinis (2013), rewards and recognition schemes often inspires employees thus driving productivity as well as raising their morale. Dubai Airport has different schemes which include Mega Star Performance Award which is given annually and Star Performer Award which is given quarterly. For instance, in 2010, about 17 employees in DWC were awarded Star Performer for their exceptional teamwork in customer service. The organization also uses the recognitions such as hosting events that will promote valuable contributions to stakeholders. For example, in December 2012, the organization called for clean-up day where every employee was to devote some of his/her time over the week to work on this services. The use of rewards and recognition as a strategy in managing performance has boosted performance management culture in various ways. Individuals are inspired by their leaders and performers to be committed in accomplishing their assigned duties. Aspects like time management is efficiently observed by employees as they strive towards excellence. This in turn has boosted the organization’s image thus attracting investors and other passengers who appear to be major stakeholders of the organization. Also, the organization received up to 233 suggestions about changing customer service especially in the front office. Seven of these suggestions were evaluated and implemented showing a sense of recognition of the employees. In this case, employees who are considered stakeholders will see that they are involved in activities attached to the vision and mission of the organization (Chairman, 2012). 3. Identifying talent Dubai International Airport attracts and identifies best talent among individuals within the organization. They always ensure that they have the right people to pursue the vision of the organization. Embracing talent development started in the year 2012 when the airport realized that there were no suitable candidates for certain technical positions from the internal source. The company had to advertise for these positions externally both regionally and internationally. The organization has extended looking for suitable talents by use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter (Chairman, 2012). The use of social media has shortened the recruitment cycle thus improving talent development process. For example, talent development initiative in 2012 reduced cost of recruiting when the manpower costs went up during that financial year. As a result, Dubai International Airport is currently filled with internally developed individuals. Investors and other stakeholders have seen a rise in revenue by 32% in 2013 from the internally developed individuals. Identifying and developing talents have also created positive work environment that support gender disparity and enables career development across all genders. Currently, employees in Dubai International Airport are striving to reach new heights out of the potential realized through talent identification and development. According to Aguinis (2013), talent identification and development is currently making Dubai Airport be competitive in the market. Also, it is helping the organization to achieve its objectives and goals. 4. Managing underperformance Dubai International Airport is privileged to have winning leaders who always coach and mentor employees to become productive people in the organization. Coaching for example, is used to introduce and guide employees to adopt new technology at work. This has helped the organization in informing, getting opinions and creating changes out of these opinions. Coaching in Dubai International Airport involves explaining to an individual, asking for his/her opinion, involving and appreciating positive perception towards forming an effective performance culture. Coaching in the organization is majorly done through leaders working at their practice. In this case, employees get motivated from the staff who are performing best in their duties (Aguinis, 2013). For example, most of organizations leaders get rewards and recognitions from their achievements. As a result, individuals will always try to emulate and go beyond these achievements for them to be recognized. Also, underperformers are trained on how to approach matters attached to the vision of the organization. This has created a positive synergy which has led to developing effective performance teams in different areas. Terminal 1 was successfully completed in time since there was effective corporation among the teams assigned to complete activities attached to the terminal (Dubai Airport, 2014). Supporting fellow workmates has been a philosophy in Dubai Airport and this has really earned the organization’s balance support from everyone. Jointly solutions have been successful strategy in managing underperformers since it involves the contribution from everyone in the organization. Stakeholders, especially the Chief Executive Officers are happy to see solutions from within and it has reduced other costs like vocational training to the employees (Chairman, 2012). In conclusion, it is important to make your performance count. This is the philosophy of performance culture in Dubai International Airport. The organization has been successful in management practices and it has earned the organization more positive results than negative. Performance management through the practices mentioned has increased the market share of the organization. Employees are motivated and inspired to deliver high standard performance since the formation of effective performance management culture. Dubai International Airport as good reputation in the market due to effective management practices. Though the organization has used a lot of resources to reach this level, it has something to smile about currently in the market-coming close to its vision. References Aguinis, H. (2013). Performance management. Boston: Pearson. Chairman,. (2012). A defining moment for Dubai Airports. Retrieved from http://www.dubaiairports.ae/docs/default-source/Publications/dubai-airports-yearbook-2012.pdf?sfvrsn=0 Dubai Airport,. (2014). Creating an effective performance management culture. Retrieved from http://www.fahr.gov.ae/portal/assets/cdfae35c/day-2-1130-meshari-al-bannai.aspx Dubaiairports.ae,. (2015). Dubai Airports. Retrieved 12 April 2015, from http://www.dubaiairports.ae/ Elmehdi, H. (2012). Relationship between civil aircraft noise and community annoyance near Dubai International Airport. Acoustical Science And Technology, 33(1), 6-10. doi:10.1250/ast.33.6 Gerrish, E. (2013). The Impact of Performance Management on Performance in Public Organizations: A Meta-Analysis. SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2500420 Read More