Management Roles, Weber's Bureaucracy, and TQM at AirAsia

This report provides an introduction to management principles, focusing on their application within AirAsia, a prominent low-cost airline. The analysis delves into Weber's bureaucracy, examining its characteristics within AirAsia's organizational structure, including division of labor, efficient operations, and achievement-based advancement. Furthermore, the report explores Total Quality Management (TQM), highlighting its role in enhancing customer experience, streamlining operations, and fostering employee empowerment within the company. The report emphasizes AirAsia's commitment to customer satisfaction, competitive strategies, and the implementation of effective management approaches to achieve profitability and maintain a positive working environment. The report concludes by summarizing AirAsia's successful application of bureaucratic and TQM principles, emphasizing its commitment to continuous improvement and its ability to maintain a competitive edge in the airline industry through a low-cost, high-quality service model.

Running Head: MANAGEMENT 0
Introduction to Management
Student Name:
Student University:

MANAGEMENT 1
Introduction
In Malaysia, AirAsia is the low-cost and largest airline in terms of destinations and fleet size
scheduling international and domestic flights. It operates around 165 destinations covering 25
countries consisting hubs and long-haul routes. The mission focuses on allowing everyone to
fly along with delivering to over 600 million guests the world-class service across Asia
Pacific at low fares. The point cleared by an organisation is that low cost does not shows low
quality as air travel does not need to be costly (AirAsia, 2019). AirAsia never stopped while
making out the way for low-cost aviation with business’s passionate approach, innovative
solutions and efficient processes (Falcus, 2015). This report is based on using management
roles, and evaluating efficiency and effectiveness of managerial roles in the settings related to
business. In this discussion, the analysis of Weber’s bureaucracy and Total Quality
Management (TQM) is done by applying it on AirAsia chosen as a company along with
management approaches.
Weber’s Bureaucracy and TQM
AirAsia values societal benefits as per practiced by the CEO of the company Tony Fernandes
with the purpose of sustainability as its best experience at lowest price. Though, the challenge
faced by the company was an intense competition within the industry (Pusiran & King,
2013). So, the concept of Bureaucracy is proposed by Max Weber considering society’s
rationalisation as expected with a growing impersonality among the social relationship and
the world’s disappointment. In this concept, hype of rationalisation enabled the application of
principles in general with the reason to conduct inherent complexity management, human
problems and ability to respond the environment’s instability. According to Weber,
characteristics of bureaucracy are specialization and division of labour, hierarchical authority

MANAGEMENT 2
structures, rules and regulations, technical competence guidelines, impersonality and personal
indifference, and formal, written communications standard (Serpa & Ferreira, 2019). AirAsia
consists of some characteristics being a bureaucratic organisation that are division of work,
efficient operations, and achievement-based advancement (Reynolds, 2018).
AirAsia works in a competitive environment where employees are given priority more than
its customers for proper division of work. It is essential to boost the morale of the employees
for making the operations work efficiently. Moreover, Malaysian government helps the
company to fulfil its demands for operating routes. AirAsia focuses on providing advantages
by achieving its goals while overseeing the competitive synergy along with strategic
planning. The company follows rules and regulations considering healthy and safety
guidelines provided by the government to encourage growth and success through the
management skills with attaining profitability while making investment (AirAsia, 2017).
Hence, this is how the company flows with Weber’s bureaucracy maintaining the
transparency and relationships along with customers and employees consistently. The point is
that AirAsia works on classical approach which shows the company to be a bureaucratic
organisation.
Further, TQM is a process used is the company on continue basis for reducing and detecting
errors in relation to improving customer experience, manufacturing, making sure about
employees training, and streamlining management of supply chain. Every company
implements TQM in their regular operations for success such as customer and employee
satisfaction, motivating and training employees to get involved and help in improvisation of
the company continuously, analysing the required measures and make appropriate decisions,
and working hard through communicating (Lotich, 2019). Accordingly, AirAsia works on
TQM characteristics consists of committed management, processing improvements,

MANAGEMENT 3
employee empowerment, open organisation with right leader, and making relationships
stronger and closer with customers by providing best quality at low cost.
AirAsia has increased improvisation within the company by adopting new technology and
broader productivity with high-quality across the globe while being a low-cost carrier. The
company focuses on customer needs for satisfaction and operating strategically to beat its
strong international competitors along with creating values. Thus, AirAsia works with
measures taken to enhance effectiveness consisting effective performance, quality policy,
processes, and resources while monitoring to make sure and safeguard quality. It helps the
company for raising profitability, save costs, enhance loyalty of customers, boosting
employee morale, improving processes, and maintaining positive working environment
(Abdullah, et al., 2017).
Management Approaches
According to the working and operating of AirAsia, the company works on bureaucratic and
total quality management approach for better management while focusing on system of the
company overall and improving customer satisfaction and quality with low-fare strategy.
AirAsia works on improving the efficiency in its daily operations for success by commitment
to employees and customers (Al Nahyan & Abdel All, 2017). In the airline industry, it is easy
to determine advantages after executing TQM with successful key enablers along with
procedures and policies as per AirAsia following bureaucratic management effectively. This
initiates rewards to employees and accurate recognition while motivating to practice and
adopt initiatives for working hard gaining growth and success through improvisation along
with basic objectives and procedures efficiently. Thus, it consists of quality services
efficiency at low-cost fare while maintaining the execution of information system with
sustainable infrastructure based on strategic planning attaining business performance

MANAGEMENT 4
significantly. The company might face challenges but proposes right measures for better
outcomes and positive working environment (Bhattacharya, 2014).
For instance, Malaysia Airline beside AirAsia as a low-cost airline is also in the competition
related to service quality and pricing strategy. This is because some individuals prefer
premium airline where luxurious service and safety is provides. So, it is obvious that
customers always evaluate brands, price, safety and service quality. Though, Malaysia
Airline offers low-fare for domestic routes and international flight promotions frequently to
regain reputation. But, the CEO of AirAsia ensure about adopting “walk around”
management style based on the company’s employees experience and work in their job
(Reuters, 2020). Accordingly, the company adjusted the operations to save money and human
energy for reducing the problems that the company needs to face and development of better
workplace while addressing and dealing to get better outcomes.
Conclusion
To conclude, AirAsia has maintained its position in the market of airline industry working
successfully on appropriate measures and operational approaches that are bureaucratic and
TQM. There is a competition within the business as low-cost carrier with quality services but
still the company maintain its position by improvisation and boosting the morale of the
company to work hard effectively and efficiently along with productivity and customer
satisfaction.

MANAGEMENT 5
References
Abdullah, M.-A., Chew, B.-C. & Hamid, S.-R., 2017. Factors on green service industry:
Case study at AirAsia. [Online]
Available at: https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.4976865
[Accessed 22 January 2020].
AirAsia, 2017. My Office Is Definitely Cooler Than Your Office!. [Online]
Available at: https://newsroom.airasia.com/stories/my-office-is-definitely-cooler-than-your-
office
[Accessed 22 January 2020].
AirAsia, 2019. ABOUT US. [Online]
Available at: https://newsroom.airasia.com/about-us
[Accessed 21 January 2020].
Al Nahyan, M. T. & Abdel All, S. F., 2017. Key Enablers of Effective Implementation of
TQM in Royal Jet Airways. Advances in Decision Sciences, Volume 2017, pp. 1-10.
Bhattacharya, S., 2014. How bureaucracy is trying to kill Tata-SIA and AirAsia India's
airline dreams. [Online]
Available at: https://www.firstpost.com/business/corporate-business/how-bureaucracy-is-
trying-to-kill-tata-sia-and-airasia-indias-airline-dreams-1960021.html
[Accessed 22 January 2020].
Falcus, M., 2015. All About AirAsia. [Online]
Available at: https://www.airportspotting.com/about-airasia/
[Accessed 21 January 2020].

MANAGEMENT 6
Lotich, P., 2019. What is Total Quality Management (TQM)?. [Online]
Available at: https://thethrivingsmallbusiness.com/benefits-of-total-quality-management-tqm/
[Accessed 22 January 2020].
Pusiran, A. K. & King, B. E. M., 2013. Transactional and Transformational Leadership: A
Comparative Study of the Difference between Tony Fernandes (Airasia) and Idris Jala
(Malaysia Airlines) Leadership Styles from 2005-2009. International Journal of Business
and Management, 8(24), pp. 107-116.
Reuters, 2020. Air France-KLM proposes buying 49% of Malaysia Airlines, JAL seeks
smaller stake: Sources. [Online]
Available at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/air-france-
klm-proposes-buying-49-of-malaysia-airlines-jal-seeks-smaller-stake-sources/articleshow/
73480697.cms
[Accessed 22 January 2020].
Reynolds, L., 2018. Six Characteristics of Bureaucracy. [Online]
Available at: https://bizfluent.com/info-8235460-formalization-organizational-structure.html
[Accessed 21 January 2020].
Serpa, S. & Ferreira, C. M., 2019. The Concept of Bureaucracy by Max Weber. International
Journal of Social Science Studies, 7(2), pp. 12-16.