The Characteristics of Service as Qantas Airline Apply to the Market - Case Study Example

Name: Instructor: Course: Date 1.0 Introduction Marketing needs to be viewed as more than just the aspect of selling and advertising since it consists of various complex processes. Some of the processes include the determinations of what the customer’s need, the supply of the services and goods so as to satisfy their needs and this ought to be done at a price that offers benefits to the business. Thus, success in a business means the very aspect of getting the customer and selling or offering services to them. Repeat business usually indicates the success of the business and over time there is a buildup of a large customer base. Success usually occurs when both the seller who in this case is the businessman and the customer feel good about the transaction taking place between them. This report therefore sets out to select an organization that I am familiar with and based on it, to critically analyze and evaluate it from the perspective of management based on the reading by Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons Chapter 2. The evaluation must consider aspects such as The service/product package.  The characteristics of services/products as they apply to your organization. Need for operations management in organizations 2.0 Background information of Qantas airlines The organization to be used in this scenario is Qantas airline. This is based on the fact that the airline has been in operation for a long period of time and it specializes in the offering of services to their customers. Qantas is the largest airline in Australia and also the second oldest in the world (Qantas Airlines). It is based in Qantas suburb in the city of Batony with a main hub at Sydney Airport. It started from humble beginnings and from then on, has proofed to be a strong competitor among other airlines. Since its inception, Qantas has operated a number of subsidiaries such as jetconnect, Australian airline and impulse airlines just to mention a few. Qantas also groups its travelers under different categories such as first class, business class, economy class and the premium economy class. Based on these, they are able to attract a great number of customers since it fits the needs of a great number of customers (Topham n.p). 3.0 Discussion 3.1 Service package and how it applies to Qantas Service managers in most service organizations usually have a difficulty when it comes to the description of their products and this is mainly based on the fact that services are usually intangible. A service package is commonly termed as the bundle of both goods and services with some kind of information or data that is offered in some environment. The package usually consists of five features and they include facilitating goods, supporting facility, explicit services, information and implicit services (Chopra et al. 60). In regard to this, Qantas has a number of supporting facilities and they are commonly referred to as the physical resources that need to be in place prior to the delivery of a service. In regard to Qantas, the supporting facility is the airplanes. The other feature is the facilitating goods and they refer to materials that are consumed or purchased by the buyer or at times the items that are usually provided by the consumer and in regard to Qantas this good are food items. The other feature is information and this is the data that is readily available to the customer and this information enables customized and efficient services. In regard to Qantas airline a passenger is able to book a plane and also select the seat based on the location of uncooked seats from the company’s website. The website may also offer any kind of information that they think would be beneficial to customers for example any deals or emergencies. The other features are the explicit services and these are the advantages that are enthusiastically visible and those that have intrinsic and essential features in service delivery (Chase, Jacobs and Aquilano 78). A good example of this in relation to Qantas airline is the attitude of the flight attendants, the quality of food that is served on the flight as well as the ability to keep time in that there is on-time departure. Lastly, there are the implicit services and they are the psychological benefits or the extrinsic features that the customers may sense vaguely. In regard to Qantas this may apply to issues such as security of the airstrips or the lighting. The lighting in the parking areas needs to be abundant, so as not to create any form of concern for the passengers. Also the security level in parking areas also needs to be at its best. 3.2 Characteristics of services/products as they apply to Qantas When offering services to customers, there is a need to be a clear distinction between the resources and inputs that are required. In service delivery inputs are the consumers while the resources are employee labor, facilitating goods and capital (Chase, Jacobs and Aquilano 78). There exist five distinctive characteristics of services and they include customer participation, perishability, simultaneity, intangibility and heterogeneity. 3.2.1 Customer participation The participation of the customer in the service process requires a change in the design of the facility since the traditional manufacturing processes did not encompass it. Customers view service as an operation that is more suited for the front office of an organization. The delivery of service is usually enhanced by it is designed based on the customer’s preferences. Based on these customers will feel comfortable when offered with the service since it fits well with what they would like. In earlier days customers were not allowed in airline back offices such as the luggage handling areas, and it was is usually operated as a factory like environment. Based on these a number of innovative services have opened such areas in the aim of promoting public scrutiny with the aim of promoting confidence in the services that airlines offer (Heizer and Render 24). When offering a service to customers it is essential to note that customers can play an active and leading role in service delivery. Based on these characteristics customers are able to use the internet to book for planes and they are also able to view the available seats at a given time. The passengers are also able to compare airlines and based on the comparison choose the airline to travel with. Also, through their website customers can be able to view the departure times of the planes and thus one can be able to choose the one that will fit well so as to arrive on time to their destination. Customers can also be able to receive any form of updates that may be relevant to them by the use of social media. Another aspect that can be grouped in these scenarios in regard to Qantas is the Smartphone application program which is offered to the frequent flyer class. The windows phone app also offers mobile check-ins as well as boarding pass and also gives live updates on airport lounges (Qantas airlines). 3.2.2 Simultaneity When managing services managers need to be aware of the fact that services are usually created and consumed in a simultaneous manner and this service stored. The inability of inventory of services usually precludes the use of traditional manufacturing services so as to deal with any fluctuations that may occur in the demand of the services (Slack, Johnston & Chambers 144). In the case of goods, their inventory acts as a convenient boundary that separates all the internal operations from the external environment. This in this regard the manufacturing processes operate in a constant level of output that seems most effective and efficient. While inventory is used to decouple the steps in a manufacturing process, in services the decoupling is usually attained by the very aspect of waiting. While management of inventory is the major problem facing most manufacturing operations, the service industry problem is, the customer queuing and waiting for the service to be delivered (Young 88). The simultaneous nature and production and well as consumption of services usually eliminate all the possible opportunities for controlling quality. For products they are usually inspected prior to their delivery, but the services need to rely on other measures so as to ensure the quality of the service was delivered. A good example of this in Qantas airlines is the queuing of passengers to be inspected; they have to wait for the others in front of them in the line. 3.2.3 Perishability The other characteristic of a service is its perishability. When a lost opportunity takes place based on the fact that services cannot be stored it is lost forever. Thus the utilization of a service is a major challenge and hurdle facing management, since the demands of customers depict substantial variations and the building of other facilities to deal with the fluctuations is not a way to solve the problems. The demand of services by consumers depicts a cyclical behavior a within a very short period of time, with a significant variation between the valleys and peaks (Young 67). In relation to this characterize, Qantas experiences seasonal variation in regard to demand and this usually surges activities. For example a great number of students have the tendency of booking flights earlier prior to their closing dates. Another scenario is when the festive season is approaching the number of passengers in the airline increases and thus passengers also tend to book in advance and the costs of tickets also tend to rise slightly. Since managers in the service industry are faced by the variable demand and time perishable aspect in offering of services, the managers have three major options that can be applied (Slack and Lewis 190). A major option is applying smooth demand Qantas can be able to do so by advising customers to take reservations of their seats in advance. The other option is adjustment of service capacity e last option is allowing the customers to wait. The last option is usually viewed as being passive and as a highly risky one since the airlines can lose their customers to their competitors. Through waiting the passengers allows better utilization of the capacity. In regard to Qantas, airlines such as Qantas recognize this and usually offer standby customers any unsold seat that is available on the departing flight. 3.2.3 Intangibility Services are concepts and ideas and thus service innovations are not patentable and thus they can be copied by other companies. For companies to achieve the benefits of service concept, organizations need to expand extremely swiftly and be able to prevent their competitors in the market. This intangible nature of services also creates problems for customers. In instances when customers are buying products they are able to feel, see and test the performance of the product prior to purchasing it (Slack, Johnston & Chambers 144). For service customers need to rely on the creation of the service or experience of other customers. Governments have made various efforts so as to guarantee the customers of better service delivery. Based on these captains and all other flight attendants must have attained certain certification to ensure the delivery of better services to their passengers. Though the government efforts may protect the consumers, the government may be in a way stifling any kind of innovations, creating barriers of entry and ultimately curbing competition. 3.2.4 Heterogeneity This seems to be the last characteristic of services. The combination of intangible aspects of the services and the participation of the customer in the delivery of service usually leads to a variation in services from one customer to the other. The customer usually expects to be offered the same service as the others. Based on this training need to be offered to employees to ensure that there is a consistent in services being provided to the customers (Johnston and Clark 78). Airlines have responded to these characteristics by the creation of various travel classes that fits the needs of various customers, for example the first class, the business class, economy class as well as premium economy class. 4.0 Need for operations management in organizations Operation management usually entails the techniques and tools that organizations use to ensure smooth and effective service delivery. In service rendering companies, operations administration depicts that there are a number of factors that can heighten the loyalty of customers as well as sales (Heizer and Render 24). Operations management is important in both the small and large organizations, irrespective of the size, all organizations need to produce and deliver services in an effective and efficient manner. A major reason why operations management is essential in organizations is that it assists in profitability management. Effective and efficient operation management makes managers to place the challenges of employee sense of what is operationally correct. Another reason why operations management is important is based on the fact that it creates a competitive advantage. Businesses usually manage their operations with the aim of dealing with both the external and internal factors. The very aspect of assisting a firm in the realization of external and internal conditions, operations management improves the competitive standing of an organization (Greasley 45). This is solely based on the fact that organizations are able to understand their environment in a better way and thus they are able to adopt all its tactics in an effective manner in regard to the changing conditions. For example, Qantas can be able to add certain customer incentives such as offering of snacks as customers wait in the queue to improve their service delivery (Qantas Airline). This may seem to be small incentive, but it can act as a benefit to the airline. The other reason behind the need for operations management in organizations is related to regulatory compliance. The very aspect of analyzing their operating activities, the corporate management teams are likely to wave good-byes to fines that may be imposed by the government and unfavorable regulatory decisions (Chopra et al. 60). Thus, managers in each department ought to implement adequate internal measures to make certain that rank and file personnel perform their duties and tasks in accordance with the regulations. For example, satisfactory operations management will go a long way in helping the management to improve safety in the workplace. Operations management also makes organizations to experience of success and at the same time run efficient and effective services. In these regard, errors in record keeping and wastage of organizational money seem to be a major concern among managers. Based on the important role that is played by operations management, managers ought to work will head of departments to draw up strategic blueprints to be followed and thus the architects of the blueprint need to ensure that they are achieve in a timely manner (Chase, Jacobs and Aquilano 78). 5.0 Conclusion Based on the above discussion it is evident that organizations need to be aware of its market for it to be able to achieve success. Based on this they need to understand what the customers need and develop services and products that are suited is satisfying the needs. Qantas airlines need to respond to the various characteristic of services for them to be at par with their competitors in the service industry. Also based on the discussion operations management tends to play an important and leading role in an organization. Thus managers need to embrace it so as to achieve the benefits associated with it. When operations are effectively planned for organizations are likely to achieve certain advantages. Works Cited Chase, Richard, Jacobs Robert and Aquilano, Nicholas. Operations Management for Competitive Advantage (10th edn), Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2004. Print. Chopra, Sunil, et al. Managing Business Process Flows: Principles of Operations Management. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. 2005. Print. Greasley, Andrew. Operations management. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 2009. Print Heizer, Jay and Render, Barry. Operations Management. 8th edn. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 2006. Print. Johnston, Robert, and Clark, Graham. Service Operations Management 3rd edn. Harlow: Financial Times-Prentice Hall. 2008. Print. Qantas Airlines "Lie-Flat Seats for Qantas A330 Business Class". Domestic Flight Australia.com, 2014. Web 21 April 2014 Qantas Airlines "Lounge Locations | Singapore Changi International Airport | International Business". Qantas.com.au, 2014. Web 21 April 2014 Slack, Nigel Johnston, Robert & Chambers, Stuart. Operations management. New York: Prentice Hall/Financial Times. 2007. Print. Slack, Nigel, and Lewis, Michael. The Blackwell Encyclopedic Dictionary of Operations Management. Oxford: Blackwell Business. 2005. Print. Topham, Gwyn. "Airline industry faces grim year as Gulf carriers take over the world". The Observer. 2012. Web 21 April 2014 Young, Scott. Essentials of operations management. California: Sage publications. 2009. Print. Read More