Leadership Challenges in Malaysia Airlines

This essay discusses the challenges faced by leaders in Malaysia Airlines and suggests changes needed to manage these challenges. It also provides recommendations for improving leadership quality.

Running head: LEADERSHIP – MALAYSIA AIRLINES
LEADERSHIP – MALAYSIA AIRLINES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Malaysia Airlines is one of the most reputed commercial airlines that is active within the
territorial boundaries of Malaysia. The airline company is known to be operating both
international and national flights form the primary hub at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport
as well as from the secondary hubs located at Kuching and Kota Kinabalu
(Malaysiaairlines.com., 2018). The major destinations served by the airlines include the areas of
Asia, Europe and Oceania. Malaysia Airlines is well-reputed as the flagship airline that has been
featuring within the Malaysian territories. It is also known as one of the major members of the
Oneworld Airline Alliance (Malaysiaairlines.com., 2018). The headquarters of the company is
located at the primary operational hub of the airlines, Kuala Lumpur International Airport. There
are two subsidiary airlines that are maintained by the concerned airline organization in
discussion, MASwings and Firefly. The present CEO of the company is Izham Ismail
(Malaysiaairlines.com., 2018). The company is known to have earned a net profit of around 18
million Malaysian Ringgit during the year of 2017 (Malaysiaairlines.com., 2018). The company
is known to operate with a workforce of nearly 14,000 people (Malaysiaairlines.com., 2018).
The following essay deals with the challenges that are faced in the organizational
leadership in the modern days. The essay opens with the challenges that are faced by the leaders
who have been dealing with the issues that arise in the modern day business organizations
especially the airline industry that is active all over the global boundaries. The essay proceeds to
discuss the changes that need to be implemented in order to resolve the challenges that are faced
by the concerned organization. The essay nears its conclusion with the discussion on the various
recommendations that are required for the improvement of the quality of the leadership. The
recommendations as discussed within the following essay tends to put forth the ways for the

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addressal of the limitations of the approaches that are used in the development of the leaders as
well as the practiced leadership.
Challenges of modern organizational leadership
The multitude of the business organizations that are operating all over the global market
are known to have been facing a number of issues in the matters that pertain to leadership that is
employed within the given organization. The major challenges that are faced by the leaders
within the organization are the challenges that are related to the development of the effectiveness
as demonstrated by the employees of the organization (Alkahtani et al., 2011). The other issue
that is faced by the organization refers to the issue of motivating the employees of the
organization in order to put forth an improvement in the operations of the companies and the
development of the employees according to the needs of the concerned company. The company
also faces challenges in the leadership matters in the building of the proper team that is required
in order to achieve the required amount competitive advantage of the company in the given
global market (Gentry et al., 2014). The multitude of the business organizations that are active
within the global market also face issues in providing the needed change in the given
organization. The other major challenge that is faced by the modern day business refer to the
management of the internal stakeholders of the company as well as the political factors that
might affect the concerned company.
The major issue that is faced by the companies in the present-day business scenario refers
to the issues that bear relevancy to the development of the several skills that are required for the
improvement of the effectiveness of the operations that are maintained by the concerned
organization (Wanjagi, 2013). These skills might include the management of the time occupied
for each task that is undertaken by the staff of the company in discussion, the prioritization of the

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tasks that are undertaken by the concerned business organization. This might also include the
issues in the decision-making as well as in the strategic thinking that is employed by the people
who have been involved within the given organization. The required speed for the completion of
the job at hand is also known to be a major challenge in the development of the effectiveness of
the managerial body within the given organization.
The other challenge that is faced by the organization in discussion refers to the
motivational challenges. The organizational managers face huge issues in providing the correct
form of motivation to the given members of the organization. The main issue in motivating the
employees of the organization refers to the factors that are related to the smartness in the jobs
that are completed as a part of the service that is extended by the staff of the organization
(Coetzeesup, Visagiesup & Ukperesup, 2012). The development of the workforce that would
serve the organization poses another huge challenge for the organizational management. The
challenges are mainly faced in the matters that are related to the coaching and the mentoring of
the employees who have been serving the company in discussion, Malaysia Airlines. The
concerned company in discussion, Malaysia Airlines, might also face issues in the leadership of
the team that is assigned to complete a certain course of action. These include the activities of
building a team, development of the team as well as the management of the team that is formed
in order to complete the task at hand (Baker, Kan & Teo, 2011). The company further faces
problem in the activity in the instilling of the pride in the team as well as providing the support to
the team employed for the job at hand. The organizational management might also face several
issues while taking over the responsibilities of a new team.
The companies are also known to face a great number of challenges in the management
of the several types of relationships that are maintained by the people who have been serving the

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organization. The organization in discussion might also face a huge number of issues in the
political issues that are evident within the given organization (Chirimbu, 2014). The issues
further arise in the matters that pertain to the support that need to be provided from the
managerial levels in order to deal with the issues that are relevant within the various departments
that are existent within the given organization. The various individuals who have been serving
the organization might also lead to several issues due to the presence of the differences in the
perceptions among the employees. The major reason behind the arousal of the differences is the
multicultural environment within the given organization in discussion, Malaysia Airline (Storey,
2016). The organization has been operating all over the world thereby leading to the
multicultural workforce within the organization.
Changes needed for managing challenges
The modern-day workplaces have been facing a number of issues due to the present-day
social factors like those that include the involvement of the generation gap that exists within the
employees of the organization, the various issues that exist within the employees who belong to
the LGBT community as well as the differences that exist within the religious and the cultural
issues within the organization. The major difference that exists within the employees belonging
to the different generations refer to the areas of loyalty to the given company as well as the
factors of motivation that are extended by the concerned company in discussion (Mayfield,
Mayfield & Sharbrough III, 2015). The people who belong to the older generation are often
observed to be motivated in light of the rewards and the recognitions that are provided to them.
The younger generation who have been enrolled in the workforce of the given company, on the
other hand, are majorly motivated through the extension of the financial benefits, the progression
in their career as well as the major growth in their own personal fields that are enhanced by their

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employment in the given company. This issue might be managed by implementing the
harmonious distribution of the employees within the various departments of the organization in
discussion (Demirtas, 2015). The projects that are undertaken by the company should include
members from both the older as well as the younger generation who have been serving the
company. The airline in discussion, Malaysia Airline, should involve workforce members from
both the Generation X and the Generation Y so that the tasks and the projects that the company
undertakes are carried on in a smooth manner so that there is an increase in the competitive
advantage in the given industry (Resick et al., 2011). This would help in the promotion of the
strong work ethics as well as the standards of the professionalism within the given organization.
The involvement of the younger generation workforce members would help in the increase in the
pace of the completion of the work at hand. This is due to the implementation of the technologies
that are relatively new and are majorly unfamiliar to the organizational staff that belongs to the
older generation.
The organizations that are active all over the world are also known to face a number of
issues in the matters that are related to the religious and the cultural factors that are present
within the given organizational workforce. The religious and the cultural issues within the given
organization hampers the integrity of the workforce thereby hampering the overall performance
of the company in discussion, Malaysia Airline. The multicultural workforce of the organization
helps the company to deal with the clientele that belong to the various cultural background that
are existent within the areas wherein the Malaysia Airlines have been serving (Zhang, Liao &
Yuan, 2016). These issues might be resolved by providing the concerned members of the
workforce with a training on the various cultural factors that might be present in the cultures and
the religions that are followed within the given country or territory wherein the company in

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discussion, Malaysia Airlines has been featuring (Ayman & Korabik, 2010). The training of the
staff in the dealings with the various culture specific and religion specific factors would further
help the staff in the interactions that they would be undertaking with the clientele of the
organization in discussion, Malaysia Airlines.
The other major sensitive issue that is being faced by the present-day organizations refer
to the issue of the incorporation of the members of the LGBT community within the mainstream
workforce. This is a raging issue in the current scenario and is also one of the most debated
issues in a major part of the world. The incorporation of the members of the LGBT community
within the regular workforce of the organizations is a present-day issue that has been on the rise
in the 21st century (Reddy & Kamesh, 2016). This has led to the severe unrests among the
various members of the workforce who belong to the older generations. This issue might be
resolved with the help of several training and presentation sessions. The organizational leaders
are advised to take up certain sessions in order to provide the concerned staff with the knowledge
and the ways in which they should behave with their co-workers who belong to the LGBT
community (Bagozzi et al., 2013). This might help the staff of Malaysia Airlines to deal with
both the clientele as well as their co-workers in a proper manner thereby improving the
competitive advantage and the overall performance of the company in the global markets.
Recommendations
In lieu of the above discussion, the company in discussion, Malaysia Airlines, might be
advised to follow certain measures. The measures that would be majorly beneficial to the given
company refers to the proper distribution of the older and the younger employees within the
various teams that are operational within the numerous departments of an organization. The
projects that are undertaken by the company should include members from both the older as well

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as the younger generation who have been serving the company. The involvement of the younger
generation workforce members would help in the increase in the pace of the completion of the
work at hand. This is due to the implementation of the technologies that are relatively new and
are majorly unfamiliar to the organizational staff that belongs to the older generation (Araújo-
Pinzón et al., 2017). The airline in discussion, Malaysia Airline, should involve workforce
members from both the Generation X and the Generation Y so that the tasks and the projects that
the company undertakes are carried on in a smooth manner so that there is an increase in the
competitive advantage in the given industry. This would help in the promotion of the strong
work ethics as well as the standards of the professionalism within the given organization.
The issues of the involvement of the members of the LGBT community should also be
resolved in order to improve the overall performance of the organization as well as promote the
diversity within the organization. This issue might be resolved with the help of several training
and presentation sessions (Hekman et al., 2017). The organizational leaders are advised to take
up certain sessions in order to provide the concerned staff with the knowledge and the ways in
which they should behave with their co-workers who belong to the LGBT community. This
might help the staff of Malaysia Airlines to deal with both the clientele as well as their co-
workers in a proper manner thereby improving the competitive advantage and the overall
performance of the company in the global markets (Laguía et al., 2018). The company should be
advised to organize the training sessions as well as educational camps that would provide the
existing staff with the necessary information required to deal with the members of the
organization in order to deal with their co-workers as well as the clientele of the organization in
an acceptable manner.

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The other major issue that is faced by the organizational leaders refer to the lack of the
proper motivation to the existing employees of the organization. The concerned management of
the organization is advised to deal with the various ways in which the staff would be motivated.
The concerned management might be advised to focus on the performance of the employees in a
minute manner (Giberson et al., 2009). This might help the management to develop the correct
overview of the performance of the concerned employee and thus help in the awarding them with
the proper amount of rewards during their appraisal period. The company should provide regular
feedbacks to the employees on the basis of the performance of the given employee. This would
help the employees to remain motivated and work harder towards organizational goals (Pina e
Cunha et al., 2017). The managerial staff might also be advised to take part in scheduled
announcements in order to recognize the employee who has been delivering outstanding
performances (Prati, McMillan-Capehart & Karriker, 2009). This would motivate the concerned
employee as well as provide the other employees with the necessary inspiration that is required
for the achievement of the similar status within the given organization. The recognition of the
employees plays a huge role in motivating the employees of the organization as well (Kim &
Shin, 2017). The employee recognition helps in the increase in the job satisfaction within the
workforce members who have been serving the organization in a very diligent manner. The other
major step that might be implemented by the company in discussion is the promotion of the
employees on the basis of the performance that they deliver. This would help in attracting the
younger generation of the employees in serving the organization in a better manner and strive to
be promoted on the basis of the performance that they deliver towards the concerned
organization in discussion (Kasyanenko et al., 2014). The company might also implement
several modes of collecting information from the employees regarding their opinions on their co-

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workers as well as the members who have been serving at the higher levels of the organizational
hierarchy. This would help in collecting the unbiased reviews regarding the given employees as
well as promote the employee engagement within the given business organization, Malaysia
Airlines.
Thus, from the above discussion, it might be pointed out that the leadership within the
organization plays a huge role in the overall performance of the given organization. The
multitude of the business organizations that are active in the international markets are observed
to face various issues regarding the leadership qualities and the approaches that are maintained
by organizational leaders. The company in discussion, Malaysia Airlines might overcome the
issues that it faces through the implementation of the recommended measures that are provided
within the above discussion. The concerned management might be advised to focus on the
performance of the employees in a minute manner. This might help the management to develop
the correct overview of the performance of the concerned employee and thus help in the
awarding them with the proper amount of rewards during their appraisal period. The managerial
staff might also be advised to take part in scheduled announcements in order to recognize the
employee who has been delivering outstanding performances.

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