Effective Operations Management At Ryanair PDF

Effective Operations Management At Ryanair
To be successful in an increasingly competitive environment,
organisations must be more adaptive and innovative than ever before
in providing a superior quality service. This paper will consider the
role of operations management with the organisation and ways in
which successful operations management can contribute to meeting
organisational objectives.
It is essential the organisations address issues of quality and resource
utilisation to reduce costs and provide superior customer service with
the intention of increasing sales and creating a competitive
advantage. This paper will discuss how organisations can create a
quality culture through TQM, and diagnose problems and areas for
improvement using quality tools such as Lean and Six Sigma.
The final section of this paper will discuss how organisations can plan
for the successful implementation of TQM, highlighting the need for a
quality management team, adequate management and resource
availability, and consultation and communication with its workforce.
Task 1: The strategic objectives of operational
management
The role played by effective operations
management at Ryanair
This section will discuss the role played by effective operations
management at Ryanair; Europe’s largest low cost airline. Effective
operations management is the systematic direction and control of five
functions (management, procurement, transformation, customer
services and distribution) that transform input resources into finished
goods or services offering superior customer satisfaction (Slack,
1999). Within this transformation process (Figure 1), the role of
effective operations management is to improve resource utilisation,
thus reducing costs, whilst also providing improved quality and
customer service which increases revenue (Slack and Lewis, 2002).
Figure 1: Transformation process
Operations management at Ryanair aims to optimise resource
utilisation through the careful management of employees,
technology, raw materials and money in order to increase
productivity. For example, flight staff at Ryanair are trained to
improve their productivity and keep aircraft turnaround times to a
minimum (Slack et al, 2007). This increase in productivity allows

Ryanair aircrafts to make more flights each day, significantly
increasing turnover.
In addition to this, another role of operations management at Ryanair
is to ensure superior customer satisfaction. This is achieved through
improving the flexibility, quality and consistency of its service and
continually driving down costs. For example, through providing a no-
frills basic service on-board its aircrafts, Ryanair can ensure superior
satisfaction through driving down costs (Slack et al, 2007).
The role played by effective operations management at Ryanair is to
maximise resource utilisation and ensure superior customer service.
Although operations management at Ryanair is extremely successful
at these two roles, it could be recommended that they continue to
ensure effective operation management through maintaining a
precise understanding of customer requirements and monitoring
environmental change that may affect these requirements.
Ryanair’s strategic objectives
Ryanair’s strategic objectives set out its mission and aims as well as
defining how it is going to compete within its market (Slack and
Lewis, 2002). Ryanair’s strategic objectives will be categorised in
terms of its goal (market leadership), target customers and offer
(distinctive positioning), operating system (to sustain its low cost
position), values and distinctive competence.
Ryanair’s fundamental goal is to establish itself as Europe’s leading
low-fares scheduled passenger airline through continued
improvements and expanded offerings of its low-fares service
(Ryanair, 2009). Gaining and maintaining market leadership is
advantageous in allowing Ryanair to increase its publicity due to
leadership status, increase its economies of scale and further reduce
costs.
Another main strategic objective of Ryanair is to clearly identify its
target market segments in order to position its strategy to satisfy
particular customer requirements. Ryanair identifies its target
customers as fare-conscious leisure and business travellers (Ryanair,
2009). In addition this, Ryanair’s strategy is to create a superior offer
tailed to its target customer requirements. Ryanair aims to offer low
fares that generate increased passenger traffic while maintaining a
continuous focus on cost-containment and operating efficiencies
(Ryanair, 2009).
Ryanair’s strategy is also to clearly define its company values of low
price, value for money and efficiency and to further utilise its
distinctive competence of being creative at driving down cost. This
distinctive competence is effective because it can be transferrable to

other services; it provides a benefit to the customer and is unique to
Ryanair.
In summary, Ryanair’s strategic objectives are to become Europe’s
largest airline operator through offering low-cost, reliable service to
both business and leisure users. Ryanair aims to achieve this through
clear company values of low price, value for money and efficiency and
its distinctive competence of being creative at driving down costs. In
order to fulfil these strategic objectives, Ryanair must ensure that its
operational objectives are focussed on ensuring superior customer
satisfaction and effective resource utilisation.
The success of Ryanair’s operations
objectives in meeting strategic objectives
This part of the assignment shows how Ryanair’s operations
objectives contribute effectively to achieving its strategic objectives.
Operations objectives are decisions which shape the capabilities of an
operation and their long-term contribution to strategic objectives,
through the reconciliation of market requirements with resource
utilisation (Slack and Lewis, 2002). The success of Ryanair’s
operations objectives in meeting strategic objectives is achieved
through its focus on ensuring superior customer satisfaction and
through rigorous redesigning of systems and processes to enhance
resource utilisation.
Superior customer service is achieved by Ryanair’s operations
management through obtaining a clear understanding of the
characteristics and requirements of their target customers. Ryanair
understands the importance of a low-cost, reliable and safe airline
service to its customers. Ryanair sells tickets directly to customers
through its internet site keeping prices low and providing customers
with the flexibility to buy tickets whenever and wherever they choose
(Ryanair, 2010). In addition to this, Ryanair also keeps aircraft
turnaround times to a minimum allowing more flights to take off per
day and increasing the availability of flights to customers (Slack et al,
2007).
Operations management at Ryanair also aims to improve resource
utilisation and to continuously drive down cost. Ryanair, for example,
uses standardised aircrafts and parts to allow for large orders from a
single aircraft supplier increasing their economies of scale. In addition
to this, Ryanair schedules flights to smaller secondary airports
allowing money to be saved in airport fees (Slack et al, 2007).
These twin operational objectives are so well balanced that they
enable Ryanair to successfully achieve its strategic objectives.
Through ensuring superior customer satisfaction, Ryanair is able to

maintain a clear definition of its offer and also fulfil its goal to become
Europe’s largest budget airline through increasing its customer
demand. In addition to this, continuous improvement to resource
utilisation allows Ryanair to gain and maintain competitive advantage
through its distinctive competence of being creative at driving down
costs and values of providing a low price and efficient service.
Ryanair’s operations objectives are extremely successful in meeting
strategic objectives through its clear focus on ensuring superior
customer satisfaction and rigorous redesigning of systems and
processes. It could be recommended that Ryanair further builds upon
this success through the implementation of a Total Quality
Management (TQM) system aimed at integrating practical quality
control techniques with organisational cultures conductive to the
continuous improvement of quality (RDI, 2008). TQM systems at
Ryanair will be further discussed in the next section.
Task 2: Appropriate Systems
2.1 Systems to ensure the quality of
products
This section will discuss the use of two fundamental quality systems,
Six Sigma and Lean. These two processes implement different
methodology to achieve a similar goal: an offer of superior quality
through the careful consideration of customer requirements and
removal of defects and waste.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a data-driven discipline aimed to improve the quality of
operational processes by listening to customer requirements and
identifying and removing the causes of defects and variability
(General Electric Company, 2009). Organisations that implement Six
Sigma correctly achieve significant benefits that contribute to
competitive advantage and to changing the culture in an organisation
from reactive problem solving to proactive problem prevention (Six
Sigma Group, 2010).
An organisation such as Ryanair could use Six Sigma to ensure quality
through the implementation of the Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve
and Control method throughout the organisation. Customer
requirements must be defined and measures should be made against
core business processes to determine possible shortfalls. Potential
gaps between current performance and goals must be analysed, and
then innovative solutions using technology and discipline can be
implemented and controlled (iSixSigma, 2010).

Lean
Lean is a production practice aimed at maximising customer value
while minimising waste (Lean Enterprise Institute, 2009). Ryanair
could incorporate Lean to help optimise the flow of the transformation
system to ensure superior customer value and minimise waste. This
could be achieved through determining customer requirements and
eliminating stages of the transformation system that do not
contribute towards meeting these requirements. This process should
be repeated until perfect value is created with no waste (Lean
Enterprise Institute, 2009).
Unlike Six sigma which focuses on individual systems, Lean is
effective at ensuring quality through addressing the transformation
system as a whole. This also allows simpler information management
and allows for faster responses to changing customer requirements.
2.2 The use of TQM and ISO 9000 to monitor
quality to a satisfactory level
Total Quality Management (TQM) and ISO 9000 have a mutual focus
on ensuring quality through the promotion of customer satisfaction
and process improvement. Whereas ISO 9000 is a tool used to
regulate quality, TQM can be understood as the overarching
philosophy within which ISO 90000 should be implemented.
TQM
TQM is a management philosophy that aims to empower all
organisational functions with the responsibility of ensuring quality
(ISO, 2010). This is achieved through developing and reworking
systems to optimise resource utilisation, prevent errors and ultimately
achieve superior customer satisfaction (Chartered Quality Institute,
2010).
TQM aims to deliver quality and value above and beyond customer
expectations through several key principles. Firstly, employees
throughout the TQM organisation must be united within a customer-
focussed culture to share ideas and facilitate innovation (Oakland,
2003 p3 ff). There must also be continuous improvements of systems
and processes to increase resource utilisation and prevent errors
before they occur. Finally, information must be shared throughout all
levels of the organisation to ensure that the quality culture is
embedded and maintained (Oakland, 2003 p3 ff).
ISO 9000

ISO 9000 is a tool which can be used within a TQM culture to regulate
and ensure quality. It is a systematic approach to managing the
organisation’s processes so that they consistently turn out products
that meet and exceed customer expectations (ISO, 2010).
ISO 9000 is able to ensure quality to a satisfactory level through the
implementation of quality management guidelines. Firstly, the
organisation must ensure that a clear customer focus is established
and processes are assessed as to how successful they are
contributing to the customer focus. All outputs are monitored for
defects, and new systems are implemented to prevent future defects.
Continuous improvements are made to the quality system to ensure
continued development (ISO, 2010).
TQM and ISO 9000 are essential systems to ensure quality.
Organisations must be aware, however, that in order to maintain a
level of superior quality, TQM and ISO 9000 must not be treated as
add-on functions with little attention given to the required changes in
organisation and culture.
2.3 Quality Culture in the United Kingdom
and Bulgaria
This element of the paper sets out to define the term ‘quality culture’
and then compares the view of quality between the United Kingdom
and Bulgaria.
Quality culture is an organisational value system that results in an
environment that is conducive to the establishment and continual
improvement of quality (Noronha, 1999). An organisation that
develops and maintains a quality culture will differ significantly from
an organisation with a traditional culture. Its attitude towards
customers, problem-solving approach, supplier relationships and
performance improvement approach will be geared towards creating
superior customer value and increased resource utilisation as means
of achieving a sustainable competitive advantage.
For the successful introduction and implementation of a quality
culture such as TQM, a quality culture must be developed to increase
the success and likeliness of the system’s acceptance throughout the
organisation. This can be achieved through maintaining an awareness
of quality as a key cultural issue, empowering employees and
encouraging self-development, and rewarding behaviours that
nurture and maintain a quality culture (Noronha, 1999).
The view of quality in the UK and Bulgaria

The view of quality in the UK has been shaped considerably by the
values and principles brought about by quality management systems
such as TQM, ISO 9000 and Lean etc. There is a great emphasis on
achieving quality through the refinement of systems and processes
tailored to deliver superior customer satisfaction and efficient
resource utilisation (Noronha, 1999).
Becoming part of the economic union in 2007, Bulgaria has had little
exposure to quality management systems and quality culture that
have been adopted by many organisations across Europe. The view of
quality in organisations in Bulgaria was based purely on traditional
values rather than hygiene, inspection of product, systems and TQM.
Although there are clear differences in the view of quality
internationally, there are also considerable differences between the
views of quality nationally. The key issue, however, is the degree to
which an organisation is able to understand and address quality
issues.
By way of conclusion a further point of interest prompted by this
question is that while comparing quality culture between countries it
is apparent that the same issue can be levelled at individual
companies. Slack references the differences between companies in
individual countries by distinguishing between pioneer, adaptive and
follower categories of business and different approaches to quality
culture
Task 3: Organisational Performance
Problems and opportunities for quality
improvement
In order to establish a need for quality improvement, BTB should
conduct an appraisal of internal and external factors to gain an
understanding of potential shortfalls in the quality of products and
services, and resource utilisation.
For an external review, an appraisal of the stakeholder market can be
undertaken providing valuable information about customer
requirements and stakeholder perceptions of the current quality of
the operation. This type of appraisal can be undertaken through
market sensing customer needs and requirements, and conducting
surveys to obtain customer feedback on service and product quality.
In addition to this, benchmarking can be undertaken to compare the
performance of the company with that of its competitors within its
BTB can also undertake an internal review to reveal information about
potential gap between where the company is performing now and

where they want to be in the future. This gap analysis can be
undertaken to identify the adequacy of the systems currently in place
to engage with customers and the channels in place to facilitate
communication and information sharing.
Organisational performance improvement
programme
Executive Summary
This report will show how, through the introduction of TQM,
improvements will be made to significantly raise productivity and
reduce waste. As a consequence of these improvements sales
throughput will have the potential to dramatically increase,
significantly enhancing the organisation’s ability to gain and maintain
competitive advantage.
Introduction
BTB Brew Technology (BTB) is an international manufacturing
business specialising in buying, refurbishing, and selling industrial
processing equipment and factories. BTB’s strategy is to increase
sales throughput by 10% through making dramatic improvements to
customer service and resource utilisation. BTB has been advised to
implement TQM as a means of achieving this goal.
The importance of TQM
Many organisations have found that the key to competitive success
lies in maximising product and service quality (Kano, 1993). TQM is an
effective means of allowing BTB to improve customer service through
improving quality and resource utilisation. It is a structured system
that will encompass all levels of an organisation to provide products
and services that consistently meet and exceed customer
expectations (Noronha, 1999).
The importance of an implementation plan
The implementation process of TQM will require a substantial change
in BTB’s organisation and management philosophy. Simply
understanding TQM is not enough to create a management system
required to sustain a TQM culture. It is essential that BTB develops a
strategic TQM implementation plan that is developed, directed, and
supported by management, and implemented throughout all levels of
organisation.
Strategic approach to project management

Edwards and Hodgson (2004) state that TQM implementation is most
successful when the four stages of (a) providing a vision (b)
management action, (c) increasing employee participation and
awareness, and (d) business alignment, are undertaken. This
suggests that a successful implementation strategy must begin with
creating vision towards quality which is communicated throughout the
organisation. Management must show their commitment to the vision
and motivate and empower employees to make quality their priority.
Business systems and processed must then be modified to achieve
customer satisfaction and recourse utilisation.
Recommendations
As a means of ensuring a successful and smooth implementation it is
recommended that BTB formulates a project management team who
will be responsible for developing and carrying through the strategic
implementation plan.
Strategic Implementation Plan
Figure 1: Stages of TQM implementation
The implementation plan consists of three stages: developing a case
for change, piloting TQM, and implementation.
Developing a strategy for change
In this stage, BTB should aim to gain a thorough understanding of
what should be expected from the introduction of TQM and the
implications of introducing it. Upper management at BTB will need to
develop a clear belief of the benefits of TQM to generate the
momentum to start and maintain the implementation. This could be
achieved through conducting benchmarking visits to superior
performing organisations and studying TQM literature.
After establishing a belief and need for TQM, the organisation must
unite with a commitment to customer satisfaction; communicating
the ‘vision’ and bringing together employees within a quality culture.
To communicate and lead this vision, BTB will need to bring together
a quality management team who will be the driving force behind the
implementation process.
The quality management team will firstly need to communicate the
quality vision and ensure that all employees understand and are
committed to the organisation’s direction. This could be achieved
through establishing a company quality policy, incorporating a
statement of vision, goals and principles which is communicated to all
employees. The quality management team must also start to build
trust amongst employees, providing reassurance about jobs and
roles, and communicating the benefit of TQM. Employees must also

be motivated with a new sense of direction, receiving encouragement
and rewards when commitment to the new culture is displayed.
Preparation for the piloting stage must also be conducted, ensuring
that there is appropriate resource allocation and support for TQM.
Guidance must also be given by the quality management team to
help clarify the role of each level of management, and establish
systems and activities for interdepartmental problem solving.
Finally, the quality management team must begin to identify and
develop an appropriate action plan for TQM implementation;
producing a Gantt chart which clearly illustrates the work breakdown
structure of the project. They must, take into consideration the
deadline for implementation, time to deliver and install new
equipment and systems, length of training programmes, and potential
obstacles which may be faced such as shortage of capital, and delays
from suppliers. It is important that ‘buffer’ periods are also factored
into the time plan which will help to compensate for unexpected
problems.
Piloting TQM
The piloting stage will provide BTB with a learning base from which
management can begin to analyse the breadth of TQM requirements
including, time, resources, and management focus. The number and
sequence of team activities undertaken at the piloting stage should
reflect the nature and strategy of the action plan devised by the
quality management team.
BTB should begin by testing its original production systems to assess
efficiency and ability to ensure quality. Quality tools such as ISO 9000
and Lean production can be used to provide guidelines on system
performance and address ways of increasing efficiency. BTB should
make adjustments to all systems assessed as falling below standard.
This can be achieved through buying new and more efficient
production equipment, and though re-designing the transformation
system to facilitate superior quality.
Training initiatives must be implemented to all levels of the
organisation. Line managers must be trained to become facilitators of
continuous improvement, coaching new methods, and leading
empowered employees. Employees should be trained to understand
the importance of the customer and learn ways in which quality can
be managed within their roles. Employees must also be trained to
improve their communication skills to help facilitate information
sharing throughout the organisation.
It is also recommended that rewards and recognition are given to
employees to reinforce commitment and adaption to new roles. For
example, BTB may increase feedback given to employees by line

managers and executives to reward commitment to quality and
efficiency. In addition to this BTB may consider paying bonuses to
reward positive appraisal feedback.
Information and ‘lessons learned’ from the pilot project must be used
by management and the quality management team to make changes
and revisions the original action plan, developing it into a structured
and comprehensive multi-year implementation plan. It is at this point
that BTB can make the commitment to implement TQM.
Implementation
In this stage, BTB should be concerned with securing the increased
participation, shared responsibility, knowledge, skills and capabilities
developed from the previous two stages.
Training initiatives must be continued to improve communication
channels throughout the organisation. For example, new IT systems
could be installed to provide a new company instant messaging
system allowing information to be sent instantaneously between
departments. Employees should be trained on how to use these new
systems and the importance of information sharing as a means of
achieving a common goal.
In addition to this, employees must continue to be kept regularly
informed of business performance and development. Face-to-face
meetings should be frequently scheduled with line managers,
informing employees on factors such as individual and team
successes to maintain motivation and commitment.
It is recommended that BTB also forms strategic partnerships with
suppliers and customers who have developed quality cultures and
place value on efficiency and superior customer satisfaction. Strategic
partnership will be beneficial to BTB in allowing them to form mutual
relationships with other companies they are likely to work with,
making sure that orders arrive on time, to right quality and the right
price.
BTB should now be in a position to exploit its internal improvement
capability and use it to effectively re-focus its efforts on improving
processes to deliver superior customer satisfaction. It should, for
example, now focus on re-organisation to customer and market-
driven process management.
Conclusion
The success of TQM implementation is a function of many variables
(both controllable and uncontrollable), which are unique to the
particular company situation. Effective project management
determines the success or failure of the implementation project. BTB

should aim to tailor its approach to exploit its unique strengths and
focus on its particular weaknesses. It would be beneficial for BTB to
look into more tactical approaches to TQM implementation; however
this is beyond the scope of this assignment.
Recommendations
It is recommended that BTB focuses on a small defined set of
improvement priorities that align with its business goals and
objectives, and that should therefore be realistically achievable.
These include the employment of an effective quality steering group
who are effectively managed and resourced, and the set-up of a
piloting project to help benchmark and appraise performance. The
culmination and fulfilment of these objectives should then result in a
structured TQM implementation plan customised to the specific needs
of BTB.
Assignment Conclusion
To be successful in an increasingly competitive environment,
organisations must be more adaptive and innovative than ever before
in providing a superior quality service. It is essential the organisations
address issues of quality and resource utilisation to reduce costs and
provide superior customer service with the intention of increasing
sales and creating a competitive advantage. Organisations must look
towards transforming their culture into a quality culture through TQM,
whilst implementing quality tools such as Lean and Six Sigma to
diagnose areas of improvement. For organisations to remain
competitive, they must continue to invest time and resources in the
development of their transformation systems.