ICTs and the Electronic Presence of British Airways - Essay Example

ICTs and the Electronic Presence of British Airways ICTs and the Electronic Presence of British Airways This paper aims to study the role of information and communication technologies for the strategic development while assessing the electronic presence of British Airways. Web Design and Usability Principles The role of information and communication technologies becomes highly crucial when it comes to international airlines. This is primarily because of the fact that today people want ease and comfort in their purchase of tickets, hotel arrangements and other traveling requirements. This actually needs a smooth online system which does not hinder the offline sales of services through causing channel conflict. British Airways website acquires significant position in regard to customer facilitation, user friendly outlook, comprehensive and authentic information as per the specific needs of the customers. Customers can purchase their tickets online through the website. Since it also acts upon the rules of internationalization therefore they can utilize its content in their preferred languages. Customers are fond of the British Airways website because of its various attributes; for instance, the website has different selection tools for customers to finalize their flight package as per the destination, class, price, date and timing. Furthermore, the website offers booking of transport, hotels and various leisure locations within the destination of customer; for instance, tickets for Disney, Universal 2-Park, Barcelona Football Stadium etc. are all available BA website. However, if customers want to gain extra benefits while paying less then they can opt for the holiday services offered by the company which fundamentally includes flight, car and hotel packages. This is subsequently associated with the information available about travel routes, tourists’ attractions, travel insurance, parking at the airport, credit card options, information about executive clubs, travel news etc. In addition to this the website has a very strong security policy which makes it reliable while increasing its authenticity. Website security option includes services such as protection of payment information, manage account bookings etc. It also includes safeguard against internet fraud called phishing and immigration requirements. The website is comprehensively designed to provide various advantages to the customers. All of these website features actually makes the services of British Airways stand apart from its rivalries, for instance, Virgin Atlantic website which does not give direct links at the main ‘book your flight’ page. Hence the customer has to first open the tab which further leads to the required information. British Airways website gives few other advantages including 24 hours booking service, no hidden charges, baggage allowance etc. On the other hand there are also certain disadvantages such as the website does not provides an online customer care option where customers can directly talk to the company representatives in order to discuss their queries. E-Commerce  According to Gary Schneider electronic commerce is a concept which supports business processes in various sales and purchase operations (Schneider, 2013). On the other hand James McGaw emphasizes that electronic commerce revolves around a particular framework which has different in and out points. These help the project builder in creating catalog for products and services while analyzing different payment options (McGAW, 2009). Both of these definitions can help in understanding e-commerce as a process which helps businesses in better customer services whereas it also improves the internal and external working procedures of various corporate and non-corporate organizations. British Airways website uses e-commerce through providing the complete list of services to its customers while also focusing on payment options. Collaboration commerce is a relatively new business model which is significantly used for dominating the markets. It creates a strong association between different individuals, organizational values and new technologies. These essentials combine together to increase innovativeness of an organization (Collins, 2007). British Airways uses c-commerce through implementing advanced technology, for instance, web services in order to satisfy its customers. Social media is defined as the website which is primarily used to develop and distribute content online. It extensively includes advertizing, blogging, social networking etc. (Zarrella, 2010). British Airways has used social media to develop demand for its new airline, Open Skies. Technology Innovations Technologies innovation is one of the essential business strategies in the contemporary world which not only facilitates an organization in achieving customer satisfaction rather it also helps in increasing company profits. British Airways is renowned in developing new ideas while managing the current technology. For instance, the company has recently formed a partnership with House of Kaizen so as to encourage new products in the market. They basically focused on the use of social media to improve manager’s attitude and inventions. The company used word-of-mouth, insight and listening methods on social media in order to promote its upcoming airline particularly for business class (British Airways: Open Skies Success Story, 2014). British Airways has been expanding its business over the years and therefore they need to update their procurement procedures often. This is highly beneficial in terms of acquiring competitive advantage. Hence the company leverages innovation in to its services through purchasing aircrafts such as Airbus and Boeing and by introducing new products. At British Airways the trend of outsourcing especially concerning to the technological advances is increasing (Business Services, 2012). Nevertheless this has made the company reliable on its suppliers whereas on the other hand the continuity of business operations and corporate performance is maintained through the relationship with suppliers. Sostac Planning Model for British Airways Following is a brief description about British Airways SOSTAC Planning Model: Situation Analysis: Currently British Airways is using the brick and click business model for its electronic presence. Brick and click model can be broadly defined as a hybrid which is offline and online both. It actually incorporates business activities at physical store with those of the online appearance (Kalakota, 2004). British Airways have significantly benefitted through integrating its physical operations with the emerging online opportunities. Objectives: It is the underlying purpose due to which an organization exists. The objective of British Airways is to provide full scale global airline services. It gives low rate flight packages throughout the year while having an extended global route (About British Airways, 2014). Strategy: A business strategy is formulated in order to achieve the desired goals and objectives with a clear direction. British Airways utilizes different strategies so as to provide maximum facilities to its customers, for instance, the company has fleet planning which relates to the air transport operations and selection of best available aircrafts. Additionally, they have business planning, network planning, operational research, economics and policy etc. (Strategy and Planning, 2012). Tactics: These are used to make comparatively small business decisions. British Airways has the commercial performance team which is primarily responsible for developing insights about tactical decisions (Commercial, 2012). Actions: These relate to the implementation of different strategies in order to gain the pre-designed objectives. The actions of British Airways include delivery of long term returns on business, formulating the revenue targets, driving the right behavior for sales and informing about the company performance to all the relevant corporate members (Commercial, 2012). Controls: It refers to check the efficiency and effectiveness of the implemented strategies while making necessary improvements. British Airways has different measures for controlling its internal and external business operations, for instance, the company controls its finances through protecting the assets and maintaining standard accounting records (Corporate Governance Statement 2008). Recommendations for British Airways British Airways can use electronic commerce through strengthening its brick and click business model. The organization has to maintain its prestige at both online and offline setups therefore it should focus on reducing the channel conflicts which might be influencing the company’s progress and development. Moreover, mobile commerce is gaining immense recognition in the contemporary world (Sadeh, 2003) and British Airways can significantly use its transaction services to facilitate its customers in a much efficient manner. Technological advancements have also initiated the trend of digital television commerce which has enabled people to use online services on their television screens. This actually brings a significant opportunity for the multinational businesses which can now integrate their physical stores with electronic presence. This will not only help them in reaching to maximum customers all over the world rather it will also facilitate the organization in reducing extra cost while maintaining long term profitable relationships with the customers. Adopting the strategies of mobile commerce and digital television commerce will give a competitive advantage to British Airways as its rivalries are currently not offering these service options. However, with a lot of opportunities there come significant challenges too, for instance, British Airways will have to redesign its tactical and strategic procedures while recruiting human resource particularly associated with information technology. Moreover, for executing mobile and digital television commerce the company will have to embed a new internet infrastructure which might have substantial cost and the company would not be able to forecast high revenues immediately. In contrast to this making significant strategies in regard to social media will help organization in meeting its currently goals and objectives. This is primarily because of the fact that social media provides instant feedback on company services while also suggesting valuable improvements. There are various advantages of embarking an electronic presence through social media, for example, marketing at social networking websites is comparatively less costly whereas it helps in capturing maximum customers. Moreover, the company can assess the position of its competitors which will subsequently help in making effective business strategies. However, social media do have certain disadvantages; for instance, if a customer of British Airways is unsatisfied from company services then he can also reach out to a large number of customers while ruining the overall company image. Social media not only gives information communication advantages to the organization but it also facilitates the customers in expressing their views. Hence it would be more feasible for British Airways to carefully implement its business strategies in regard to social media. References About British Airways 2014, British Airways, UK, viewed 14 April 2014, British Airways: Open Skies Success Story 2014, House of Kaizen, London, viewed 14 April 2014, Business Services 2012, British Airways, UK, viewed 14 April 2014, Collins, H, Terra, JC & Gordon, C 2007, Winning at Collaboration Commerce, Routledge, UK. Commercial 2012, British Airways, UK, viewed 14 April 2014, Corporate Governance Statement 2008, British Airways, UK, viewed 14 April 2014, Kalakota 2004, E-Business 2.0: Roadmap For Success, 2/E, Pearson Education, India. McGaw, J 2009, Beginning Django e-commerce, Apress, Berkeley, Calif. Sadeh, N 2003, M-Commerce Technologies, Services, and Business Models, John Wiley & Sons, New York. Schneider, GP 2013, Electronic commerce, Course Technology Cengage Learning. Boston, MA. Strategy and Planning 2012, British Airways, UK, viewed 14 April 2014, Zarrella, D 2010, The social media marketing book, OReilly, Beijing. Read More