Good Performance Management At Emirates Airlines Essay Example

Performance management as a way of achieving the set organizational goals and objectives is a hard task facing managers in various organizations. This involves designing and implementing the plan as well as evaluating the effectiveness of various operations within the organization, while ensuring that different resources are properly and efficiently integrated to achieve the set goals. Emirates airlines is one of the most successful companies in the Middle East that has incorporated strategic measures of implementing and managing performance of various tasks with the aim of delivering efficient air travel services.
This involves recruitment of efficient staff and provision job descriptions and relevant training programs that equips the employees with skills and knowledge required to complete the given tasks. In addition, the integration of modern information technology and use of management by objective strategies are some of the measures that Emirates Airline’s management has incorporated in their company to improve the overall performance, hence achieving the set vision and strategic goals. This paper therefore outlines the mission, vision, and strategic goals of emirates Airline and how the management utilizes various performance management tools in order to achieve these strategies.

About Emirates Airlines

Emirates airline is a subsidiary company of the Emirates Groups of companies, located in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The company was started in 1985 where the company operated with only two aircrafts. This has however changed as the company now owns a fleet of modern aircrafts and a huge number of employees approximately 39,000 employees in the entire Emirates Group. The airline’s employees include the 10, 785 in cabin crew, 2,237 in flight deck team, and 1,900 in engineering and information technology specialists and 9,084 in reservations, customer service team and others. All these employees who helps the company into achieving the strategic goals of delivering the most efficient customer services and becoming a world leader in the field of aviation.
Being in a competitive and consumer oriented airline industry, the company has successfully gained market share and positioned itself as a leading airline in the provision of air travel and cargo services in the Middle East. This involved integration of facilities and human resource to ensure that all the operations are run and managed effectively in accordance to the company’s mission, vision and strategy. Emirates Airline operates with a mission of becoming the best in provision of flight services and existing to deliver the best flight services globally while the company’s vision aims at making the civil aviation stable and lead in safety and sustainability.
In an effort to achieve the set mission and vision statement, Emirate airline has incorporated three key strategies that guide all the operations. One of the main strategies is to be the best service provider. This is achieved through provision of efficient check-in services, chauffer assistance in various airports and provision of waiting lounges for the comfort of the customers. In addition, the introduction of Smart Landing, automatic check-in system, and Smart Runway system has improved the quality of service provisions while the use of automated simulation in training the cabin crew have enabled the company to implement this strategy successfully (Nataraja and Al-Aali, 2011). The company has also applied related diversification strategy that involves creation of various subsidiary departments and companies. Amidst various strategies that Emirates airline has put into place, their main strategy is to be the high quality provider. This aims at providing efficient services while ensuring that high safety measures are put in place.

Systems and processes

Systems and processes involve the organizational structure and its relevance in managing duties and responsibilities of the employees (Engelmann and Roesch, 2001). The existence of a linear organizational chart where each level of employees has clearly defined duties and responsibilities makes the monitoring and evaluation of the employees at different levels easier at the Emirates Airline. The use of integrated systems with the company investing largely in information technology has made it easier to plan, execute and evaluate employees’ performance at Emirates Airline. Incorporation of information systems has also eased the communication process as well as implementation of various motivation strategies for the performing employees.

Standards and Measurement indices

Emirates airline has a main objective of delivering quality services to the customers while ensuring safety in all the operations. The supervisors also monitor the performance of the employees while in their normal routine duties so as to establish if the employee needs any additional assistance and training. Other methods that the company has used to measure employees performance is the performance rating form to evaluate the effectiveness of the employees in achieving personal and organizational goals as well as evaluate the general know-how of the organizational culture and practices of the Emirates airline.

Performance appraisal

Conducting performance appraisal or performance review meetings is also an important tool that enables management to review each employee’s performance as well as discuss possible measures that an employee needs to adopt in order to improve their performance. The tool also provides a basis for creating a favorable communication process with the top management, thus creating favorable working relations suitable to improve performance. In the case of Emirates airlines, performance review meetings are frequently conducted especially in the engineering and cabin crew departments as a way of ensuring that each employee works efficiently according to the set standards and with the aim of promoting safety and quality services to the customers. Detailed performance assessment is also conducted on the employees with high remunerations as well as in times when an employee is likely to be promoted to a more challenging job position.
Analyzing employees capabilities, skills and competencies especially the cabin crew is one of the major duties of the performance assessment manager in the Emirates Airlines. This is conducted on a routine manner to ensure that each cabin crew member has the required efficiency, skills and etiquette that guarantees quality services to the travelers. This is because, building providing customers with positive experience through quality services and friendly environment is the main objective strategy that the airline uses to attract new customers as well as retain the existing clients. Performance appraisal also enables the human resource manager in drafting effective personal development plans (PDPs) aimed at improving the employees’ productivity (Pulakos, 2004). The main PDPs that Emirates airlines has put into practice is the employee training programs to equip the employees with necessary skills and information regarding their respective areas of work.
Managing performance is a critical process that enables organizations to align their operations with the set goals and strategies. Being in a competitive aviation industry, Emirates Airline human resource management has a critical role of planning and implementing an effective performance management plan as a way of ensuring that the company’s quality services strategy is met. This is further hastened by the emergence of competitive airlines in the Middle East region such as Etihad, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways, that are threatening the market share of the company.

References

Engelmann, C. H., & Roesch, R. C. (2001). Managing individual performance: An approach to designing and effective performance management system. Scottsdale, AZ: WorldatWork.
Nataraja, S. & Al-Aali, A. (2011). “The exceptional performance strategies of Emirate Airlines”. International Business Journal Vol. 21 (5), pp. 471-48. Retrieved from www.emeraldinsight.com/1059-5422.htm.
Pulakos, E. (2004). Performance Management: A roadmap for developing, implementing and evaluating performance management systems. Richmond, VA: SHRM Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/india/hr-topics-and-strategy/performance-management/creating-high-performance-culture/Documents/Performance%20Management.pdf.