Social, Planet, and Society - Virgin Australia Airline - Case Study Example

Social, Planet, and Society Institution Student’s Name Contents Social, Planet, and Society 3 1.0 Companies’ Descriptions 3 1.1 Virgin Australia Airline 3 1.2 Malaysia Airline 3 2.0 Differences in the Social Reports 4 3.0 Report Differences vis-a-vis Country Differences 7 4.0 Social Accounting Approach Utilised 9 5.0 Social Reports vis-a-vis Companies’ Values 10 6.0 Reflection on Group Discussion 11 References 13 List of Figures Social, Planet, and Society 1.0 Companies’ Descriptions The companies that are to be described in the report are Virgin Australia Airline and Malaysia Airline. All the companies fall in the airline industry. The sub-sections below give a brief summary of the airline companies. 1.1 Virgin Australia Airline Virgin Australia Airlines Limited was a New Zealand airline that was formerly known as Pacific Blue Airlines. It was developed as a subsidiary of Virgin Blue in Australia now known as the Virgin Australia. As a subsidiary, it was owned by the Virgin Australia Holdings Limited and its name was changed to Virgin Australia Airlines Limited in December 2011 (OMICS International, 2014). The base of the airline was Christchurch International Airport and operated air services between Australia and New Zealand and to and from the Pacific Islands (Whyte, Prideaux, & Sakata, 2012). The airline also operated on behalf of the Virgin Samoa that was formally called Polynesian Blue. The airline ceased operation in March 2015 after operating for eleven years. 1.2 Malaysia Airline Malaysia Airline is a brand given to the Malaysia Airlines Berhad which was formerly known as Malaysian Airline System Berhad. It is a major airline that operates flights from the secondary hubs in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur International Airport to destinations in Europe, Oceania, and Asia. Malaysia Airlines is a part of the one world airline alliance in which it represents Malaysia. It is headquartered at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Malaysia Airlines has got double subsidiary airlines: MASwings and Firefly (Mun, 2011). MASwings operates on the inter-Borneo flights while the Firefly focuses on the flights from Subang International Airport and Penang International Airport. The latter focuses on the tertiary cities. The Airlines also has a freighter fleet which MASkargo operates. The reputation of Malaysia Airlines was dented in 2014 with the disappearance of Flight 370. Furthermore, it has been experiencing losses from 2014 to early 2016 due to archaic information technology systems, high operating costs, and unsustainable routes among others (Associated Press, 2016). 2.0 Differences in the Social Reports The Virgin Australia’s social report is simple compared to the Malaysia Airline’s report. In explanation, the former’s report is majorly in plain whereby the latter’s is full of diagrams integrated with the writings. Furthermore, the Virgin Australia’s report has got few colours thus less presentable compared to its counterpart’s that is full of colours. As opposed to the Virgin Australia Airline's report, the Malaysia Airlines report has got a table of context. The material aspects of the Malaysia Airlines have got a clear structure and its resource management structure is elaborated as shown in the Figure 2.1 and 2.2 below. Malaysia Airline’s sustainability report also tends to be flowing better compared to that of Virgin Australia due to the arrangement of the topics. Figure 2. 1 Malaysia Airline's Approach to Sustainability Figure 2. 2 Malaysia Airline's Resource Management Pillars Malaysia Airline’s report is also signed by the chairman and managing director of the company which is not the case of the Virginia Australia Airline report. In addition, the company gives the images of the rest of the management team. Its vision and strategy is also illustrated in detail as shown in Figure 2.3 below. Figure 2. 3 Malaysia Airline's Business Vision and Strategy Structure Both Virgin Australia Airline and Malaysia Airline’s report has strengths and weaknesses. The strengths of the Virgin Australia Airline’s report are that it is precise, short and detailed. However, the report is not presentable since it does not have images or diagrams. On the other hand, Malaysia Airline's report is full of elaborative diagrams and presentable. However, the images tend to be so much and of little value to the report since it make it bulky. The range of issues covered in both the Virgin Australia Airline and Malaysia Airline’s report differs. The Virgin Australia Airline report entails the concept of sustainability, actions in place to meet sustainability, how to engage the stakeholders, and material assessment. In addition, it addresses the vision of the company, GRI performance indicators, and conclusions. On the other hand, the Malaysia Airline’s report is a more detailed report. In explanation, it captures the company’s mission, vision, disclosures of the general standards, material issues, performance data, and the GRI content index in detail. The issues are covered in detail in both the companies. As opposed to the Virgin Australia Airline, Malaysia Airline’s social report has covered the environmental issue in detail. 3.0 Report Differences vis-a-vis Country Differences The report differences can be based on the country differences. 40 percent of the New Zealanders argue that economic issue is the main problem that affects their country as per 2015 (Roy Morgan Research, 2015). They also indicated that another major concern is the human rights, public policy, and government issues at 26 percent. Social issues had 15 percent while environmental issues 7 percent. Environmental issues were ranked as the least problem in the country. The most critical economic issue in New Zealand includes poverty that is the gap between the poor and the rich, job security or unemployment, household debt, financial hardships, and increasing prices that make the cost of living high. Economically, the county has been experiencing financial crisis including the recession, inflation, and exchange rates that are not supportive. Household shortages and affordability are some of the issues that face New Zealand today. Other important issues include government spending, leadership concerns; politicians and governance also affect the country. Social apathy which includes lack of values, intolerance, and lack of empathy also affect the New Zealanders. In explanation, the country has got so many issues thus making environmental concerns to be the least of their worry. This explains why there is little focus on the environmental issues in the report. Figure 3.1 below indicates the concerns of the New Zealanders. Source: Roy Morgan Research (2015) Figure 3. 1 Most Important Issues Facing New Zealand Malaysia has got much interest in improving the environment. However, some of the challenges include lower oil prices and slow economic growth. The country has made steady economic growth that translates to the great development of the technological practices. The influx of the Japanese companies into the Malaysian market has made the country to experience high development in the technological sector (Overview of environmental issues). The Japanese companies decided to operate in the country due to social and political stability, proactive policies that enhance foreign investments, modern system of judiciary, a capable workforce, and use of the English system of education. However, environmental concerns have been a great factor in the country thus explaining why the Malaysian Airlines gave priority to the sector. Pollution problems can be traced to the traditional industries. In addition, water pollution has been a major issue due to the palm oil, natural rubber, and tin mining industries. Air pollution has been due to the motor vehicles, forest fires, weather haze, and industrial activities. Waste problems have also been a major concern among the Japanese companies in Malaysia. Other environmental issues in the country have been species endangering, soil erosion, and deforestation. The environmental challenges explain why the airline’s report focuses much on the environmental issues. 4.0 Social Accounting Approach Utilised The Virgin Australia Airline’s report meets all the key principles of social accounting. It is multi-perspective in nature. In explanation, it aims to reflect the views of the stakeholders and has an elaborate section that covers on how the company engages the stakeholders which indicate continuous communication. The report is also comprehensive since it covers all the aspects of the company's performance and works (Crane & Matten, 2010). The report also encourages the participation of the stakeholders and sharing of values. It has also shown to be multidirectional in that the stakeholders share information and give back the feedback to the company. The company also produce the reports regularly. In explanation, the social reports are produced on an annual basis. Furthermore, the report is comparative in nature that allows for the company to compare its performance across years while the same time can use the data to compare itself with other such like companies, for example, Malaysia Airlines. The verification of the accounts was also audited by an experienced agency with that is independent of the company. Lastly, the company ensured that the audited accounts were disclosed to its stakeholders and the general public that had interest in the transparency and accountability of the organisation. Malaysia Airline’s report covers all the key principles of social accounting. In explanation, it is multi-perspective since it takes consideration of the stakeholders’ views. It is also comprehensive since it covers all the aspects of the work and performance of the company. It is conducted annually thus regular in a participatory and multidirectional manner (Crane & Matten, 2010). It is also comparative in nature with the social accounts being audited with experienced and independent firms. Lastly, the accounts are disclosed to all the people who might have an interest in the company including the stakeholders and shareholders. 5.0 Social Reports vis-a-vis Companies’ Values The values of Virgin Australia Airline are based on ensuring that is it a more sustainable business. In specific, its vision is to be “a sustainability leader within the aviation industry” (Virgin Australia Airlines Holding Party Limited, 2014). The report is as per the values of the company. In explanation, it focuses on sustainability through taking consideration of the economic, social, and environmental issues. It also ensures sustainability through involving all the stakeholders about the performance of the company. Its approach is enshrined on the Sustainability Policy. The company also has a sustainability steering committee that takes consideration of the financial impacts, performance as per the policies, peer-based norms of the organisations, the behaviour of stakeholders and concerns, and the societal norms. The Malaysia Airline's mission is to be a global leader in developing airport cities. Its mission is to develop joyful experiences through connecting businesses and people. Its goal in developing joyful experiences among the businesses and the people are captured in the sustainability report (Mat Zaid, 1994). The five pillars of sustainability captured in the report are environmental consciousness, sensible economics, inspiring and creating a workplace, community friendly organisation, and memorable experiences in the airport (Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad, 2014). Taking into consideration, the ensures that the goals of the company are in line with the report. Engaging the stakeholders in the management process also is an indication that the sustainability issues is taken into consideration. 6.0 Reflection on Group Discussion There was a general agreement within the group discussion that Virgin Australia Airlines did no longer exist as a company. However, the group members would not agree to why the company came to a fall with some arguing it is about mismanagement while others argued it was due to economic recessions and instability. The group members were also in agreement that the airline was previously called Pacific Blue Airlines and was based in Australia. Furthermore, the group had different views on the date to which the airline ceased its operation with some arguing that it was 13 March 2015 while a section of the argued that it was 14 March 2015. The group unanimously agreed that the company was engaging in sustainable practices that increased the expenditure of the company. The argument caused more interest in the study since it made the group conduct a detailed research on the company to know more about it. The group discussion concerning Malaysia Airlines was majorly on the accidents that the company’s planes have been experiencing. The major point of contention was the incident of 8 March 2014 in which the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing when it was moving from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to the Beijing Capital International Airport (Suki, 2014). The main argument was based on whether the plane was found or not and the number of passengers that perished. Through further research, the group came to an agreement that the number of people that perished was two hundred and thirty-nine. The second incident was that of 17 July 2014 in which Flight 17 was short down using a missile over Ukraine killing 15 crew members and 283 passengers. The third point of contention was about the ownership of the airline. Some of the group members argued that it is a private-public entity while others argued that it is completely owned by the government (Elder, 2015). However, the group was able to agree that the Malaysia Airlines is a major airline that operates flights from the secondary hubs in Kuching and Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur International Airport to destinations in Europe, Oceania, and Asia. The major arguments made the group have more interest in learning more about the company through research. References Associated Press (2016). Malaysian Airlines just turned its first monthly profit since before the MH370 crash. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-ceo-says-malaysia- airlines-has-first-monthly-profit-in-years-2016-4 Crane, A. & Matten, D. (2010). Business ethics: managing corporate citizenship and sustainability in the age of globalization. New York: Oxford University Press. Elder, L. (2015). Malaysian Airlines, Neoliberalism and Business as Usual in Malaysia. Asian Journal of Social Science, 43(1-2), 23-49. Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (2014). At the heart of our community. Retrieved from http://www.malaysiaairports.com.my/sustainability/pdf_for%20bursa_mahb%20sr14_11 0415_965704583.pdf Mat Zaid, A. (1994). Malaysia Airlines' Corporate Vision and Service Quality Strategy. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 4(6), 11-15. Mun, K. (2011). Branding satisfaction in the airline industry: a comparative study of Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia. African Journal of Business Management, 5(8), 3410. n.a (n.d.). Overview of environmental issues and environmental conservation practices in Malaysia. Retrieved from https://www.env.go.jp/earth/coop/oemjc/malay/e/malaye1.pdf OMICS International (2014). Virgin Australia Airlines (NZ). Retrieved from http://research.omicsgroup.org/index.php/Virgin_Australia_Airlines_(NZ) Roy Morgan Research (2015). Kiwis view economic issues (40%) as the biggest problems facing NZ; housing shortage/housing affordability up 4% to 10% in March. Retrieved from http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6157-roy-morgan-new-zealand-most-important- issues-facing-new-zealand-march-2015-201504020132 Suki, N. M. (2014). Passenger satisfaction with airline service quality in Malaysia: A structural equation modeling approach. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 10, 26-32. Virgin Australia Airlines Holding Party Limited (2014). Sustainability- Flying the future. Retrieved from https://www.virginaustralia.com/cs/groups/internetcontent/@wc/documents/webcontent/ ~edisp/2015-sustainability-report.pdf Whyte, R., Prideaux, B., & Sakata, H. (2012). The evolution of Virgin Australia from a low-cost carrier to a full-service airline-implications for the tourism industry. Advances in hospitality and leisure, 8, 215-231. Read More