Emirates Airlines Leadership Analysis

Leadership Analysis: Emirates Airlines

 

1. Introduction

            Each and every organisation is trying to use strategies that would sustain or enhance their competitive advantage in the market, and Emirate Airline is never an exemption. Accordingly, the corporate strategy and management of a business describes the process of directing and leading the business operations within the company by exhausting their available resources extensively in order to attain the organizational objectives. This includes business plan conceptualization and monitoring the implementation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the strategy. The company considers unique strategic management to identify and enumerate the aims of the company so as to come up with sound business practices to gain profit and satisfy the needs and demands of the target market (2004).

            Aside from these, Emirates Airline is trying to be competitive and marketable through their leaders and the leadership styles that they are implementing and using.  Primarily, the main goal of this paper is to analyse the strategies of Emirates Airline in order to sustain their competitive advantage. Moreover, this paper will also analyse the leadership style used within the company. This paper will also discuss the organizational behaviour, its internal and external environment through the use of different marketing tools such as SWOT analysis and Pest Analysis.

 

2. Background of the company

            Emirates Airline was founded on May 25, 1985 by the government of Dubai and was supported by   which is the founder of Germania (German Airline). The airline industry has started its operations with flights to Mumbai and Karachi and then followed by Delhin in September.  Today the industry is considered to be a subsidiary of The Emirates Groups which is headquartered in Dubai, UAE.  The company has been provided with different recognitions and in 2007 Emirates was noted to be the eight-largest airline in the global market in terms of international passengers being carried and also noted to be the fifth-largest in the global market in accordance with the scheduled international passenger-kilometers flown. Emirates are also known for being one of the only five airline industries that operates in the entire wide-body aircraft feel.

            It can be sent that since Emirates started its business operations, they are able to gain competitive position and advantage in the market place. Today’s leaders of Emirates are considered to be the most influential and essential people in the company as they are the one who make everything possible for the industry. Sheik and other leaders of the company have been able to show their innate ability to lead the company efficiently and effectively. 

            The success of the company can also be attributed with their marketing and business strategies which are able to compete and stay competitive in the airline market.

 

 

3. Leadership Definition

            The performance of the organization not only relies on the financial resources, the company is also dependent on the people who are working in the company. One of the most essential members of an organization is the leader. Accordingly, the presence of a strong and effective leadership in the information generation imposes great accountabilities to the company’s team and management networks. This is because leadership context implies the entire capacity of the company’s performance. Different authors have provided their perception and assumptions about leadership.   Today, leadership serves as a critical element of organizational success. In motivating employees to learn, leaders must set a way towards a given goal, inspire, or motivate them to follow (2005). The leaders should know how to recognize success and how to praise those who deserve praises. Several studies found positive linkage between leadership styles and job satisfaction, except for the initiating structure leadership style, which similarly shows negative effect on job satisfaction ( 2004.). Deserving employees can be effectively praised and recognised through awards and bonuses. Developing a program were a particular employee with good performance would be branded as employee of the week can also be a good idea. Of course, this should also come with small rewards to make employees feel that their efforts pay off (2005).

            Further, motivation is the interaction between the individual and the situation.  Under different situations, individual will respond differently.  It all depends on the individual motivational drive or individual needs and varies from situation to situation (2004).  It also leads motivation treated as a need-satisfying process; an unsatisfied need creates tension that stimulates drives within the individuals.  These drives generate search behaviour to find particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to the reduction of tension ( 2004).

To be an effective and efficient leader, an individual should have encompassed the attitude and behaviour based on the leadership contexts. As mentioned above,  (2004) has noted that effective leaders help others, specifically their subordinates to find their voice and to express it.  This means that an effective leader considered the voice or the opinions of his subordinates to have as successful outcome. In addition, this could also mean that an effective leader enables his or her people to express what they feel or how they feel to build a strong relationship. In order to achieve such responsibilities, the leader can consider different ways and one of these is through empowerment. It is known that any organisations need empowerment of people. The leader can use empowerment as an approach for enhancing the satisfaction of employees (2005). Through empowerment, the leader allows his or her staff to voice out their opinion or suggestions in any project to come up with a better solution or options. This can be done through monthly meeting to know from the employees how they are able to do their job and to know which organizational activities need some improvement. Through empowerment, employees will have self-confidence in making decision in the future. Further, this can also satisfy the employees and create good and harmonious relationship among the leader and the staffs ( 2005).

 

4. Leadership Style in Emirates Airline

            As mentioned above, the competitive advantage and position of Emirates can be attributed by their leaders. The leader of the company are composes of  . Accordingly to , the success of the airline industry and the other Dubai-owned industries can be associated with the leadership style of  family.  It can be said that they are able to integrate patience as well as their will to attain consensus with the capability to act quickly and decisively.

            The current leader  is able to use a leadership style that brought the company where it is right now.  can be considered as a charismatic leader as he was able to teach his subordinates to strived more to become productive members of the airline industry.  In addition, has also been described to have comprehensive decision-making abilities which are greatly helped by the lean management structure.

            In the case of Emirates leader, he can be considered as an influential and democratic kind of leader. It is known the leadership composes the aptitude and skills to inspire as well as influence the behavior and the thinking of the people or the subordinates.  It is a process of social influence in which an individual can able to provide the support and assistance for others to achieve common goal (, 2005).  It can be said that the decision of Emirates leader () to requisition an extraordinary board meeting to deal with the issue and other leaders like Flanagan suggests that he is possess the democratic type of leadership. It can be perceived in the given case study that Emirates leader () looked for final decisions made by the other members of the corporation especially the shareholders.

            It can be said that one of the leadership styles that can be perceived with Emirates leader () is a pacesetting style and also a leader which communicates the pressures of change. Accordingly, a pacesetting leader is described as the approach in which the leader sets a high standard of performance. He has the conscientiousness, the drive to achieve and the initiative but adopts the “Do as I do, now” policy, is low on empathy and collaboration and is impatient.

            Emirates leader () can be considered as perseverance and empowering leader as she made salient arguments when she associated the privileges of limited-liability construct to problems like corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the expectations of the society for a corporation.  Furthermore, he ha also argued that a leader must consider that the contexts of a limited-liability company, specifically given among employees should be broaden to attend to any aspects which affect the reputation of the company, particularly the perceptions that it generates for its care as well as consideration for the customers, human resources and the business environment.

            Furthermore, another leadership characteristic of Emirates leader () as leader is being an entrepreneurial leader (2005). He is perceived to have a strong achievement approach and sensible risk taking ability. In addition, Emirates leader () has also the tendency to take actions quickly when there are opportunities.

 

5. Strategy Analysis

I           Indeed, making an organisation successful in a specific setting needs crucial and detailed studies as well as investigation of the aspects which will generate the best results which will serve the organizational aims of company like Emirates Airlines. In this regard, the management of Emirates Airlines has always been constant to look out with its rivals companies and their overall status as well as events internally and externally. Accordingly, analysis of the status of the strategies and approaches as well as resources of the business is very important as it enables the company to determine how they will be able to sustain competitive advantage in the years to come. In addition, this also enables them to determine their strengths and how they will maximize their strengths and eliminates their weaknesses (2004).

            Emirates Airlines has been considered to be at the forefront of industrial aviation throughout the years. The company successfully navigates through the company’s different highs and lows. The management of the company has been able to lead the charge for innovating in the airline industry and championed their excellence. Having flights to more than different cities all over the world, Emirates Airlines corporate strategy gives importance with the diversity of their stakeholders, specifically with their clients. As the company is committed with the diversity of their clients, the diversification management approach of the company enables them to ensure that clients and communities receive excellent service provided by passionate and dedicated staffs and employees.

            Emirates Airlines are in the business to provide the passengers with sage, dependable and most of all friendly transportation to their valued clients along with other relevant industrial services. The company is dedicated to make each flight memorable and special for clients. The safety, convenience and comfort are the company’s most essential concerns as they provide quality airline service for their clients.  The success of Emirates Airline is also attributing to the generic strategies which include focus-leadership strategy ( 2005). The current approach of Emirates Airliners is to put itself as an airline industry leader with a focus strategy in the airline industry. In this regard, the management of Emirates Airlines expands their business to reach more clients which enable them to be more profitable (1997).

            The marketing approach of Emirates Airline is also considered as a customer-oriented approach. The management has been able to cater each of various types of clients. They have been able to implement routes to a broader range of destination all over the world.         It can be said that the strategy of Emirates Airlines is a good strategy and it enables the company to provide total commitment and support organizational operations.  Through this strategy, Emirates Airlines outperform most of their competitors in the airline industry. Through the strategy used by the Emirates Airlines, they have been able to gain market share and improved the overall demand for air travel among clients ( 1994).

The major opportunity for Emirates Airlines is their ability to expand their business all over the world without compromising the value and importance they give for their clients in each nation. In addition, the company’s diversity management approaches in handling customers are the key approach that they use to ensure that they always provide the needs and demands of their clients in the global market. On one hand, the threats of the company are the existence of airline industries which provide affordable and quality services like other airlines. Their weakness can also be drawn from their diversified markets. However, with the 24-hour customer service of the company, Emirates Airlines enables them to immediately meet the needs of the clients.

The business model of the airline industry has led to their commercial success in the aviation and airline industry. They are able to have a lean workforce that can be compared to low-cost carriers rather than conventional flag-carriers. In addition, the company has also a simple organizational structure which permits the airline to maintain low overhead costs and enables them to pay no income taxes on wages. Because of the low operating costs, Emirates has been considered to be second only to Ryanair in terms of costs per seat. Hence, Emirates are able to serve and provide services on secondary destinations and connecting to different locations through their hub in Dubai (2008).

 

6. Organizational Behaviour

      In terms of organizational behaviour it can be said that the company has been able to gain competent and effective organizational behaviour (2005).  In the company, the managers are able to consider ethical aspects. Since the leaders of the company believes that ethics provide the basic for deciding whether a specific action is morally bad or good, the management are able to develops ethical perspectives, moral values and standards.

      Being on one of the most regarded companies in the global market, Emirates has been able to use effective human resource management approach for recruiting or selecting the best employees that suits their needs. In the case of Emirates Airlines, the company is seeking to have employees who have the ability to handle down the corporate values and perspectives (2005).

      The company sees to it that they are able to adhere to the needs of the society and community and their values are able to meet the needs of the environment. Their leaders aim on generating organizational behaviour that will serve as a model for other airline industry. In doing so, the management are also able to make sure that their employee adhere to the needs of their employees and internal and external environment.

 

7. SWOT Analysis

            This part of the paper will analyse the strategic position of Emirates Airline through the use of SWOT analysis.  Based on the given case, the strategic position of the Emirates Airline specifically their airline and aviation position has been challenged because of the changing situations of the airline market. Rival industries of the company has been able to announced the establishment of the their business approach in the global market which offers diversified airline industries to cater to the needs of the passengers, cargo and shipment services. The announcement of this company affects the strategic position of the entire Emirates Airline. In order to make sure that the company will not be left behind, Emirates Airline has been able to involve themselves into the expansion to technological developments.

            Through the use of SWOT analysis, the strategic position of Emirates Airline in 2006 will be analyzed.

            Strengths. As a competitive and globally recognised airline industry, Emirates Airline has been able to have strategic position in the global market. In fact, when Emirates Airline streamlined their business, it already had the advantage of size. With several consecutive years of multibillion profits, the company has outshined its major rival companies to become a model firm. Also, Emirates Airline’s decision to focus on diversified market and by considering and entering the cargo shipping and their customer service was a courageous one, but it has led to its current position as one of the top global brands. The firm has likewise been characterized by many analysts to have an ability to adapt to changing market conditions in order to maximize profit. Listening to and identifying with consumers has allowed Emirates Airline to construct a corporate culture that bears little resemblance to the Emirates Airline of the past.

            The ability to continuously renew and improve their service in the airline and aviation while effectively managing the needs of their target audience is the key to maintaining Emirates Airline’s leader status and the key for succeeding in having strategic position.

            Weaknesses. Not all of diversification and approach have been successful and this can be considered as one of the flaws or weaknesses of the company. Analysts have accused the company of focusing too much on their high-end acquisitions and diversification in spite of the risky effects of such decisions.

Opportunities. The basis for long-term competitiveness is the ability to develop continuously new generations of more advanced airline and aviation services. Therefore one of the company’s opportunities is to tap into more markets as a result of the innovations being introduced in the aviation. Localized capabilities enabling or even enhancing such co-operation will always make a difference when it comes to first-mover advantages.

 The opportunity to penetrate new growth markets where internet adoption still has room to go, Leveraging Emirates Airline’s infrastructure business to get first choice and stronger position against rivals is also an opportunity. They also have the opportunity to get ahead of their rival companies, and this should be the case, since the said market is a potential sizeable source of income. The trend of considering the internet market also shows cases new opportunities for the company.

            Threats. Rival companies are major threats to the business. Emirates Airline, in contrast, started out in other lines of business and entered and airline capabilities of the company. The firm’s inability to keep up with innovations, or recognize its demand, creates a threat for them, a risk that they could be displaced by other industry leaders. The legal and political environment in the countries where they operate in could potentially affect the business negatively. Their apparent complacence could be used by their rival companies to their advantage, and take Emirates Airline by surprise, with the latter realizing too late that they are not the industry leader anymore.

 

8. PEST Analysis

Political Aspects

            Emirates Airline has been protected by the regulations and policies formulated by the Dubai government and other countries where they are operating. Sine Dubai government is the sole owner of the industry the company has been able to adhere to the policies given by each government to make sure that the company will be able to conduct business operations successfully and effectively.  Furthermore, the company also formulates their own protection strategies against any governmental restrictions and limitations.

 

Economic Aspect

            Being one of the world’s largest and competitive industry in terms of airline and aviation, EMIRATES AIRLINE, is said to have a stable and successful economic stability. In spite of many dangers that they encounter in different parts of the world, the management of EMIRATES AIRLINE sees to it that they would be able to surpass such struggles and strives to have a better economic condition.

 

Social Aspect

            EMIRATES AIRLINE is being affected by the situation of the society in which they are operating. Along with this, EMIRATES AIRLINE tries harder to make sure that each society is given equal chances to take advantage of the resources given by the organisation. The company adheres to having good reputation and relations in the society that they belong ( 2004).

Technological Aspect

            The emergence of information technology and internet affects how EMIRATES AIRLINE has been operating in the past years. The company adopts different IT/IS systems and used internet to reach their customer all over the world and to know the latest trends in the global business. Aside from these, the company also uses facilities which helps them improved their productions and operations.

Legal Aspects

            The policies and regulations provided by the government, both local and international allow the company to be more cautious in their business actions. To avoid problems in line with their business practice, the company sees to it that all their actions are legal and aspired to highest standards.

 

 Environmental Aspects

            Environmental protection is one of the most essential aspects to be considered by many businesses. If an organisation will not be able to consider the environment in their actions, there is a possibility of facing problems within the society. In this regard, EMIRATES AIRLINE develops environmental protection strategies to adhere to this worldwide need. In addition, the company are always trying to join in environmental protection campaign by sponsoring some organisations having this type of advocacy.

 

9. Ratio Analysis

            Emirates airline has been abele to record a profit annually since its inception, except the second and the Airline’s progress has never fallen or down below 20% per year. The company has good financial ratio and they are able to have a net profit of Dhs5 billion (US$1.37 billion) for their financial year which has lasted 31 March 2008, and it shows a 62% increase over the previous year.

            For the year 2004-2005, the company has been able to pay an increased dividend to the Dubai government. In their financial year 2007-2008, the airline industry has carried 21.2 million passengers and 1.3 million tons of cargo making them one of the largest airline industries in the market.

 

Exhibit 1

Financial Statistics Emirates Airline

10. Organizational Culture

            Diversity in the workplace and the management has long been an issue debated among work organizations. It can be said that in an organisation, there will exist strong positive culture or negative culture. In this regard, strong positive culture can be said to enhance or sustain the competitive advantage of the firm in various ways. For instance, in the case of Emirates Airlines, it can be said that the company has been able to show a strong positive culture specifically in terms of their cultural differences, the management of Emirates Airlines are able to promotes the sharing of a common goal among their employee, hence, make the organisation and its team work efficient together. As they work together, they are able to focus on the needs of the entire organisation which is to sustain their competitive advantage. Since members of the company works together, their actions are more coordinated.

            With organizational culture, both the managers and the employees are extremely involved in a constant joint effort to enhance the quality of the firm’s products or services at every level. This then involves an impact similar to that of a chain reaction in which, the united goal of the organization to improve its services will eventually enhance their customers’ satisfaction and minimize the firm’s total costs. In addition, organizational culture increases the employees’ sense of pride and self-worth. Hence, organizational culture positively influences the organizational behavior, which makes work teams perform more efficiently (, 2001).

 

11. Change Management

            Changes in different organisations are vital since it allows the company to adjust and cope with the constant changes in the global market. In this regard, the leader of Emirate has announced major changes in the company. The leaders of the airline industry have mentioned that their changes will include the expansion of their airline services and using more improved information technology system. These changes have led to an increase within the community of the airline industry which enables them to have more employees which represents different countries. In addition, the leader has also considered the changes in terms of establishing management approach (2005). This change resulted in a broader, extremely competitive business portfolio to meet the needs of the customers in a rapidly converging airline industry.

            Emirates as known to operate in a full wide body aircraft fleet from different aircraft families such as Boeing 777, Airbus A340, Airbus A330 and Airbus A380. To be able to keep their policy in sustaining a young fleet, the company has been able to renew its fleet consistently.  In July 2008, the industry received its first Airbus A380 and in August on the current year, Emirates has been able to become the second airline to fly the Airbus A380. They are able to use A380 three times each week between Dubai and the NY JFK Airport. Starting on February 2009, the company is planning to use it on Dubai-Sydney-Auckland service which will be followed by the Dubai-Melbourne-Auckland airline services later in the year 2009 as part of the change management plan.

12. Recommendation

It can be said that airline industries in the global market has a strong competition, hence, it is recommended that companies like Emirates Airline should be able to sustain their competitive advantage and position in the Dubai and the global market. In doing so, the company must be able to adhere to the needs of their customers for them to remain loyal to avail the services offered by the company.  It is recommended that Emirates Airline must be able to apply prioritized quality in customer services. The assurance of quality service may yield to customer satisfaction, loyalty, employee satisfaction and more importantly profit growth. In order to cope with the present business challenges, several businesses have implemented different strategies that will enhance their respective customer services. Consumer studies, trainings and application of information technology are some examples of the most commonly used strategies for customer services. In line with the findings of this research study, it is recommended that Emirates Airline should continuously update and upgrade their service deliveries in order to meet and satisfy the demands of their customers.

 

13. Conclusion

It can be said that successful strategy demands company to choose the market in which their unique capabilities will gain competitive advantage, However, the adaptive and incremental contexts of strategic management means that the company’s starting-point leads the firm to what it is now. Corporate strategies of the Emirates Airlines have been able to use strategic management to stay in the competition in the global market. It can be said that the strategy as well as the leadership styles used by the leaders of Emirates Airlines have been the major cause of their competitive position in the airline market.

The corporate strategy of Emirates Airlines has been able to guide the company from the challenges and opportunities which appear in the market environment. To be able to sustain the competitive advantage, Emirates Airlines must also consider the innovation of their strategy to adapt to the needs of their target market all over the world. To the extent possible, the Emirates Airlines should be able to base their actions on planning for their new business strategy which includes the consideration of innovative and technology advanced oriented approach to ensure that they will be able to surpass their weaknesses and sustain their competitive advantage. In addition, the leaders of the company should continue their style to motivate their employees and become a major asset for the success of the company.

 

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Comments

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would like to know how l can get references for the materials you provided