Workforce Motivation at British Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines - Research Proposal Example

A Comparative Analysis of Workforce Motivation at British Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines Contents Summary 1 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives 3 2. Literature Review 4 2.1 Market Overview 4 2.2 Theoretical and Analytical Background 5 3. Methodology 7 3.1 Research Perspective 7 3.2 Research Sample 8 3.3 Ethical Considerations 9 References 11 Appendix 1. Ethics Checklist 14 PROPOSED TITLE: “A Comparative Analysis of Workforce Motivation at British Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines” Summary This research proposal describes a study comparing workforce motivation at two large airlines, British Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines. The general perspective taken by the study is that, based on media reports and some analytical studies, British Airways represents an organisation in which workforce motivation can be described as “poor”, while Saudi Arabian Airlines represents an organisation in which workforce motivation can be described as “good”. The proposed study will take a qualitative approach to the research, which will be conducted using semi-structured questionnaires administered to employees of both airlines. 1. Introduction 1.1 Background The two subject organisations, British Airways (BA) and Saudi Arabian Airlines, are amongst the world’s oldest airlines, and both are considered the “flag carriers” of their respective countries. A forerunner of British Airways, Aircraft Transport & Travel Ltd., in fact conducted the world’s first commercial flight in April, 1919, flying from London to Paris; this small airline company along with several others was, through a series of mergers, eventually formed into the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and nationalised by the British government in 1939. BOAC and several subsidiaries evolved over the next decades, with BOAC merging with British European Airways in 1974 to become British Airways (British Airways, 2012). In 1984, the company became British Airways plc. Saudi Arabian Airlines, as known as Saudia, was launched in 1945 just before the end of the Second World War when the American President Franklin Roosevelt presented Saudi King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud with a gift of a Douglas C-47 Dakota transport aircraft; four additional aircraft were purchased by the Saudi government, and the airline was organised under the management of the Ministry of Defence in 1946 (SAA, 2011). The airline was reconfigured as a government-owned corporation with its own board of directors by a decree from King Faisal in 1963, and in 1967 joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA), initiating service to Europe via Geneva, Frankfurt, and London (SAA, 2011). In 2000, the Saudi Ministry of Defence & Aviation initiated studies to prepare Saudia for eventual privatisation and bring the airline into line with Saudi Arabia’s programme of Nitagat, or “Saudisation”, which aims to replace as much of the Kingdom’s large foreign workforce with native Saudi workers (SAA, 2011; Alifarabia.com, 2011). The two airlines are similar in many respects; both have long histories as national airlines, both are faced with similar challenges in the competitive air transport market, and both have had to manage the shift from being government-backed to private enterprises. Yet while outwardly at least, Saudia appears to have a strong and stable workforce, British Airways’ employees are manifestly unhappy, as evidenced by high-profile labour strikes over the past two decades (Flight International, 1997; “BA slumps to record loss as strike looms”, 2009; “BA fights to limit the impact of cabin crew strike”, 2010). 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives The primary research objectives of this proposed study are to define workforce motivation at BA and Saudia in relative terms, and to identify the factors which are responsible for the differences in the levels of motivation in the two organisations. In order to achieve those basic objectives, the study will seek to discover and apply relevant theories of motivation, organisational dynamics, and human resources management to analyse and describe the circumstances at both airlines. This in turn suggests four additional objectives. First, a thorough review of the existing research will be conducted to develop a clear understanding of relevant theories and concepts. Second, the current motivation strategies and practises of BA and Saudia will be analysed. By comparing these analyses with the current situations of both airlines, an assessment of the effectiveness of the two airlines’ management in maintaining employee morale and performance can be made. The third objective will be to determine where, if at all, the motivation strategy and practise of the two airlines diverges from existing theories of motivation and human resource management, and whether or not those divergences have positive or negative outcomes. The final objective, then, will be to develop a “bridge” between theory and practise, a number of recommendations that could improve motivation and performance in the two organisations. Since the proposed study is analytical rather than consultative in nature, however, the aim will be to develop these recommendations in the context of areas for future research, rather than direct recommendations to the organisations. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Market Overview Even though the air transport sector overall has experienced significant downturns in the decades since it was deregulated in the late 1970’s, the industry continues to grow. Maintaining profitability for airlines, however, remains a significant challenge; fluctuating fuel costs, environmental issues, infrastructure, and since 2001, heightened security concerns have all presented large hurdles for airlines to overcome. For ‘traditional’ airlines like BA and Saudia, the entry and rapid growth of low-cost carriers (LCCs) has added enormous competitive pressure (Belobaba & Odoni, 2009: 1-12). This is especially significant in view of the fact that while industry growth has been in the 5%-6% range over the past three years, airline profits – for those that actually do record profits at year’s end – only represent a positive margin of about 1.5% (Molnar, 2011). Maintaining profitability and the overall financial health of the airlines is what encouraged both the British and Saudi governments to move towards privatising BA and Saudia, and the initiative is supported by empirical research; private-sector airlines perform better financially than mixed-ownership (i.e., government-controlled corporation) airlines, which in turn perform better financially than wholly state-owned airlines (Backx, Carney & Gedajlovic, 2002). One of the significant features of shifts to private ownership is the implementation of cost-cutting measures and seeking ways to more efficiently use resources, including human resources, which can have adverse effects on employee motivation and performance (Beaumont, Kochan & Turnbull, 2007). BA has experienced in very public fashion, first in 1997 when cabin crews and ground workers launched strikes against the airline over plans to cut £42 million from crew costs and sell the airline’s catering operations (Flight International, 1997). BA cabin crew personnel struck again more recently in March 2010, again over disputes with the airline regarding cutbacks in jobs and salaries (“BA fights to limit the impact of cabin crew strike”, 2010). Saudia has not suffered the same setbacks as BA, even though its privatisation programme is, if anything, even more comprehensive. The airline was divided into six business units in 2006, with each segment to be offered for public stock purchase in turn beginning in 2008; delays in regulatory approval and other issues have pushed that programme into 2013, which might bode well for many of Saudia’s employees, since the privatisation studies that were done from 2000 onward suggested that as many as 6,000 jobs might be cut (Reuters, 2011). While similar news apparently encouraged labour strife at BA, however, Saudia has been performing rather well, breaking passenger records throughout the Gulf region in 2010, expanding its service to India, Africa, and China, and launching a new training programme for Saudi workers (SAA, 2011). 2.2 Theoretical and Analytical Background The theoretical realm at the heart of the proposed study is that which addresses motivation, defining it and providing different models that explain how it functions, particularly in the workplace. A basic definition of motivation is a combination of factors that direct people to behave in a manner appropriate to achieving a particular goal or satisfying a need (Moorhead & Griffin, 2004; Daft & Lane, 2008). Theories that describe motivation and the manner in which it operates can be divided into two groups; content theories describe what motivation is, or in other words, the factors that serve as its parts, while process theories describe how the goal-supporting factors-behaviour relationship functions (Latham, 2007). In the category of content theories, one of the earliest to describe the motivational link between management style and employee performance was Theory X and Y, which demonstrates that a collaborative (Y) management style has a more positive effect on motivation than an authoritative (X) style of management (McGregor, 1960). Theory X and Y, however, has an external perspective in that it looks at factors coming from outside the employee as the components of motivation. A much later theory that addresses internal factors in a detailed way is Reiss’ Theory of Basic Desires (Reiss, 2001), which identifies 16 basic desires or needs each person requires in some proportion. There are other theories with similar internal and external perspectives as well; but the implication of these two examples is that a true understanding of motivation requires looking at it from both directions. Among process theories, one of the most basic – and most readily apparent in many organisations, particularly, it might be said, the strike-prone British Airways – is Equity Theory (Adams, 1963). Equity theory describes motivation as a human desire to be treated equally in an organisation; a worker compares what he receives for what he puts into his work to the results received by others – which necessarily also requires a judgment of what they are putting into their work – and is most positively motivated when he perceives the treatment is equal (Adams, 1963: 422-423). Other theories that build on Equity Theory include Expectancy Theory (Vroom, 1964) and Attribution Theory (Weiner, 1974), as well as later theories that describe in more detail the connections between behaviours and rewards. 3. Methodology 3.1 Research Perspective The overall research perspective and approach of the proposed study will be qualitative in nature, as this approach is indicated in practical terms by the research aims and objectives: The study will compare two specific organisations, which while very similar in some key ways nevertheless have their own unique social, economic, and cultural characteristics beyond what they have in common. Therefore, the objective generalisations that can be made through testing hypotheses or established theories, which would be the aim of a quantitative research approach, would have very narrow application, because the two airlines cannot be compared to a nominal standard, but rather only to each other. From a more conceptual perspective, a qualitative approach is the most appropriate because as Sarantakos (1998: 123) suggests, the research approach should follow that which “is closest to the investigation”; since the initial review of the literature reveals a qualitative approach is used most often in other studies on workforce motivation, and in case studies of particular organisations, it is the approach that should be considered for this study. Another reason a qualitative approach is the most appropriate for the proposed study is that subjective, social phenomena like “motivation” are highly contextual, requiring the researcher to take a constructivist or interpretivist perspective, utilising methods such as case studies, narrative, or ethnographic research (Murray & Ozanne, 1991: 132-135; Miller & Dingwall, 1997: 6; Crotty, 1998: 9; Harris, 2006; Galt, 2009; Bryman, 2012). The proposed outcomes of the study will amount to contextual definitions of the nature and degree of workforce motivation among distinct social groups, i.e., the workforces of BA and Saudia; these outcomes are characteristic of an evaluative, qualitative research approach (Sarantakos, 1998: 125; Clarke, 2005). In order to develop the most appropriate research procedure, the first stage of the study will be a methodological review using previous studies as the foundation for this study’s work. The methodological review requires five steps: gathering all potentially useful literature within the topic area; developing a set of guidelines to determine the relevance of the prior research to the current study; recording the relevant findings from each study; taking note of the methodological steps taken to arrive at those findings; and finally, developing a set of broad conclusions from the prior research (Neuman, 2011: 123-125). For the proposed study, literature that will be investigated for application to the study covers topics of employee motivation, industrial relations, social and political conditions in Saudi Arabia and Great Britain, airline operations, human resource management, and industry conditions, and other topics the in-depth literature review might reveal as the study progresses. 3.2 Research Sample In order to develop a research sample for the proposed study, a technique known as “judgment sampling” will be used; potential participants will be screened and those who seem likely to provide ‘useful’ information will be recruited to take the questionnaire that will form the primary research of the study (Marshall, 1996). A research sample of 200 people – 100 each from BA and Saudia – is proposed, although this number may be adjusted if further study and consultation suggests. The judgment sampling technique is a practical choice for the proposed study because the research sample will necessarily be a very small fraction of the target populations; BA’s workforce numbers just under 37,000, while Saudia employs nearly 25,000 people (Funding Universe, n.d.; “British Airways-Iberia merger by the numbers”, 2010). This being the case, credibility of the study’s results must be developed from the detail and quality of the participant’s responses, which can be achieved through careful survey design and knowledgeable respondents (Marshall, 1996: 523). In order to prevent selection bias – i.e., the pre-selection of particular points of view by the screening process (Neuman, 2011; Bryman, 2012) – the criteria for selecting survey respondents will be limited as much as possible. Most likely the only qualification for participants will be that they are current employees of BA or Saudia; however, the selection procedure may be expanded after a thorough review of resources on research methodology and consultation with the study supervisor. 3.3 Ethical Considerations There are a number of ethical concerns raised by the proposed study that must be addressed. The research participants will be current employees of BA and Saudia, and subject to their organisations’ rules concerning disclosure of information about their respective companies. Some participants might also be reluctant to share information and opinions due to concerns about negative consequences for their jobs. With respect to these concerns, the proposed study will ensure that two critical requirements are met: the maintaining of strict confidentiality for the research participants, and ensuring that information shared by the participants is protected and used in accordance with University guidelines and best practises. Fortunately, the study as conceived will require no personally-identifying information from any research participants; the only relevant demographic information needed will be job title or general description of job, and length of service. Participants will also be provided an Information Sheet detailing the nature of the study and their part in it, and proper consent as required by the University Ethics Committee will be obtained from each participant before proceeding. In addition, the survey will be designed to avoid potential ethical risks, such as questions that would encourage criticism of identifiable people in the BA or Saudia organisations, or ask participants to disclose confidential company information. References Adams, J.S. (1963) “Toward an Understanding of Inequity”. Journal of Abnormal and Social Inequity, 67: 422-436. Alifarabia.com. (2011) “Replacing Expats”. Posted at Zawya.com, 5 June 2011. http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20110605052943/ Replacing_Expats. “BA fights to limit the impact of cabin crew strike”. (2010) BBC News [online], 20 March 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8577573.stm. “BA slumps to record loss as strike looms”. (2009) The Telegraph [online], 6 November 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/6512163/BA-slumps-to-record-loss-as-strikes-loom.html. Backx, M., Carney, M., and Gedajlovic, E. (2002) “Public, Private and Mixed Ownership Modes and the Performance of International Airlines”. Journal of Air Transport Management, 8(4): 213-220. Belobaba, P., and Odoni, A. (2009) “Introduction and Overview”, in P. Belobaba, A. Odoni, and C. Barnhart (eds.), The Global Airline Industry. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons. Beaumont, P., Kochan, T., and Turnbull, P. (2007) “Blending Old and New: How Low-Cost and Legacy Carriers Are Reshaping the Airline Industry”, in A.E. Eaton (ed.), Labor and Employment Relations Association Series Proceedings of the 59th Meeting, Chicago, 5-7 January 2007, 135-149. British Airways. (2012) “Explore our Past”. British Airways, 2012. http://www.britishairways.com/travel/explore-our-past/public/en_gb. “British Airways-Iberia merger by the numbers”. (2010) The Telegraph [online], 29 November 2010. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/8167505/British-Airways-Iberia-merger-by-numbers.html. Bryman, A. 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Melbourne: Macmillan Education Australia. Vroom, V.H. (1964) Work and Motivation. New York: Wiley. Weiner, B. (1974) Achievement Motivation and Attribution Theory. Morristown, N.J.: General Learning Press. Read More