Free Essay Example: Airline and Airport Operations Management

Introduction

This essay analyses and explain operation management in airport and airline perspective. It explains the nature of this type of management as a service oriented. It explains the operation management process in regard to the airline.The essay also analyses the management approaches to operation management by describing classical, behavioural and modern approaches.The essay also explains components of airline marketing and suggests ways that would help airport or aviation industry to gain a brand identity.

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The Nature of Operations Management

(Robinson et al., 2016) Operation management can be defined as the activity and process of managing the resources which deliver and create product and services that meet customers need in an organization.Operation management function can help to create products and services through output and input transformation, this process is known as input-transformation-output.However, this process varies with industry sector or the organization. (Chandler and Sweller, 1991). Operation management concept indicates that there is one right approach for production activity management. (Skinner, 1969) Was the first person to set principles that sought to elaborate operation strategy stating that different company has different weaknesses and strength however they can choose their way to be competitiveness. In a service based industry such as airline and aviation industry, operation management that is efficient is important.This is because the input in this type of industries involves human resources that are intangible.

(Wu, 2010) Airline operation is an execution of airline schedule formed by the airport that is designed for a specific market in order to maximize the corporate revenues. This network is said to be complex in nature.Planning of this schedules contains major tactical and strategic decisions that are made by a given airline which aims at utilizing and maximizing corporate revenues and resources

In order to maintain competitive advantages of intangible products, there is a need for an organization to adopt collaborative techniques such as distributed working and collaborative techniques.Input in service industries tends to be intellect rather than raw material, therefore, inventories management concepts do not apply in this case. Airport airline operational activities have unique characteristics that include operating standardized procedures and constraints that includes operating times.The airline operations timeline is based on departure time schedule in a given flight that is indicated in the timetable.Airline and travel Managers should rethink on input and transformation in ensuring a satisfying the customers need and ensuring that the customer experience is of high quality.

The Processes of Operations Management

(Graystoneadvisors.com, 2018) The process of management in aviation industry plays a key role in producing stellar outcome through the use of optimized, relevant and well-defined resources.(Iata.org, 2018) In an airline, Operations control authority is in charge of operations control.This authority should have an autonomy of operational decision.The role of operations management may be divided into operational planning and operational management.In operational planning and balancing the integrated planning includes Schedule component that includes location, frequency, timing, and aircraft type.The second planning and balancing process involves operational requirements that involve ground time, flight time, maintenance program, crew time.Lastly, there is resource requirement manpower facilities, GSE inventory, aircraft and contract service.The operation management is in charge of managing day to day integrated process that includes first bringing experienced scheduling together.customer service, operational and control of revenues.The second process of operations management is to coordinate staff in working together for innovation processes then lastly, improve and design tools for the innovation of the next generation.

There is need to enhance customer loyalty, operation efficiency, and profitability of a given airline This can be achieved through the use of technology which set the stage for business processes that are integrated all around the given airline.

Analysing Management Approaches to Operations Management

There is various management approach that may be used in operation management that includes: classical, behavioral and modern approaches.The classical approach focuses on scientific administrative and bureaucratic management. Bureaucratic considers the organization as a society that is broad.With principles that include, rationality, structure, democracy, predictability, and specialization. Administrative management is focused on how an organization should be structured and managed.The behavioral approach seeks to emphasize on how to improve management through people's psychological makeup (DuBrin, 2012).There are, however, modern approach to characteristics of organizations that include,system approach which considers an organization as a system is made up of a set of interrelated subsystems.The other modern approach is social-technical, it considers an organization to be composed of technical systems, social system, and the environment.contingency approach is based on the theory that states that effective management is dependent on management application interplay and specific situations.This approach states that effectiveness of leadership relates to group effectiveness and it is thus composed of two factors relation or task motivation and circumstance. Operation management entails how different organizations produce services and goods.Operation management has three core functions that include service or product development, marketing and operation function.Operation functions enable the customer to fulfill service requests through service or product delivery.There is another support function of operation management that includes human resource and finance and accounting functions.

(Slack, Brandon-Jones, and Johnston, 1995)operation management is a very significant area of organization management.It can, however, be defined as management area that is related to operations and design of business processes in service and goods productions.It can be described as resource transformation into services and products. (Voss, 2016) Operation management plays a role of management through the process of converting inputs into output.inputs are converted from labor, energy, and material to services and goods. (Schmenner and Swink, 1998)states that it is important to ensure strategic direction is maintained through executing tactical decision in utilizing resources in ensuring that an organization meets competitive advantage. (Kersten, Blecker and Luthje, 2010) Airline industries has been regarded as the most advanced technologic industry.Schedule carriers being on of the primary carrieer s rely on decision support and management information systems .Aircraft planning in airborne logistics is refered to as one of the most comlex issue which require economic success of bottom line. (Collier and Evans, 2009)Majority of airline cost focuses mostly on activities of operation management that includes traffic services,f light operations,s ales and reservation and aircraft services and passenger inflight services.This services are high contact services of management functions.

Operation management is important for every function and all managers should learn from the concepts, approaches, principles, and techniques. It is necessary for the management to take a lean approach to every operation in the airline and aviation industry.It is necessary to carry out integrated planning in order to integrate the phases that are functional at the management planning stage which are beneficial to the overall operations.an example assignment of type aircraft route or fleet planning has been an area of classical application in integer linear programming.

Applying Operations Management to Gaining Customers and Competing

Over 70 years, Airline has evolved from simple mail contract carriers to sophisticated business.Airline environment is, however, a very dynamic and competitive industry.Therefore maintaining a consistent profitability requires tradeoff to be made between competing objectives in operations, marketing, and planning. A continuous process of Marketing and planning determine an airline product and defines how they will be sold.This process requires data and feedback exchange between pricing, scheduling and distribution and revenue management.Marketing determines which products will be offered and sold.The main components of marketing of airline service are yield management and pricing.Distribution is the other role carried out by operation management.This process involves taking the products of airline and placing them for sale.Through a storefront of GDS and CRS.Scheduling determines when and where a given airline will fly.this schedule helps in maximizing profitability.they are composed of a person's flight leg in between two cities, however, revenue and product of airline are based on origin and destination.(Pdfs.semanticscholar.org, 2018).Acquiring competitive advantages in every organization is all about how well the organization is different from the other competitors in a similar industry environment.Operation management plays an important role in every organization in ensuring that they respond to the changes in customer's needs.It is the role of the operations management to ensure that they achieve this competitive advantage this could be achieved through cost leadership,providing a reliable quality services,ensuring that company is flexible in terms of services they provide, ensuring the best customer relationship management and ensure that they engage in virtual integration in order to access to a large number of customer base.

(Kramer, 2010).In Aviation industry, it is very common to talk of alliances, strategic partnership, and joint ventures.A lot of this partnership is defined more by contract. Airport and airline are an integral part of employment and revenue generators in the local economy.This is evident where airport shares a lot of economic objectives and goals. If managed well alliances may lead to a successful outcome through improvement of odds.The most common alliances in the airport include airlines, aircraft services providers, airport tenants, region cities, banks, private industries, government groups that include local, regional and state groups, universities, and colleges and travel industries. (Havel and Sanchez, 2014)A lot of international carriers have has trumped on the rule of nationality through forming of a strategic commercial alliance of single identity with foreign partners.This is through collaborating on routes, fares, programs of consumer prerequisite and marketing.This partnership of airlines with varying intensity degree can replicate the service and brand identity which a hypothetical global airline would be in a position to offer.This strategic alliances which are in competition tend to attract an antitrust scrutiny In order to achieve operations that are efficient,the airline of aviation industry relies on tools and people in the systems of operation control so as to deliver quality services to its customers and it thus takes some combined effort of a lot of business unit operations to achieve and make air travel possible(Economic Benefits from Air Transport in Kenya, 2011).

Efficient schedules that match demand and supply contributes to the profitability of an airline.This requires general market condition and anticipation that involves fuel and labor, capital cos...