Background
The tragic events of September 11, 2001, have changed the way in which the American citizens viewed their safety forever. The insecurity rates went through the roof after the infamous attack, making people abandon air transportation for quite a while. Even nowadays, after the hysteria has subsided to a considerable extent, the fear for people’s lives still defines the measures used in order to facilitate passengers’ safety. However, the increase in safety rates has also changed the procedures that passengers undergo when checking in. Specifically, the time that the process of checking in and handing in the luggage typically takes has been extended for security reasons, which was bound to affect the satisfaction rates of the target audience. Although the precaution measures used nowadays in airports are aimed only at increasing the passengers’ safety and promoting security, they also cause a gradual reduction in customer satisfaction rates because of the rise in the procedures’ duration and the associated inconveniences (Hoffman & Reinares 2014).
Essential Factors
As stressed above, the enhancement of the systems facilitating passenger security is what the post—9/11 social attitudes manifest themselves in. Though the fear of terrorism has subsided to a considerable extent, there is still a fear of an imminent threat that the exposure to the global environment implies. As a result, the check-in procedures may become overly complicated and time-consuming.
The delays that the enhanced security and the long checks imply can be considered the main source of customer dissatisfaction at the airport (Perkins 2007). In addition, the routine checks that the passengers have to go through, as well as the baggage handling, could use a significant improvement. For instance, the time that it takes to check the luggage, as well as allow the passengers to pick it after the flight is over, needs to be reduced. For this purpose, the purchase of more efficient equipment and the rearrangement of the checking process must be considered.
The Theory of Perceived Attributes helps shed some light on the nature of the dissatisfaction as well. According to the principal postulates of the theory, people do not accept innovations instantly; instead, they need encouragement and support throughout the process of getting used to the novelties in the company’s design.
It should be noted, though, that the process of implementing change, in general, and altering the quality of the airport services, in particular, can become much easier once an efficient model for change is incorporated into the corporate framework. For example, the DMAIC principle suggested by Thomas Pyzdek (Pyzdek & Keller 2014) may be considered an essential addition to the firm’s change management strategy. When evaluating the suggested approach, one must give Pyzdek credit for creating the model that can be used to encourage an unceasing improvement of the services and a regular update of the quality standards. Thus, the premises for a regular update of the services can be created, which modern airport companies lack significantly.
As far as the time issue is concerned, there seems to be a lack of tools that can support a more efficient use of the personnel’s time in contemporary airport facilities. For example, the Just-in-Time (JIT) framework, which is aimed at minimizing the defects and maximizing the positive outcome, can be included in the range of tools used by the staff of modern airport companies (Lai & Cheng 2012). Furthermore, the management of the essential processes will be enhanced with the help of a redesign of the corporate values and the philosophy of leadership used in the target facilities currently.
Reference List
Hoffman, B & Reinares, F 2014, The evolution of the global terrorist threat: from 9/11 to Osama bin Laden’s death, Columbia University Press, New York, NY.
Lai, K H & Cheng, T C E 2012, Just-in-time logistics, Gower Publishing, Ltd., Burlington, VT.
Perkins, R A 2007, ‘Using Rogersʼ Theory of Perceived Attributes as a framework for understanding the challenges of adoption of open educational resources’, International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 59-66.
Pyzdek, T & Keller, P 2014, The Six Sigma handbook, McGraw Hill, New York, NY.