Business Environment Analysis: Thomas Cook's Global Strategy Review

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of Thomas Cook, a British airline, and its response to the changing business environment, particularly the impact of globalization. It begins by explaining the significance of both external and internal business environments, highlighting factors such as employee engagement, market research, and demographic trends. The essay then critically assesses the relevance of globalization to Thomas Cook, examining how it influences the company's policies and competitive strategies within the airline industry. It evaluates the effectiveness of Thomas Cook's responses to globalization, considering areas for improvement and focusing on aspects like technological advancements, customer comfort, and recruitment processes. The analysis emphasizes the challenges and opportunities presented by globalization, including the need for constant updates in luxury and comfort, strict regulatory compliance, and maintaining a competitive edge in the market.

Contemporary Developments in Business and Management
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Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Task 1.........................................................................................................................................4
Briefly explain with examples the significance of external and internal business environments
to business..................................................................................................................................4
Task 2.........................................................................................................................................7
1. Critically assess Globalization’s relevance to Thomas Cook and how it influences policies
and competitive strategy within organisation or industry-sector...............................................7
2. Evaluate critically the effectiveness of the organisation’s response......................................9
3. Consider some areas for improvement in the response of the organisation.........................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14
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Introduction
The study of section includes how change of internal and external factors affects the
development and growth of organization, or business. The study of subject is Thomas Cook,
a British airline, headquarter situated in Manchester, England. Thomas Cook airline is a
division, part of Thomas Cook Group, which due to excellent services consists of more
airlines i.e. three all of which are managed by joint fleet management. It is important to
remember that Thomas cook faced a merger with MyTravel Airways in 2008. The study of
subject includes the changes the organization has gone through to manage and maintain
business through affecting environmental factors. There is a vivid elaboration of conditions,
situations Thomas Cook have made through with globalisation. The effect, impact, and
change with globalisation on Thomas Cook is learnt and discussed.
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Task 1
Briefly explain with examples the significance of external and internal business
environments to business.
Thomas Cook
It is Global British Airline Travel Company listed in LSE (London Stock Exchange) and is a
significant part of FTSE 250 Index. The company came into existence in 2007, June 19 with
the merger of Thomas Cook AG. Thomas cook, the company itself is successor of MyTravel
Group plc and Thomas Cook & Son. The company is widely renowned for its tour
operations, airline base in UK, Scandinavia, Belgium, and Germany. Hotels4u is also owned
by the company.
Thomas Cooks selectively performs in value-added services to fulfil the rising demand of
customers. The basic product segment of the company includes providing its customers the
tourism service that include both flight facilities and hotel selection and booking, set up
together in a package deal to make it simple and satisfactory regarding the needs of
customers. The other segment includes customised packages, providing the customer with a
huge amount of flexibility to ponder on the choices and selection of travel destinations within
the time period of tours and value added services.
Another of the product segment deals with providing the financial benefit to travellers in tour
assurance services in terms of money transfer and foreign exchange. The last segment of the
product helps in allotment of offers and tour packages with great benefits to the customers.
The company works on an online portal where it significantly focuses to serve national
market that is European and Pan-European market respectively (Goudie, 2018).
Internal and External Business significance
Internal business significance
The employee engagement in job, work, and service of an organization can easily be foreseen
and analysed on the basis of involvement in related activities, surrounding culture, and
concerning values. Therefore the involvement in organizational values, development and
growth of fellow subordinates as well, cultural value of company to achieve respective goals
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and targets of the organization is recommended to be highly considered and monitored. The
level of involvement directly affects the employer’s suitable condition. Employee attention
and involvement is also related and affected by the employer’s involvement in betterment and
growth of the employee group (Hong, et. al., 2014).
For better understanding of the loyalty level and reliable nature of employees in Thomas
Cook, a module of employee management and engagement is elaborated.
The effective interrelated communication with employees engaged in different sections of the
company to provide them with the information regarding significant changes, addition,
consequential services in varied sectors of the company is the core process and effective
management system of Thomas Cook. The communication is carried out with use of internet;
emails, drop messages, internal magazines, online portal, physical sphere, and face-to-face
conversations respectively. Other than this, the employees are time to time invited to actively
participate in effective workshops, training programs, indulging activities that in return
enhances and encourages them to perform more effectively and efficiently in their task;
functional areas. The surveys that are done in analyse and understand the employees’
interrelatedness, in regard to changed and working business directives and organizational
values. Results of these surveys bring satisfaction and justify the commitment level of
employed and people working in Thomas Cook. The satisfaction level of the employees helps
in addressing customer demand more effectively. The management functions on decisions
based on common interest, opinion, and perception of all employees of the organization.
Second, a definite structure is required for the basic functioning of management to involve
people from different sections of organization to achieve set goals and objectives. Third, in
order to achieve these set objectives, goals, ands target sets a company functions on set of
procedures based on set policies. Fourth, the involvement of internal people, such as heads,
managers, leaders, HOD’s etc is the key resource in meeting the set goals. Fifth, managers
vary in kind, quality, nature, perception, and objectives so it’s quite obvious that they would
be different in their way of management to achieve company set objectives. Six, to coordinate
the actions and efforts, a manager is required to involve objectives and perception of fellow
subordinates to arrive on a decision. Seventh, the skills and qualities of employees is always
to be enhanced, appreciated, and awarded for effective and successful management (Hong, et.
al., 2014).
External Environmental Analysis
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Organisational business is highly affected by external environmental factors that promote,
provide and distribute services. In many cases, organizations have almost no control over the
external factors or bare minimum that does not make much difference. According to some
researchers if a company begins facing difficulties or weakness it tends to overlook the
opportunities coming across its way.
Monitoring of Environment Process in Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook has been influenced by a wide scale and range of environmental factors. The
operating companies are coordinating the environmental performance locally under the name
of ‘Group Environmental Policy’. Thomas Cook is adamant on reducing the impact of
external environment by protecting the factors and resources on which the business highly
depends. This includes conversation of and safeguarding wildlife, animal welfare, and
accepting biodiversity.
Market Research: To monitor the turning trends and challenges of customers Thomas Cook
is expected to conduct market surveys based on requirements of customers. In moments of
rise of disposable income, there is an automatic shift in the way of thinking which is
important to be understood and act upon accordingly in regard customer expectations.
Therefore, a proper market research is expected to help travel agency stay way ahead of
competitive firms. The company can move online and resort the issue by turning a website
for customer feedbacks, expectations, limitations, desires, and outcome of used facilities and
then function accordingly (Medina & Belanger, 2017).
Demographic: Thomas cook is one of the oldest travel agency functioning efficiently till
date, thus the customers are sure of services, attached to the firm due old and consistent
relation, attracted to services for the reason they are beneficial, better that competitive forms,
and efficient in nature. The company on the basis of this can confidently expand and create
more stores where customers can visit and know more about the customised and varied
services that Thomas Cook provides.
Benchmarking: As the name suggests, the company has effectively benchmarked the
satisfaction level of its customers. The company firmly believes that employment
engagement is highly beneficial and effective in satisfying customer needs. According to one
its surveys the company concluded that its business segment in regard response of employees
is 64%, which was comparatively high than the last survey (Medina & Belanger, 2017).
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Trade publication: the travel and tourism pocket guide of Thomas Cook includes about 170
travel destinations which is compact and practically useful in each condition, such as in case
of sun seeker tourists, and city breaker travellers. Thomas Cook also provides driving guides,
guide for travellers, etc. Quite recently Thomas Cook launched a Canadian website that
rebranded all retail locations Thomas Cook across entire Canada.
Scenario Planning: In order to stay quite competitive and unmatchable in terms of travel
agency sector, Thomas Cook as acquired different and varied travel agents.
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Task 2
1. Critically assess Globalization’s relevance to Thomas Cook and how it influences
policies and competitive strategy within organisation or industry-sector.
Globalisation
Globalisation refers to the process of integration and interaction amongst people,
governments of countries, companies. It is process driven by investment and across border
i.e. international trade and is supported by information technology. Globalisation has a huge
effect on culture, environment, political system, on prosperity and economic development,
and on the society of physical human well being all around the world (Beck, 2018).
The international expansion is beneficial for an organisation for it includes the expansion and
growth; the high yielding opportunities to increase revenues, make profit, and maintain
returns. In this case global companies face organisational challenges due to special
requirements. Companies expanding beyond national borders need to employ great efforts to
make most of turning opportunities to achieve economic scale by centralizing and focusing
their marketing, promotion and production activities respectively. Whereas it is also
important that international companies accommodate and accept national differences, and
varied business practices (Goudie, 2018).
In case of Thomas Cook, it is clear that air travel is large, expanding, and growing business
today. Airline industry has been providing economic growth, international-national tourism
and international investment, and world trade. The government and private sector airlines
have improved in commercializing air travel. Introduction of airline like Thomas Cook have
enhanced the air travel due to easy accessibility, luxury, flexibility, affordability, and utmost
comfort. The development of resorts, infrastructures, tourist spots and destinations has
increased due to contribution and improvement indulgence of government to attract and grow
tourism from prosperous countries. Citizens of developing countries due to economic growth
are becoming international tourists themselves. The growth of direct international investment
has positively influenced the growth of travel for business. Airline industry is rapidly
growing by 9% each year despite of recession that hit market few years back. The major
future constituents of Airline industry growth is expected to be in between North America,
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Asia, and Europe in regard of total travellers. Thomas Cook is currently growing in
technological and commercial changes.
The policies and competitive strategies of Thomas Cook are affective and improvising with
turning globalisation. The expansion of the company is on hype. The growth of company is
on positive line of economy due to major inflow of cash and other various activities. There
are certain majors that are definite and important to meet civil flying standards.
There are many impacts of globalisation as well. In times of recession and changing trends
the airline extant is less than compared to others. It serves its purpose, and is least bother or
affected by downfall of economy. The effect of recession can only be seen in initial stage
where flights are cut down, less flight schedules to places with less economy. Utter majors
appear in market with introduction of new airline firms and industries with huge
infrastructure and changing government policies. To maintain themselves in competitive
market, companies require huge investment and favourable conditions and balance.
Development in techniques and strategies is difficult to obtain as far as the technical aspect of
airline is considered, and Thomas Cook has come up with major changes in airline and its
technology to improve to remain best (Burghouwt, 2016).
 Constant update in luxury and comfort of customers is turning out to be the utmost priority of
organization where management of budget regarding the customer demand is also taken into
consideration.
 Recruitments and processing workers and employees in case of private airlines have
concerned general firms. This has the government to apply strictness regard official
commercial airlines.
 There is high competition in airlines and there is no option other than to have better
efficiency in facilities and services to overcome competition and competitive firms (Beck,
2018).
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(Figure 1.1: Trends in World international trade, and airlines’ revenue passenger
kilometres)
(Source: By Author)
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2. Evaluate critically the effectiveness of the organisation’s response.
Globalization has increased the interdependence between countries, economies and people. It
includes all businesses from giant cooperates to medium or small sized family run firms.
Globalisation has led to generation and operation of tourism market across the globe, where
destinations experiencing anguish and mutual hatred have come together to grow and
function interactively. The development of opportunities, employment, organisations, and
multinational firms has effectively changed economic growth of their respective countries.
According last decade survey, it was concluded that about 715million people travelled
foreign lands in tourism sector, it is important to know that while taking in consideration the
fact figure it is estimated that by 2020 this figure would rise up to 1.6 billion. Tourism has
turned out to be big business purely running on constant efforts, growth, support, and trust. A
global society stands to function, operate globally which introduction of competitive
strategies to maintain internationalization (Burghouwt, 2016).
Globalisation has highly affected the business of Thomas Cook with increment in wealth and
income, more knowledgeable and experienced customers.
ECONOMY
• Integration of varied strategies, both horizontal and vertical in tourism enterprise.
• Investment in foreign hotels and attraction spot; tourist destinations.
• Across globe alliances and business beyond national borders (MNC’s, tour managers/
operators, hotels)
• Tourism management globally.
• Holiday Resort competitions globally.
TECHNOLOGY
• Technology affected booked system
• Cultural transport system in regard to standardized technologies.
• Uniformed travel behaviour; global tourists.
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• Development of Tourist Villages globally.
ECOLOGY
• Ecology problem is addressed as global syndrome in regard growing tourism.
• Climatic conditions and hospitable change that affects the tourism on tourist destinations
(Beck, 2018).
POLITICS
• Highly valued international and national tourism organisations
• Importance of global coordination and management of passenger circulation regard growth.
• The dominant and quality idea of sustainable development.
Although in case of Thomas Cook, the globalisation has affected the business in many and
either ways. Even with the most important and effective factors are worldwide services,
impact on world moving online for information, reservation, schedule, support affecting the
cost of travel and accessibility to travel destinations at low price, social standards, and
income the impact of globalization is affecting Thomas Cook with respective other
globalizing firms (Yasar & Kiraci, 2017).
(Figure 1.2: The effect of globalisation)
(Source: By Author)
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