Abstract
The blistering rise of digital devices preconditioned the increased importance of IT technologies for the functioning of the majority of organizations and corporations. In this regard, the given paper is devoted to the precise investigation of the main aspects of a certain company that benefits from the exploration of the innovative approaches and their implementation in its functioning. British Airways is chosen as the background for the given analysis. At the moment, the company is considered a successful business venture characterized by a great level of income and stable revenues. That is why the paper provides a comprehensive analysis of its business environment, the company’s strengths and weaknesses, its perspectives, and strategies. Moreover, the possible ways of the implementation of the most advanced IT technologies into its functioning are also suggested. The given report also contributes to the improved understanding of the importance of the usage of new strategies and practices to gain a certain competitive advantage and guarantee the further evolution of the company.
Introduction
The rise of technologies and their great importance for the evolution of the modern business preconditioned the appearance of a new pattern and method to organize the functioning of a certain company to guarantee the acquisition of significant competitive advantage. The great level of rivalry also impacts the shift of priorities towards the adherence to new and unique approaches that could help a company to survive and create the new model that could rest on IT technologies and the opportunities provided by them. Therefore, a number of various corporations have already recognized the unique importance of IT technologies and numerous advantages they could suggest. However, every company has its unique profile that contributes to the appearance of specific features that should be minded when creating a strategy that could help to become successful and continue the gradual evolution. The comprehensive investigation of the company with the help of various tools like PESTEL or Porters value chain analysis becomes crucial for the creation of an efficient strategy needed to shift priorities.
Company Background
British Airways is the flag carrier and the greatest airline in the United Kingdom (Fleet facts n.d). It is headquartered in Waterside not far from its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. The company was organized by the UK government in 1972 with the main aim to manage two nationalized airline corporations which were British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways, and several smaller local companies (History and heritage n.d). All these companies were reorganized in British Airways that had to satisfy the existing needs for transportation. The newly created company demonstrated good paces of its rise and managed to become the most significant and influential carrier of the UK. In 1987 the company was privatized. At the moment it is a founding member of Oneworld airline alliance that also comprises American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas (Fleet facts n.d).
The company has about 40000 employees including 15000 cabin crew, 3600 pilots, 5500 engineers (Company information n.d). The companys current total revenue is about £11.333 million which is 3,3 percent over the previous year (British Airways Plc 2015). It means that it still evolves and explores numerous opportunities for further growth. British Airways suggests a wide range of services for its clients. These are the transportation of passengers and cargos to the majority of states all over the world. Passengers are provided with an opportunity to choose various levels of service. They are able to buy tickets to business class, economy class, etc. There are also booking services that help to assure that tickets will be available at the needed period of time. Altogether, the company is ready to provide its customers with a set of services that are needed for their satisfaction and comfortable transportation.
Business Processes
Therefore, British Airways experiences the impact of the current market environment. First, the current economic conditions are considered complex. The aftermath of the crisis is still significant and could not but affect the company. However, the UK could be characterized by the stable financial sector. Among the countries of the EU, the UK is considered one of the most powerful ones. For this reason, British Airways has good perspectives related to its further evolution and rise. Technological factors are also important when speaking about the companys environment. British Airways uses modern and comfortable aircraft to satisfy customers needs (Fleet facts n.d). However, there are still several problems related to technological obsolesce. That is why a company should be ready to devote significant funds to the constant improvement of its equipment and aircraft to condition its further rise.
Besides, demographic factors could be considered beneficial as the number of customers increases. Moreover, along with the rise of potential clients, their well-being and paying capacity also grow. It means that they are ready to spend greater sums and use some additional services to make their journey more comfortable. There are still several problems related to the functioning of the company in various areas all over the world; however, there are numerous opportunities for further rise. Finally, social factors also impact the functioning of a company by introducing certain demands to the products and services suggested by British Airways. It tries to satisfy the most important demands by introducing new products and services needed for evolution. However, the application of various assessment tools might help to acquire significant information related to its environment (Chaffey & White 2010). First, a PESTLE analysis could be conducted to investigate the main factors that impact British Airways.
Political factors
Being founded by the government, British Airways still feels its support and great influence. The company is the major carrier of the UK, and it performs the bigger part of flights, both domestic and international. Moreover, the government is also able to introduce new taxes and regulations into the sphere.
Economic factors
At the moment, the purchasing power of customers increases and contributes to a greater level of income. The company is characterized by stable and high revenues and the tendency towards their further rise. It means that the current economic situation should be considered positive.
Social factors
The social environment and the existing level of demand on the services impact the companys functioning greatly. If to speak about British Airways, the population of the UK considers it to be a safe and popular carrier whose services could be used to reach a certain place. The popularity of the brand remains high.
Technological factors
The company could be characterized by the great attention given to new technologies and it tends to align the constant reequipment of aircraft. At the moment, there are both new and old planes; however, there is a tendency to introduce new and modern crafts
Legal actors
The company functions in accordance with the existing rules, laws, and regulations (British Airways Factsheet 2016 n.d.). British Airways tend to coordinate all its steps with the government to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts.
Finally, environmental factors also contribute to the further rise of British Airways and are becoming the leader of aviation operations.
Porter’s Value Chain Analysis
Porters value chain analysis should be performed to obtain some information needed to realize the companys important concerns. When speaking of British Airways, this kind of analysis shows that in general, the company has a well-thought-out value chain that contributes to the improved performance and a stable level of income.
The company has several contracts with the main suppliers. For instance, British Airways cooperate with Boeing to buy aircraft and renew the fleet used to deliver passengers to various destination points. Stable relations with suppliers serve as the key to the successful evolution of the corporation and its success. Moreover, British Airways has an efficient marketing department that is responsible for the cooperation with clients and their satisfaction with the provided services. The quality of these services is controlled by a certain department that should introduce new and the most important demands preconditioned by the alteration of customers’ interests. However, there are still some problems related to the quality of the cooperation with clients and the level of their satisfaction with British Airways. Some people admit the lack of attention and inability to use the unique services provided by the company (Company information n.d.). That is why there are still some areas that should be altered to guarantee the improvement of the outcomes and its showings.
Altogether, both PESTLE and Porters value chain analysis provide the information which proves the fact that British Airways devotes great attention to the most important aspects of its functioning. This approach helps a company to remain beneficial and support a stable interest in its services. However, there are still some areas that should be altered to guarantee further rise.
There are still some opportunities for the implementation of IT technologies that could be used to gain a certain competitive advantage and contribute to the companys further growth. As PESTLE and Porters supply chain analysis show, the company remains efficient and has numerous perspectives for the rise. However, there are some areas that should be improved. First, new software could be explored to improve the service of online bookings. At the moment, there are several cases when a system collapsed and was not able to satisfy peoples needs (Company information n.d.). For this reason, additional servers combined with the back-up system should also be introduced to guarantee the stable functioning of software that is needed to satisfy customers. Furthermore, it is also possible to suggest the usage of unique IT equipment that is needed to collect customers feedbacks and ideas for innovations. The existing one is also rather efficient; however, it does not contribute to the acquisition of significant competitive advantage.
The new system will help to alter the current state of affairs. It is obvious that customers have a better vision of the nagging problems that might irritate and undermine the companys image. For this reason, they should be provided with an opportunity to express their thoughts and emotions related to the most problematic concerns. Numerous sources evidence that very often ideas provided by customers might help companies to reconsider their functioning in a way that could contribute to the improved outcomes and guarantee that new fresh ideas will be heard and accepted.
Furthermore, the implementation of customer relationship systems (CRM) to plan their interactions with the company and align the stable connection between them could also be considered beneficial. Almost every person has a certain device that could provide access to the Internet or other sites. For this reason, British Airways should obviously introduce a new application that should be available for all platforms, both Windows, Android, iOS. The main aim of this application is to monitor the brands image and customers attitude to it. For instance, an individual should be able to book a ticket to any location using only this application. At the same time, if he/she remains satisfied with the quality of suggested services, he/she could leave a positive feedback that will contribute to the improved companys image. However, in case there are still some problems, a customer might choose the problematic area in the list and indent the issue that results in the appearance of some complications.
Concluding Remarks
The given software will obviously contribute to the improved companys image as customers feel happier and more satisfied when they are provided with an opportunity to impact the evolution of a certain company and contribute to the elimination of complications that are annoying for the rest of users (Chaffey & White 2010). In conclusion, British Airways is obviously able to improve its functioning with the help of the implementation of new technologies that could be used to improve relations with customers and their attitude to the issue.
Reference List
British Airways Factsheet 2016.
British Airways Plc 2015, Annual Report and Accounts 2015, Web.
Chaffey, D & White, G 2010, Business Information Management: Improving Performance Using Information Systems, Financial Times Management, Upper Saddle River.
Company information n.d. Web.
Fleet facts n.d. Web.
History and heritage n.d. Web.