Essay Title - British Airways Airline - International Human Resource Management
Tasks
- Briefly outline the nature of your chosen company, its market and current global position
- Consider the company’s current approach to HRM and evaluate the ways in which this may need to change in the future
- Discuss the staffing issues that the organization should consider as part of any future decision on contributing global expansion.
Company Overview
This report is about a very well know and famous company of United Kingdom which is known as British Airways which is the United Kingdom's largest international airline, with routes to over 550 destinations towards all over the world. The British airline is world’s renowned for their high standards and international recognitions all over the world and they also have being featured in many reviews by airline critics as well as passengers. As a part from just offering flights, British Airways keeps its status up to the mark within the airline industry which offers a commitment and excellent service levels of work.
British Airways has evolved from many years with the airline industry. And this was owned by Comair Limited since 1992, this company was started off with low rate of beginnings as Aircraft Transport and Travel in 1919, with its maiden flight from Le Bourget to Honslow in August 1919. Later, with the merger of a few other airlines due to the decline of the industry, this British airline was named Imperial Airways and was the first major British carrier. At that time, they operated with only 18 aircraft and 250 employees.
Soon after their collaboration with Qantas to launch the first flight to Australia and with the acquiring of more aircraft, British Airways Limited was created which was a merger between Imperial Airways and the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). After World War II, with more transatlantic flights added, another sister airline was also created just to handle these flights. It was known as the British European Airways (BEA). Through the years, British Airways has continued steady growth, incorporating newer and more sophisticated aircraft and as well as running the Concorde since 1979.
The success of British Airways could mostly attribute to its continuous addition of more international flights as well as the expansion of their fleet. Apart from that, the entire airline boasts of features which provide their passengers with the best valuable comfort service.
Facilities
The facilities provided for the ease of check in including telephone check -ins, valet services and also an online portal at http://www.britishairways.com that consists of many features allowing passengers to check flight schedules, check personal bookings, travel advice, information on British Airways destinations and even perform online flight bookings. In fact, they have even implemented an e-ticketing system which provides passengers with the flexibility of checking in without the need of a physical ticket. Only the passenger details including proof of identification are required to be produced during check-ins, as all booking information has already been stored in their computer systems. In fact, through this system, flights can be changed even up to 30 minutes before departure time.
Marketing
Marketing plays an important role in a company as the customers are very important and their are more sophisticated in terms of their expectations, as there are putting more and more pressure on the airlines. Therefore customer care must be everyone’s concern throughout the organisation. And the management of people plays a virtual role which must be strategically planned for staff communication; selection and training are high priorities. Human resource management in the airline industry has to start to consider the implications of globalisation in terms of multi-ethnic staff to better deliver the service to a number of passengers who increasingly speak languages other than English and thinks differently. The integration of different cultures could be the next challenge for the airlines.
Internal marketing
Internal marketing means involving of staff at all levels in effective marketing programmed enabling them to understand their role within the marketing process. Internal marketing programmes consist of training and staff development, effective internal communications and integration schemes, designed to enhance knowledge and understanding of the overall marketing orientation within the organization. Internal marketing gives employees the status of internal customers with the same importance or more (Virgin Atlantic hierarchy of publics) of the external customers. Customer satisfaction being achieved through employee satisfaction. Internal marketing should aim to ensure the commitment, motivate, and to transmit the values. Internal marketing has been key to British Airways to go through its management of change, corporate image building and increase overall co-operation within the organization.
HRM Models
1) Hard Model
The hard approach to HRM emphasizes the quantitative, calculative and business strategic aspects of managing the headcount resources in as rational way as for another economic factor. It also commented that HRM reflects a long standing capitalist tradition in which the worker is regarded as commodity, therefore the interest of management, adopting a strategic approach that is closely integrated with business strategy, obtaining added value from people by the processes of human resource development and performance management. This model is associated with efficiency - seeking devices such as assessment of human resources, rewards, individual performance appraisals, and performance pay, reflecting the applications.
2) Soft Model
The soft model which emphasizes the people as an assets who can be developed through the commitment and learning an organization might have competitive advantages. Soft model methods, offers a way forward from the current emphasis on, at worst, solely technological issues, and at best a technological approach which has added to it some recognition of the needs to deal with human activity.
International HRM for British airways
Globalization of business has resulted in the growing acknowledgment of the value of a well-managed employees and the fruition of the human resource function from being sighted as a support function to one of strategic significance (Scullion and Starkey, 2000).
Recruitment Approach
British airlines can put one of the three different approaches to recruitment (Francesco and Gold, 1998):
1)Ethnocentric:-The central focus of this approach is home country practice , where headquarters from the home country takes foremost decisions, employees from the home country cleave to vital jobs, and the subsidiaries pursue the home country resource management act.
2)Polycentric:- In this approach, every subsidiary directs on a local basis, where a local employee heads a subsidiary since headquarters’ managers are not believed to have sufficient local knowledge, whereas subsidiaries habitually expand HRM practices locally.
3)Geocentric:-In this approach, the company manages employees on a global basis , recruiting and developing a group of international managers from various countries, who comprise a movable base of managers who are taken use in a range of facilities as there requires.
Evaluation
International staffing
Geocentric staffing policy will appoints the best person no matter what nationality he/she has. Some of those international staffing strategies are good in particular situations. Nevertheless, none of them is without its disadvantages looking from different perspectives.
Training and development
It is necessary for industry to rethink attitude towards investment in human capital. Training and development is not luxuries investment but rather necessary to meet needs that raised by technology and by the customer and labour force. As Olsen (1995) state: “managers have to re-examine attitude to the way human resources can be used to meet both customers’ and employees’ needs, requiring an in-depth analysis of the spectrum of human relations
Training is regarded as a key tool in the implementation of HRM polices and practices, particularly those involve cultural change and new working practices introduction. Holden (1994) points out that one of the most vital steps in HRM plan is to analyze the training needs of the organization in relation to the organization’s strategy and link it with the needs of the individual within it. Under multi-national environment, culture training is necessary with the role of cultural training, which can encompass:
1) The corporate norms and values which operate in company,
2) Language and other training related to the creation of a better understanding of the national culture of the parents or off-shore customer.
Rewards and recognition
Organization’s rewards and recognition system reflect organization’s attitudes, intention and entire organizational culture. An effective rewards and recognition system is a useful tool to motivate employees (Byars & Rue, 2003).
Management should understand what employees regard as meaningful rewards. Pay is part of the issues; Rewards should be viewed in a large perspective. It can also be working environment, office equipment, and informal recognition etc. (Byars & Rue, 2003).
Remuneration is one of the important parts of reward system. It is directly linked to staff performance and motivation. However, in an international environment, different economic systems, development levels, political and institutional contexts, traditions and cultures make it difficult to find a uniform method for comparison (Logger, Vinke, Kluytmans, 1995.
Cross-Cultural Management
Blacker et al (1999) contend that previous international HRM researches emphasized chiefly on the cultural relativity of HRM practices, interpreting that the enlargement of a company's HR policies are theme to cultural influences and that international organizations ought to take these culturally based differences into consideration whilst operating globally. Even though a great deal of this literature is not overtly tagged international HRM, it handles themes of cultural differences in management style, employee motivation, leadership style, negotiation style, with that of cross-cultural training . Markedly therefore, the key concern of cross-cultural management of British airways would require to have focus on management style, employee motivation, leadership style, negotiation style, with that of cross-cultural training.
External conditions
External conditions cover economic conditions, govt. regulations and union expectations. Economic conditions are employment rates, nature of inflation affect the behavior of the human resources showing reluctance to leave job, demand for overtime etc. Govt. regulation like pension and benefit regulations, health and safety guidelines and immigration provisions etc. affect the Human Resource decisions. The existence or unions prevents the flexibility in designing Human Resource Programs. Union strategies and their negotiation have greater impact on external conditions.
Organization Conditions
This comprises mainly with the internal environment like nature of the organization, nature of the work and also the employee working conditions.
The Employment Relations Effects
The HRM literature suggests that for human resource policies to produce a significant, positive impact on the "bottom line" of any organization two critical preconditions must be achieved: (1) external fit (that is, a close two-way fit relationship between the nature of the business model and the composition of the HRM policy mix); and (2) internal fit (that is, the existence of a complementary, mutually reinforcing set of HRM policies). However, what still remains unresolved in the relevant literature is whether any positive bottom line impact comes via a negative impact on the workforce ("working harder") or a positive impact on workforce attitudes and behavior ("working smarter").
Boxall (1999) draws a distinction in employment strategy between human capital advantage (recruiting and retaining outstanding human talent) and human process advantage (fostering learning, cooperation, and innovation). The detailed study of Southwest certainly suggests the importance of the human process advantage (Gittell 2003).
IHRM Policies and Practices
There are at least three ways of enhancing internal operations through IHRM policies and practices. The first entails matching and adapting HR practices to closely accommodate the unit's competitive strategy, local culture, and governing legal system. The second necessitates creating a modus operandi whereby HRM practices can be modified swiftly to respond to changing host conditions. The third calls for a set of IHRM policies at the MNE level that can encompass and legitimize the HRM practices of the local units.
Conclusion and Recommendations
HRM process is a continuous process which inter relates all the Human Resource functions, and more specificity is important. Right number of people in right time and made available through HRM which is required to achieve the objectives. Job analysis selection process adapted to the organization’s culture and working environment are more helpful for the purpose, with the organizations change over time there must be good matching of individual abilities with organizational needs for the future. Employee training and management development are duly emphasized for the same purpose. Effective performance depends on extrinsic term like, Job design working condition, job security and satisfactory supervision and intrinsic factors of achievement, recognition responsibility from the work etc.
While using the different models of HRM in international prospective it is clear that the cultural environment, the nature of the multinational industry, the extent of reliance of the MNCs (multinational companies) on its home country, domestic market and the attitudes of senior management play a significant role in minimizing the human resource activities between domestic and international perspectives. A global perspective in MNCs, degree of Centralization or decentralization, limited resources, nature of operations, firm’s size, professionals with international experience, need for expatriate compensation and international growth strategies etc. have also severe impact on the successful implementation of any of the models of HRM as detailed earlier. Practically HRM output is the central point in selecting the feasible model applicable in the environmental context. Nowadays in competitive global context, introduction of MBO (Management by Objective), Management by Exception, Human Resource Development activities through proper recruitment, selection, training and motivation would facilitate the increasing productivity of the available human resources. All these might be facilitated through application of different human resource models in the context of the environmental strength, opportunity, threat and weakness of the concerned business.
British Airlines centrally focuses on the vital significance of the close integration of HR policies, systems and activities with business strategy and in this way its HRM approach can be labeled as hard approach. However, markedly, at the same time, it realizes group benefits program not only for employees’ financial benefits, but also career advancement. These suggest that a British airline has a balancing approach of HRM. However, if the British airlines wish to continue its competitive advantage in terms of HRM, the management will require exploiting the opportunities offered by knowledge economy, particularly in the context of its global operation.
References and Bibliography
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