Business Organisation - Thomas Cook Group plc Assignment

Table of Contents
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
3.1 Evaluate the current skills of management and staff............................................................1
3.2 Devise and justify plans for the development of skills for management and staff...............6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

TASK 2
Introduction
The employees and staff are the most important factors and aspect of every business
organisation. Thomas Cook Group plc is British multinational travel and tourism company that
provides number of services to its customers (Prajogo, 2016). The products and services offered
by company includes scheduled and charter passenger airlines, package holidays, hotels, resorts
and cruise lines as well. The company also focus on workforce planning so that it can achieve
targeted goals and objectives in effective manner. Thomas Cook Group operates in two divisions
i.e. airlines and tour operators. Staff skill audit will be done that focuses on the operational,
technical and management skills. Further the skill gap analysis will be prepared for identifying
the gap or difference between the current level of skills and future level of skill that can meet
long-term business objectives. And in accordance with these analysis, development plan will be
prepared for bringing required improvements and improve overall business performance.
3.1 Evaluate the current skills of management and staff
Staff skill audit is used for identifying the current skills of organisation and where skill
gap lie in order to meet the strategic goals and objectives. The key managers and selected staff of
Thomas Cook Group are chosen for staff skill audit purpose. The sales manger is selected from
the key managers and from staff, operations coordinator is chosen for the purpose of staff skill
audit which is explained as follows:
Technical skills Operational Skills Management skills
Sales
Manager
 Big data analysis,
coding and
programming,
project
management, and
technical writing are
the various technical
skills in which sales
manager have
effective
 The strengths of
Sales manager is
its ability for
managing
conflicts,
coaching others,
delegating
authority and
responsibilities.
 But the weakness
 The sales
manager is
capable for
delegating the
activities,
managing
appointments,
making schedules
and decision
making process
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knowledge.
 The weakness of the
Sales manager is
database
management and
accounting software.
of sales manager
is that he fails to
make effective
communication
with the
stakeholders of
company and
also fails to adopt
various
leadership styles
and behaviour in
different business
situations.
(Prajogo, 2016).
 The weakness of
sales manager in
operational skills
is team
management,
creating and
keeping deadlines
and meeting the
set goals.
Operational
Coordinator
 The operational
coordinator has
effective technical
skills which acts as
their strength and
this includes
information
management,
mechanical
maintenance and
technical writing.
 But there are some
some technical skills
in which
Operational
coordinator is weak
and this includes
social media
 The operational
coordinator has
effective strength
in the operational
skills such as
team readiness,
team working,
project
management and
effective
communications.
 The weakness of
operational
coordinator in the
operational skills
are fails to
manage change
effectively, fails
 The staff
coordinator has
various
management
skills such as
empathy,
negotiation skill,
discipline and
resilience.
 But, the weakness
of operational
coordinator
includes ability
for handling
conflicts,
managing the
time effectively
and fails to
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management and
project
management.
to motivate and
encourage others.
complete the
activities on time.
Skill Gap analysis
The skill gap analysis is done for identifying the priority skills, competencies and
learning that are required by the key managers and selected staff members.
Current level of skills
(Out of 5)
Future level of skills
Technical skills
Sales manager  The sales manager
have knowledge of Big
data analysis, database
management and
accounting software.
 With the increasing use
of updated and
excellent software,
competitors effectively
manages the accounts
and database of the
company (Prajogo,
2016). Thus, for
effectively managing
the accounts and
software, sales
manager needs to build
their technical skill in
these aspects.
Operational coordinator  The operational
coordinator have
potential for managing
the project
management and their
score is 3.
 But the increasing use
of internet and social
media marketing
requires excellent
knowledge in social
media marketing.
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 The social media
marketing skill of the
operational coordinator
is good and given a
score of 2.
 Future competitive
business environment
requires that staff for
maintaining various
technical projects with
their effective project
management skill.
Operational skills
Sales manager  Sales manager have
good communication
skill, adopts different
leadership behaviours
and styles.
 With the increasing
globalisation and
intense
competitiveness, sales
manager needs to
implement effective
and suitable leadership
styles and behaviours.
 They also needs to
have effective
communication skills
in both verbal and
written for managing
the future needs of the
business.
Operational coordinator  The operational
coordinator have
average level skill for
managing the
organisation change.
 The operational
coordinator are weak at
 Due to increasing
globalisation and
updated technology
and advance systems,
operational coordinator
needs to have effective
operational skills so
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motivating and
encouraging other staff.
that they can maintain
organisational change
and also to motivate
other colleagues as
well.
Management skills
Sales manager  The sales manager
have the capability
managing
appointments and
delegating activities
(Popoola, Ahmad and
Kehinde, 2016).
 With the increasing
competition, sales
manager needs to be
capable for creating
and meeting deadlines
so that it can help in
accomplishment of
short-term and long-
term objectives.
 Team management
skills needs to be
developed and
improved as future of
service industry will
have diverse
workforce.
Operational coordinator  The operational
coordinator puts efforts
for managing the
conflicts and also focus
on managing the time
for completing
activities on set time.
 The service industry is
going to be very
intensively competitive
in the future, thus,
operational coordinator
needs to develop their
skills in terms of
managing the conflicts
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and achieving the set
deadlines.
Recommendations for staff training and recruitment
The skill audit and gap analysis is done and its results shows that, Thomas Cook needs to
focus on selective recruitment as this will enable in selection and recruitment of talented and
skilled employees. Such employees will focus on putting the efforts into right direction at right
time and accomplish the strategic goals and objectives of the company by improving the business
performance. Thomas Cook should also focus on providing effective training and development
to its operational coordinators and operational staff, employees and management so that they can
strengthen their skills and overcome weaknesses.
3.2 Devise and justify plans for the development of skills for management and staff
The development plan is devised and implemented by the Thomas Cook Group for
developing the required skills and competencies of the key managers and selected staff.
Following is given the development plan which can help the key managers and selected staff
members for improving their skills and competencies to meet organisational standards, culture
and to accomplish targeted goals and objectives. In order to develop and improve the requires
skills and competencies in the key managers and selected staff, 12 months target is set by the
organisation. Thomas Cook sets clear targets and deadlines for the managers and staff members
for bringing required improvements (Popoola, Ahmad and Kehinde, 2016). In order to bring
improvements in the management skill, technical and operational skill, 12 months will be
provided for management and leadership development programs and suitable training.
Skills to be
improved
Actions and resources
needed for improvement
Specific actions and
training programs
Time
Technical skill  Staff members and
key managers needs
to be provided with
leadership and
management
training and
 MTD Training
program has
great technical
skills
development
content which
Jun, 2019
to
Apr, 2020.
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development
programs (Noe and
et.al., 2017).
can help key
managers for
developing their
technical skills.
 Professional
guidance and
technical
training
programs can
help in
improving the
technical skills
of the staff and
employees.
Management skill  Staff members and
key managers needs
to be guided for
setting deadlines,
prioritising activities
and accordingly
measuring the
progress through
various training and
development
programs.
 Master
mentoring,
Coaching the
Results and
Lessons in
leadership are
the various
management
training
programs that
can help in
improving the
management
skills of the key
managers and
selected staff
Jun, 2019
to
Oct, 2019.
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people.
Operational skill  Professional support
and guidance and
even training
courses will help
operational
coordinator and key
managers in
improving the
operational skill and
efficiency.
 The Operational
Effectiveness
Training
programs will
bring required
improvements in
the operational
skills for both
key managers
and selected
staff people.
 Guidance and
support from the
supervisor and
higher level of
management
team can help
key manager and
staff employees
(Njoroge and
et.al., 2016).
Jun, 2019
to
Dec, 2019.
Cost Benefit analysis:
Cost benefit analysis refers to the process through which company analyses the systems,
decisions, projects or may even determine value of the intangible resources of the company.
Thomas Cook applies the cost benefit analysis ration for identifying the ration between cost of
improvement and benefits of improvement. The formula of Cost Benefit Analysis is benefit/cost.
The planned training and development programs will cost around £1000 to the Thomas
Cook Group. The cost will be incurred on training and development programs and courses and
even on professionals for their guidance and support (Leonidou And et.al., 2017). The
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improvements in the performance level of key managers and staff members will lead to bring
great benefits and results in form of:
 Improved morale and satisfaction level.
 Increased sales and revenue of the company.
 Improved effectiveness and efficiency in business activities and operations.
 Reduced employee turnover rate.
 Improved brand image and reputation of the Thomas Cook Group.
 Increased competitive advantage due to improved overall business performance level.
Conclusion
The study report explains about the current level of skills of the staff and management of
the Thomas Cook Group. The report has briefly explained about the skills and competencies of
the key managers and selected staff of the company. In order to analyse the skills of staff and key
managers, staff skill audit is prepared. And further the skill gap analysis is done that helps in
identifying the gap between the current level of skills and future required level of skills for
achieving the long-term goals. Finally, the development plan is being prepared so that required
skills and competencies can be improved.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Leonidou, L.C. And et.al., 2017. Internal drivers and performance consequences of small firm
green business strategy: The moderating role of external forces. Journal of business
ethics. 140(3). pp.585-606.
Njoroge, J.K. and et.al., 2016. Does external environment influence organizational performance?
The case of Kenyan State Corporations. Management and Organizational Studies. 3(3).
pp.41-51.
Noe, R.A. and et.al., 2017. Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Popoola, O.M.J., Ahmad, A.B.C. and Kehinde, O.H., 2016. Determinants of Internal Audit Task
Performance in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions: A Conceptual Approach.
Prajogo, D.I., 2016. The strategic fit between innovation strategies and business environment in
delivering business performance. International Journal of Production Economics. 171.
pp.241-249.
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