Air Arabia: Data Analysis Research Paper

Data gathering

The process of undertaking a study involves a lot of processes and thus it is imperative to conduct a study on the subject matter. In our case, the company we are dealing with is Air Arabia and the specific topic involves looking at staff rewards. In the methodology, we looked at how companies undertake reward schemes for their employees, and thus we have to collect data on the issue within Air Arabia. Air Arabia is a company that has one of the most qualified and competent staff within the airline industry and thus, the company has to maintain these employees.

The main issues that we examined in the process of undertaking the study on staff motivation were based on the best reward model, the purpose of rewards systems within the work environment, and ways in which reward systems assist in the purpose of achieving organizational goals. In the process of conducting this study, the best tools that we made use of include questionnaires and interviews. These data gathering tools were effective in the process of collecting data in a company that employs a lot of people.

The questionnaires were administered to different people working in different departments of the company. The questionnaires were administered to 200 different employees working for Air Arabia international. These questionnaires must meet reliability and validity tests that are supposed to ensure that the study meets the set-out criteria. For instance, in the process of undertaking this test we made sure that data is gathered from all employees working for Air Arabia International.

Once all these questionnaires were prepared, the major procedure that was supposed to follow was ensuring that all questions are answered. As a result, all the questionnaires were prepared and mailed out to all employees at an appropriate time since the process of administering questionnaires can be quite tedious. Moreover, the administration of questionnaires rarely needs the input of the administrator. The use of questionnaires in the process of data gathering had the following advantages:

1. It enabled us to collect a lot of information from a group of selected individuals at Air Arabia International within a short period of time.
2. Due to anonymity, questionnaires might reveal sensitive information from the respondents.
3. The data collected by the use of these questionnaires were specific to Islamic banking in Oman and the Middle East region.
4. The information gathered through the use of these questionnaires is reliable and valid since most of the questions were close-ended.
5. Questionnaires are simple to construct and at the same time easy to analyze.
6. Questionnaires are cheap and cost-effective to administer.

While the use of questionnaires was effective for this study of rewards effectiveness at Air Arabia International, the disadvantages of the use of questionnaires include:

1. Questionnaires are prone to misunderstanding if the respondents do not understand the questions asked.
2. In some cases, it might take a lot of time to analyze a large number of questionnaires if all respondents answer the questions differently.
3. It is difficult to gauge the honesty of the respondent in answering the questions.
4. In terms of the development of the questionnaire, the researcher has the input, and therefore, in this case, there is some imposition from the researcher’s side. Questions asked are based on the decisions and assumptions of the researcher even in instances where the researcher is not a professional on the subject topic.
5. In most cases, it is difficult to gauge how thought and work the researcher has put into working out the questionnaire.

While we made use of questionnaires in the process of conducting this study, it was also important to conduct interviews. As a result, several people were interviewed in this research and these people include experts in human resources and officials of Air Arabia. The interview focused on questions concerning employee motivation, rewards, and how to uplift the work rate for employees. In this research study, the use of interviews had the following advantages:

1. Interviews are easy to administer due to the structured questions.
2. Making use of interviews require a small representative sample to make conclusions.
3. Face to face interviews usually gives accurate and valid results with less ambiguity.
4. Clarifications can be easily sought in an interview.

However, despite the advantages of making use of interviews in the process of data collection, sometimes the use of interviews has its shortcomings. Some of the disadvantages of making use of interviews include:

1. Interviews are time-consuming.
2. Sometimes respondents are given a choice of choosing between alternative answers that the researcher has designed.
3. The questions to be asked in an interview have to be agreed upon beforehand.
4. It may be difficult to obtain answers at times if you find difficult respondents
5. No information might be forthcoming in some interviews due to the attitude, opinions, and values of the respondents.

The use of questionnaires and interviews were the main tools for gathering information concerning employee rewards systems within Air Arabia.

Data analysis

The process of undertaking data analysis involves separating data and making sure that all data correspond to certain set-out criteria. For instance, in the process of undertaking data analysis, it is important to do a correlation analysis whereby we analyze data and make sure that all answers meet the validity and reliability criteria. The process of data analysis was conducted through the use of SPSS and Microsoft Excel software due to the huge number of questionnaires and interviews handed out. As a result, it took a lot of time to ensure that all the queries raised were answered and dealt with within the appropriate time.

The process of data analysis will look into the answers and observations raised by employees as it concerns employee reward systems within Air Arabia. All answers that were similar were grouped together and data analysis looked into the tasks or answers that mirrored the sentiments of the employees.

In the process of making it easier for data analysis to be undertaken, we had to make use of close ended questions so as to easily analyze and group data. The major points that were worthy of analysis in undertaking this study were employee output, organizational goals all in connection with the reward scheme.

Results

Based on the results of the data analysis, the study achieved various results that shed more light on the employee reward scheme at Air Arabia. From the study, we noticed that many employees at the company agreed that the company’s rewards scheme has been in operation for a period of at least 5 years. Around 90% of the employees who were sampled in this study were in agreement with the company in the process of undertaking a reward system.

Many of these employees felt that the company should continue to undertake employee rewards schemes at all times. The results of the study also show that the company should not tie employee rewards schemes to performance. This is because most of the employees were of the sentiment that the company’s performance is not all the time influenced by work output. Moreover, most of them felt that at all times employees should be rewarded for their outstanding work for the company.

Out of the 200 sampled employees at the company, around 123 of them contended that employee rewards do not necessarily assist in reducing high staff turnover. This is because according to many organizations offer employee reward schemes and thus these rewards cannot help in averting high staff turnovers.

High staff turnover affects Air Arabia a lot since around 88% of the staff interviewed and questioned where the idea that this was one of the major factors affecting organizational performance. This is especially manifested during economic hardships and competition that affects major airlines globally since the industry relies heavily on the services of skilled employees. The best strategy for managing high staff turnover in the airline industry is to undertake a collective bargaining agreement with employees and unions that are in charge of employee welfare.

Moreover, the motivation of employees through employee rewards schemes makes employees try their best at undertaking their duties. Most of the employees that were rewarded under the employee scheme were motivated to work hard at their work stations.

Consequently, a large majority of those interviewed and sampled were in agreement that employee reward schemes influenced employee motivation. While some employees believed that employee rewards schemes influenced employee satisfaction. This is because employees felt that these rewards made them feel appreciated and thus they remained satisfied with their jobs.

Discussion

Air Arabia is a company that recognizes the talent and skills of its employees and thus it came up with an employee reward scheme. Research has shown that employee reward schemes have an important task of boosting the performance of employees. Therefore, in most organizations rewards schemes are not compulsory and it is important for organizations to come up with a policy that guides employee rewards.

One of the most common rewards schemes targets employees who have had long service for their companies. Other rewards schemes target noteworthy performance, peer recognition, or in some instances spot awards may be given to employees. Employee reward schemes are planned activities that are recognized as part of organizational policy and thus, several factors have to guide on how to undertake an employee reward scheme. Some of the commonly used factors are:

1. Organizational goals: In the process of undertaking an employee rewards scheme, we have to place the importance of rewards schemes in shaping organizational goals. Air Arabia did make a consideration that if an employee rewards scheme motivates and boosts the performance of employees then it should be implemented. This is because the organizational goals of any company are paramount in the implementation of any policy.
2. Program Objectives: An employee rewards scheme should be undertaken for a specific purpose and thus a company should consider the objective of such a program. For instance, at Air Arabia, employee rewards schemes are meant to motivate employees and thus this boosts employee output and service provision.
3. Eligibility criteria: All employee rewards schemes should have eligibility criteria so as not to leave any space for misinterpretation or misunderstanding. For instance, will rewards schemes be based on the performance of individual employees or departments?
4. Decision maker: Employee rewards schemes eligibility should be determined by a set group of people or individuals vested with these roles. Having a decision-maker makes it easy for decisions on reward schemes to seem easier.
5. Communication: Communication with the rewards scheme winners is important since it helps in motivating the winners and encouraging others to work hard for rewards in the future.
6. Timing: The question that most employees ask is if reward schemes should be tied to organizational performance. Therefore, an organization such as Air Arabia should consider the ideal time to hand out rewards to employees. Rewards should be undertaken frequently so as to keep the employees’ morale high at all crucial times.

Employee rewards schemes programs are designed in line with organizational culture and in the case of Air Arabia; it is specifically based on the organization. Air Arabia has designed an employee reward scheme that appreciates the talent and hard work of its employees in the organization. As a result, the company has programs such as free complimentary flights to family members of staff, paid-up holidays and long service awards.

Conclusion

Employee reward schemes are practices that have been tied with organizational goals so as to retain employees and reduced high staff turnover rates. This practice has been undertaken in various industries but especially in the service industry where employee skills play a big role in the achievement of organizational goals.

Air Arabia is a company that has been practicing employee rewards schemes so as to motivate employees to do their best at their workplace. In the process of understanding the rewards scheme undertaken by the airline, we had to conduct a study of the current employee reward scheme.

Most of the employees who were sampled in the study were in support of the company’s rewards scheme. Moreover, Air Arabia employees observed that employee rewards schemes do not necessarily assist in curbing high staff turnover. However, most of them agreed that employee rewards schemes did indeed assist in boosting employee morale and service output.