British Airways: Quality Management in Hospitality, Tourism & Events

This report provides a detailed analysis of quality management in the hospitality, tourism, and events sectors, using British Airways as a case study. It explores the concept and importance of quality management, identifies problems experienced by British Airways through the lens of the five SERVQUAL dimensions (Reliability, Assurance, Tangibles, Empathy, and Responsiveness), and discusses the potential impact of benchmarking on delivering consistent and effective quality management. The report also offers recommendations for addressing the identified problems using the Total Quality Management concept and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), emphasizing the importance of customer relationship management and the strategic use of information technology to enhance business operations and customer service. This resource is contributed by a student and available on Desklib, a platform offering a wide range of study tools and solved assignments for students.

Managing quality in
hospitality, tourism and events

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project contains detailed information and improvements related to quality
management issues in a business entity. In this project dimensions of quality management are
explained in a precise manner. This report also contains appropriate recommendations for the
issues which are faced by British Airlines at the marketplace. In this project there is also a brief
explanation of various strategies for British to grow at marketplace and establish a profitable
business.

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................4
Concept of quality management and its importance....................................................................4
The problems being currently experienced by British Airways by applying five dimensions of
SERVQUAL................................................................................................................................5
Impact that one of the following techniques (Benchmarking) could have on British Airways in
terms of delivering consistent and effective quality management...............................................5
Recommendations for the identified problems with the help of Total quality management
concept (KPI)...............................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
In the functioning of a business at the marketplace, quality management play a crucial role which
helps in overall development of the business. In the era of tough competition between
companies, it is compulsory for a business entity to perform appropriate quality management in
order to deliver best services and products to the customers (Mooney, 2020). British Airlines is
a major United Kingdom based airline company which was founded in the year 1974. In the
situation of covid-19 the company is required to cancel their several flights due to the lock down
that has been declared by the company. This has provided immense losses to the airlines and the
companies are unable to pay their customers back for their pre booking in the airlines. In this
report example of British Airlines case study is taken into consideration which is facing several
quality related issues in the market. This project includes a brief analysis of the issues that are
faced by British Airlines in the current business environment. In this project the application of
five dimensions of SERVQUAL is applied in context of British Airlines. This project also
includes precise recommendations for the British Airlines development.
MAIN BODY
Concept of quality management and its importance
Quality management refers to the process of analysing all the activities that are undertaken
by an organisation to maintain desired level of excellence in the product or service offered by the
company. The quality management in any organisation ensure that the organisation follows a
desired level of consistency in their product or services and includes four main components such
as quality assurance planning control and improvement. The process of quality management does
not only include quality of product and services but also focus to achieve the goals and
objectives of quality in the company. In case of airlines industry a quality management system
includes all the set of rules policies procedures and processes and many more that are required by
an organisation for the purpose of execution and planning of effective and efficient operations of
air in the company (Mooney, 2020). Quality management system is very essential in case of
airlines industry because it can cost the life of passengers who are travelling in there airplanes. It
management system in case of aviation industry includes consistent performance all over the
activities of airlines and has their focus to achieve basic components of quality management
system within the operations. In case of British Airways it is very essential for the organisation

to have effective quality management system in their organisation so that they can be able to
provide quality services to their clients. This quality management system is very essential in case
of British Airways that are given below:
 In case of airlines industry it is very essential for British Airways to have effective
quality assurance in order to build trust and satisfaction of customers on their
organisation. Safety is considered as prime consideration in case of aviation industry and
it can be possible to provide safety to the passengers only if the company British Airways
follows the quality concern (Joseph Sirgy, 2019). It helps the organisation to build trust
and satisfaction of customers.
 The quality management system is very essential especially in airlines industry and have
a great importance either it is a small or large.
 The quality assurance system and management system in the British airlines company
will help the organisation to give great importance to the quality and ensures the technical
maintenance of the aircraft so that high level of quality can be sure with the airworthiness
of the aircraft.
 Apart from all these reasons the quality management in case of airlines industry is
important for the purpose of getting long term business goals and objectives. An
organisation who is unable to provide proper safety and quality services and have poor
safety records in there company can also be banned from flying to various countries that
can affect the business and its sustainability (Jeong, and Kim, 2019). This poor safety
record will also affect the customers and will not attract many customers towards the
organisation.
The problems being currently experienced by British Airways by applying five dimensions of
SERVQUAL
In order to measure quality of a service it is essential for every organisation to use an
instrument. It is very difficult for many organisation to identify the quality of the services as it is
completely based on the experience of customers. In order to identify and measure the service
quality five dimensions has been provided to many organisations. In case of British Airways the
company is required to maintain and measure their service quality in order to provide maximum
customer satisfaction and generate trust of the customers. There are five important instruments

that are the part of several instrument and have five important dimensions that can help an
individual to identify their service rate:
Reliability: In case of services the reliability refers to the accuracy and dependency of services in
an organisation and the ability of the service provider to perform their promised services in
accurate manner. In order to to ensure reliability in the the quality management of airlines
industries it is essential to provide promised services accurately to the customers. In times of
covid-19 the British Airways also faces this problem of service reliability as they are required to
cancel their promised service of providing airplanes to the customers. This create huge problem
for British airlines and can affect their future reputation in the market.
Assurance: Assurance refers to the reputation of the organisation who is providing the product
and services to the company (Uysal, and Sirgy, 2019). It includes the courtesy and knowledge of
the employees of the organisation who has the ability to maintain the trust and confidence in the
organisation. In case of British Airways it has been analysed that the company also faces the
problem in the situation of covid-19. Assurance is provided to get good reputation and trust in
the market and refers to the situation in which one person is sure the other one for something. In
case of British Airways is required their assurance as they are unable to pay the cost back to their
customers which can negatively influence the assurance that has been provided by the company
in future.
Tangibles: In case of identifying the quality of the services it is essential to identify the quality of
products that are used to provide the facility in the services and have their physical appearance.
The equipment service facilities physical appearance of the personal is responsible for providing
services and the materials that are used for communication all are considered as tangibles in case
of service quality (Çevik, and Şimşek, 2020). In order to manage quality system in the
organisation it is essential to make sure that the organisation who is providing the products and
services are focused on providing clean tangibles for the services. In case of British Airways the
company is also facing the problems related to the tangibles as due to covid-19 it is very
essential to sanitize the airplanes of the company which requires good cost and time to manage.
Empathy: Empathy refers to the situation in which proper care and attention of an individual has
been paid for the customers is liable to understand the demands of customers properly and made
them in the desired target. In case of British Airways the company belongs to the airlines
industries which requires a high level of safety. And it is essential for the organisation to have

individual attention on their passengers to provide effective services. In case of covid-19 it has
also created a problem for the company to manage this individual attention and caring nature of
the people. British airlines is required to have effective strategies to deal with this empathy
during the tough times of the family (Jeong, and Kim, 2019).
Responsiveness: Responsiveness refers to the situation in which a service provider is willing to
provide the services to the customers in accordance to the request problem and complaints filed
by the customers. In this situation the organisations who are operating in airlines industry is
required to provide online or telephonic conversation with customers to help them related to the
several problems. In case of British airlines it has been analysed that the company is also facing
the problem of responsiveness in the market full stop the company has get several poor reviews
in different websites related to the provisions that are made by the company for customer
services.
Impact that one of the following techniques (Benchmarking) could have on British Airways in
terms of delivering consistent and effective quality management
It is essential for British Airlines to focus on effective approaches for increasing revenue and
profitability in a short span of time. The Benchmarking is universally adopted approach in the
corporate world which helps a business to measure its success in relation to the competitors. It is
compulsory for a business to measure its success from time to time in order to develop at
marketplace. The Benchmarking and its application for British Airline are mentioned below:
 Benchmarking- This tool is a major approach which helps a business to grow with
sustainability. In the working of a business at the marketplace, this approach is
helpful in development of desired changes in the business by measuring its success
related to competitors (Verma, and Sarangi, 2019). The Benchmarking approach
should be used by British Airlines to get desired success in a short period of time.
This approach will also help a business to conduct ethical business at the
marketplace. The British Airways should essentially develop major approach at the
marketplace by measuring success of the business. This approach also helps a
business to establish global level business standards that help a business to grow at
rapid pace in the marketplace. The Benchmarking should be also used in context of
employee’s conditions according to market scenario. In the competitive world, this
approach helps a business to grow with greater stability and effectiveness.

Recommendations for the identified problems with the help of Total quality management
concept (KPI)
In order to lead the marketplace with better operations and functions, the British Airlines
needs to implement best business practices. The following are the recommendations for British
Airlines to lead the marketplace with better performance of business:
 Customer relationship management- It is essential for a business to maintain healthy
relationship with different customers in order to survive at the marketplace. The company
should establish effective customer relationship management with the deployment of
skilled and trained employees in order to provide best customer support (Perić, Đurkin,
and Vitezić, 2018).
 Information and technology- In the recent times, the information and technology and its
use in business operations is increasing day by day. The British Airlines should install big
data management software to handle precious data of large number of customers.
Company can also use advanced computer systems and software to conduct operations in
an ethical manner. There is also a need for good Management information software in the
company to manage daily operations with full efficiency.
 Key performance indicators- It is a most important decision making tool which is used
by many famous international and national companies of United Kingdom. The KPI are
main targets a business should deploy to make most impact on strategic business
outcomes. British Airlines should set new target customers for the business at the starting
of the financial year and manage them with effective operations (Perić, and Slavić, 2019).
The KPI increases the accountability of employees in the business as well as it brings
development in the whole business entity. If the British Airlines makes effective changes
and installs KPI then it will be able to eliminate currently faced problem in a short span
of time.
 Strategic management- It is necessary for British Airlines to take help of professional
strategic management to develop perfect business planning (Kukanja, Planinc, and
Sikošek, 2020). The strategic management helps a business to overcome various risks
that are faced by organisation at the marketplace. In recent times many successful
business companies take help of strategic management in order to grow at marketplace
with better development in operations.

 Leadership- It is necessary in the business of British Airlines to install various
leadership related tasks and activities. In the management of different employees,
leadership play a crucial role as it believes in the concept of increasing harmony between
employees. It is recommended for British Airways to develop leadership in democratic
leadership style as it believes in mutual decisions by the employees (Firth, 2020). The
democratic leadership will help British Airways to increase employee productivity and
satisfaction.
CONCLUSION
From above stated report it can be concluded that maintaining quality in the products should
be main priority of every business. The above discussion concludes that a business entity must
hire professional and skilled employees in the operations management to maintain desired
quality in products and services. This report also concludes that key performance indicators help
a business to gain competitive advantage and increase efficiency. This project also concludes that
in a business it is a major role of top level management to deliver best quality based products and
services to increase customer satisfaction and overall business growth.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Mooney, S.K., 2020. Gender research in hospitality and tourism management: time to change the
guard. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Mooney, S.K., 2020. Gender research in hospitality and tourism management: time to change the
guard. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management.
Joseph Sirgy, M., 2019. Promoting quality-of-life and well-being research in hospitality and
tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(1), pp.1-13.
Jeong, Y. and Kim, S., 2019. A study of event quality, destination image, perceived value, tourist
satisfaction, and destination loyalty among sport tourists. Asia Pacific Journal of
Marketing and Logistics.
Uysal, M. and Sirgy, M.J., 2019. Quality-of-life indicators as performance measures. Annals of
Tourism Research, 76, pp.291-300.
Çevik, H. and Şimşek, K.Y., 2020. The effect of event experience quality on the satisfaction and
behavioral intentions of motocross World Championship spectators. International
Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship.
Jeong, Y. and Kim, S.K., 2019. The key antecedent and consequences of destination image in a
mega sporting event. South African Journal of Business Management, 50(1), pp.1-11.
Verma, M. and Sarangi, P., 2019, August. Modeling attributes of religious tourism: A study of
Kumbh Mela, India. In Journal of Convention & Event Tourism (Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 296-
324). Routledge.
Perić, M., Đurkin, J. and Vitezić, V., 2018. Active event sport tourism experience: the role of the
natural environment, safety and security in event business models. International Journal
of Sustainable Development and Planning, 13(5), pp.758-772.
Firth, M., 2020. Employability and Skills Handbook for Tourism, Hospitality and Events
Students. Routledge.
Kukanja, M., Planinc, T. and Sikošek, M., 2020. Crisis management practices in tourism SMEs
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizacija, 53(4).
Perić, M. and Slavić, N., 2019. Event sport tourism business models: The case of trail
running. Sport, Business and Management: An International Journal.