Evaluating the case and the plan of action for Bharat Airways
The main problem facing Bharat Airways is the poor relationship between employees and management. In fact, the firm is deficient of human resources management competencies. Managing employees is one of the critical factors that contribute to the organizations success.
Poor leadership styles are the other problems facing the firm. In fact, the firm has chosen autocratic leadership style that has resulted into deprived relationship between employees and the top management. The result is reduced performance among employees, which eventually have negative effect on the performance of the firm.
Bharat Airways should come up with various strategies that would address the employees concerns and the leadership styles. The first strategy is to change leadership and the management styles. The Company should adopt leadership and management approaches that motivate and encourage employees towards attainment of the organizations goals (Bass & Riggio, 2008).
In addition, the leadership and management styles should encourage communication between the employees and senior management and remove vices such as discrimination that tend to discourage employees’ work performances. Moreover, the leadership style should focus on creating positive change among employees through encouraging creativity and innovativeness in solving the problems facing the organization.
The other plan for the organization should focus on creating positive relationship with the customers. Focusing on positive relationship with the customers entails generating services with additional value that satisfy clients beyond their expectations.
Ensuring that the services provided are beyond the customers’ expectations will increase the firm’s clients’ base (Bangs, 2002). Focusing on customers will also ensure increased sales and revenue, which is critical for the growth and development of the firm.
Research methodology
In order to investigate the root causes of the problems faced by Bharat Airways, the study will utterly be a quantitative research. The requisite research data will be gathered across the study population through random sampling strategy.
A research technique dubbed as survey method will essentially be drawn on while descriptive statistics will be applied to help analyze the obtained data. By employing these research methods, any unanticipated research hypothesis will possibly be suggested, formulated and the study will be quicker and somewhat cheap.
Besides, while investigating root causes of the problems, descriptive quantitative study method is considered suitable for this particular research. Thus, the researcher intends to conduct the research study using Bharat Airways employees, customers, and the firm’s key informants whereby data will be gathered using a sample size of 200 hundred respondents.
In fact, appropriate study sample will be chosen through organized random collection process. Research questions including the number of trained and untrained workforce, employees’ satisfaction, the rate of turnover, communication channels, leadership styles and customer contentment level will be asked.
The researcher will administer a well-designed and tested study questionnaire to the respondents during survey to generate first hand research data. For the survey execution and design to be both effective and resourceful, the researcher will use follow-up mailings, response incentives, and offer pre-notification protocol advice to the study respondents.
The implementation and administration of the research instruments following these strategies will influence the general realization of satisfactory responses and successful generation of research data.
Research Instrument
Developing the research questionnaire is one of the key aspects of the study methodology given that the instrument is intended to serve its intended purposes. The instrument will follow the nine steps iterative guideline or framework proposed that will improve the content validity.
The survey instrument also known as research questionnaire will be espoused and drawn on in this particular study both for conceptual and practical reasons. Thus, in this research, the root causes of the problems will be measured using organizational values as well as the employees, customers and management opinions.
Due to time and cost constraints, random sampling will be used to select the required respondents. Although random sampling is quick and convenient method for selecting the participants, the researcher is free to select the participants who are accessible and convenient though not necessarily representative.
Every respondent will be informed about voluntary participation and the level of confidentiality given to the information provided. In fact, the researcher will request the participants not to indicate their names and other personal or confidential information on the questionnaires to increase the chances of participation.
Besides, the level of participation will be handled by informing the participants about the significance of the study. All these measures will assist in reducing non-response rates.
Data analysis
Given the nature of the research study to be conducted, descriptive statistics will be used to analyze data. In addition, data will be edited to ensure logical completeness and response consistency. Besides, the collected research information will be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.
The qualitative data will be analyzed using logical analysis and content analysis techniques. Regression analysis will be conducted to determine the relationship between the factors being investigated.
The transactional and transformational style of leadership and the best leadership style for Bharat Airways
Transactional leadership
Transactional leadership focuses on the interactions between the top management and employees. In fact, in transactional leadership styles, rewards and punishments are used as a form of motivation. Rewards are in various forms and are provided to employees with increased performances and loyalty.
Transactional leadership styles are effective in situations where increased performance is the major objective of the organization (Bass & Riggio, 2008). In addition, transactional leadership works better in the circumstances where the problems can clearly be observed and simple. In other words, employees understand the limit and the consequences of their actions.
One of the major disadvantages of the form of leadership is that employees are aligned to the organizations requirements. In other words, transactional leadership does not encourage innovativeness and creativity in solving the organizational issues (Bass & Riggio, 2008). In other words, the leadership style does not allow employees to be creative and innovative in getting solutions to the problems.
Employees do not contribute creatively and innovatively in getting solutions affecting their work processes. The leadership style is not suitable in complex organizations where creativity and innovativeness remains critical in the attainment of goals and objectives.
Most importantly, under complex situations where employees’ contribution is emphasized, transactional leadership is not the best approach (Bass & Riggio, 2008). Essentially, Bharat Airways cannon apply transactional leadership style in managing employees given the complexity of the organization and the current situation.
Transformational leadership
Transformational leadership is characterized by its inspirational nature and positive changes it creates in an organization. Transformational leadership takes into consideration the concerns of employees and is focused on encouraging employees to achieve the goals of the organization. In fact, transformational leadership is geared towards creating positive change among employees.
Moreover, in transformational leadership style, the members of the team are encouraged to attain the desired results on the assigned tasks. Further, leaders impart the vision of the group and take into consideration the members’ contribution in the attainment of the results.
Besides, Transformational leaders have greater vision as well as inspirational characteristics, which is applied to motivate and change the expectations as well as perceptions of employees to work towards the desired goals and outcome.
Given the circumstances in Bharat Airways, transformational leadership style is the best employees’ management approach. The reason is that employees of Bharat Airways need to be encouraged, motivated and inspired towards attaining the goals of the organization.
In addition, Bharat Airways need visionary leaders to inspire and motivate employees towards attaining the desired outcome. Such characteristics are found in the transformational leadership style.
The immediate steps to improve the situation of the organization
The first step is to create a vision for the organization and formulate clear objectives that are achievable and measurable. Once the vision, mission and objectives have been formulated, a clear strategy outlining the steps on how the organization’s goals will be attained is then established. The vision, goals, and strategies are communicated to the employees as well as other stakeholders of the organization.
Imparting the vision, goals and strategies will ensure that all stakeholders are involved in the attainment of the organization’s goals. The second step is to come up with strategies that will ensure a change in the management of employees and leadership styles. The new management style will remove obstacles that alienate employees from work processes. The leadership style should encourage employees towards attaining the desired outcome.
Implementing 7P’s marketing mix
Product strategies
The firm designs and produces varieties of airline products and services. The services include in-flight and on ground services. However, the innovative capabilities of the firm will be fully utilized to ensure the development and production of quality products and services that offer varied airways choices for customers (Constantinides, 2006).
Moreover, the firm will aspire to introduce creative airline services and products in the airways market to establish its brand name. The products and services will be improved to suit the customer needs and bring convenience, a mixture of value and quality.
Pricing strategies
As expected, quality and increased value will attract high prices (Constantinides, 2006). Most of the Bharat Airways services are middle-high priced. However, the firm offer services that target all clients including high-end, middle and low classed travelling customers. The high-quality high-prices strategy will be applied particularly to outperform other airline competitors.
In addition, the pricing strategy will be aimed at widening the spectrum of customers being targeted. In fact, the firm has been targeting customers at all levels. As such as, commissions or discounted prices will be offered to clients who use airlines often.
Nevertheless, with entry of more competitors in the airline industry, Bharat Airways will widen its scope and capture the middle, high, and low-income clientele. Bharat Airways will also offer different prices to the clients including apex fares, low cost, cheap value, premium and value for money.
Placing strategies
Bharat Airways will adopt the business to customer distribution channel in order to directly deal with its customers. Direct interaction with customers will lead to the development of products and services that suit the customers’ needs. Moreover, direct sales of products and services will lead to prolonged market share.
However, the routes of the airline around the world are still limited given that the firm is centrally placed. Therefore, Bharat Airways will expand its operation routes to reach all sorts of customers.
The placement strategies will include offering affiliated services with different companies, using travelling or tour operator agencies, as well as making the twenty-four hours online reservation systems available to all clients.
The promotion strategies
The promotion strategies to be used by Bharat Airways will include advertising, public relations and sales promotions. The firm will use innovative advertising to attract and inform customers about products and services offered both in mass and digital media.
Besides, Bharat Airways will associate its products and service with sports companies to increase brand name awareness and maintain public relations. The success of Bharat Airways in public relations will improve its goodwill and attract public attention. Further, Bharat Airways will provide special offers to associated sports people as a way of stimulating and retaining the customers’ loyalty.
People Mix strategies
Bharat Airways will employ a pool of competent and reliable workforce to deliver airline services to the customers. During recruitment, qualities such as responsiveness, compassionate attitude and problem cracking capabilities will be assessed. Besides, all employees must depict goodwill and inventiveness before being hired in the firm.
Process mix strategy
Given that Bharat Airways aims to deliver quality airline services to the clients, the organization will offer flight entertainment, repast services, luggage management services, airport facilities, flight statistics and reservation services.
Physical evidence
Bharat Airways will provide both in-flight and ground services to the clients. The in-flight services will include having tags or markers, luggage, ambiance, uniform, sanitation, decent inner surfaces, seats alignments and branded airplanes. On the ground, physical evidence will include branded tickets, logos, paperwork, ticket or booking offices.
References
Bangs, D H 2002, The market planning guide: creating a plan to successfully market your business, product, or service, Kaplan Publishing, UK.
Bass, BM & Riggio, R E 2008, Transformational Leadership, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Mahwah, New Jersey.
Constantinides, E 2006, “The marketing mix revisited: towards the 21st century marketing,” Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 22 no.3, pp.407-438.