Operations Management in Tourism: A Thomas Cook Case Study Report

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the operational management techniques implemented by Thomas Cook, a prominent travel agency. The report begins by emphasizing the critical role of human resource management in maintaining organizational productivity, highlighting the importance of effective planning, employee selection, and training and development programs. It then explores the significance of public relations in shaping the company's image and fostering strong relationships with the public, emphasizing transparency, effective communication, and media relations. The report examines how Thomas Cook distributes functions across various departments to ensure systematic operations and coordination, with specific focus on the human resource and public relations departments. It further discusses the need for skilled employees, the importance of aligning individual and organizational goals, and the implementation of appropriate organizational policies to retain staff. The report also covers the management of seasonal staffing and the need for continuous improvement to maintain a competitive edge in the hospitality industry. The report also includes a literature review and conclusion.

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: THOMAS COOK

Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................3
2. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
3. Operational Procedures................................................................................................................4
3.1 Human Resources......................................................................................................................4
3.2 Public Relations.........................................................................................................................7
4. Literature Review........................................................................................................................9
5. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................10
References:....................................................................................................................................11

1. Executive Summary
In this specific report the operational management techniques that can be adopted by Thomas
Cook have been discussed. The first part of the report emphasises on the importance of the
human resource management in order to maintain the productivity of the organisation in a proper
manner. It is identified in this section that proper planning is required in order to extract the best
performance of the employees. Additionally, certain considerations are also important while
hiring the prospective employees for different job roles. Furthermore, the inclusion of training
and development can enhance the productivity of the employees as well as the organisation. The
second part of the report discusses the requirement of suitable public relations management in
order to ensure that the organisation is able to portray a standard image and establish a better
bond with the associated public. It is inferred from the discussion that maintenance of
transparency is the key to cement the trust of the clients. Additionally, using effective
communication tools and techniques and sharing a healthy bond with the media can be helpful in
making sure that the mass is attaining relevant information regarding the organisation in the
desired way.
2. Introduction
In this assignment, the importance of operations management in tourism and hospitality has been
considered. The company selected is Thomas Cook, which has garnered considerable reputation
as a popular travel agency around the world. The aspects of human resources and public relations
will be discussed in the mentioned report to understand how the smooth functioning of the
organisation can be maintained to derive standard competitive advantage and sustainable
position in the market. The company is one of the largest travel and tourism organisations
operating in the UK. While the Thomas Cook AG was operational for several years, the merger
with My Travel Group plc was announced in the year 2007 (Thomas Cook, 2017). The merged
groups own series of tour operators and airlines facilities. Being one of the most sought after
names in the service industry, there are considerable management issues that are existing. Hence,
proper approaches are needed to be taken to address the same.

3. Operational Procedures
In order to function in a systematic manner, any organisation is required to distribute the
necessary functions in various departments. It establishes a more organised approach within the
workplace and the chances of errors are also eliminated with reduced confusions and chaos. The
same is being considered by Thomas Cook as well. The processes followed by the different
employees to attain the set targets of their respective departments are aligned with the
organisational objectives (Heizer, 2016). Thus, it is maintained that a proper coordination is
established between the various departments while striving to attain a single objective. Thus, by
being on the same board it is maintained that the company is able to operate in a systematic way
and is capable of attaining the desired outcomes from the different strategies which are being
followed.
Out of the multiple departments of the company, the two very essential aspects for the
organisation are the human resource and public relations. It is important that these aspects are not
only able to perform in best interest of the organisation, but also able to introduce certain credits
to the organisation that will make it stand out from the rest of the competitive set. Hence, the
managers of the mentioned company are required to be efficient in selecting the most suitable
methods with appropriate research and monitoring the performance of the strategies which are
being followed (Krajewski, Ritzman & Malhotra, 2013). Thus, with proper management of the
functioning a consistency in the overall performance of the agency can be attained. Below is the
discussion regarding the management of the operational procedures in regards with human
resource and public relations that would be most suitable for the organisation to hold the position
that it has gained in the hospitality industry over the years and enhance their brand value
considerably.
3.1 Human Resources
It is an undeniable fact that the human resource is one of the most valuable resources for any
business organisation. It is the efficiency of the employees in various departments and ob roles
which drives any organisation of any specific sector towards its goals. When it comes to service
centric organisation, it can be said that the essentiality of skilled se of human resources gets all
the way more important. It is on the basis of the service extended by the workforce of a specific

organisation, the overall experiences of the clients are shaped up. The same is needed to be
recognised by the Thomas Cook as well. Thomas Cook has grown to become one of the major
global brands in the recent times. Hence, it is important that the company is able to live up to the
expectation. The necessity of skilled set of employees is, hence, undeniable. In any travel and
hospitality agency, there are various job roles that are needed to be undertaken. For each specific
job, there are certain set of theoretical as well as practical knowledge that is needed to be present
in any prospective employee. The business of Thomas Cook is spread over various geographical
areas (Thomas Cook, 2017). The company strives to provide standard performance from these
multiple branches.
Considering the above mentioned factors, it can be said that the company needs consistent and
skilled workforce in various departments and branches. These departments can be managerial,
human resource, customer service, finance and accounts, marketing, research and development,
technological assistance, public relations and so on (Slack, 2015). Other than that, the soft skills
and cultural background of the employees are needed to be understood by the human resource
department as well. It can be said that the organisation is needed to follow certain steps in order
to determine their needs of the human resource and draft the most suitable steps to identify the
most suitable individuals and extract their best performance in order to meet the organisational
needs.
With a proper analysis, the positions needed within the organisation can be identified. In any
travel organisation there are various positions. This can be the role of managers, supervisors,
employees, assistants, and helpers (Robinson et al. 2016). Being one of the largest names in the
service industry, it can be said that the company needs numerous numbers of employees in
various locations in order to ensure that the position is maintained by the company in a global
platform.
Apart from the full time employees, it is also important that the organisation is planning the
requirements of part time employees and casual volunteers as well. It can be said that investing
on cost effective alternatives are one of the steps that can be considered by any company. By
being able to hire considerable amount of part time employees and volunteers, it can be ensured
that their resources are being saved by cutting down of the cost, at the same time, standard
performances are derived in favour of the company (Cetin & Dincer, 2014). Hence, in

departments like customer service or sales, considerations of part time jobs are needed to be
done. Currently, the company hires with almost 33,000 full time employees and hundreds of part
time employees (Thomas Cook, 2017).
The numbers of employees are required to perform various duties within their workplace. It can
be said that while managers are required to ensure that the various strategies are framed with
appropriate planning and research and implemented in the most suitable manner, the researchers
and marketing department are required to understand the needs and requirements of the target
audience and ensure that their services are channelized in a manner that would suit their
necessities (Legrand, Sloan & Chen, 2016). The employees in accounts and finance departments
are responsible for keeping track of the monetary resources, the cash-flows within the
organisation, the reports describing the revenue, profitability and allocation of budget to the
various projects and so on. Additionally, the human resource employees are responsible for
ensuring that the employees in different other departments are able to function n a manner that
enhances their overall engagements towards the company. The most crucial job role is the
customer service. This includes direct interactions with the clients. Hence, it is important that the
employees hold ample knowledge regarding the processes of the company for addressing the
queries of the clients. Additionally, being able to receive the feedback and identify the scope of
improvement is another major skill that the employees in customer service are required to
possess along with ensuring that the attained experience of the clients is favourable for the image
of the brand (W. O’Neill & McGinley, 2014).
The various departments that are divided within the Thomas Cook are needed to be aligned in a
manner that the coordination and synchronisation is maintained. It is important that all the said
departments are working to attain the organisational goals. Hence, it is important that appropriate
monitoring of the works done by the employees are done. Therefore, a proper hierarchy can be
set up within the organisation. Each department may be further divided into sub-groups having
one team leader each (Van der Wagen & Goonetilleke, 2015). The team leaders can report to the
supervisors of the specific departments. These supervisors can sit for meetings with the managers
to discuss upon the processes which are carried out by their specific departments. Thus,
understanding the functionality of other departments will be easy. The managers can further
provide the supervisors with their feedback and welcome ideas from other individuals in the

meeting to better the existing performance and eliminate the chances of potential risks. The
shareholders and owners are the ones who will take update regarding the progression of works in
various fields from the managers.
It is recognised by the company that the employees are their biggest assets. Hence, considerable
amount of effort is needed to be taken from their side to ensure that their potential is utilised in
the best manner possible and the employees are retained within the company. Therefore, it can
be said that the requirement of the employees are addressed properly. In addition to the basic
facilities like salaries, healthcare, safety at work, incentives and so on, the scope of enhancing
personal abilities are needed to be provided as well. Hence, methods like training and
development is essential to ensure that the organisation is able to get the best performance out of
the individuals (Cook, Hsu, & Marqua, 2014). It will not only enhance their individual skills that
can be effective for them in future, but also increase the productivity of the organisation
considerably. Additionally, it is also needed to be maintained that the individuals who are
recruited within the organisations are not only possessing the required skills for specific job roles
but also are dedicated in a manner that their personal objectives are aligned with the
organisational targets (Tsaur & Lin, 2014). This would ensure that the feeling of belongingness
is more in any employee and they are able to adjust with the organisational cultures considerably.
The staffing related to seasonal business will be managed with the help of appropriate contracts.
It will state the terms and conditions relating to the employment in clear manner. The individuals
will be hired only if they are willing to work in accordance with the terms and conditions
regarding the duration, remuneration and other associated aspects of the job roles in a proper
manner (Osman, Johns & Lugosi, 2014). Additionally, it is also important that appropriate
organisational policies are drafted to ensure better welfare of the employed staff. Thus, the
workers within the organisation will be able to get retained and the consistency can be
maintained.
3.2 Public Relations
It can be seen that the operations of the mentioned organisation is widespread. With an
approximate of 19 million annual customers, it has grown to become the second largest travel
company existing in the Europe. Hence, it can be inferred that the information relating to the

brand may be of certain public interest. It is the responsibility of the company to engage in
suitable public relations techniques that would hold the reputation and image of the company in
front of the internal as well as the external public and provide the opportunity to enhance the
brand value considerably (Smith & Puczkó, 2014).
It can be said that in order to stay relevant in the business environment, continuous effort is
needed to be taken by the organisation and implement standard planning and strategies.
Maintenance of this is not enough though. It is essential that the related stakeholders are having a
good attitude towards the organisation (Cheng & Wong, 2015). When it comes to a brand like
Thomas Cook, which are basically customer driven and service centric, one of the most essential
aspects is to establish a strong bond with the existing and potential clients. In addition to this,
being a global brand, the requirement of assistance from the media channel is also important. It
will ensure that the correct image of the organisation is being displayed on the global platform
that can assure the customers to put their faith on the brand and attain services from them
(Nickson, 2013).
Apart from this, maintenance of suitable relations with the local and national governance of the
areas here the organisation is operative is compulsory as well. It will ensure that no political
complications are imposed on the organisation and appropriate and systematic functioning of the
company is maintained (Law et al. 2015).
It is needed to be understood that in any business organisation the chances of dealing with
sudden crisis may erupt. It is the responsibility of the public relations officer to be able to figure
out the most suitable solutions for the existing situation and maintain that the dignity of the
organisation is maintained in situations as such. Crisis management is one of the most important
aspects that the company needs to undertake (Boella & Goss-Turner, 2013). In order to ensure
that the organisation is portrayed in a positive light in front of the associated public, it is
important that the issues the organisation is facing are being accepted by the public relations
manager. Maintaining a transparency is sure to enhance the bond of the stakeholders towards the
organisation. However, it is also important that thoughtful proposals and the steps considered by
the organisation to mitigate such situations are also explained (Mok, Sparks & Kadampully,
2015). This would further throw light on the fact that the challenges are faced by the organisation
in a standard manner.

The first and foremost step that the company can do regarding the functions which may hold
public interest is to inform the media who may take initiative to cater the news to the wider
audience. It can be said that utilisation of standard tools and techniques will be helpful in
ensuring that all the major highlights regarding the information is provided to the concerned
publics (J. Harrington et al. 2014). Hence, be it press release, conferences, interview or any other
forms, appropriate techniques can be applied to ensure that the potent communication channels
are being utilised to retain the relevance of the company.
It is important that a healthy relationship is maintained with the media professionals. Apart from
providing appropriate information, it is important that follow-ups are also maintained as a source
of reminder. While organising any major event, it is important that the media and the important
stakeholders are sent invitation. Personally attending the guests can have a better impact on the
overall impression of the company (Kheiri & Nasihatkon, 2015). Additionally, seeking feedback
can be also a great medium to not only convey the fact that the ideas and suggestions of the
guests are valued, but also be effective in recognising the scope of improvement for the
organisation. Hence, it can be said that effective public relations is one of the major factors that
the organisation may undertake.
4. Literature Review
In any service centric organisation measuring the success of the operations can be a little
difficult. The intangible natures of the services being offered are one of the major responsible
causes for the same. However, there are certain steps that can be considered by the managers in
order to ensure that the services which are extended are aligned with the needs and requirements
of the customers (Wood, 2013). It can be seen that in recent times organisations are growing
increasingly competitive. The requirement of the business markets are also fluctuating from time
to time. Hence, it can be said that appropriate steps are needed to be taken in order to ensure that
considerable techniques are being applied for suiting the market requirements by most of the
service organisations. However, while engaging in fierce competition as such it can be seen that
considerable issues may arise. Thus, the overall quality of the organisation may get hampered.
Therefore, it can be seen that in recent times appropriate consideration for monitoring the
operations of the organisation are taken (Oakland, 2014). The managers of the organisations are

indulging in standard techniques that not only give them the opportunity to reflect on the
processes undertaken and the results which are being acquired. Thus, with the help of appropriate
procedures as such, the organisations are able to maintain a standard position in the business
market.
Trends like social media platform and appropriate utilisation of the mass media are done by the
organisations in order to reach out to the mass (Leung et al. 2013). This ensures that the brand
recognition is high and the performances of the organisation are aligned with the set objectives.
Thus, the importance of effective operational management is being given appropriate
consideration by the service centric companies.
5. Conclusion
Operation management is one of the most crucial aspects that any organisation may have to
undertake. With the increase in competition in almost every field, it has become imperative for
any company to ensure that a strong position is maintained in the business market. Thus,
indulging on standard operations and considering steps for managing the functions of the
company is important. This can be effective in maintenance of the latest trends in order to
survive the competition. Additionally, a more structured approach can be followed by the
organisations in order to attain their set objectives. Thus, it is important that proper approaches
and strategies are being followed by organisations like Thomas Cook in order to enhance the
overall experience of the clients as well as the other associated public and the existing issues are
effectively mitigated that would ensure standard maintenance of the reputation of the brand.

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