Abstract
This main aim of this report is to give a general view of the Singapore’s Airline and its environment. This paper aims at identifying the variety of resources that are available to the organization and its capabilities. It looks at analyzing the various strategies that the organization has and in what manner they affect the performance and hinder the organization from reaching its visions and missions. There are main issues that have been identified to the organization that affect its current market. Some of the issues that have been identified and explained are the government regulations and the international laws. The current trends and issues that affect the organization have been analyzed and recommendations to the problems given.
Introduction
Hyper competition characterizes the environment that most of the organizations in today’s world operate in. The way organizations perform their duties and requirements keep changing day and night due to the challenges they face in daily. The airline industry is one of the industries that have been faced with this kind of problems. Globalization has brought about all this. In addition to that, developments in the aviation, Aerospace and airport industries have also led to these changes. The new marketing strategies and structures bring about competition in the airline industry. Top achieve the individual objectives that they have set, they also change their marketing and management strategies (Vargo & Lusch 2004).
Profile of Singapore’s Airlines
In 1947 Singapore airlines and Malaysian Airlines, each being funded by the government, came in to partnership and it began its first flight. Both airlines, Singapore and Malaysia were serving mainly South East Asia. In 1965, Singapore and Malaysia separated. This made Singapore Airlines to be launched in 1972. Since then, Singapore has emerged from being a domestic airline to international with more than ten thousand employees and ninety-five aircrafts, which is situated in Changi Airport. Singapore Airlines serves eighty-nine destinations all around the globe. This includes Africa, Middle East, Asia, Australia, North and South America and Europe (Singapore Airlines n.d).
Environmental Analysis of Singapore Airlines
Many issues affect the integrity of Singapore Airlines and hinder them from operating a sustainable airline industry. As a result of this issues that are experienced, change is normally experienced. As a result of the changes that are experienced, the social behavior will also be affected. The environmental issues that the Singapore Airlines face are Noise pollution. This mainly affects them as they are considered being not environmental friendly. This greatly destroys their brand name.
Political Issues
Agreement and policies that have been signed by the airlines have strongly affected Singapore Airlines. Without given authorization, the airline could not fly to any country or destination. The Singapore government still owns the Singapore airlines meaning that it still controls the airline Industry. The current government of Singapore executes the policies and the rules that govern any foreign airline entering its airports. It was confirmed that the American airlines and the Singapore Airlines came up with an understanding that will allow the two airlines to have unrestricted flight admission to both countries.
The agreement signed is known as the open skies. The Singapore Airlines is currently negotiating with Australia so that they can reach under the open skies agreement. Since the airline industry is a very competitive industry, when the industry finds any opportunity to thrive, it quickly grabs it. The increase in flights in Asia are as a result of the steady increase in the population of Asia. In the nearby future and at the present, Asia has been recognized as the main attraction for air travel. As a result of this, new airline prices have emerged. This has forced Singapore Airlines to create its own airline that is low, the tiger airlines in order to satisfy the growing demand.
Economic issues
Some of the major economic issue that is backstabbing the Singapore Airlines is the rise of fuel prices. The War in the Gulf that has been ongoing has shown a major increase in the prices of fuels, which in turn has led to the increment of the air travel expenses. As the air travel expenses increase, this means that the number of people who end up traveling by plain also go down (Schermermon 2001). As a result of this, the Singapore Airlines have created an additional airline called the tiger airline which deals with low cut prices.
In addition to that, the devaluation of the Singapore dollar has also had its impact on the Singapore Airlines. If the Singapore dollar devaluates, this means that the economy of the country is affected. If the economy of the country is affected, this means that the Singapore airlines will be forced to raise their air travel expenses. The customers decide what brand they want to be associated with and if the Singapore Airlines do not meet their customer’s expectations, then it is likely that they will collapse.
The recession of major economies in the world is another issue that the Singapore Airlines is facing. The recession is a global impact. This means that the Singapore Airlines will be forced to operate according to the ongoing ressecion. If it does not operate according to that for instance by lowering their prices and meeting the demands of the customer, this means that it will eventually collapse.
Social Issues
Due to the September 2001 terrorist attack, majority of the customers are now opting for other means of transport. This is a major social issue facing the Singapore Airlines since the reduction of customers affect their operation. If this occurs, then it means that the Singapore Airlines will be forced to regulate their airlines travel or else they will close down. In addition to that, some of the people who would be in a position to pay for the air tickets have a phobia of air flying. This means that the Singapore Airlines economy is likely to remain the same.
Technological issues
Singapore Airlines is facing pressures in the technological innovations sector. Technology is very essential in the creation of new human and physical environments. According to Edquist (1997), technological innovations are the introduction of constructive ideas, services, goods and practices that are usually essential to the company. Technology is mainly utilized through its involvement in that it helps in improving the old machineries and operations. In order to increase its efficiency and intricacies, Singapore Airlines is forced to be in line with the technological advancements that are occurring in the sector of IT.
The introduction of the latest advancement in technology and competitiveness are affecting the Singapore Airlines. The Singapore Airlines is forced to be at par with the technological innovations and this usually costs it a lot of money. For instance, when Singapore Airlines introduced the latest cabin products in the market, that is the Boeing 777-300ER, it cost it a lot of money but the benefits were well reciprocated.
Current strategies of Singapore Airlines
In the Airline sector, Singapore airlines have emerged as the trendsetter. In order to survive in the business, Singapore airlines have employed many innovative strategies. What has led to the success of the Singapore Airlines is that the strategies, which they came up with, have been supported and strengthened as the years go by. On of the strategies that the Singapore Airlines has employed is the ability to treat its customers with superior services. “Singapore Airlines has always been up to the front in introducing new innovative ideas for example hot meals, free alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, hot towels, personal entertainment systems, and video on demand” (Roll 2004).
This has made the brand of the Singapore to increase steadily. There is complimentary gift that are given on every passenger level class. “SIA have maintained a policy that once a passenger pays for there ticket there is no more to pay” (Roll 2004).
The current financial conditions of the Singapore Airlines usually remain outstanding due to the policy that they have implemented. The policy touches down on the strong organizational culture, the effective function of the Human resource and the management’s commitment towards the equity in the growth and quality of the services provided. In the management of the Singapore’s Airlines, it is evident that strategic management Planning has been employed.
In helping the organization maintain its economical scale, the Singapore Airlines involve themselves in code sharing. It has bought 49% of the Virgin Atlantic Airlines and has become a member with star alliance. Singapore Airlines becomes more efficient in relation to its fuel consumption, aircraft maintenance and less down time by introducing a new fleet in the organization after five years.
The other ways and means in which the Singapore Airlines maintains its brand name is by training of its staff. There is a significant amount of cash, which is spent, on such issues. Focusing on the improvement of ticketing reservations and the general services that the airport offer, the Singapore airlines has launched a ground service programme known as the Outstanding Service on the Ground (OSG). The Singapore airline is replacing the manual works with automated work. This clearly shows that Singapore airlines apply the newest technological advancements in the market.
Recommendations
On scrutinizing the problems that the Singapore Airlines is facing, it is evident to see that deliberate and continuous innovations must be employed. In the nearby future, the need to be creative and innovative and explore new dimensions are very important since they form a very core part of the organizations culture. Managers will only be able to manage change if they apply creativity and innovation (Daft 2003). In addition to that, the changes issues and labor trends that emerge must be addressed as they occur. The Human resource management must be effective in handling such issues since it should be more focused on the needs of the employer and employee.
Moreover, the Singapore Airlines should continue with their research and development initiatives. This is very important to the organization since it is a very fundamental way of determining potential forces that will affect directly or indirectly the general business environment. Research and development programs must be directed to the growth and progress of the organization. This will also help in addressing the competition in the market since more products will be developed.
According to Hoctor & Thierauf (2003), the ability to assess a myriad of possibilities is essential to the organization if an organization is to additionally focus on implementing their marketing strategies. Strategies must be evaluated and improved in collaboration with the other elements of marketing and business management. In relation to increasing its brand name, the Singapore Airlines must continue to target a wider target and must also display an image that is associated with each society’s member. In the expected demands that its clients give, then its organizational and social responsibility must be reflected in that.
Conclusion
Like any other organization, there are factors that affect the Singapore Airlines. Some of the issues that have been identified and explained are the government regulations and the international laws. The current trends and issues that affect the organization have been analyzed and recommendations to the problems given. In addition to that the current strategies that the organization usually apply are given and ways and means to improve them have also been suggested.
There are social, political, economical and technological issues that affect the strategic performance of the Singapore Airlines. If the Singapore Airlines continue in that manner, then they will notably remain in the top position in the airline industry. Their brand name will continue to grow bigger and better as they adapt new strategies as competition gets stiffer.
References
Daft, R., (2003), Management, 6th ed., Thomson South-Western, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Edquist, C., (1997), Systems of Innovation: Technologies, Institutions and Organizations, Pinter, London and Washington, DC.
Hoctor, JJ, & Thierauf, RJ, (2003), Smart Business Systems for the Optimized Organization, Praeger, Westport, CT.
Roll, M, (2004), Singapore Airlines flying tiger, Brand Features – Profile. Web.
Schermermon, J, Jr. (2001), Management, 6th ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.
Singapore airlines (n.d), Executive Journeys. Web.
Vargo, SL & Lusch, RF (2004), “Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 1-17.