Singapore Airlines Business - Essay Example

Business Management Assignment The purpose of this assignment is to review and provide analysis for three separate business and/or operational plansthrough the analysis and interpretation of the business vision, mission, values and objectives. Furthermore this paper will aim to ascertain whether or not the plan would enable the organization o achieve its stated objectives in terms of whether or not the project will attain the marketing, operational, financial and HR requirements. This paper will also provide some information on how the performance of these business projects will be valued and measured and as such how organizations will effectively communicate the contents of their business plan to key stakeholders such as the relevant investors and employees. Lastly this paper will provide my opinion on which of the three businesses is the most likely to succeed and which of the three businesses is most likely to fail. The format that this paper will take is to first present the business case, present a little background information on the company and follow up with the relevant analysis by conducting a marketing plan, operational plan, financial plan, an a human resources plan for each business. The first sample business plan that this paper will address will be Singapore Airlines proposed all business class service. According to the Company Website (2010) Singapore Airlines has introduced a daily air service to New York (Newark) and to Los Angeles on their new A340-500 which would be fitted with 100 seats configured in a 1-2-1 floor pattern. According to BTN Online (2008) it was the case that the airline had first proposed the idea a few years ago and had proposed a price at approximately $8,200 per person for the Newark flight. While this seems like a dramatic change for the airline it was the case that the company had been moving this direction for quite some time, as many of the same planes in operation have a two class system and feature only a total of 181 seats. Singapore airlines have long been known as the flagship carrier of Singapore, and operate a fleet known to be one of the larges air carriers in Asia. It is the case that the company according to their website has been in operation since 1947 when the company was founded as Malaysian airways. The company has long tried to differentiate itself from a number of its competitors as offering one of the more premium flying experiences in the world and as of 2010 it ranks among the top air carriers globally in terms of revenue earned from passenger kilometers. As the company is known for its premium service one should question why is it that a company has not pursued this policy before. As it turns out four separate airlines have dabbled in the exclusively business class flight model to varying degrees of success. Eos Airlines was an American Based air carrier that had flown a single route (JFK to London) however increasing fuel costs made the business model unprofitable ad ultimately drove the company into the red and filed for bankruptcy in 2008. There was Maxjet Airways which was an American air carrier that flew to five destinations but based out of Washington Dulles that ceased operations in 2007. Silverjet Airlines was a British airline that operated out of London Luton Airport which had focused on Newark and Dubai as destinations that also cited rising fuel costs as a fundamental reason for ceasing operation. Lastly there was L’Avion which was a French based airline that flew from Paris to Newark and ultimately was purchased outright by British airways. The emergent theme here is that the business model seems attractive and feasible however once rising fuel process hit the airlines they ultimately fell shy of turning a profit. One must ask the question would Singapore airlines be subjected to the same fate. In terms of a marketing plan for the business, Singapore Airlines seems to be promoting this service the same way that they promote their other premium flight service through the same channels. The target market of customers that they are trying to attract would most likely be the same customers who typically fly with the company in the pre existing executive class, but would like the added benefit of flying with exclusively first class customers. Since Each plane would have approximately 100 seats available the target sales would typically be between 80-100% of their seats sold on every flight which is concurrent with their current business model. In terms of an operational plan, it would appear that the company is focusing exclusively on its two most profitable routes and is ‘testing the waters’ insofar as they have only modified existing aircraft to accommodate additional first class seats. What one could conclude from this is that if the project were to fall short of turning a profit, the company can simply re-modify its aircraft to their previous state and pick up where they left off. Typically the company would use its pre existing suppliers and would employ the same technology on thee flights as on their other flights. In terms of financial plan of the firm it is the case that if they were to charge $8,200 per person, and the plane was to sell out that would mean that the airline would generate $820,000 in revenue. The question of how much fuel the plane would use and average costs for flights would seem to be variable. It is the case that pilots and staff on board earn different amounts of money based on how long they have been with the company, furthermore fuel costs are constantly in flux and other factors such as delays, headwinds, tailwinds, redirection etc. all can affect the bottom line. However if the venture were to prove to be more commercially viable one would conclude that more routs would be added. In terms of the marketing objectives, Singapore Airlines already brands themselves as a premium airline and as such adding a new line of exclusive flights would keep in line with their stated objectives. In terms of human resource requirements I don’t believe the stated objectives would change drastically for ground, support and flight deck crews. The on flight service staff are probably already trained in how to provide extra service (To accommodate the already existing business class seats) so as such this all business class flight would not be a big detraction from the existing business plan. In terms of the key stakeholders the proposed new routes would be communicated to its existing shareholders in its financial statements and seeing as it is not much o a detraction of its existing business plan I don’t believe it would bring much of an uproar from key stake holders. The next sample business plat that will be examined is the launch of the 2011 Chevrolet volt plug in hybrid vehicle. It was the case that General Motors had proposed an electric vehicle in previous decades and in the late 90’s had marketed the General Motors EV1 pure electric vehicle to a modest degree of success. But with the inception of a number of new hybrid technologies it is the case that the company developed the first volt concept car. Chevrolet is a division of General Motors and has been in continual operation since the early 1930’s. It is the case that the vehicle company has experienced a number of highs and lows over the past eighty years however it has been known for innovating across most personal automobile product lines. The company was an innovator in the sports and muscle car segment with the Chevrolet Camero and Corvette, the truck segment with the Chevrolet Silverado and Avalanche, the family automobile segment with the Chevrolet Malibu and Cobalt, as well as the hybrid market with hybrid versions of popular vehicles. Seeing as the company has a long tradition of innovation, the introduction of a new mass produced, electric battery & gasoline hybrid vehicle seems to be the next natural progression. In terms of a marketing plan for the Volt, it is the case that Chevrolet has already developed tested, and launched as a concept car in the past. The next stage of the marketing is to simply begin an advertising and promotion program to ensure that the vehicles make their way into the minds of potential consumers. The first campaign that comes to mind has been associated with the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Presumably the company is trying to attract eco friendly customers with enough disposable income to afford a brand new car. In terms of an operational plan for Chevrolet it could be argued that the company will continue its operations at its pre existing manufacturing/assembly facilities. It may be the case that a number of pre existing suppliers will be used for key components (brakes, windshields, seatbelts, stereos etc.) However new suppliers may have to be found in order to accommodate the electric engine used in conjunction with the gasoline engine. The company will probably utilize some pre existing plant technologies but may have to expand their assembly equipment to include technologies to better manufacture and install electric engine components. In terms of HR objectives, the next major step is to reconfigure work processes ant major production facilities to be ready for the production of the new vehicles. It is likely a massive new program built on educating assembly workers on the complexity of producing the new vehicles en mass will probably have to be undertaken. In terms of the state marketing objectives of Chevrolet the introduction of the new product line will further reinforce the stated position of Chevrolet as a continual innovator in the automobile segment and as such the launch of the new product would be in keeping with the marketing objectives of Chevrolet/GM. In terms of financial objectives of Chevrolet it is hard to gauge exactly what impact the new vehicle launch will have on the firm. Firstly it is the case that the company has an estimated retail value of U.S.$40,000 and assuming sales of 10,000 in the first year and 60,000 in the second year one could recognize revenues of $2,800,000,000 however one must keep into consideration the massive expense associated with research & development, marketing campaigns, cost of raw goods, transportation & logistics, wage rates, margin for error, production downtime etc. Furthermore there is little guarantee that consumers will be highly receptive to the new vehicle and building on this point there is the risk that there is a major safety defect with the vehicle which could negatively affect the perception of the firm in the long run. In conclusion the launch of the Volt product line is in keeping with the tenants of Chevrolet in most respects however there is a high degree of financial risk with the proposed project. The next major business plan that will be covered in this project is the recent launch of the iPad from Apple computers (Apple, 2010). It is the case that prior to the launch of this new media device, Apple had effectively launched the iTouch and the iPhone media devices which run on a similar platform as the iPad. Where the smaller devices succeeded in having a smaller profile and easy portability they lacked some functionality as a complete media device as the screen on which they performed was quite small. Apple inc was is a corporation which specializes in the manufacturing of computer hardware, consumer electronics, software applications and commercial servers. It has become clear over the several decade existence of the computer company that they have carved out a niche for themselves as innovators in the consumer electronics industry. As a quality manufacturer of personal computers the company began branching off into the more portable electronic deice industry with the launch of the Newton personal organizer device in the min 90’s. After that point the company had a highly successful launch of the iPod portable music player which was later followed by the iTouch and iPhone. The question that arises is will the company keep its continued level of success through to the iPad. In regards to a marketing plan as employed by Apple, it is clear that a big component of the marketing plan is to incorporate a great deal of hype surrounding to product. There have been rumors about the iPad for many months and by having a big launch for the product the company hopes to create a great deal of buzz. In terms of customers the company is trying to attract it is likely to be young, tech and media savvy customers with a high degree of disposable income. In regards to the organizational objectives of the company one could conclude tat the launch of the iPad represents the next logical step in terms of portable media devices. The iPad offers a platform for watching movies on a larger screen plus the added advantage of being able to act as a reader. Building on this point one can recognize that the launch of the Sony ereader, and the Amazon kindle, Apple effectively gains the opportunity to compete head on with major competitors in the burgeoning market. In terms of the fiscal requirements it is the case that much of the iPad technology runs on the same platform as the smaller portable devices so it would theoretically not represent a huge divergence from an R&D perspective. The company also gains a new revenue stream at a staring price of U.S.$499 for the base model and is expecting ‘robust sales’ for the coming year. However it could be argued that the launch of this product could also represent a serious cannibalization of the other product offering of the company. In terms of HR policies it is the case that as the product doesn’t represent much of a divergence from their current product offerings one could conclude that the company would not have to invest too much money into retraining of their employees. I suppose the measurement of the fiscal and organizational performance of the product launch one could conclude that it should be a simple numbers game in terms of measuring how many units are sold across the primary markets and how the R&D costs are offset. Of all the business plan launches that this paper covers I believe that the project that will perform the best would probably be the Singapore Airlines exclusive executive class project. I have selected this project as I recognize this product offering as being a natural progression from their current product offering and represents a relatively lo level of risk for the company insofar as there is the opportunity for huge returns however if the project were to not perform as expected the Airplanes could be retrofitted to match their current airplane layout and return to a status quo business model. Furthermore I believe that this model will succeed simply by nature of the firm simply attacking their most profitable routes. The project that I think is likely to be the least successful will be the Chevrolet Volt launch. Although I believe the product to be a fairly good new vehicle and represents a huge leap forward in terms of technology it is the case that the product also has high associated risks which means that if the product is a total failure it would be very difficult to recoup the company losses. Furthermore there are extremely high startup costs associated with the launch of this product, and given its technical complexity there may be a problem with quality control. References Apple (2010) Apple Launches the iPad. Company Website. [online] Available at http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/01/27ipad.html Accessed on February 26th 2010. Chevrolet.com (2010) Chevrolet Volt [online] Available at http://www.chevrolet.com/pages/open/default/future/volt.do Accessed on February 26th 2010. Singapore Airlines (2010) All Business Class [online] Available at http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/exp/new/businessclass/A340-500.jsp??v=537307851& Accessed on February 26th 2010. Read More