ABSTRACT
The critical success factors of the company specify the actual elements of the firm that contributes to the overall accomplishment in their respective field. Singapore Airlines is one of the top performing airline companies in Asia and the rest of the world. The study of the conditions surrounding the said company shall be beneficial to the area of organisational development and the academe. The data used included both primary and secondary sources. The study used a survey questionnaire to randomly selected employees of the respondent firm. The observations pertaining to the responses of the employees are then reinforced by comparing it to the existing organisational literature and other studies pertaining to the critical success factors of other firms. This dissertation established that the critical success factors of Singapore Airlines includes it management styles, its operational characteristics, and the ability of the company to apply the needed level of flexibility. In doing so, the company is able to balance the needs of the external environment and the demands of the internal environment. This has become their strategic tool in achieving success in the market.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Problem and Its Background
Introduction
Background of the Company
Aims and Objectives
Chapter 2
Literature Review
Critical Success Factors
The General Environment
The Task Environment
Organisational Learning
Management Styles
Market Orientation
Organisational Flexibility
Synthesis
Chapter 3
Methods and Procedures
Secondary Data
Survey Process and Design
Reliability & Validity of the Research
Chapter 4
Presentation, Interpretation and Analysis of Data
Demographic Profile
Effects of the internal and external environment on the operations of Singapore Airlines
Dealing with the General Environment
Dealing with the Task Environment
Singapore Airlines’ Organisational Learning
Singapore Airlines’ Management Styles
Singapore Airlines’ Market Orientation
Singapore Airlines’ Organisational Flexibility
Chapter 5
Conclusion
Singapore Airlines – Management Styles
Operational Characteristics of Singapore Airlines
Match Between Critical Success Factors and Operational Characteristics
Bibliography
Chapter 1 Problem and Its Background
Introduction
Success in business is possibly the ends towards which every organisation intends to achieve. However, this achieving such ends is no easy task. Management theories and organisational studies already exist in literature to provide businesses and organisation some semblance of a formula for success. Though some models may have been tried and tested in the field, there are instances that show that it is not cut-and-dried. Some models are not wholly applicable to each and every organisation making organisational success still ever so elusive. Though these models of organisational development apparently fail to establish some form of consistency with its applications, some aspects of the model still provide improvements in the organisations. It is in this regard that this paper contends that certain critical factors are the ones that trigger and consequently maintain development in the organisation. For this dissertation, the respondent company shall be Singapore Airlines. More specifically, this study intends to find the critical success factors present in the operations of Singapore Airlines.
Background of the Company
Singapore Airlines is one of the top airline companies in Asia and one of the more respected brand names in the world. The company has been flying the friendly skies, giving its passengers safe passage to anywhere in the world since 1947. As stated in its website, the company is geared towards “providing air transportation services of the highest quality and to maximising returns for the benefit of its shareholders and employees.” The airline company currently have a hundred and forty-three destinations in at least forty-one countries in the world. Singapore Airlines boast of having to first introduce in-flight telecommunication services and first to put in operation the Airbus 380 which is currently the world’s largest commercial aircraft. With these achievements alone, there is no doubt that Singapore Airlines is one of the more prominent and successful companies in the airline industry.
Aims and Objectives
Critical success factors are essential elements that contribute to the overall achievements of the company particularly with reference to its organisational goals. These critical success factors could be found in the internal (Barrett, Balloun, and Weinstein 2005,) and external environment (Dawley, Schniederjans, Hoffman, and Irwin 1999,) of the organisation. For this dissertation, the main objective is to determine the implications of the critical success factors of Singapore Airlines to its operations. To effectively carry out this study, the following questions shall be answered:
1. How does the internal and external environment affect the operations of Singapore Airlines?
2. How does Singapore Airlines deal with the external environment in terms of:
a. The general environment (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, and Technical); and
b. The task environment (customer, supplier, competitors, new entrants, substitutes)
3. How does Singapore Airlines deal with the internal environment in terms of:
a. Organisational Learning;
b. Management Styles;
c. Market Orientation; and
d. Organisational Flexibility
4. What are the critical success factors of Singapore Airlines?
5. What is the relationship of the critical success factors of Singapore Airlines with the overall operations of the organisation?
6. What management actions shall Singapore Airline further take to leverage on this current critical success factors of competitive advantage?
Chapter 2 Literature Review
The emergence of globalisation as a key factor in the operations of the modern organisation has influenced the way the same works. Traditionally, it is enough for companies to make sure that the service that they offer or the product that they peddle is of top quality. Nowadays, certain factors should be considered such as those present in both the internal and external environment on which the company operates. This is especially true for airline companies like Singapore Airlines. Given that the company tends to lean in favour of international operations, it is thus manifested that the existing environment demands Singapore Airlines to possess a global mindset. (Levy, Beechler, Taylor, and Boyacigiller 2007,) To this end, this mindset requires the company to find the critical factors on which success will essentially be a specific outcome. This chapter shall discuss the theoretical basis of these critical success factors and establish the actual rationale based on the existing literature. The following discussions shall take into considerations the findings and arguments provided in organisational studies and academic journals directly related to the subject. This will form part, of the overall discussions of the critical success factors of the respondent company and how it relates to the actual operations of Singapore Airlines.
Critical Success Factors
The concept of critical success factors is those which inherently drives the company and institutes its capability to realise its goals. This concept is essentially confused with the idea of key performance indicators. (Barrett, Balloun, and Weinstein 2005, 16) Though both being elements determinative of the success of a company, they are inherently different and totally diverse ideas. Key performance indicators make up benchmarks which points to the improvements of certain aspects in the operation of the organisation. These are essentially concepts which measure the overall capacity of the organisation with the effects provided by the critical success factors of the firm. Studies have maintained that the increase in the demand of the business environment, these two distinct concepts should work hand in hand and must complement each other to ultimately aid the company to realise its goals.
There have been numerous studies that tackle importance of critical success factors of the organisation. Possibly the most common denominator that these studies provide is the significance of the environment over the organisation. (Dawley, Schniederjans, Hoffman, and Irwin 1999, 259) The specific situations present in both the internal and external environments tend to similarly specify the critical success factors needed by the company to achieve its ultimate goals. The following discussions provide for the critical success factors seen in exiting literature. Such discussions manifest the implications of the external and internal environment and how the organisation adapts to strike a balance between the two and eventually realise its mission statement.
The General Environment
The general environment pertains to the element of the external environment that significantly affects the operations of the organisation. In the discussions provided by the study of Dawley, Schniederjans, Hoffman, and Irwin (1999, 259) the general environment covers all involving the political, economic, socio-cultural, and technical elements affecting the organisation. In business studies, they refer to the examination of these aspects of the external environment as the PEST Analysis. Though it is said to be an analysis, the end result is actually more of a descriptive account of the external environment on which the company operates. Collectively, in relying on the critical success factor such as the general environment provide the overall depiction of the appeal and attractiveness of the market of that particular company.
Dawley, Schniederjans, Hoffman, and Irwin (1999,) described the general economic aspect of the environment as those that includes taxable items, implications of interest rates, and even currency to name a few. In the case of the social aspects of the general environment, the same study pointed out elements like the specifics of the demographic, gender roles, language implications among others. Political aspects of the environment hold those laws that implicate the receptiveness of the host states on the operations of a particular international organisation like Singapore Airlines. More specifically, elements like stability as well as the amicability of the country of origin as well as the host country are involved in the matter. The ability of the organisation to establish a way to work through the legal, economic, political, and social- cultural environment that it may encounter manifest a critical success factor. The critical success factor was usually deeply embedded in the firm’s culture and operation.
The Task Environment
The concept of task environment involves all that affect the market. This involves the customer, supplier, competitors, new entrants, and substitutes that affect the operations of the organisation. Porter coined these elements collectively as the five forces of competition (Styen 2003). More specifically, the power of the customer involves the actual capacity of the company to dictate the behaviour of the customers. For instance, if their products are considered as commodity, then the customers’ power is considered low. This is the same with the power of suppliers. The power to bargain is measured as to whether or not the company can easily shift from one supplier to another. Considering the competitors on the other hand indicates the intensity of the competition present in the market. The consideration of the market share as well as the capacity of the brand in the general environment is deemed necessary in uncovering the critical success factor of the task environment. This is also the same with the power of substitute and new entrants. The possibility that consumers may consider buying a particular substitute over the actual products or services offered by the company reveals the power of the said element. In the same manner, the power of new entrants in the set of circumstances as they manifest a potential competitor. Similarly, with the presence of such power on the part of the new entrants, it shows that the market is rather open and devoid of any barriers of entry.
Organisational Learning
Knowledge creation is considered as one of the vital accessories of the modern management model. On the whole, this procedure involves prescribed and casual processes, sustained by technology, for the sharing of data about issues and resolutions, offers for development, or information concerning the existing best practices in the industry (Hyde and Mitchell 2000). This indicates that the method needs knowledge to flow in a rather unrepressed way. Recent studies have similarly indicated that the process entail learning of the individual or as a group. This constitutes both tacit and explicit data in the company (Khalil, Claudio and Seliem 2006). Thus, this point indicates that knowledge creation seems to absorb a contemporaneous shift of knowledge to the rest of the company.
Knowledge creation thus seems to require companies to reckon knowledge as assets. The study of Uotila, Melkas and Harmaakorpi (2005,) maintained several kinds of knowledge assets: experimental, conceptual, systematic, and routine. Experimental knowledge is defined as collective tacit knowledge through general encounters in the work setting. Conversely, conceptual knowledge is explicit data which is obtained via words, imagery and codes apparent in the direct surroundings of the company. This could signify items like emblems and company jargons employed by the workforce. Systematic knowledge is prearranged collection of explicit knowledge in the organisation. This could take account of those written procedures and directives in the organisation. Finally, routine knowledge is noted as tacit knowledge that is profoundly entrenched in the actions and practices of the components in the organisation.
Management Styles
A factor that intends to develop and accordingly preserve the competitive advantage of the company is by means of the leadership methods applied in the organisation. Recurrent studies have preserved that the most strategic location in the organisation is assumed by the managers. The article of Huy (2002) strengthens this claim as they are the people who deal openly with both the top management and the common workers. They are the individuals who could assist the management to agree on the actual culture in attendance in the company. Moreover, they are the individuals needed to conclude which nature of leadership or management style would satisfy the needs of the organisation and match the existing culture in the company (Laclair and Rao 2002). The case of Procter & Gamble manifests this illustration where the authoritarian approach of management was given the boot as the organisation favoured a more participative type of leadership. (Madapati 2003)
Recent developments in the theories are the addition of the strategic ideas and management standards which then bring forth strategic management. Fundamentally, the idea of strategic management intimately resembles fundamentals of “foresight.” This indicates that planning beforehand is a major constituent in the model. Drejer (2002) mentioned that the model has been exposed to a lot of changes in the past decades from the instance it was initially conjured up. Strategic management plans have the tendency to fall under the class of organisational development. A key element in stages of development is the incidence of change. This entail that the performance of strategic management is roughly constantly functions in a vulnerable phase for the organisation. Thus the main reason and role of strategic management is to institute control. (Julian 2002). These studies have mentioned the need of the organisation to use strategic surveillance, premise monitoring, and implementation control to reveal opportunities for growth in the company.
Market Orientation
The concept of market orientation indicates that research on the specific actions of the consumers in the target state must be carried out. For instance, there are specific countries that the value of the products or services is awarded preference by the buyer (Nachum and Wymbs 2005). Likewise, there are specific nations that put high regard on the brand of the merchandise or the standing of the company. Despite the consequences, the organisation has to take in all these data so as to understand what kind of action they are to put into practice. It is these sorts of research that foolproof strategies are completed.
This establishes the fact that data is very vital for companies such as Singapore Airlines. It is crucial if they expect success in their international ventures. More positively, it has established the fact that organisational success will be acquired merely by being closely aware of the environment on which it intends to operate. Brouthers and Nakos (2005) noted that the ability of the company for market research will reduce the reservations on the possible status of the company.
In doing so, businesses are able to recognize the possible alterations on their branding strategies and marketing choices in specific countries. This offers an idyllic reason as this process requires a systematic and technical way of predicting the growth of the market (Vredenburg and Westley 1999). Basically, this will not plainly secure the organisation with a superb market position, but also guarantee that the company will be able to sustain that competitive advantage for exceptionally long interludes.
Other studies indicate that organisations could make use of market research methods to use segmenting projects for the international market (Craft 2004). This demonstrates that through this market research, marketing strategies could be produced and obtained from the segmentation of specific markets into specific groups. This will contend with consumers that demonstrate similar behaviours and purchasing outlines. All things deemed, this system presents the business an image of a specific market’s agreeable form with specific focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the market with reference to the resources of the organisation. It is this compilation of data that institute the instruments for the organisation in addressing the demands of running a business in the international scale.
Organisational Flexibility
Organisational flexibility, in relation to the discussions above, is a product of strategic management (Julian and Scifres 2002). As mentioned above, surveillance is among the elements considered in strategic management debates. In implementing strategic surveillance, the organisation essentially monitors itself to react favourably and efficiently in occasions where a shift both in the internal and external environment of the organisation occurs. (Drejer 2002). It is at this instance where the organisation exposes what is at fault in their operations. This is where strategic problems are interpreted, examined and tackled. (Julian and Scifres 2002).
Moreover, Julian and Scifres (2002). indicated that strategic management similarly involves premise monitoring. This indicates that in creating a strategic management plan, the organisation must initially be familiar with the inherent elements affecting in the company that hamper the execution of the process. This option manifests the connection between the strategic management plans and organisational culture. The importance of monitoring appears to be the highlight of this supposition. In this context, a mixture of the being aware of the culture and monitoring seems to involve the conditions of this part of the strategic management plan. It is very important that the strategic management plan that will be applied complements the company and must have an intrinsic feature for monitoring (Brewer, Brownlee, and Juras 2003) .Or else, the actions of the organisation will finish off in a mess which essentially signals higher sums of resources misplaced. Moreover, factors like the personnel of the organisation should be taken into account as seen in the initial claims of Ulrich (1992) with reference to the hotel industry. Devoid of the appropriate monitoring of the compatibility of the plan in connection with the response of the workforce is harmful to the result of the plan. Without the appropriate monitoring and management of the organisation pointing to the strategic initiatives, the possibility of integration will not be likely as well as the believed accomplishments of the activity.
The model further proposes to apply implementation control. (Julian and Scifres 2002) .The component of control triggered by strategic management is clear in the art where one implements the objects of the plan. This is manifested in the control on the expenses and even the operations of the organisation following the institution of the plan. To illustrate, there were accounts of undersized hotels that used IT applications and incorporated it to their operations (Domke-Damonte and Leysen 2002). The study pointed out that the management and monitoring of the implementation procedures of the organisation decreases the costs and encourages strategic control over the overall performance of the organisation.
Synthesis
Modern businesses have achieved some degree success in their respective fields because they have shown higher worth to their consumers. This advantage over the other actors in the field transforms to their competitive advantage. Nonetheless, the present demands of the market do not merely involve one organisation to attain its respective competitive advantage. The studies above similarly pointed out that these organisations have to maintain it. The predicament in this set is that sustaining such an advantage is by no means an uncomplicated undertaking. Factors from the environment will all the time be influencing the operations of any company. These factors may originate from the internal environment or be a part of the external environment. Fortunately, organisational studies have incessantly sought to develop the existing conditions of the modern company and consent to its easy adaption to its direct environment. This chapter specifically presented these factors on which an organisation is able to maintain its competitive advantage. These factors are collectively called the company’s critical success factors.
Chapter 3 Methods and Procedures
Since this study has limited time and resources at its disposal, the general method that shall be employed is descriptive research. Recent studies have defined this type of research as the approach employing statistical processes like averages, percentages and frequency distributions (Gilner and Morgan 2000). This means that this study shall use simple statistical processes to guarantee that the findings shall be clear and unambiguous. The study will also make use of both qualitative and quantitative data. This means that survey results as well as those acquired from secondary sources shall form part of the study. In doing so, the noteworthy contributions of the said processes shall help in emphasising the findings of this paper (Graton and Jones 2003). Hence, online surveys were conducted and ultimately provide a veritable conclusion for this dissertation.
The respondents of this study shall include fifty randomly selected personnel of Singapore Airlines. The respondents shall be answering questions regarding the critical success factors of the company and how it affects the operations of the organisation. This shall commence with the use of a survey questionnaire so as to acquire a succinct and the existing interests significant to the respondents. (Mudambi and Navarra 2004)
Secondary Data
Aside from the primary data, the study will also take into employ secondary data. Specifically, the study will look at articles and studies directly pertaining to the topic at hand. The use of secondary data shall operate twofold to the advantage of this study. First, the secondary data shall serve as a literature review on the topic. The discussions mainly pertains to the organisation, hence the study shall be taking into consideration organisational studies that deal directly with the said topic. Second, the study shall be using secondary data to sustain the findings of the study. This means that the discussions shall constitute a description of the findings as well as its concurrence or divergence on the existing literature.
Majority of the secondary data that shall be used in this paper will be from the website of the respondent company. In the same regard, these data will come primarily from downloaded annual reports of the company. This will essentially help the researcher in saving time in the research process. Instead of searching for the said set of data and acquiring it by her, the data would be readily accessed from a secondary source. In the same manner, it is anticipated that the data that shall be acquired offers a large base. The main problem of using secondary data in this study is that the researcher will have no way of verifying whether or not the data is accurate.
Survey Process and Design
The survey shall be conducted in the headquarters of Singapore Airlines in Orchard Road and Changi Airport. The survey shall follow a mixture of random sampling and cluster sampling. Basically this means that the researcher shall conduct random sampling techniques but shall limit its self to the tow other offices of the company in Orcahrd Road and Changi Airport.
The dissertation’s primary instrument in data gathering is a researcher-made questionnaire. In this instrument, the questionnaire shall consist of a letter that guarantees to the respondents that their responses shall be utilised entirely for academic purposes and that the researcher guarantees that their responses shall be handled with the greatest level of discretion. Moreover, Mudambi and Navarra (2004, 385) mentioned that questionnaires have to be short and pertinent to the interests of the respondents. This means that the questionnaire should be easy to understand and appreciated by the employees. Hence, the questionnaire shall cover three portions.
The initial portion of the survey shall obtain the demographic outline of the respondents. Questions pointing to certain attributes such as age, gender, and years in service of the company shall be included in the question. This is to ascertain the variety in the labour force and the figure at which they view the Singapore Airlines. The second part of the paper shall obtain their deliberation on the facets that comprise the critical factors that the company possess.
RANGE
INTERPRETATION
4.50 – 5.00
Strongly Agree
3.50 – 4.49
Agree
2.50 – 3.49
Uncertain
1.50 – 2.49
Disagree
0.00 – 1.49
Strongly Disagree
Expressly, questions that connect with the particular objectives mentioned in the earlier chapters shall be utilised. In this part of the survey, the Likert scale shall be utilised to gauge the intensity of the responses of the respondents. The third portion of the questionnaire shall give open ended inquiries. This shall be included among qualitative data gathered in the field.
The dissertation shall employ a survey of respondents; their answers to the questionnaire shall be used as this study primary data. The said respondents shall add up to fifty (50) randomly selected employees in the company, Singapore Airlines. This arbitrarily chosen lot shall answer to questions with reference to the organisational capacities and the perceived liabilities in the organisation. The answers of the randomly picked members of the workforce shall be taken by a survey that the researcher has formed for the purposes of this paper. Furthermore, to append to the gathered information, the researcher have to similarly obtain a number of informal interviews with a few employees in Singapore Airlines who holds management posts.
It is likely that the gaining of data shall meet certain barriers. Therefore, the researcher shall request the assistance of the Human Resource Department of the respondent company. This shall be obtained barely following the consent of the management to carry on with the study is approved. Initially, a get-together shall be appealed with the chief of the said department. Once accepted, the researcher shall request the head of the Human Resource Department to give their endorsement to the survey and following informal interviews. With the approval, the researcher shall similarly invite the HR department to help with the actual giving out of the survey questionnaires. The weight of the tasks shall be significantly lessened and as a result give a more efficient and competent way to accomplish the survey in the organisation.
Reliability & Validity of the Research
To confirm the reliability of the research tool, the researcher shall be issuing an outline of the questionnaire to her counsellor. This is to do away with any confusing terms, any jargon, or any needless inquiries that would obstruct the data gathering. Following some minor alterations, and the endorsement of the counsellor, five questionnaires shall be given to the same amount of respondents. Their criticisms and comments shall be obtained to find out the efficiency of the tool and whether or not they have any spots which have trouble understanding. Following further revisions, the questionnaire shall be provided to the rest of the respondents.
Chapter 4
Presentation, Interpretation and Analysis of Data
After acquiring and consequently processing the acquired data, the findings are tabulated and analysed. This part of the dissertation shall present, interpret and analyse the acquired data. For clarity and coherence, the discussions are divided into several major parts to ensure that each part covers the critical success factors present in Singapore Airlines. Out of the 70 online surveys sent, around 50 respondents replied.
Demographic Profile
The number of responses that answered the questionnaire amounted to 50 respondents. The figure below summarises the respondents according to age.
Figure 1. Age of Respondents
The findings above show that the age of the respondents were rather slight in variability. The majority of the respondents apparently are those between 24 – 29 years of age (26%). On the other hand, a good number of the respondents are in the rank and file position and at least 1-5 years in the company (30%). The responses are detailed in the table below.
Table 1. Years in the Company
Effects of the internal and external environment on the operations of Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines is one of the top carriers in the world today. It ranks third on the overall implementation of online ticketing scheme in the entire world. In Asia, it holds the top spot in the said category. In its operations, Singapore Airlines acquired over ,049 million in the fiscal year of 2007-2008. This shows how lucrative the company is as a result of its critical success factors. The airline carrier also introduced a new way of experiencing air travel with the operation of A380, possibly the largest aircraft to date. Moreover, the opening of the Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 allowed Singapore Airlines a larger space in its operations. This ensures the high possibility of success and facilitates the overall operations of the organisation. (Singapore Airline annual report 2007 )
The table below summarises the financial performance of the company in September 2008. The data provided is then compared to the actual performance that the company have incurred in September 2007.
Table 2. September 2008 Performance of Singapore Airlines
The data above shows a slight decline of the number of passengers from 2008-2007. However, the data also shows that the company was able to improve the passenger revenue per kilometres. In the same regard, the company’s seating capacity was able to increase to over 6.8% in that month. However, this may have also triggered the decline in the passenger load factor of the airlines in the same period.
Dealing with the General Environment
The general environment of the company is considered as one of the critical success factors of the organisation. The chart below summarises the responses of the employees when asked about questions pertaining to the effects of the internal and external environment of the company in its operations.
Table 3. Dealing with the General Environment
When the respondents were asked whether or not the market dictates the programmes of Singapore Airlines, majority of the respondents (32%) agreed while 24% strongly agreed. This means that a good number of employees regard the external environment as one of the major elements that affect the operations of the company. This is compounded by their responses when asked whether or not Singapore Airlines sees the task environment as a critical success factor. The 36% respondents strongly agreed while 32% agreed on the matter. This shows that the programmes implemented by Singapore airlines, like the e-ticketing scheme and the purchase of the A380, are driven primarily of market forces.
With reference to the internal environment of the organisation, the table shows that the employees perceive that the company places high priority on maintaining a high level of motivation on the part of the workforce. This is seen in the 46% that strongly agreed and 24% that agreed on the statement. The finding is supported by the subsequent responses of the employees as they perceive that the management operations carry on in a very effective manner. Thirty-six percent of the overall respondents felt strongly in favour of the statement while 32% merely agreed.
Dealing with the Task Environment
The respondents were also asked about the task environment of the organisation. This concept has been defined in the earlier parts of this dissertation. The findings of this paper is summarised in the table below.
Table 4. Dealing with the Task Environment
It must first be emphasised that Singapore Airlines is subjected to numerous factors involving the operations in the international sector. When the respondents were asked about the implications of the legal and political structures of the destination countries, the deviation of the responses were rather stagnant. As shown in the table above, 26% strongly agreed and 24% agreed. In the same regard, 24% disagreed while 22% strongly agreed. This shows that there is a lack of a solid contention whether or not the political and legal factors of a particular state affect the operations of the company. To a certain extent, political factors do affect companies like Singapore Airlines international regimes of carriers are imposable to their operations.
On the other hand, when asked about the implications of the interest rates and exchange rates in the company, the 42% of the respondents strongly agreed while 24% agreed. This shows that they recognise the high impact of the economic part of the task environment as a vital element in the critical success factors of the organisation. With regards to socio-cultural aspects, the respondents also maintained that it is imperative to be aware of the nuances of the existing culture of a particular state as 50% strongly agreed and 26% agreed. This means that almost three quarters of the respondents recognise culture recognition as a factor critical to the success of the company. This is the same when asked whether or not the existing infrastructure of the state is imperative for the operations of the company. Sixty-two percent strongly agreed and 30% agreed, which is understandable as the operations of the company requires highly technical structures. This may well be the reason why the new terminal in Chiang Mai Airport was given to Singapore Airlines.
Singapore Airlines’ Organisational Learning
As established in the literature review, organisational learning is one of the more indispensable factors in the success of the organisation. In the case of Singapore Airlines, their annual report maintains that continuing employee education and training is a priority in their overall operations.
Table 5. Organisational Learning
The table above shows the responses of the employees with reference to the organisational learning that they acquire from Singapore Airlines. When asked whether or no the company values the creation of knowledge in the organisation, 32% of the respondents strongly responded positively and 24% agreed. This shows that majority of the respondents appears to recognise the drive of Singapore Airlines to improve its workforce’s value through training. This is compounded by their responses when asked whether or not the company places training and development as among the top priorities. The responses were overwhelming as 52% strongly agreed and 24% agreed. This shows that the company is conducting regular and frequent training programmes available for the employees.
However, when asked regarding the access to the relevant information that they need in the conduct of their respective work, they 36% maintained that this does not happen. This signifies a problem in the flow of information in the company. This may lead to problems of inefficiency in the future. Nevertheless, the table also indicates that the respondents were solid in maintaining that the Singapore Airlines have a positive trend towards development.
Singapore Airlines’ Management Styles
Pointed out in earlier chapters, the element of leadership and management are form part of the critical success factors of an organisation. In the case of Singapore Airlines, the company apparently places high regard on the strict implementation of rules and regulations. This is specified in the table below where 50% of the respondents strongly agreed on the issue.
Table 6. Management Styles
In the same manner, when the issue on hierarchy was asked, the responses were mixed. Thirty-two percent of the respondents strongly agreed and 24% agreed that the managers placed a high importance on organisational hierarchy. To a certain extent, the responses may have been construed by the employees as the existence of rank in the organisation. This is apparent in every respect. However, it is important to point out that 26% of the employees disagreed on the “high importance” of rank and hierarchy. This shows that the managerial styles in the company vary. There are those managers who exercise an authoritarian approach to management and there are those who implement a considerably democratic and participative way of management. At some point, the presence of diversity in management styles manifests a positive implication on the part of the management staff. This shows that the management styles of the company are flexible and could vary depending on what the situation demands of the managers. It is possible that the majority of the operations of the company require close supervision, hence the response regarding rank and the strict implementation of rules. On the other hand, there are instances where departments require independence and a free hand in their operations, which is apparent in departments that require creativity, hence take away the need for authoritative management techniques.
Singapore Airlines’ Market Orientation
Market orientation, in its simplest sense, manifests the ability of the organisation to deal with the existing information about the market and use it to their advantage. This part of the chapter will discuss the market orientation present in the case of Singapore Airlines. In looking at the table below, it appears that the employees possess limited knowledge on the application of market research in the organisation.
Table 7. Market Orientation
As seen above, 28% and 24% of the respondents strongly agreed and agreed respectively when asked whether or not market research is an imperative element of the operations of the company. To a certain extent, this appears positive as the majority of the respondents have already verified the issue. However, it is imperative to point out at this discussion that the rest of the respondents either disagree, agree or certainly unaware of the matter. This manifest not only a clear indication of the lack of knowledge of the employees, it is also a symptom of the ailing communication between the management and the rank and file.
On the other hand, when asked whether the company is focused on consumer satisfaction and establishing consumer relationships, 26% strongly agreed and 34% agreed. This shows that a considerable amount of respondents are very sure of the fact that the company is entirely consumer-centric. In this regard, this shows that only over a quarter of the respondents showed in their responses that Singapore Airlines the customers highly above any other. In any case, their responses have established that customer relationship management is a part of their critical success factors.
Singapore Airlines’ Organisational Flexibility
Organisational flexibility is defined earlier as the ability of the company to strategically conduct actions that will allow the company to endure certain changes without feeling its entire brunt.
Table 8. Organisational Flexibility
It is the ability of the company to foresee the minor nuances that may trigger shifts in the internal and external environment. The table above presents the level of flexibility of Singapore Airlines with its environment. The responses above indicate that the management looks closely on the operations of the company. It monitors not only the environment but also the operations of the internal environment. In the same regard, control is deemed as a critical success factor as it allows the company to manage every part of the organisation with less resistance and with the least margin of error. This is the reason why the acts of the company appear to be rather deliberate and calculated.
Chapter 5 Conclusion
Achieving organisational success is far from being a walk in the park. The journey towards its achievement is already gruelling. In the same manner, maintaining such a stature is equally or even highly demanding. This is shown expressly in this dissertation more particularly in the case of Singapore Airlines. The findings in this study have shown that the current standing of the company in the market is done with the realisation of all the critical success factors of the organisation. As indicated in the objectives of this paper, the critical success factors of the company lie on how it deals with the demands of the external and internal environments. The findings above show that the company conducts market research to establish the needed information that it requires to foresee the changes in the external environment. In the same regard, Singapore Airlines also uses the process to be highly acquainted with the specific market on which it intends to operate. Other forms of dealing with the external environment involve the establishment of the relationship with certain players in industry. In this regard, the company must similarly establish the minor and major elements that constitute the task environment. With regards to the internal environment, Singapore airlines seek to establish a firm organisation through competent management and leadership. Though the company tends to be highly customer-centric, the company reinforces this drive by empowering the workforce through implementing organisational development factors such as organisational learning, flexibility in management, and marketing orientation. All these contribute to a solid outcome for the company, organisational flexibility.
Singapore Airlines – Management Styles
One of the critical success factors that has manifested in the dissertation is the management styles of Singapore Airlines. The company has established itself as one of the top airlines in the world not because of the capability and skill of the employees alone; it is compounded with the implementation of a management style that corresponds with the demands of the external environment. The management styles present in Singapore Airlines is a critical success factor of the company. Based on the findings of this paper, there is no single management style that prevails in Singapore Air. The managers are free to determine whatever type of management style they intend to implement. The findings shows that finding what type of management style that complements the required output in the particular part of the organization is as important as the flexibility of the managers to adapt to the certain changes provided by these demands. It all boils down to the knowledge held by the managers. Specifically, the knowledge that they have with regards to the actual makeup of the organization is imperative. In doing so, they make the functions of their positions not limited to managerial or executive instruments for the organization. This position tends to manifest features of being more as a strategic tool which consequently adds up to the overall efficiency of the organization.
Operational Characteristics of Singapore Airlines
Along with the flexibility of the managerial styles present in the organization, Singapore Airlines also have the major operational characteristics that add up to the general critical success factors of the organization. Basically, this is seen in numerous areas of the organization. For instance, how the company deals with the environment highlights the capability of the organization to recognize certain courses of action that would b able to deal with the demands of the general environment. This shows that the company is well adapted and well-acquainted with its external environment.
This claim is also reinforced with the findings above indicating how Singapore Airlines deal with the task environment. The task environment generally points to the political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, technological and environmental components of their operations. Seeing the findings above, the recognition of the demands of the external environment as well as the acquaintance with the overall culture of the organization allows the company to formulate strategies that would fit both patterns. Culture recognition as well as the determination of the demands of the consumers is among the critical success factors that points to the ability of the firm to operate in its peak. By providing the pertinent infrastructure to their employees, the organization easily translates these demands into actual sources of capital generation.
An example of such pertinent infrastructure and other processes that add up to the overall critical success factors of the organization is the provision of organizational learning for both the managers and the rank and file. Training apparently is one of the tools which Singapore Airlines use to keep the internal environment abreast with the existing demands of the external environment. By giving them the required skill and allowing the employees to freely learn, the company is able to build a skilled workforce effortlessly. In the same manner, the management’s control of the information permits the concurrent imposition of employee independence and management’s control of sensitive data. The findings above indicated that the employees do have some degree of freedom on accessing the data they require for crucial decisions but only to some extent as certain positions only hold admission to certain data depending on its security level.
Match Between Critical Success Factors and Operational Characteristics
Finding a balance between what the company needs and establishing the exact demands of the market is also one of the critical success factors of the organization. The ability to strike a balance between the demands and supply both from the internal and external environments of the organization points to this reality. This is also manifested in the level of flexibility presented by the organization. By establishing balance on both the internal and external environments, Singapore Airlines has established itself as one of the eminent airlines in the world.
Moreover, the ideas of organisational development have become one of the most fundamental constituents and perhaps the essential clause to guarantee the continued existence in the international business scene. In common with the developments in the external environment of the Singapore Airlines, the inevitability to pick up on the wherewithal within an organisation is crucial. Thus, the dissertation supposes that the concern of continued existence is dealt with by balancing the internal environment with the requisites and demands presented by the external environment. It has been talked about in the previous parts of this paper that the business setting, particularly in the international framework, is ceaselessly developing and hence continually placing the competitors of every industry observant such that they are able to carry on in any extreme shifts or any harsh orders of the external environment.
The discussions above have shown that area of business has changed into a meadow of colossal rivalry and excessively challenging atmosphere. Thus, an unvarying motivation for improvement and development is manifested in every organisation as they unremittingly seek a competitive advantage over the other competitors in their respective markets. Organisational studies have indicated that a positive way of attaining success in the current conditions of trade and commerce is by finding a balance between the demands of both internal and external environments on which the company openly functions. For multinational organisations like Singapore Airlines, a level of difficulty is obvious. With a much wider range of operational activities and elements to mull over in terms of the labour force and marketing functions, the use of recent organisational development concepts is vital.
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Singapore Airlines Website
Appendix 1
SINGAPORE AIRLINES QUESTIONNAIRE
Dealing with the General Environment
QUESTIONS
Ratings
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Dealing with the Task Environment
QUESTIONS
Ratings
SA
A
U
D
SD
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Singapore Airlines’ Organisational Learning
QUESTIONS
Ratings
SA
A
U
D
SD
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Singapore Airlines’ Management Styles
QUESTIONS
Ratings
SA
A
U
D
SD
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Singapore Airlines’ Market Orientation
QUESTIONS
Ratings
SA
A
U
D
SD
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Singapore Airlines’ Organisational Flexibility
QUESTIONS
Ratings
SA
A
U
D
SD
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Open Questions
In your opinion, what are the critical success factors of Singapore Airlines? Do they affect the operations of the company? Why or why not?
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