Strategic Management - STEPL Analysis of Emirates

-In an essay format answer the following four questions: - Q1. Critically discuss the key forces in the general and industry environments that affect Emirate’s choice of strategy. (30 marks-700 words) Hint porter 5 forces and STEPL Q2. How does Emirates compete? What internal resources and assets does Emirates have that may give it a competitive advantage? (30 marks-600words) Q3. Critically discuss Emirates Business –Level strategies. What are the challenges Emirates might face to continue delivering its promise and stay ahead of competitors? (20marks- 250words) Q4. Assess the effectiveness of Emirates’ leadership. Discuss how Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum and then Sir Tim Clark illustrated the activities of strategic leadership. (20marks-250 words) put the citation at the end of the each paragraph

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Strategic Management
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Analysis of the Key Forces in General and Industry Environments which Affects Emirate’s
Choice of Strategy
In case of the general environment, STEPL analysis will be helpful for understanding the
aspects that will be impacting the choice of strategy of Emirates.
Political Analysis- Emirates Airlines is mainly owned by the government of Dubai that
assists them in following the regulations of the government. In the current scenario, the political
stability is high and it is impacting Emirates to a large extent for operating in emerging
economies such as Africa, Iraq or Asian regions. On the other hand, there are terrorisms and
wars which can be impacting performance of Emirates negatively which need to be managed
successfully by Emirates Airlines (Emirates.com 2020).
Economic Analysis- There are fluctuations in the prices of the fuel which is creating
hurdle for Emirates and it is impacting them that they are not able to generate profitability. In
case of the Emirates Airlines, 40% and more expenses are related to fuel of jet. The other
opportunity is that potential kind of investments in Dubai economy will be encouraging more
tourists to visit and it will be impacting Emirates services successfully (Wee 2017).
Social Analysis- In the current scenario, there is increase in the number of educated
people and tourists which is the opportunity for Emirates. The organization has maintained
cultural and social diversity through offering airline services to religions or traditions. In such
scenario, it will be helping Emirates in improving their business in culturally diverse
environment (SHTAL et al. 2018).
Technology Analysis- In Emirates, the company has been capable of developing online
ticket purchasing for convenience of customers. Technology has been helpful in making the in-

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flight communication possible and it has been able to bring the entertainment to a new level that
is the opportunity for Emirates in enhancing business. In the year 2013, Emirates was first
Middle East Airlines for providing Google cards for the passengers who booked tickets via
Emirates.com (Sfantou et al. 2017).
Environment Analysis- The different natural disasters such as Earthquake can be
creating challenge for Emirates Airlines and entire airlines industry. The other threat is that the
airlines industry has been producing 18% of the carbon emission gases (Munro and Belanger
2017).
Legal Analysis- Through protectionist policies, Gulf Airlines such as Emirates or Etihad
Airlines are required to make attempts for limiting Gulf carriers’ access to their home markets.
There are different restrictions in airlines industry in Middle East wherein there is limited access
to certain countries (Leitner 2016).
Moreover, in order to understand the entire industry environment wherein Emirates
operates, the Porter’s Five Forces Model is the key aspect which will be efficient in nature.
Threat of New Entrants- It is LOW as there are various costs related to start-ups are
included that will be restricting the entry of the new firms in the airlines industry. While
entering, the airline companies need to take the approval from government and fulfillment of the
aviation standard norms. Therefore, it is highly difficult for the new entrants to enter in the
Aviation Industry and it is the opportunity for Emirates Airlines (Turner, 2019).
Threat of Substitute Products- It is MODERATE as there are different other carriers
present in the market which are providing similar services like Emirates Airlines and it is threat
for Emirates Airlines. Automobiles are the other mode of transportation available to the

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individuals for travelling to near-by locations. There is competitive pricing aspect followed by
Emirates Airlines which possess threat for Emirates Airlines (Huang 2019).
Bargaining Power of Buyers- It is MODERATE as the customers have the option to opt
for other airlines which are offering similar services at the low rate such as budget airlines.
However, the opportunity for Emirates is that customers prefer and demand for quality that is
central feature of Emirates and it enhances their profitability. In such scenario, Emirates Airlines
have been capable of establishing their brand image through the usage of the quality service
provider and customers are ready to pay high prices (Hartzell and Gilbert 2018).
Bargaining Power of Suppliers- It is HIGH as there are different suppliers who have
opportunity to showcase low flexibility in structure of pricing. While dealing with Emirates
Airlines, suppliers have benefit for gaining proper agreement with the leading global kind of
airlines (Gollay 2016).
Competitive Rivalry- It is HIGH as the rivals are creating high level of pressure on the
Emirates Airlines for development of strategy for maintaining financial supremacy.
Enhancement of services along with delivery premium services is the two key elements that are
needed to be implemented by Emirates Airlines for managing growth (Emirates.com 2020).
Analysis of How Emirates Compete
In case of Emirates, the company has different competitors present in the market wherein
they are providing similar kind of services and it enhances their presence. However, in such
scenario, Emirates compete in the following manner:

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Cost Related Competitiveness- It is the first and foremost aspect which is provided by
Emirates for running operations at minimum cost and increase profitability. In such scenario,
management solves the problems on cost-cutting for keeping high level of stability
(Emirates.com 2020).
Economies Related to Scale- It is the other aspect wherein Emirates is one of the well-
known brands with strong network alliances. In addition, Emirates have constantly invested in
their fleet and gained high profitability over competitors. It means that the company has the
capability in increasing and maintaining fixed assets (Gollay et al. 2016).
Quality of Product and Loyalty Towards Brand- It is the other factor through which
Emirates compete with other competitors as the company have the high quality of products such
as high quality and premium service along with innovation of product that are allowing them in
improving their presence in Middle-East and in other parts of countries (Hartzell and Gilbert
2018).
With the proper differentiation strategy, Emirates Airlines have the capability in
competing with other competitors. Through the outstanding comfort and the superior kind of
technology, Emirates have the capability in attracting the large number of customers and
improve their performance thoroughly.
Analysis of Internal Resources and Assets of Emirate’s Give Them Competitive Advantage
In this section, the key resources of Emirates Airlines will be outlined and analyze the
competitiveness of Emirates Airlines in comparison to other competitors in the following
manner:

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Tangible Resources
In Emirates, the superior technological advancement and the modern kind of service
which is being provided to the different customers, they have been capable of becoming the most
efficient companies in Middle-East. At Emirates, there are more than 12800 highly skilled staffs
of different cultures which make them highly effective. Moreover, the company is capable of
gaining significant market share and it is known that these are the different resources which play
a vital role in the success of the company. These are the different aspects that help Emirates in
competing against the other competitors in a certain manner (Huang 2019).
Intangible Resources
Competence of Management is the first and foremost intangible aspect wherein their
strong level of dedication to achieve success has brought Emirates to the respective height. Their
survival after the 9/11 attack, wherein other airlines went bankrupt, Emirates was capable of
performing well and satisfying needs of clients. The expansion in NZ is the other major aspect
which is considered to be the greatest goodwill of Emirates (Leitner 2016).
Cost Advantage is the other intangible resource wherein Emirates try to gain competitive
advantage through their low labor costs and the tax free environment which helps them in
competing against the competitors (Hartzell and Gilbert 2018).
Brand Image and Loyalty is the last aspect wherein in recent years more customers have
become loyal towards Emirates and it is the most effective capability for them in gaining market
share.

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Value Chain of Emirates Airlines is the other major aspect for contributing towards the
full operations in a successful manner. Most of the operations are being run by Emirates and
through adoption of vertical integration, Emirates have been capable of providing the customers
with the direct check-in facilities and improves their brand image in a strong manner. therefore,
on the basis of the internal capabilities, Emirates have been capable of outweighing competitive
advantage over the different competitors in terms of the cost efficiency as well as entrepreneurial
management prospects present. Emirates have the capability of improving their presence in other
international markets and improve their progress (Munro and Belanger 2017).
Business-Level Strategies of Emirates
With the implementation of differentiation strategy, Emirates Airlines have the
capability to produce the five star services towards the customers present in the market. The
superior quality of the airline convenience and excellent quality are the main approaches which
helps the company in improving the progress of the company against the other competitors.
Emirates is in the stable growth phase in the industry life cycle and it has helped them in growing
more than 25% which is the positive attribute of company. Due to this, customers are willing to
pay extra for premium services delivered by them (Sfantou et al. 2017).
Challenges Faced by Emirates in Continuing Delivering Promise and Stay Ahead of
Competitors
From the analysis of the external and industry analysis, it is found that there are few
threats and challenges which can be impacting Emirates in staying ahead of competitors
negatively which are as follows:

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Increased Level of Competition- In the Middle-East Countries, the airline industry is
increasing and in such scenario, Emirates is facing strong competition and it is the serious threat.
As Emirates Airlines cater to the high income group customers, therefore, it will be decreasing
their visibility (Sfantou et al. 2017).
Increase in the cost of fuel- It is the other challenge faced by Emirates Airlines as the
fluctuating cost of fuel can be threat of the Emirates Airlines and it will be impacting their
business against competitors. There are different government rules and regulations that is
impacting the airlines industry which is impacting their performance and influence the growth of
company (Sfantou et al. 2017).
Analysis of Effectiveness of Leadership of Emirates
In case of Emirates Airlines, the effectiveness of leadership is quite high as the leaders of
the company have been always trying to understand the concerns of their employees and try to
solve them appropriately. For the entire company, management and leadership plays the vital
role continuing success of the company appropriately within the short span of time (Turner
2019).
Discussion on Activities of Strategic Leadership Undertaken by Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid al Maktoum and then Sir Tim Clark
Without proper leadership and management, the business can never attain success and
organizational goals. In such scenario, Emirates Airlines have been blessed to have Chairman
and CEO like Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, under whose guidance, the company
has been capable of becoming most popular and topmost airlines from local airline of UAE.

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Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum is highly talented and under the leadership, the
company has been successful in growing (Turner 2019).
Moreover, Sir Tim Clark, have the natural capability wherein they have led the company
economically as well as effectively. From the analysis of the CEO and Chairman of Emirates
Airlines, it can be noted that leaders of Emirates Airlines are highly responsible and treats the
different people in the equal manner. In addition, the different employees belonging to different
levels are being taken in the decision-making process which makes them feel that they are valued
and their decisions are being analyzed. The leadership and management teams of Emirate have
the capability and idea for making airlines business highly attractive to the different customers
and they praise the different points gained from employees (Emirates.com 2020).

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