Analysis of British Airways' Operational Challenges and CSR Strategies

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Business report on British Airways and Reflection on
Teamwork
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Executive summary
Business organizations adopt several strategies to deal with changing situations. In this report the
business strategies are highlighted that are needed for an organization to be responsible towards
its employees and the society. The changing environment can hinder organizational functioning
and in order to survive the organizations are bound to change their management strategies. This
report aids in clear understanding of the changes that needs to be implemented in case of .
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
British Airways key issue and recommendation.............................................................................4
Benefits of CSR projects.................................................................................................................5
Possible impact of Brexit.................................................................................................................6
Group presentation – individual reflection......................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8
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Introduction
Every business organization has clear strategy to succeed by ensuring that the aims of that
organization are in coordination with its vision, mission and values. This report identifies the
strategies that are adopted by organizations to cope up with different situations, the importance
for adopting CSR strategies and the impact of some external factors on the organization.
British Airways key issue and recommendation
Key issue that British airways is facing
British Airways is the second largest airline of United Kingdom depending on the passenger
carried and fleet size. The employee management and engagement policies of the organization
are decided by the management of the organization, without consulting the employees and thus,
often the problems of the employees or their specific desires are neglected. Back in 2017, some
of the British Airways’ employees announced strikes for many days. Most of the cabin crews and
all members of Mixed Fleet crew were striking for few days, which led to disruption of the
operation of the airways and British airways was forced to cancel several flights (Trend and
Hugh, 2017). The strike was the outcome of a pay dispute between the Mixed Fleet crew and the
airlines. According to the staffs, the Mixed Fleet crews were not allowed to enjoy good pay,
perks and benefits like other staffs of the airlines. The striking cabin crews faced decreased pay,
deduction in bonus payment as a punishment by the organization. Such a strike and employee
dissatisfaction ultimately resulted in customer dissatisfaction and a major fall in the
organizational operation.
According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, there are several needs of the employees that must
be met for keeping them motivated at work. The basic needs are safety needs, physiological
needs, psychological needs, esteem needs and the self fulfillment or the self actualization need
(King-Hill, 2015). According to Maslow’s theory, the basic and psychological needs must be
fulfilled before progressing to the self fulfillment needs. Following this theory for motivating the
employees toward work is best suggestion for British Airways. The employees must also feel
their association with the organization and thus, involving them in the decision-making systems
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of the organization, considering their desires and needs can prove to be one of the most efficient
ways in which the employee dissatisfaction issues can be effectively met.
Benefits of CSR projects
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined as the practices that benefits the society and the
environment at large, while benefitting the organization in the process; it basically includes the
steps adopted by the organization for the sustainability of the environment as well benefitting the
society the organization is a part of (Rayman-Bacchus, 2017). By practicing CSR, an
organization becomes socially accountable, conscious about its social, environmental and
economical impacts.
Importance of linking CSR to business strategy
Business organizations perform CSR activities for helping the environment, as well as the
society, while improving the brand image and perception among the customers. The practices
may be performed locally, nationally, or globally, but are destined for the wellness of society.
There are several reasons for which the business organization perform CSR activities, some of
which are:
 Improvement of the brand image of the business organization.
 Engagement of more customers strengthens the relationship between the organization and the
customers.
 Production of a sense of pride among the employees creates positive work environment that
ultimately leads to increased productivity (Teoh and Shiu, 1990).
 Attracting the investors and retaining them for long time.
Benefits of CSR projects on society and the future generation
British airways have taken up several CSR projects for the benefit of the society and the future
generation.
 To take care of the environment, British airways has targeted to reduce its carbon-di-oxide
emissions, reduce noise production, maintain the air quality and started waste management
programme by recycling products (Britishairways.com, 2019).
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 British Airways is committed to support communities by providing education programmes at
the British Airways Community Learning Centre, launching formal volunteering programme,
growing partnership with charitable organizations.
 British Airways is committed to maintain the safety of its customers and also its employees.
The employees are encouraged both physically and mentally and are provided with better
working environment that builds up a strong relationship between the organization and its
employees.
Possible impact of Brexit
Brexit is propaganda of withdrawal of the UK from the European Union (Goldman and Schulte-
Strathaus, 2017). Brexit may create several problems both for UK and European Union and it
may have direct impact on various business sectors. The outcome of Brexit on aviation industry
is supposed to be alarming and may create a chaotic situation. It is expected that following Brexit
the rules and regulation toward the aviation industry will be changed that may create problem in
functioning of British Airways also. The entity of the organization would be changed that would
drive the organization for making several changes in the organizational functioning. It is
expected that for operation of flights between the EU and the UK the airlines may have to ask for
permissions. So, British airways would have to make new agreements with EU and UK. It can
also be predicted that the rules regarding the emissions and environmental impact might also
changed after realization of Brexit which can affect the functioning of British Airways.
Group presentation – individual reflection
Experience of working in a team
Preparation of a presentation with a team is a great experience. Each member worked with great
effort and contributed different perspectives to the presentation. Through research and
communication, several issues were solved. The synergy and synchronization among the
members has helped in completion and delivery of the presentation.
Benefits and challenges of working in a team
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There are several benefits as well as challenges in working with team members. During
conduction of this task, several aspects like research skill, writing skill, observational skills,
communication skill and management ability has been improved. However, many problems have
also occurred during production of the presentation, such as misunderstandings between team
members, lack of coordination and improper time management.
Skill areas needed to be developed
In future few skills have to be improved in order to achieve a better outcome of team work.
Maintenance of the coordination between the team members should be looked into that will also
help to reduce the misunderstandings among the team members. For proper time management,
for a given task a deadline must be created by the team members for each part of the task. This
will help to complete the task before a particular time.
Conclusion
This report highlights the key issues that are faced by any organization and suggests how the
issue can be solved by utilizing different management theories. The need for linking CSR
strategies with business strategies in order to betterment of the society and the future generation
is also discussed.
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References
Britishairways.com. (2019). Book Flights, Holidays, City Breaks & Check In Online | British
Airways. [online] Available at: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/home#/ [Accessed 2 Apr.
2019].
Goldman, M. and Schulte-Strathaus, U., 2017. Brexit: A Transatlantic Aviation Perspective. The
Air and Space Lawyer, 30(4), pp.1-24.
King-Hill, S., 2015. Critical analysis of Maslow’s hierarchy of need. The STeP Journal (Student
Teacher Perspectives), 2(4), pp.54-57.
Rayman-Bacchus, L., 2017. Perspectives on corporate social responsibility. Routledge.
Teoh, H.Y. and Shiu, G.Y., 1990. Attitudes towards corporate social responsibility and perceived
importance of social responsibility information characteristics in a decision context. Journal of
Business Ethics, 9(1), pp.71-77.
Trend, N. and Hugh, M. (2017). What you need to know about the BA strike as cabin crew
announce two more weeks of action. [online] The Telegraph. Available at:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/advice/flight-cancellations-your-rights/ [Accessed 2 Apr.
2019].
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