Company Overview

The corporate business world continues to grow more complex with each passing day.  Business organizations are always working on and implementing the best strategies in a bid to cater for the dynamic nature of the corporate environment. One of the most notable aspects in most business operations which has changed the scope of activities is the incorporation of Information Technology into business operations. Most firms have made a transition from the traditional approaches of systems operation, effectively replacing them with updates ideas in a bid to enhance efficiency, increase productivity while still maintaining a lower cost of operations. Some of the advancements in technology has seen the introduction of eCommerce where most business operations and transactions are completed online. At the same time, the rise of computer use, smart mobile phones, internet as well as the concept of social media has given business management a whole new dimension. The changing context of business environments has seen the emergence of consumers who are aligned to specific needs, preferences, tastes and quality. In order to adequately address this changes, business organizations need to effectively package its products, services as well as approaches hence ensuring the enhancement of positive consumer experiences. It is a fact worth noting that innovations and creativity continue to give rise to new ideas and management approaches which organizations need to incorporate in order to maintain a competitive edge (Bodner, Klobuchar & Geelan, 2011).

Due to the incorporation of technology in management, business organizations have been able to come up with and implement better marketing approaches. These ideas are always aimed at ensuring that the marketing strategies reach as most target audiences as possible. The effectiveness of a marketing strategy is largely evaluated by the extent to which the project influences the interest of the people on the products and services of the given organization. A good marketing approach, therefore, ought to attract more clients hence increasing the organization’s competitive edge and ensuring a stable market. In line with the overview above, this report entails a discussion on how AirAsia can incorporate the aspect of training and development of management and employees as a means of increasing organizational efficiency and overall success (Soltis, 2014). The report shall outline a plan which the company can in turn incorporate into its system and culture thereby improving its performance. Based on an analysis of the current status of the company, there is need for staff training and development on the area of marketing.  The training approach shall involve a deviation from the more traditionally and formally used marketing approaches to the incorporation of technology into the whole process. The training shall initially focus on the company’s executive who shall be exposed and mentored on the various aspects of digital marketing. The members of the executive, at the end of the training session are expected to be in a position to disseminate this knowledge and effectively distribute to the other members of the organization in addition to its key stakeholders. As part of the strategic plan, the training is intended to take place over a span of four weeks where the members of the executive shall not only be taken through a module on digital marketing but a number of other management approaches which can be incorporated to improve the performance of the organization. The report shall then be summarized with a list of recommendations on some of the strategies and adjustments needed at AirAsia for performance enhancement.

Management Issues at AirAsia

The case study major revolves around AirAsia and the management approaches which have placed it at its current position in terms of performance and market presence. In order to deduce enough information about the organization, both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection were incorporated.  In line with the quantitative approaches, data was collected through random sampling, use of questionnaires as well as direct interviews. Various members of staff and employees at AirAsia.  The selections were done based on the position and responsibility of the individual at the organization (Lombardi, 2011). Once the total population sample had been obtained, the subjects were supplied with questionnaires which entailed specific question related to the research issue. At the same time, a portion of the individuals making up the population sample were given direct interviews which were recorded purposely for the completion of the research. The core objective of the data collection process was to deduce information about the current management practices at AirAsia, the overall organizational performance in terms  of market presence,  passenger turnover, return on investment and consistency in terms of both consumer and employee retention. It would be prudent to note that organizational performance is often anchored on the aspects noted above. The data collection process was also aimed at deducing some of the management challenges at the company, the root causes and the possible impacts of such challenges on organizational performance. In order to achieve this, the questionnaires and the interview questions were carefully structured to trigger the much needed responses from the subjects.  These methods were chosen because they enhance the reliability and validity of the information obtained for the completion of research. The samples acted as a good representation of the whole organization hence obtaining their views would be pivotal in projecting the whole situation at the organization. Apart from the quantitative approaches, review of contextual literature, company reports, past research on the organization and other valuable source was used as a quantitative approach of data collection. The report below is therefore a discussion which is basically anchored on the outcome of the case study of the organization through the above outlined data collection methods. The report shall entail a review of the management issues at AirAsia and the best training approaches which could be taken be embraced by the executive and management in a bid to enhance the overall company success.

AirAsia is one of the leading airline companies in Malaysia with its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. The organization, despite being a low-cost airline is one of the largest companies in the industry in terms of number of fleets. The company operates a number of fleets and has both international and domestic destinations indicating that it commands a fair portion of the Malaysian market. At the same time, the fact that the company’s flights are scheduled to over 25 countries across the world is an indication of its market presence in the international font as well. The company report at the end of 2017 however indicates a gradual drop in the passenger turn over and eventual impact on the return on investment. This therefore implies that despite its good performance and success over the years, AirAsia is consistently faced with a number of challenges which may need to be addressed through best practices.

Based on the company case study, a number of issues can be deduced as the possible causes of the company’s drop in performance. To begin with, AirAsia has constantly struggled with the issue of the rise of competitors like Malaysia Airlines in the market. The competition for market space has led to the company losing some of its clients to the rival companies. Low passenger turnover eventually affects the organization’s financial performance both at the local and international level (Books & Brooks, 2009). The second issue is the rising costs of fuel which has led to the company incurring losses especially in cases where long flights are involved but the passenger threshold number has not been attained.  In line with the interviews especially on the company’s management team, the changing economic situations and government policies not only in Malaysia but in other countries has made it quite a challenge for the company to effectively predict its corporate environment. Additionally, the responses of the employees during the data collection process indicate a slight decline in motivational levels. The modes of communication used at the organization have not been effective enough. Furthermore, the employees feel less involved in the process of decision making which in one way or the other lower the worker output and self-drive to offer the best. In a nut shell, the research process adequately revealed that the airlines lacks a firm grip on its market. This situation can be confirmed by the fact that there is low consumer loyalty and retention. These problems could be traced back to the management approaches and styles used at the organization which do not only impact the clients but also has a direct influence on the employees (Devries & Zan, 2013)..

With reference to the challenges identified above, training and development of staff members and other employees has been recommended as an appropriate mitigation approach. The poor grip on its market indicates that the organization has not put in place the best practices in terms of marketing strategies. There is an inevitable need for the incorporation of approaches which shall in turn enhance brand awareness and popularity. Consequently, the training shall be geared at exposing the members of the executive on some of the best marketing approaches which could be incorporated as a means of increasing the success of the organization. The program recommends the introduction of digital marketing approaches as a sure path towards performance enhancement. Apart from the exposure on digital marketing, the training additionally outlines the introduction of better leadership and management approaches at the organization as a means of improving performance. 

In line with the discussion above, the training program can be based on the following strategic plan

• Training the executive and management on digital marketing and need for incorporation
• Training executive on efficient management approaches
• Allowing the executive to disseminate this knowledge and pass it to other employees
• Establishing a culture of learning through training and development within the organization

The identification of the main causes of drop in performance of the organization provided the right platform to note and address the specific areas which need to be worked on by the company management (Leonard, 2012). The rise in technology has made business management more efficient and easier. Furthermore, the mobile phone and internet era has made it possible for almost every individual to have access to the online media. The company could perhaps take advantage of this provision by coming up with better marketing approaches in order to reach a better number of audiences and hence enable a more stable market. This can be achieved by hosting the company’s contents digitally so that people can free interact with the services and products right at the comfort of their locations and at own convenience (Merriam, 2007). The strategy in this case would involve the creation of a company website which is not only interactive but also user friendly. The management in turn introduces its new packages, prices, flight schedule and the arrival of new services through this very website. Additionally, the organization may incorporate the use of social media are marketing platforms. Various locations in this case would include, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn just to mention but few.

One of the advantages of digital marketing is the fact that it is cheaper as compared to the traditional approaches. Embracing digital marketing would therefore be crucial in lowering the marketing cost which would come at the right time given that the organization is currently working on ways to recover its losses. The other advantage is the fact that it allows a closer and more meaningful interaction with the consumers. This is because through these very platforms, it is possible to get the feedbacks of the consumers on their experiences regarding the company’s products and services. These feedbacks are then used to make the necessary management adjustment with the main objective of enhancing performance.

Apart from the introduction of digital marketing, there need for the organization’s management to alter the leadership approaches to enhance employee motivation and output. According to the theory of human relations, it is important for the business organization to ensure the right approaches to ensure that the employees have healthy relations with each other and also with the management (Taylor, 2008). In order to achieve this, the organization may need to introduce a more horizontal approach of communication to ensure that information is not distorted when it has to pass through various channels. This is often the case in vertical communication which is the current approach at AirAsia. The management also need to involve the employees in decision making by receiving and factoring in their opinions regarding processes, procedures and operations at the organization (Kleibard, 2014). This does not only motivate the employees but also makes them feel accepted and needed at the organization. 

The company case study in addition to the research process was effective enough in pointing out some of the aspects which the company may need to adjust on. Once the management loopholes have been identified, the next prudent step would be coming up with a specific mitigation strategy. In this case, training and development has been identified as the most viable approach for enhancing staff capability and skills. It would equally be important to note that the learning process ought to be as objective as possible. The core focus ought to be on solving the problem at hand. The operation of a company, the success of its processes and sustainability are key elements which majorly depend on the structure of the organization, its culture and nature of procedures. This therefore implies that efficient leadership processes go a long way in enhancing organizational performance, on the other hand, a leadership that is marred with challenges often find it hard maintaining the company on its feet in terms of competitiveness and performance. In line with this argument, the recommended approach would involve the training and development of the members of the executive. This comprises the key Managers, CEO as well as the directors especially for the different subsidiaries at Air Asia. Once the members of the executive have been adequately exposed through the learning processes, they shall then be charged with the mandate of transferring this knowledge to other members within the organization.

According to the administrative theory of management, proper organization of activities ought to start from the top management before flowing to the other people within the hierarchy. This therefore implies that empowering the executive at AirAsia would be pivotal in changing the scope and level of performance based on the noted challenges. As already highlighted in the strategic plan, the changing economic standards, fuel costs and rise of competitors calls for the best strategies at AirASia. These very strategies would be crucial for enhancing the market base of the organization hence uplifting its performance in terms of yearly revenue. The core concept of the training would be the incorporation of digital marketing in addition to introduction of better leadership approaches as a means to enhancing company performance.

During the training process, the members of the executive shall be taken through the content which shall be plainly guided by the learning objectives. To begin with, there is need to introduce the trainees to the core concepts of marketing and the related elements. As an introductory statement, it is important to point out the importance of marketing to an organization. The main body of the training module then highlights the various forms of marketing especially the ones which have proved effective enough in the corporate business environment.

Marketing play a major role in enhancing the brand awareness and popularity. Based on the methods that an organization uses to create awareness among the consumers about their products, best marketing strategies are those that bring the company more value in comparison to the cost incurred in the process. For this specific context, there is an inevitable need for the management at AirAsia to incorporate the best marketing strategies in order to revive its image not only in the local business arena but also in the business environment abroad. The flights, destinations, arrangement of the waiting lounges and the overall outlook of the planes forms part of the organization’s packaging. The best way to draw the clients’ interests into the company’s services would be through the implementation of the best marketing strategies. The training focuses on digital marketing as the best strategy that would help the organization rise to better levels especially considering the dynamic nature of the business environment. Digital marketing basically involves using the online platform to market products. The core requirements for the success of such a project would be a good website, various social media accounts and It controllers to aid in hosting the company’s data onto the platforms. This shall be done periodically with the consumer’s feedbacks recorded and reviewed in order to identify the areas for adjustment. The websites need to be attractive to the users as this would be a good approach to trigger the interests of millions of users. The fact that a good number of individuals have adequate access to the online provides the company with the right opportunity to explore its ideas. The platform shall need to be maintained by qualified personnel who shall continuously engage the clients, receiving their responses and making the necessary analysis. The company executive shall have access to the site to be able to identify the progress of the marketing strategies. For instance, the company can choose to award its most loyal clients by subsiding fares for specific destinations over a given period of time. The clients are served depending on how fast they sign up and log into the organization’s website. The management is able to monitor this progress from their end by identifying the exact number of people who have joined the marketing program. Depending on the progress, the leaders are then able to point out the necessary adjustments which would make the marketing idea as effective as possible.

The training shall also comprise both a visual and audio presentation of the proposed marketing plan. The developed website shall be used to demonstrate to the trainees the step by step procedures involved in online marketing. Additionally, the training program shall incorporate some other approaches which can be used to emphasize the core strategy. In addition to digital marketing, the training also highlights other crucial concepts in successful management which could be pivotal in enhancing organizational success and sustainability. For instance, the executive shall be trained on the importance and methods of effective communication. Proper communication between the various individuals within the organization is crucial in enhancing the flow of information. It is also an important aspect when it comes to knowledge dissemination. The ideas gained during the training process need to be effectively relayed to other members of the organization. This would be possible and effective if the right communication strategies are implement. The other aspect would be staff motivation. The human resource forms a major portion of the organization. There is therefore an inevitable need to consistently use the right approaches in managing the employees. This can be achieved through stable rewards systems, better working conditions and effective relationships among the individuals within the organization.

In addition to the main contents of the training program, the executive members shall also be exposed on some of the approaches that can be employed in passing the idea of the new innovation to the other employees at the organization. Coming up with a new system of marketing can treated as a transition which leads to change hence the need for the right change management strategies. As a portion of the training program, the management shall be instructed to adequately prepare the employees for the change process. This stage would involve making the other members of the organization aware about the urgency and importance of the change. The next stage involves assembling the right resources and estimating the cost of the change program. The projected implementation cost ought to be aligned with the financial ability of the organization to ensure minimal strains. The executive can then invest on staff training and empowerment in order to equip them with the right skills and hence drive the change program. The next phase is the implementation phase followed by a series of evaluation measures. In order to deduce how successful the change project has been, the change in number of passangers, increase in number of flights and overall variation in performance can be used. A positive deviation therefore implies that the introduction of digital marketing has been effective in enhancing the success of the organization.

The behavioral theory of learning associates learning to a partial or total change in behavior or perception of an individual to a particular challenge within the society. The training program at AirAsia is focused on establishing positive behaviors towards marketing not only among the members of the organization. To achieve this, the training shall be accompanied with the necessary models and demonstrations. The trainees shall also be given a chance to have a one-on one interaction with the website and know how it is used. The learning environment shall be made as interactive as possible to enhance effectiveness.

AirAsia has been one of the leading organizations in the country and beyond as indicated by the case study. However, the noted challenges equally call for drastic measures. Training and development would be an effective approach. At the same time, the training needs to be done on a specific area. The report recommends enhancing the area of marketing as one of the best ways out. A change in the leadership approaches is equally recommended.  Each of these ideas can be achieved through the implementation of the training program outlined above.  The program would be important in enhancing the attitude of the employees towards the concept of marketing and its importance to the development of the organization. The aspects of low output as a result of low motivation of workers would be adequately solved if the program was implemented. This is because exposing leaders on better approaches of management is an appropriate strategy which would lead to the cultivation of healthy and effective relationships among the individuals in the organization. At the same time, incorporating technology into marketing is not only a cheaper approach but also a faster strategy which is important for enhancing brand awareness and popularity. As at the current situation, Air Asia needs to improve its grip on the local and international markets. The best way to achieve this would be by embracing staff training and development.

Conclusion

The success of an organization largely depends on the extent to which the management stays committed to enhancing the sustainability of the organization through best practices. The report identified some of the main challenges at AirAsia and hence discovering the knowledge gaps for which the training program would be relevant. Based on the report, it can be deduced that lack of proper brand awareness and market presence is one of the reasons behind poor performance. The training therefore recommends the introduction of a digital approach to marketing as one of the mitigation strategies. Introduction of better leadership and employee motivation is also mentioned as a way which could be used by the business to improve its success. It is a fact worth noting that introducing such measures would lead to transitions which the people need to be adequately prepare for. The organization therefore needs to consider the right change management strategies. The success of the implementation of these procedures can be evaluated by reviewing the performance of the organization after a given period of time.

References

Bodner, G., Klobuchar, M. & Geelan, D. (2011). The many forms of constructivism. Journal of Chemical Education, 78(1), pp. 1107-1134. 

Books, G. & Brooks, G. (2009). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms, revised edition. Alexandria, VA: The association for supervision and curriculum development.

Devries, B. & Zan, B. (2013). When children make rules. Educational Leadership. 61 (1), pp. 64–7.

Kleibard, H. (2014). Scientific curriculum-making and the rise of social efficiency. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Leonard, D. (2012). Learning theories, A to Z. Westport, Conn: Oryx Press.

Lombardi, S. (2011). Internet Activities for a Preschool Technology Education Program Guided by Caregivers. Carolina: North Carolina State University Press.

Merriam, S. (2007). Learning in adulthood a comprehensive guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Soltis, J. (2014). Perspectives on Learning. New York: Teachers College Press.

Taylor, E. (2008). Transformative learning theory. New York: Teachers College Press.