Singapore Airlines Case Study: Business, Recruitment & Job Design

This case study provides an in-depth analysis of Singapore Airlines (SIA), a leading airline based in Singapore, exploring its business strategies, job design, and recruitment practices. The study highlights SIA's commitment to excellent in-flight and customer services, its innovative approach to in-flight entertainment, and its strategic investments in subsidiaries and associated companies. It examines the airline's recruitment and selection processes, emphasizing the importance of human resources in achieving organizational goals. The case study also discusses SIA's employee motivation strategies and its focus on maintaining a competitive edge through continuous development and cost management. The analysis covers SIA's operational strategies, including cargo facilities and technological advancements, all contributing to its position as a top-ranked airline in the global market, with Desklib providing access to this and similar solved assignments for students.

Airline Business in Singapore: Singapore Airlines – A Case Study
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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................3
Singapore Airlines – Job Description..................................................................................3
Singapore Airlines – Job Positions......................................................................................4
Singapore Airlines – Job Design for Technical Service Engineer and Cabin Crew...........4
Employee motivation...........................................................................................................6
Singapore Airlines – Business Strategy...............................................................................6
Singapore Airlines – Recruitment Strategy.........................................................................7
Singapore Airlines – Selection Strategy..............................................................................8
Singapore Airlines – Implementation..................................................................................9
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................9
References..........................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Singapore Airline or the SIA is the most famous airlines that have been operating within
the political boundaries of Singapore. It is one of the topmost airline companies that have been
operating all over the world and enjoys a highly respectable position within Singapore. The
airline is the youngest airlines that have been operating within the given country and covers six
destinations in six different continents of the world. Derudder (2012) state that the airline
company majorly operates within the region of East Asia, the region of Southeast Asia, the
region of South Asia as well as the region of Oceania from the hub which is located at the
Changi Airport. The airline is recognized internationally and is known to have been providing
the clients of the organization with the high standard of services. The company is known to have
been receiving a huge number of accolades and accolades in the field of service that it provides
to the concerned clientele since the conception of the company as Malaysian Airways Limited on
the 1st of May, 1947.
Singapore Airlines – Job Description
The company in discussion aims to divide the clientele of the organization into groups so
as to provide better service to the concerned clientele. This helps in the formation of the
connection among the various associates of the clientele of the organization as well as among the
members of the clientele of the organization. This helps in the building of the needed satisfaction
among the concerned members of the organization which might require the joint efforts of the
concerned clientele of the organization. The SIA is known to have implemented the 40-30-30
rule of the appreciation as well as the promotion of ease for the working within the organization
with the formation of the functional teams within the organization. The percentage weight is
retrieved from the 40-30-30 rule. The total human resources as per the analysis of the researches
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of McGee (2012) is considered to be 100%. The human resource is known to be only 40% during
the training stages. The next 30% of the human resource is known to be involved in the stages
that are related to the progress reviews. The remainder 30% of the human resource is known to
have been involved in the creativity that is needed within the company, majorly in the
development of the innovative products and services.
Singapore Airlines – Job Positions
The employees of the organization are known to have been forming various groups
within the given organization. These groups might include the ‘Performing Arts’ Group,
‘Gourmet Circle’ Group and other such groups. These groups enable the concerned people to
encourage the similarity within the groups of people who might enjoy similarity in the kind of
jobs that are performed by the concerned people within the company. This helps in encouraging
the people to seek satisfaction outside their specified sphere of work which helps them to achieve
the needed work-life balance. According to Petrovic (2012), the concerned airlines is known to
have been very selective in the recruitment to the given posts within the company. two such
positions within the company include the posts of the Technical Service Engineer and the Cabin
Crew. The company tends to recruit the flight attendant only during the conditions wherein there
is a demand for the recruitment to the post on an international level, especially those countries
that are covered within the service range of SIA.
Singapore Airlines – Job Design for Technical Service Engineer and Cabin Crew
The company in discussion, Singapore Airlines, faces a number of issues that requires
maintenance on the part of the management of the company. the company must follow the
recommended measures in order to maintain the pre-eminent position of the company as the best
company in the given airline market. In spite of the global shutdown, the company in discussion,
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SIA has depicted the wishes that relates to the claims of the being the best in the concerned
market. Surowiecki (2014) opines that the superiority of the company and thereby needs to
implement the various strategies within the company. The company also considers the plans that
are adopted by the competitors within the given market. The company might be advised to bring
about improvements in the communication within the company. the company is also advised to
put forth improvements within the entertainment features that need to be implemented in order to
match up to the latest innovations that have been adopted all over the world.
The SIA is known to have been aiming to produce a profile that matches up to the global
profiles. Thus, the company is observed to have been putting forth an expansion on the global
networks. Thornton and Thornton (2011) opine that the profit margin of the company would face
an improvement with the improvement in the business operations and the operational fields of
the company. This would help the concerned organization to attain the position of one of the best
airlines of the world. The company is also known for providing proper cargo facilities to the
concerned clientele of the organization. This would help the concerned company to attract a
majority of the clientele of the company. The air cargo facility helps in providing a much more
important role for serving the clientele.
The company should take initiatives in order to prioritize the straightening of the
organizational decisions that are needed for the acceleration of facilitation of the company. This
might also help in the development of the various opportunities within the business organization.
The competitions within the markets as well as the opportunities within the given markets are
known to develop daily. Lambert (2011) state that the organizational staff inclusive of the
managers should develop major concerns for the improvement of the organizational
development. The development of the organization is critical for the progress of the airlines
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company. The decision-making process within the organization is one of the trademarks of the
company. Thus, the company should pay proper amount of attention to the needed details as well
as encourage the innovative ideas.
Employee motivation
The people are generally observed to have overburdened themselves with the work. The
volunteers are also known to work very hard sometimes even harder than the employees who are
paid. The concerned volunteer might also receive shorter payment than the “dollar-a-year”
employees who hardly get time to rest. According to Adeniyi and Cmilt (2011), the major partial
replies to the questions for the need of working is the modest amounts of self-examination reveal
that the work is done for two reasons, “because we have to” or “for the money”.
The managers of the organization might help in motivating the concerned employees of
the organization in serving the organization in a better matter.
The basic assumptions on the behavior of the human beings are enlisted below.
 Avoidance of the work due to the inherent dislike
 Due to the inherent dislike of the concerned employees, the employees should be
motivated to serve the organization through the implementation of coercion, control,
direction and punishment threats.
 The human beings on an average aim for security, with low ambition, avoidance of
responsibility, and prefers direction.
Singapore Airlines – Business Strategy
Lambert (2011) state that the major tenets for the success of the Singapore Airlines are
the proper in-flight services and the customer services. The major facilities that are provided by
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Singapore Airlines are free drinks while travelling, choice of gourmet meals, complimentary
headsets for passengers. These services were provided by the company in the 1970s. The
company is known to be the first provider of the in-flight entertainment in the selected aircrafts
of the company. According to Adeniyi and Cmilt (2011), the Singapore Airlines is known to be
a proper vertical integration with the Kris World Private Limited in providing application
services, games, music, movies and television. The company is known to have been awarded for
the innovative and the creative developments. The company employs a team of proper chefs in
order to serve the clients of the organization. This helps in improvement of the competitive
advantage of the company.
The company is also known for the improvement of the Changi Airport hub by
implementing several innovative technologies. According to Airline Deregulation (2014), the
employees are awarded with the innovative and the creative thoughts are awarded The Deputy
Chairman’s Award. This is known to be one of the major motivational strategies that are related
to the pursuit of the achievement of the company.
Singapore Airlines – Recruitment Strategy
The human resource of a company is one of the major ingredients of the company. The
achievement of the company is known to have been based on the joint involvement of all the
departments within the company. According to Lim (2013), the human resource department of
Singapore Airlines is known to be one of the most respected human resource departments within
the industry. The recruitment and the selection processes of the concerned organization is
considered to be of a very high standard. The company is known to recruit the employees only
when the need of employment arises. The recruitment is generally done for the foreign locations
wherein the company operates so as to avoid the culture shocks and the language barriers within
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the staff. The organizational workforce distribution of the company aims at the employment of a
flight attendant per 20 seats within the aircraft. Thus, from the viewpoint of the human resources
the flight attendants are priceless to the organizational performance. The company is known to
employ people who enjoy serving the clientele of the organization. This is considered to be the
main reason for the retention of the concerned employees of the organization.
The company has been awarded the Top Worldwide Airline Award for the 6th
consecutive year by Wanderlust Travel Award 2013 (UK) in January of the present year. Thus, it
might be stated that the concerned human resources department holds immense importance
among the other departments of the year. The employees of the company are greatly responsible
for the growth of the company.
Singapore Airlines – Selection Strategy
The major aspects of the company are the sustainability position as well as the strategic
choices due to the continuous development of the people as well as the rigorous design of the
concerned company. the company follows the business strategy that is based on diversification.
The company is known to have 36 direct subsidiaries as well as associated companies.
According to Anderson and Leary (2013), the subsidiaries of the company include the Singapore
Airline Terminal Services (80.8%), Singapore Engineering Company (81%) and Singapore
Airlines Cargo (100%). The major customer segments of the company include the Tiger Airways
(51%) and Virgin Atlantic (49%). Althonayan and Sharif (2010) state that these constitute almost
the totality of the ownership of the regional career. The several groups within the company play
significant roles in the investment in the local companies situated in the countries of India and
China. The company implements the use of the information technology in order to develop the
efficiency of the company in providing the proper support to the clients as well as help them in
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booking flights as well as management of the Krisflyers account. The concerned company is
known for the strategic decisions that are required for the management of the costs within the
company. This leads to the reduction of the incurred costs as well as the improvement in the
employee productivity. Bratlie (2009) opines that the company uses dual strategy of
differentiation as well as the internal cost leadership. This helps in the improvement of the core
strategy as well as the self-reinforcing strategies that are considered to be precise and unique
thoughts in the strategic management.
Singapore Airlines – Implementation
The company in discussion is known to have been facing constant improvements in an
extensive manner. The company is known to have been implementing changes in order to
maintain the position in the global market. The case study discusses the constant improvisation
of the company in the customer satisfaction as well as the services that is provided to the
concerned clientele. Qi et al. (2013) opine that the company differentiates the products in a way
that helps in attracting the clientele as well retaining the present clientele of the organization.
SIA is also known for the employment of the best chefs and designers in order to serve the
clientele in a better manner. This further helps in the creation of the synergistic benefits within
the company. The company also receives the support of the clientele of the organization in their
constant journey of improvisation of the services of the company.
Conclusion
Leavy (2013) opines that the clear and identifiable structure of operation helps the
company in taking care of the efficient decision-making regarding client, place or the section of
the concerned business. The companies are known to disengage the managers in order to take
proper decisions within influential spheres without having to continually access the references.
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The company should also maintain the common purposes. The SIA is advised to maintain the
proper communicational systems within the several hierarchical levels of the company. this
might help the company to face the challenges and the threats in a proper manner. Salarzadeh
(2013) opines that the proper communication system within the organization might also help in
the exploration of the opportunities of the company thereby enlarging the scope of the
profitability of the business.
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References
Books
Derudder, B. (2012). International handbook of globalization and world cities. Cheltenham, UK:
Edward Elgar.
Lim, K. (2013). Life in the skies. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish.
McGee, W. (2012). Attention all passengers. New York: HarperCollins US.
Qi, E., Shen, J., & Dou, R. (2013). International Asia Conference on Industrial Engineering and
Management (IEMI2012) proceedings. Berlin: Springer.
Surowiecki, J. (2014). Best business crime writing of the year. New York: Anchor Books
Journals
Adam L. (2011). Passenger service quality expectations as perceived by long haul airline
managers in South Africa. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, 5(29).
doi:10.5897/ajbm11.1741
Adeniyi, O., & Cmilt, O. (2011). Airline Services in Nigeria: An Empirical Analysis.
International Business Management, 5(4), 218-222. doi:10.3923/ibm.2011.218.222
Airline deregulation. (2014). Business Horizons, 35(3), 84-85. doi:10.1016/0007-
6813(92)90076-l
Althonayan, A., & Sharif, A. (2010). Aligning business and technology strategy within the
airline industry. IJBIS, 6(1), 79. doi:10.1504/ijbis.2010.034006
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Anderson, D., & Leary, W. (2013). Encyclopedia of American Business History and Biography:
The Airline Industry. The Business History Review, 67(3), 486. doi:10.2307/3117379
Bratlie, K. (2009). Airline development from the business perspective. Tourism Management,
10(3), 223-224. doi:10.1016/0261-5177(89)90078-2
Jelena P. (2012). Pricing dynamics in the airline market. AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT, 6(27). doi:10.5897/ajbm11.1263
Leahy, A. (2014). Flying blind: The failure of airline deregulation. Business Horizons, 35(1), 86-
87. doi:10.1016/0007-6813(92)90123-q
Salarzadeh J. H. (2013). Introduction Latent Variables for Estimating Airline Assessment. IJBM,
8(18). doi:10.5539/ijbm.v8n18p78
Thornton, R., & Thornton, M. (2011). Who ambushed airline deregulation?. Business Horizons,
40(1), 41-46. doi:10.1016/s0007-6813(97)90024-0
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