Strategic Management Report: Emirates Airlines Case Study

This report provides a comprehensive strategic management analysis of Emirates Airlines. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction that outlines the core concepts of strategic management and its application to Emirates Airlines. The report includes an overview of the case, discussing Emirates' consistent service delivery and divisional organizational structure. It presents the company's mission and vision statements, followed by an internal audit using SWOT analysis, identifying strengths such as its strategic location and global recognition, and weaknesses such as unsustainable practices. The external audit employs Porter's Five Forces model to assess threats from new entrants, substitutes, and competitive rivalry. The report also includes a BCG matrix to evaluate the company's product portfolio and a competitive profile matrix comparing Emirates to competitors. The report then discusses Emirates' current business strategies, including long-haul low-cost carrier and differentiation strategies, along with horizontal diversification. Finally, the report concludes with strategic recommendations for better business performance, referencing the provided bibliography and references. The report covers key aspects of strategic management, providing a detailed overview of Emirates Airlines' strategic position and potential improvements.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The report discussed about the concepts of strategic management that enabled planning and
monitoring of business performance continuously and managing analysis of various internal
and external factors that could contribute the business functioning considering the business
organisation named Emirates Airlines in United Arab Emirates.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the case..................................................................................................................3
Mission and vision.....................................................................................................................4
Matrix.........................................................................................................................................5
Internal Audit.........................................................................................................................5
External Audit........................................................................................................................6
BCG Matrix............................................................................................................................8
Competitive profile matrix.........................................................................................................9
C) Strategies for achieving competitive advantage..................................................................10
Current business strategies.......................................................................................................11
Long-haul low-cost carrier strategy.....................................................................................12
Differentiation strategy........................................................................................................12
Horizontal diversification.....................................................................................................13
Grand strategy matrix...........................................................................................................13
Recommendations/strategies for better business.....................................................................15
References and Bibliography...................................................................................................16

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Introduction
The report is prepared to discuss about the concepts of strategic management that
enables planning and monitoring of business performance continuously and managing
analysis of various internal and external factors that can contribute the business functioning
considering the business organisation named Emirates Airlines in United Arab Emirates. The
strategic management can also allow the company to cope up with the fast-paced innovation
prospects, implement new technologies and at the same time align those with the goals and
objectives to formulate and execute action plans for the benefit of business. The various
aspects of strategic management include analysis of internal and external strengths as well as
the weaknesses along with the formulation of strategic plans required to achieve the long-
term goals and objectives, furthermore strengthen the core competencies and strategic
capabilities. This will also allow the organisation to make decisions and even prioritise on the
development of goals and objectives to respond to the changing market conditions, thus,
increasing the chances of generating higher revenue and competitive advantage in business as
well.
Overview of the case
From the case overview, it can also be understood that the Emirates Airlines has
remained consistent in terms of services’ delivery for both business and economy class
segments. The expansion of Emirates Airlines has brought a huge transformation in business
and allowed for strengthening the workforce with the inclusion of skilled and knowledgeable
employees, who have been dedicated towards delivering the best quality services to people
for meeting their needs and requirements perfectly (Emirates.com 2019). The company
follows a divisional by product organisational structure, which has enabled the top
management team to control the inbound operations, though there was absence of any female

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workers at the top management. The company also holds a strong financial position, which
can also allow for raising the capital expenditure and make investments for brining
innovation and consistency in delivering the best quality airlines services to the customers
availing the services of Emirates Airlines. As shown the case study, the competitors of
Emirates Airlines include Singapore Airlines, British Airways, etc.
Mission and vision
The proposed vision of the company is “To reach on top by excelling at what we do”
The mission of Emirates is “To make the civil aviation safe, leading as well as sustainable”.
Our mission is to focus on the safety of passengers at first, considering the delivery of airlines
services and transferring then from the source to the destination properly. Our vision is to
expand globally and also manage sustainable practices for creating a positive impact on the
environment and at the same time, facilitate the business processes’ efficiency (Emirates.com
2019). The mission also includes managing safe and sustainable aviation services’ delivery
along with meeting the demands and expectations of customers, furthermore provide good
rate of returns on the investments made by the shareholders or investors too. Emirates
Airlines’ mission is also to maintain high level of integrity by adopting the organisational
policies and philosophies to fulfil the mission of keeping everyone satisfied.
1. Clients who avail the airlines services
2. Airlines services delivered
3. Market conditions
4. Use of technologies
5. Focus on global business expansion
6. Sustainable practices and socially responsible
7. Brand image

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8. Employee health and safety (Emirates.com 2019)
Matrix
Internal Audit
The SWOT analysis of the given company in discussion has been discussed as under.
Strengths
The strengths of the company in discussion lie in the location that is enjoyed by the
company, the central hub at the Dubai Airport. This helps the company to have access to the
clientele from all over the world. The growth of the company is accelerated due to the high
availability of the clients at the premium location that they occupy at the Dubai airport. The
Emirates Airline is one of the globally recognized airline companies that is present all over
the world. The airline company is known to have been employing people in the departments
that are a major part of the airline industry. This reduces the dependency of the company on
the third-party service providers who are often linked to the company.
Weaknesses
The major weaknesses of the company lie in the implementation of the unsustainable
practices that are undertaken by the concerned organization. The other issues that have been
highlighted as weaknesses of the company refer to the fact that the company has majorly
been offering the luxurious flight options. The current target clientele of the company, the
millennials however are known to have been looking majorly for the flight options that are
convenient and affordable in nature.
Opportunities

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The major opportunities of the organization refer to the organizational decision of
laying more focus on the premium segments of travel with the services that the company has
been providing to the clientele. The company faces further opportunities in the launch of a
low-cost airline. This is backed by the fact that the company has never experienced a shortage
of the resources that are required for development of the products of the company.
Threats
The major threats of the company lie in the fact that the unfavorable relationship that
exists between the American and the European airlines and the company in discussion,
Emirates Airlines. The company further faces threats due to the emergence other airlines that
are meant for the long-haul routes and the flights that are introduced by the competitors of the
company.
External Audit
The analysis of the company on the basis of the Five Forces Model by Porter is
presented as follows.
Threats of the New Entrants
The threats of the new entrants are low for the company in discussion. This is due to
the high amount of costs that are presented at the time of the setup of the company. The
company in discussion is known to be providing the clientele with the various factors that are
related to the maintenance of the issues that are presented in terms of the service quality that
is presented to the clientele of the organization.
Threats of Substitutes
The company faces a moderate level of stress from the substitute products that are
present within the given markets. The clientele of the company might consider the other

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carriers that are present within the given market. The implementation of the other modes of
transportation within the market has led to the increase of the substitution for the given
company. The company however faces a low competition within the realms of the
international flights. The company is majorly focused on the premium quality services that
are presented to the clientele of the organization unlike the other competitors in the market
Bargaining Power of the Buyers
The buyers of the company tend to demonstrate a low power against the company.
The major areas of the influence that are implemented by the clientele refer to the influences
of the company in terms of the ticket prices that are levied by the organization. The brand
image of the organization as has been established by the company has led to the conditions
wherein the clientele would continue to avail the services despite the hike in the prices.
Bargaining Power of the Suppliers
The bargaining power of the suppliers of the organization is high due to the low
amount of the suppliers that are presented within the given market. The constraints on the
presence of the suppliers lead to the conditions wherein they might maintain a high
competition within the given market. The suppliers present a high bargaining power due to
the high amount of the benefits that the deal might pose for the given suppliers. The
organization further maintains proper relationship within the suppliers in order to help in the
development of the competitive advantage of the company.
Competitive Rivalry
The company faces a higher degree of the competitive rivalry within the given market
conditions. This tends to pressurize the company in the development of the strategy that is
required for the maintenance of the competitive advantage of the organization in discussion,
Emirates Airlines. The company management states that the majority of the focus should lie

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on the development of the presence of the company in the radar for the continuous
development in the techniques that are adapted by the company in order to serve the clientele
in a better manner (Porter and Heppelmann 2014). The global presence of the competitors of
the company further discusses the implementation of the issues that are related to the
popularity of the brand and the loyal client base of the company in the international markets.
The company is observed to strive for the increase in the customer loyalty programs through
the implementation of the programs for the brand loyalty. The major component for the
differentiation for the organization lie in the factor of quality services that are provided to the
concerned clientele.
BCG Matrix
The BCG Matrix of the Emirate group of airlines is as follows.
Figure: BCG Matrix of Emirates
Source: (Emirates.com 2019)

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The BCG Matrix of the Emirate group reveal that the various products that fall under
the categories of the stars, hash cows and the question mark. The major products that fall
under the category of the stars are the Business class and the first-class flight options. These
products might be stated to have gained the saturation level of profitability within the given
organization. These products earn a greater amount revenue and has no further scope of
improvement. The products in the sector for the hash cows are the economy class flight
options and the sky cargo (Al-Khouri 2014). The products in this section have a huge
potential for revenue earning and development despite their nature of earning a high revenue
in the current market situation. The holiday products of the company are found to be in the
question mark section and is under high doubts of development and revenue earning.
Competitive profile matrix
Critical
success
factors
Emirates Airlines Etihad Airways Singaporean Airlines
Weigh
t
Ratin
g
Scor
e
Weigh
t
Ratin
g
Scor
e
Weigh
t
Ratin
g
Scor
e
Price
competition
0.12 2 0.24 - 2 0.24 - 3 0.6
Global
expansion
0.08 4 0.32 - 4 0.32 - 4 0.6
Managemen
t
0.08 4 0.32 - 3 0.24 - 4 0.2
Technology 0.10 4 0.40 - 2 0.20 -- 4 0.4

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Service
lines
0.12 4 0.48 - 3 0.36 - 4 0.6
Customer
loyalty
0.08 3 0.24 - 2 0.16 - 4 0.8
Market
share
0.08 3 0.24 - 2 0.16 - 4 0.4
Advertising 0.06 3 0.18 - 3 0.16 - 4 0.6
Service
quality
0.10 4 0.40 - 4 0.18 - 4 0.6
Service
image
0.10 4 0.40 - 3 0.40 - 4 0.4
Financial
position
0.08 4 0.32 - 3 0.30 - 4 0.2
Total 1.00 3.54 2.8 5.4
Table 1: Competitive profile matrix for Emirates Airlines, Etihad airways and
Singapore Airlines
(Source: Emirates.com 2019)
The above table reflects the competitive profile matrix for Emirate Airlines, Etihad
Airways and Singapore Airlines. In terms of the price competition, Emirates Airlines
achieves higher competitive advantage than the Etihad Airways and the Singaporean Airlines.
Countering this, the overall score for competitive strategy is more in case of Singapore
Airlines, which reflects the need for continuous improvement strategy in case of Emirates
Airlines. Mention can be made of the product diversification, which acts assistance in
venturing into new markets, indicating global expansion (Emirates.com 2019).

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C) Strategies for achieving competitive advantage
Strategic planning is necessary in terms of exposing systematic approach towards the
efficient execution of the business operations. Consciousness is vital for generating value in
the business for achieving large scale customer satisfaction. These aspects are applicable for
Emirates Airlines in terms of upgrading the standards and quality of operations. As a matter
of specification, the businesses of Emirates Airlines are shaped through the strategies of
Differentiation, Quality Control, Extensive Aviation Training, International Airline
Information Technology Development Strategy and Resort, Hotel and Tourism Strategy.
Among this, mention can be made of long haul, low cost carrier strategy, differentiation and
horizontal diversification strategies, which enhances the productivity and organizational
effectiveness. These strategies are aimed at operational excellence (Emirates.com 2019).
Current business strategies
The present business strategies implemented by Emirates are mostly focused on the
marketing activities such as the market segmentation strategy, targeting and positioning
strategies, etc. The market segmentation strategy could enable Emirates Airlines to divide the
market into different segments based on the trip frequencies, distance to be covered for the
trip and loyal customers, i.e., those who make purchases frequently and remain aligned to the
brand rather than availing the services from any other brand. The most profitable segment
comprises of the passengers from the business class, which has influenced the company to
deliver them other benefits such as free Wi-Fi services while on the other hand, the
passengers in the economy class are price elastic and so they select low cost carriers
(Emirates.com 2019). The loyal customers are associated with the business services for long
time and they focus more on the quality and brand image prior to making purchases.
The company’s positioning strategy has helped in delivering unique services because
of the universal positioning and ability to offer innovative services that are of high quality

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and can meet the needs and preferences of the clients effectively. The positioning strategy
could also facilitate delivering a great and enjoyable flight experience for the clients,
furthermore, should improve the brand image, identity and awareness among the clients.
Another major strategy adopted by the company is the growth strategy, which can enable
undertaking aggressive initiatives and approaches required to expand the destinations and the
fleet capacity too for holding more passengers (Ansoff et al. 2018). The current strategy
implemented by the airlines company is dependent upon the management of fuel-efficient
aircraft engines, highly skilled and knowledgeable staffs, which has facilitated the growth and
development of the organisation as well as resulted in reduced costs of operations all
throughout the business functions and processes (Emirates.com 2019).
The cost leadership strategy has enabled the company assess the prices set by
competitors and then implemented the strategy to keep the prices of services lowered and at
the same time, aim to gain a greater market share, furthermore differentiate themselves from
other competitors in business with the help of competitive pricing too. Emirates Airlines
focused on implementing other strategies that can lead to becoming socially responsible and
contribute to the positive impacts on the society. The sustainable practices and adoption of
environment friendly approaches should help in aligning with the CSR goals and sustainable
development objectives, furthermore ensure keeping the environment safe and prioritize on
the consistency of services’ delivery, in terms of quality and efficiency of business and
environment too.
Long-haul low-cost carrier strategy
The business model of Emirates Airlines focuses on the production of long-haul
aircrafts. The tax rates in threshold of Dubai is zero, which is an advantage in terms of
executing the operations in an efficient and effective manner. Absence of legacy costs is an
advantage in terms of stabilizing the financial parameter. Uniqueness in the strategy is

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reflected from the strategic alliance with the adjacent markets through the supply of long-haul
aircrafts at reasonable rates. Mention can be made of the Hubs in Europe and US, where the
operational cost of the short haul network is expensive (Emirates.com 2019).
Differentiation strategy
Emirates is tagged as a legacy airline, where technological support is necessary in
terms of enhancing the skills of the staffs, so that the ancillary services can be provided in
accordance to the needs, demands and requirements of the clients and the customers. Modern
technologies are the keystone towards success. Reference can be cited of continuous
improvement strategy, which helps in causing the advent of innovation in the design of the
long-haul aircrafts like the cargoes (Emirates.com 2019).
Horizontal diversification
Operating under Dubai National Air Transport Association is assistance for Emirates
Airlines to diversify its product lines ranging from ticket booking to providing the services to
the customers. Diversification is reflected in the partnership of the airlines with the hotels like
Le Meridien, Al Aqah and premium hotel chains in UAE. Diversification is also reflected
from partnership with the professional Aviation universities (Emirates.com 2019).
Grand strategy matrix

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Quadrant 2 Quadrant 1
Quadrant 3 Quadrant 4
Fig 2: Grand strategy matrix for Emirates Airlines
(Source: Emirates.com 2019)
Rise in the demands of the needs, demands and requirements of the middle class has
assisted Emirate Airlines to encounter drastic growth in the sales revenue and the profit
margin. Catering to the specific requirements of the customers helps in achieving higher
competitive edge than the contemporary brands like Etihad Airwards and Singapore Airlines.
Rapid market growth
Strong
competiti
ve
position
Slow market growth
Weak
competitive
position

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Recommendations/strategies for better business
Taking the assistance of research and development team members would prove
beneficial in attracting trust, loyalty and dependence from the customers. Differentiation in
the products is an agent in terms of penetrating into the foreign markets for expanding the
scope and arena of the business. Mention can be made of the plans for launching hotels in
Australia and Seychelles, which would expand the business horizons of Airlines. Uploading
the design of the long-haul aircrafts in the social media would help the personnel in
enhancing the trafficking of the audience towards the brand image.
Analytical tools of balance scorecards and key performance indicators would help
Emirates in standardizing the business according to the benchmark levels. Conducting
examinations and lab tests of the aircrafts designed would be effective in terms of detecting
the faults and defects, which might act as an obstacle at the time of actual operations. Apart
from this, sustainable practices need to be developed for enhancing the parameter of
corporate social responsibilities. Typical example of this can be the initiatives of scholarships
for securing the future of the children and the families of refugees. Within this, Data
Protection Act (1998) would be crucial.
Adopting premium pricing methods would be apt in terms of attracting large number
of customers. Moreover, it would be effective for catering to the needs, demands and
requirements of the customers belonging to the middle class. In order to balance the total
operational costs, the management of Emirates need to achieve effective solution for the
issues on cost cutting for enhancing the profitability.

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References and Bibliography
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