Efficient Airport Operations Management - Coursework Example

Efficient airport operations management University Student Id Course Date Introduction This report is trying to explore efficiency in the operations management of an airport. The operations in airport require high standards of safety, efficiency, reliability and comfort. Considering the increasing competition in the aviation industry, it is important to ascertain that the operations of the airline are efficient. It is through efficiency in operations that an organization can be able to manage its costs of operations. In the process of achieving efficiency in operations, there is the need to guarantee that the various stakeholders are engaged in the management of the operations of the organization. Some of the major operations in the airport include landside operations, in-flight operations and airside operations where these operations are inter-linked to achieve efficiency (Yu, 2004). The airside operations involve the guarantee of safety in the runways and other movement areas. Inflight Operations are responsible for managing air traffic to guarantee safety when taking-off and landing. The safety at airport is a responsibility of all the staff that can include the cleaning staff, the catering personnel, the crew at the airport and even the handling of the luggage it is crucial to safety of the operations. Figure 1: showing importance of information sharing in airport operations Efficiency in safety operations can be possible through the collaboration of the various departments of the airport such as corporate relations, marketing, planning, accounts department, and events department among other departments in the airport. The success of one department is the automatically success of the other departments hence it is necessary to guarantee proper coordination among various departments. It is through efficiency in safety operations that risks in aviation industry can be managed to guarantee safety to the passengers (Ball, Donohue, and Hoffman, 2006). The report explores the different operations in airport related to safety, flight planning, and maintenance. The interdependence of the various departments in the airport and the needs of the customers in the aviation industry are discussed in the report. Inter-dependability of different airport departments The inter-dependability of the various departments can be greatly associated with the increased pressures for low prices. The fuelling of the aircraft has been the major cause of increase in increase in costs of operations hence making it necessary for efficiency in safety operations. Among the important safety operations is the landside operations that entail safety in the terminals through adopting navigation approaches that can achieve visual assistance for the pilots to land safely. The demand safety in the operations has also increased making it necessary for the departments to collaborate in the process of looking for the best way forward. Also, the increasing competition has led to increasing in the inter-dependability as the different departments have to come together and formulate strategies that can achieve competitive advantages (Malik, Gupta, and Jung, 2010). For instance, one of the major strategy in the aviation industry is the costs leadership strategy. The cost leadership strategy makes it possible to minimize the costs incurred in the operations hence achieving efficiency. It is through the reduction of the cost of production that the low prices can be adopted. Figure 2: Inter-dependability The desire to stay ahead of the competition is increasing the level of inter-dependability as departments need to engage each other in making decisions necessary for meeting the needs of the customers. Also, through the engagement of the different department safety is guaranteed hence increasing the chances of meeting the expectations of the customers. The airport departments are said to be interdependent where they rely on each other to achieve efficiency (Oum and Yu, 2004). The management of an airport has to engage various departments in the process of formulating and implementing the various strategies. The engagement of the departments can be crucial for proper coordination among the different departments. The different departments in airports are liaising with each other in the process of managing change. Considering the changes that have been taking place in the aviation industry interdependence of the different departments (Yoshida and Fujimoto, 2004). The change process and the various pressures for change are felt differently in the department making liaising with each other is an important for that the operations are competitive. The government has raised some concerns concerning the aviation industry where the government has been looking for ways of ensuring that there security concerns in airports are addressed. As a result, there are government regulations that have been in place that the management of airports has to adhere in their operations to guarantee security. Most of the accidents that have been taking pace in the aviation industry are said to have the safety measures on blame (Pacheco and Fernandes, 2003). The regulations are aimed at ensuring that the management of the airports are dedicated to give safety of the operations priority. The expectations of most of the customers are safety hence creating the need for safety operations through planning in a way that can achieve the passengers’ safety. Marketing department The marketing department in the airport is responsible for activities such as advertising, ticketing, scheduling, reservations, cargo sales, and customer services and pricing among other activities. In the process of ensuring that the department achieves its goals, it is expected to collaborate with other departments. There are some other activities that the marketing department has to rely on the other managers to achieve the safety goals. For instance, in pricing, the marketing manager has to consult the other managers in the different departments to make the best prices and safety strategies. Through the engagement of the other departments, a competitive pricing strategy can be adopted to meet the needs of the customers in a better manner (Lozano and Gutiérrez, 2011). Besides, through engaging the other managers from the various departments the best operations that can ascertain that the pricing adopted achieves the goals set can be decided. This can involve coming up with the best strategies that can be employed to minimize the costs of production to achieve efficiency hence making it possible to offer low prices. Planning Department The activities in the planning department can include air traffic control, safety measures, and handling various logistics in the airport. The planning department relies on other departments in the process of making decisions affecting the operations of the department. For instance, the different managers of the other department are involved in the process of coming up with the necessary policies for safety in operations (Fernandes and Pacheco, 2002). The engagement of the other departments in the process of formulating the necessary strategies for safety in the airport operations. Also, the engagement of the other department can be important for the strategies formulated to gain support from the other departments in the process of implementing (Cleary and Dolbeer, 2005). The safety aspects that are critical the other departments are engaged to minimize the possible risks in operations. Besides, the planning department is crucial for achieving efficiency through controlling costs. In airports, planning can ascertain that the operations adopted are able to attain efficiency hence increasing the need for consulting the other managers to make decisions that can guarantee efficiency (Vos, Groothuis, and van, 2007). This can entail the planning of the operations and make use of technology where appropriate for managing the costs incurred in operating the airport making them low and guaranteed safety (Fernandes and Pacheco, 2002). In the planning department, change is considered constant where the managers in the department have to collaborate with the other managers to come up with the best changes that need to be adopted. Corporate relations department The corporate relations collaborates with the other departments in the process of addressing the concerns of the customers. It is through the corporate relations department that the concerns of the customers can be passed to the right department where they collaborate making the necessary strategies that can gain the good image of the airport in the eyes of the public through improved service delivery (Sarkis and Talluri, 2004). The inter-dependability of the different departments in airports is considered as a strategy for success in the industry. The needs of external and internal customers The perception of the services delivered to the clients usually starts with the end users who rely on the airport business. The end users here are referred to be the external clients in the operations conducted in an airport (Oum, Yu, and Fu, 2003). Airports usually offer both training and also awareness to its external clients in order to establish loyalty as well as to maintain their business. External Customers The external clients are usually very significant in ensuring that there is an effective operation of an airport. This is because of their provision of monetary funds via their purchases. Achieving safety in operations and satisfaction of the external clients usually may make business the preferred choice. The airports usually possess one thing which is common as they all rely on the customers in order to sustain their operations (Bazargan and Vasigh, 2003). Moreover, when establishing a relationship, it is good to be conversant to the clients well. Also, the external clients are usually multidimensional hence they act very differently since they have different expectations as well as experiences. The prevailing aspects which can explain well about the customers are quite overwhelming. Internal Customers The internal clients usually refer to the people who carry out the operations in an airport and deliver the final services to their clients. These internal clients include individuals such as vendors, suppliers and also the professional advisors. Hence, the internal relationship shows how these individuals relate to each other within their organization. The most important internal clients are the workers within an organization who are responsible for achieving safety in operations (Jung, et al. 2011). Also, the term internal customer can also be used to refer to an individual who provides labour for another person. Also, the relationship of the internal clients usually plays a major role in making the operations of an airport more effective. However, an internal relationship which is not worthy consequently results in adverse impacts on the morale of the firm. A manager who is in charge of the operations of an airport should focus mainly on the relationship with the external clients since they are the individuals who buy services (Pels, Nijkamp, and Rietveld, 2003). Also, the managers should also look for the methods to develop the internal client relationship because improving this can result in better working conditions. Customer Service Standards The client experience groups in various airports are recently conducting out research to identify the client groups and also the major stakeholder. This research helps the managers to maintain the relationship with the external clients. Also, the same research help in identifying the major drivers for the satisfaction of the customers need (Carney and Mew, 2003). Research provide a base for the managers to make decisions concerning the operations as well as investments with the aim of improving the satisfaction of the clients. Both of the security and safety are very significant in any certain airport. Therefore there are various screening points in the airports which help in achieving enough safety for the passengers. Conclusion The management of operations in airports is entirely relying on technology. Technology adoption has proved to be an important strategy in the aviation industry. It is through the adoption of technology in operations that the efficiencies in operations can be achieved. The different departments decide the decisions concerning the needs and the various areas of ensuring adoption of technology. The department heads usually hold a meeting to discuss the necessary change that needs to be adopted in the organizations to achieve efficiency. The interdependency of the different departments assist in attaining proper communication that can guarantee coordination of the safety operations in the airport. Communication among the different departments has been conserved crucial in the process of implementing the change strategies related to safety in the airport. The possibility of resistance to change can be eliminated as through the improvement in communication the reasons and the benefits of change can be explained to the managers and employees in each department. References Ball, M., Donohue, G. and Hoffman, K., 2006. Auctions for the safe, efficient, and equitable allocation of airspace system resources. Combinatorial auctions, 1. Bazargan, M. and Vasigh, B., 2003. Size versus efficiency: a case study of US commercial airports. Journal of Air Transport Management, 9(3), pp.187-193. Carney, M. and Mew, K., 2003. Airport governance reform: a strategic management perspective. Journal of Air Transport Management, 9(4), pp.221-232. Cleary, E.C. and Dolbeer, R.A., 2005. Wildlife hazard management at airports: a manual for airport personnel. Fernandes, E. and Pacheco, R.R., 2002. Efficient use of airport capacity. Transportation research part A: Policy and practice, 36(3), pp.225-238. 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Yoshida, Y. and Fujimoto, H., 2004. Japanese-airport benchmarking with the DEA and endogenous-weight TFP methods: testing the criticism of overinvestment in Japanese regional airports. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 40(6), pp.533-546. Yu, M.M., 2004. Measuring physical efficiency of domestic airports in Taiwan with undesirable outputs and environmental factors. Journal of Air Transport Management, 10(5), pp.295-303. Appendices Figure 1: showing importance of information sharing in airport operations Figure 2: Inter-dependability Read More