How Effective Are Services Provided by the OCS to the Birmingham Airport in Meeting Customers Needs - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal Name: Course: Tutor: Institution: Department: Date: Table of Contents 1.0 INTRODUCTION According to Great Britain (2007) report, the airline industry is the fastest growing in any economy, and it is of most importance that the products and services offered to be of quality. The author also noted that one of the most important aspects of air transport are the customers, who continuously need the services to move from one place to another and in turn creates the capital necessary to run the industry continuously. With clients holding such level of importance, there are requirements for airports on every occasion to take care of them. One of the groups that have continued to ensure that the customers’ needs are taken care of is the Outsourced Client Solution (O.C.S). Among the services they provide includes security, cleaning and hard service which they render to different companies, one of which is the Birmingham Airport. Founded in July 1939, the airport was established under the name Edmond Airport and with time changed to its original name. 2.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT How effective are the services provided by the OCS to the Birmingham Airport in the effort of meeting the needs of the customers of the Airline? 2.1 OBJECTIVES 2.1.1 Main Objective To find out the customers’ view of the services offered by OCS at Birmingham Airport. 2.1.2 General Objectives To find out the services required by passengers at Birmingham Airport. To establish the level of satisfaction of the already available services offered. To find out new services needed. 3.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION Birmingham Airport over the years has utilized the help of Outsourced Client Solution (OCS) to meet the needs of those requiring special attention or assistance. OCS offer a range of services to different firms which include security, cleaning and or hard services, but in the case of Birmingham, it is a little different. OCS utilizes various means of transport, in this instance, vehicles and equipment such as the special wheelchair, a minibus with a carrying capacity of eight, tailored lift and finally buggies which are all adapted to ensure comfort and safety when it comes to the special needs passengers. How does it work? To receive the services of OCS at Birmingham Airport, one needs to make a booking of special assistance, through their airlines, forty-eight hours before the day of travel with particular needs of the passengers. Who are the passengers with special needs? They include the following: Autism Passengers travelling with the airline are requested to make a booking assistance under DNPA assistance, and if further information is queried passenger is advised to write the word autism. OCS understands that the airport atmosphere can be unpleasant which concurs with the argument of Broach et al. (2003) regarding noise and the general experience described as uncomfortable. Having understood this, OCS have produced an artistic booklet, with pictures and words, to aid the autistic passenger with routes to take from arrival to departure. An added advantage in the brochure is the tick box option which also helps in knowing the already visited places and the once one is supposed to head. Children travelling with their guardians can also call the OCS to help take care of their kids who are by Audit Commission (2003) catering for both the parents and the disabled child. OCS have developed an interactive kid’s area known as Sky Zone which easily found on the opposite side of gate fifty-four after the security area. This area caters for both the young and old children and provides equipment with a sensor pod which is described to be children suitable on the spectrum of SEN. The Deaf are also not left or should not be left out according to Campion et al. (2003) in the effort helping those with disabilities for the purpose of closing disability gap that exist. The staffs employed by OCS are fluent in sign language which satisfies the argument of Langley and White (1998) which calls for a culture change from the governing body and there is also a Help Desk for those with special needs to contact on arrival to the airport. To efficiently ensure the deaf are helped, OCS in partnership with the airport have installed an induction loop system which aids the deaf or those with the hearing problem to pick up important sounds from the reduced background noise. It coincides with the argument of Mandelstam (2009) which calls for the society to come together to aid the disabled. Other complimentary services offered by OCS in their effort to assist those in particular need include the education and sensitization of the staff which Mandelstam (2009) argued is the first step in helping the disabled, especially the staff that is in physical and social contact. They are trained to be equal and diverse in their daily activities by Mathew (2009) in his report, to enable them to understand the sensitive issues that come hand in hand with the different disabilities. Assistance dogs are allowed in the airport upon request of OCS with the approval of the routes and the airlines. Changing rooms are a step in the right direction as discussed by Mathew (2009) who claims accessibility for those in need of a quick change is available and provide a toilet for them too. The procedure of receiving the services offered by OCS is available online and on the contact list on their website. Their telephone lines are online on a twenty-four-hour basis. The services available to the passengers at Birmingham are okay, but what must be done to make them the best is the question of the project and if they are within the guidelines stipulated for those with special needs. The improvement in technology and the dissemination of information leaves space for improvement in the aid for those with special needs.   4.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Lavery et al. (1998) state that the transport industry has neglected disabled persons for a long time. Most public buses are not equipped to accommodate the disabled, electric trains on the other hand with their new designs, have shown quite an improvement when it comes to dealing with the disabled. The air transport industry can be seen to be in development on a daily basis when it comes to such persons, with tour buses available, conveyor belts and even ramps in every access point. The disabled in this case as argued by Alsnih and Hensher (2003), are not only the disabled but also the too young and the too old who cannot take care of themselves. OCS provide the services that are required to aid such persons. The services rendered are either by the argument of the authors below or against, depending on the era the author existed in and the information available. 4.1 Literature Matrix Author Year Published Purpose Comments GREAT BRITAIN. (2007). Passengers' experiences of air travel. London, The Stationery Office. 2007 The author discusses the experience of different individuals with disabilities in airports. The author does enumerate not only the problems but also the solutions to some of the challenges and way forward regarding design and awareness. Different airports have different services to offer, and the author at some point fails to show the experience at specific airports clearly but instead generalizes the idea of experience regarding passenger travel irrespective of the airport. MANDELSTAM, M. (2009). Community care practice and the law. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 2009 With the help of the law, the author clearly defines the role of the community in aiding the disabled. The author adds to the argument that society requires resources to ensure that the disabled have equal rights. It can only be possible with the aid of the government, adds Kenyon et al. (2003), who discusses its involvement widely. The community is important in pushing for the rights of different individuals but they can only do so if the government offers a helping hand, this can be in the form of education or funding. VELLEMAN, R. A. (1979).Serving physically disabled people. New York, R.R. Bowker Co. 1979 The author argues on different ideas to improve the services offered to the disabled at various service points in the country. She does not fail to enumerate the challenges that the disabled face on a daily basis at work, home or social gathering. The author recognizes children to be in the disabled category as they cannot think for themselves when decision making is required. The fact that the author includes children in the list of the disabled shows the level of awareness in such an era. Although many fail to see the clear picture of kids as disabled, the author not only gives instances where a child is disabled but also cases of neglecting this idea where the kids we either lost or kidnapped. COOKE, E. D., & GRAY, P. S. (1991). The Disability Law Reporter service. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall Law & Business. 1991 The author clearly identifies the problem faced by the disabled passengers in airports and gives recommendations on different ways of tackling the various issues. They also discuss the services that should be available in every airport regarding mobility and accessibility from one point to another within the airports. The author gives us background information on the disabled in the past, the proposal, and recommendation made by the author about services governed by the disability law and how companies such as OCS can easily achieve them. ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT. (2006). Improving Transport Accessibility for All: Guide to Good Practice. Paris, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.  2006 The author discusses the importance to improve transport systems and infrastructure to suit every individual despite the disabilities they have. It goes hand in hand with the argument made by Velleman (1979) with a discussion on current methods of infrastructure and transport systems being enumerated by both authors. It includes the use of ramps instead of staircases to allow access for both the disabled and those well, the conveyor belts, which can be placed at different points of the infrastructures. The focus by the author is mainly on land transport where parking lots and ramps are of importance to the disabled. The author fails to showcase the failures that come with lack of awareness of the different disabled people, especially staffs, in the various transport means. EISENBERG, M. G. (1982). Disabled people as second-class citizens. New York, Springer. The author provides a detailed account of the disabled during the 80’s which compared to William (2003) report seems like a disaster. The author clearly describes the disabled as second class citizens because they have been neglected together with their needs regarding accessibility and mobility of both goods and services not keenly looked after, because those in power lack the awareness of the struggles that the disabled battle with every day. The author takes us back to the eighties where he provides background information on the suffering of the disabled but does not clearly define the measures or protocol that need to implementation and equality when it comes to such persons.   5.0 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Various methods were utilized to obtain customer service data at the airport. These methods include; use of questionnaires and personal experience from the passengers at the airport as a primary source of data and the use of data from the airport, having had previous surveys, as a secondary source for the data. According to Mitchel and Smith (1998), it is important to keep check of the different trends available when conducting research on mobility and accessibility of the disabled and hence the need for more than one source of data. 5.1 Research Approach The best approach for this kind of survey is the inductive research approach, which at first requires a personal experience to make a general conclusion about the services offered by the OCS at the airport. Briaux-Trouvier (1995) gives a detailed account of the disabled person experience when travelling by plane but it fails to show the perspective of a disabled person. From the different observation ideas of what OCS are accomplishing was clear, and from there the various methods of collecting data were then utilized. 5.2 Data Collection Method and Tools The tools required for this project's data collection include a pen and paper for the hardcopy questionnaire and the internet for the online response to the same questionnaires. The use of questionnaires, both online and physically enabled the data collection to be swift and fast. “The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development” (2006) uses surveys and online portals to get information on transport accessibility, making the methods viable and efficient for use, especially when working with a small population. The internet has created an infrastructure that allows different individuals to share their experience on the same platforms. Such platforms can be built on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. All the interviewees were in one way or another affiliated with Birmingham airline, as either passengers or members of the staff. Some of the structured questions included: Question 1. Are you physically disabled or know anyone with a disability? Question 2. If YES, how can you describe your experience at Birmingham Airport by Best, Good, Bad and Poor? Question 3. How accessible is the airport compound from the parking? Good, Bad, Poor, Okay. Question 4. Do you know about OCS services at Birmingham Airport? Question 5. If YES, how or where did you hear about it? Question 6. On a scale of 1-10, Rate your experience at Birmingham hospital? Question 7. What new technology would you recommend for OCS to implement to ensure efficiency in the service provided? Above are some of the questions which helped to acquire primary data on the experience of customers at the airline and their level of knowledge on OCS and the services they offer to the passengers. 5.3 Data Analysis Moore and McCabe (2005) argue that data analysis was done through content analysis where they continue to explain how it works. Also, analysts categorize the data regarding themes and sub-themes which help us to understand the data clearly. The response of the passengers to questions on whether one is disabled or not in our case helped categorize the experience regarding those who experience the services and those who only see the efforts of OCS. 5.4 Research Limitation The sample size of the project is small when compared with the number of passengers that come in and out having utilized the services offered by OCS. The reason for the limited sample size was because of time, money and material available. On top of all these, some passengers with disabilities were either shy or intimidated by the questions. Reference List Alsnih. R. And Hensher D. A. (2003). The mobility and accessibility of seniors in an ageing population. Transportation Research Part A. 37, 903-916. Audit Commission. (2003). Services for Disabled Children: a review of services for disabled children and their families. Public Sector National Report. London: Audit Commission. Bellerby, F. (2000). Public transport and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Contemporary Ergonomics. 218-222. Briaux-Trouviere C. (1995). Travelling by plane – what is the reality for disabled people? 7th International Conference on Transport and Mobility for Elderly and Disabled People. Conference Proceedings, Vol 1, pp 105-109. Broach S, Camgoz S, Heather C, Owen G, Potter D and Prior A (2003). Autism: Rights in Reality: How people with autism spectrum disorders and their families are still missing out on their rights. London: The National Autistic Society. Campion J, Greenhalgh C and Knight J (2003). Mind the Gap: Social Exclusion Report 2003. London: Leonard Cheshire. Cooke, E. D., & Gray, P. S. (1991). The Disability law reporter service. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice Hall Law & Business. Eisenberg, M. G. (1982). Disabled people as second-class citizens. New York, Springer. Great Britain. (2007). Passengers' experiences of air travel. London, The Stationery Office. Grundy E, Ahlburg D, Ali M, Breeze E and Sloggett A. (1999). Disability in Great Britain. DSS Research Report no.94. HMSO. Kenyon S, Rafferty J and Lyons G (2003). ‘Social exclusion and transport in the UK: a role for virtual accessibility in the alleviation of mobility-related social exclusion?’. Journal of Social Policy, 32, 3, 317-388. Langley A and White G (1998). ‘Changing a culture: integrated government funding – a beginning’. 8th International Conference on Transport and Mobility for Elderly and Disabled People. Conference Proceedings, Vol 1, 319-328. Lavery I, Knox J and Slevin E. (1998). ‘Identifying and evaluating the barriers to independent travel for severe learning disabled people’. 8th International Conference on Transport and Mobility for Elderly and Disabled People. Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1, 217- 225. Mandelstam, M. (2009). Community care practice and the law. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Matthews B (2002). ‘The Disability Discrimination Act and developments in accessible public transport in the UK’. World Transport Policy and Practice, 8, 2, 42-49. Mitchell C G B and Smith T (1998). ‘Access to transportation systems and the trend to universal design’. 8th International Conference on Transport and Mobility for Elderly and Disabled People. Conference Proceedings, Vol 1, 283-290. Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2006). Improving Transport Accessibility for All: Guide to Good Practice. Paris, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.  Velleman, R. A. (1979). Serving physically disabled people. New York, R.R. Bowker Co. Williams P J G (2003). ‘Consultation on transport aspects of the Disability Discrimination Act’. Access by Design, 94, pp6-9. Read More