Business strategies followed by BA In the 1980s 1. Positive involvement and support inculcating a cultural change in the organization 2.

Reconnect with customers, focus on employee involvement 3. Customer contact staff strategy A distinct effort made by BA to involve staff to improve customer service. The strategy made BA a justifiably customer oriented airlines, but the strategy followed also implied that the modal was easily replicable. This strategy never led to a differentiation of the BA airlines from its competitors. Indeed the 1980s and 1990s became synonymous with customer service once BA had emphasized on this strategy 1995- Present 1. A change in customer base, which primarily focussed on high end business class fliers and on point to point travel 2.With the change in CEOs (check the names)an effort was made to get involved in low cost airlines sector, which included the Go and BA connect which was eventually sold to Flybe. This strategy also included a cut back on the loss making routes that BA operated on Current operations in subsidairyt airlines for BA include the BA cityflyer and the BA openskies. The change in customer base occurred as BA tried to get rid of its tag of being Bloody Awful and incorporating a better service to customer approach for which it intended to charge a premium. This is a clear clash of business strategies where the emphasis was on improving customer service but also reducing cost. In fact BA follows a strategy of cost reduction and cost cutting is a highly implemented strategy by the administration The foray into the low cost airline segment was meant to give BA a lower cost arm to the airlines which had primarily dealt with high end customers before. It was also meant to tackle the recessionary atmosphere that loomed on the European market as BA looked to cut loss making routes and focus more on the high growth lower cost airlines. (These are the main strategies, write a few more lines about them, should be enough) Identification of new air routes other than Heathrow, which was the highest expense causing airport for airlines

2. During the mid 1980s, BAs strategy included involving the positive involvement for support system. Under this the strategy a reconnect with customers philosophy was incorporated which required a different orientation from their staff. A renewed focus on Employee involvement followed and led to a number of initiatives directed at fostering a more dynamic, customer-focused and service-driven culture. The emphasis was placed on customer-contact staff through a range of initiatives beginning with Putting People First through to A Day in the Life in the mid 1980s, which underlined the benefits of collaborative working. This policy was a definite reversal from BA earlier brand image which was considered not up to the standards of the industry. By involving the customer and improving their services, British Airways managed to upgrade their brand as service provider and this strategy would definitely have helped them attain the niche positioning status that they used for serving the affluent customer. 4. Changes due to service improvements During the 1980s, BAs had emphasized on customer service with a tagline of Reconnect with customers. This strategy would have had definite implications for the staff, who were supposed to have involved the customer into a better service delivery. During this phase BA had become synonymous with excellent service and therefore implied that the staff be in a position to deliver the best service EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS highly unionized like any government sector organization, high bargaining abilities By the 1980s the new strategic focus of the company meant the bargaining approach had to change but BA was careful to maintain relations with the unions alongside an approach to culture change that was more individualistic New technology usage which failed, salaries of staff not paid 9/11 situation led to strict managerial practices. Strain on employee relations Cost cutting and staff trimming was another aspect the company believed in, Any response to a perceived problem led to cost cutting and removal of employees which was a further cause of strain

5. Typical Problems 1. Privatization meant loss of monopoly and fierce competitive pressure. 2. Huge labour problems. Being service oriented industry, important for employees to be thoroughly dedicated. BAs practices created rift between its own employees 3. Competitive pressure due to different fragments of industry, i.e. low cost airline industry 4. Higher cost of operations from heavily crowded centres i.e. major airports

Airline industry is not driven solely by service but also incorporates technology, skills, employee engagement, management dexterity, and punctilious observation of the right process. RECOMMENDATIONS Stick to core competencies(Eg Indigo low cost airline, core competency is always on time or highly punctilious service) Engage personnel effectively Training of employees

3. Best management practices 1. Identified the cultural change over the years and had a more individualistic approach to Unions (Employee relations) 2. Identification of a distinct differentiation from other airlines by zeroing on affluent people and point to point service 3. Using new routes when Heathrow was considered too expensive 4. Focussing on services to improve its brand image as a good service provider in response to its earlier image as being bloody awful.