Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.
Background
British Airways (BA) is arguably the United Kingdom’s (UK) largest airline. The company is also the national flag carrier of the UK and transports more than 30 million people (annually) around the world (CAP Online 2012). Founded in 1974, BA is part of the One World airline alliance and operates from two airport terminals (Heathrow Airport and Gatwick Airport) (CAP Online 2012). The airline travels to more than 150 destinations, around the globe, and operates a fleet of more than 240 aircraft (making it the UK’s largest airline, in terms of fleet size and international travel destinations) (CAP Online 2012).
Despite its technical leadership, in the last four years, human resource challenges have mainly threatened the airline’s competitive position in the aviation industry. For example, the company has experienced several management changes that have failed to improve the airline’s competitiveness. Observers say some of these changes are unjustified and unfair to employees (Spellman 2010; CAP Online 2012). For example, managerial changes in 2009, created tension between managers and employees. Consequently, the airline experienced several strike actions during this period (Spellman 2010). These employee strikes affected the airline’s operational efficiency and financial performance. Today, the company has not been able to mend (fully) the relationship between employers and employees. Based on this problem, this paper proposes a research study to investigate the perennial strike actions at BA. Particularly, the proposed study aims to analyze job dissatisfaction among BA employees to understand this human resource challenge.
Statement and Purpose of the Problem
British Airways has received a lot of media attention for the wrong reasons. Particularly, in the last five years, several employee groups have voted to strike about several welfare problems (Spellman 2010). For example, pilots have complained of extended working hours. Similarly, flight crews have complained of poor pay. Most of these strikes have grounded the airline’s operations and threatened its competitive position in the cutthroat airline industry. Analysts have criticized the management of BA for failing to mitigate this problem (Spellman 2010). Employees have also held the same view. Particularly, BA workers have been highly dissatisfied with how their managers treat them (Spellman 2010). For example, the cabin crew claims BA’s management undervalues their worth (Spellman 2010). Similarly, passenger crews have raised concern regarding their flight safety. These accusations have compounded the organization’s human resource problems. As a reaction to employee concerns, BA managers have tried to intimidate employees by threatening to replace striking workers (Spellman 2010). Overall, the level of employee job satisfaction at the organization is low. This problem affects other aspects of organizational performance, including job performance and organisational commitment. From the extent that job satisfaction affects other aspects of BA’s organisational performance, this paper proposes a research study to understand the underlying issues informing this problem. Consequently, the findings of the proposed study could contribute to the development of a reliable framework for solving the same problem.
Research Aim
- To explain the underlying causes and solutions for job dissatisfaction at BA
Study Questions
- Why are BA employees dissatisfied with their jobs?
- Why has job dissatisfaction been a perennial problem at BA?
- What are the practical solutions for solving job dissatisfaction issues at BA?
The proposed research aims to answer the research questions, as follows:
- Poor leadership and management explain job dissatisfaction among BA employees
- The failure of BA managers to include employees in the daily running of the organization explains why job dissatisfaction has been a perennial problem in the company
- The viable solutions for improving the level of job satisfaction at BA hinge on improving the managerial attitudes of BA managers
Hypothesis
- Poor leadership and management attitudes are the main reasons for job dissatisfaction at BA
Null Hypothesis
- Poor leadership and management attitudes do not affect job dissatisfaction at BA
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study would help to demystify the human resource challenges at BA. Similarly, they would explain why, despite several efforts to solve its human resource challenges, BA managers continue to experience strike threats. Through this analogy, the findings of the proposed study would help to forge beneficial relationships between employees and managers. Through the same framework, increased cohesion between BA managers and employees would increase organizational efficiency and ease the process of achieving the organization’s goals.
Limitations of the Study
The main limitation of the proposed study stems from the proposed methodology, which suggests the use of secondary research. This approach uses self-reported data, which is difficult to verify. Therefore, the proposed research would rely on information from other researchers, at face value.
Literature Review
Organizational behavior is at the center of BA’s managerial and human resource problems. Nelson & Quick (2008) say organizational behaviours refer to personal and group dynamics that characterize employee-employer relationships. This section of the paper uses the organisational behavior framework to analyze how the leadership and management styles of BA affect job satisfaction in the organization. This literature review also analyses how the two-factor and the expectancy theories explain job dissatisfaction at BA.
Leadership and Management Styles
Many researchers say the problems facing BA stem from its leadership style. Wagner & Hollenbeck (2010) say the main leadership style at BA is the autocratic leadership style. For example, the management of BA requires most employees to comply with existing rules and policies, without question. Through this leadership style, most employer-employee relations in the organization are highly formal. Similarly, the autocratic leadership style explains the high management-employee distance in the organization and the high segmentation among different organizational functions. Some analysts say the formal structure of the organization partially explains why the organization has experienced several human resource problems (Wagner & Hollenbeck 2010). Relative to this assertion, Nelson & Quick (2008) say many employees want to work in an organization that allows free interaction among employers and employees.
Some researchers also say depersonalization is another issue that contributes to the organization’s human resource challenges (Schermerhorn 2011). For example, BA’s “tall” hierarchical structure has contributed to the depersonalization of workers (it leaves little room for employees to contribute to the organization’s decision-making process). Instead, the company’s management requires workers to implement their wishes without question (Schermerhorn 2011). Wagner & Hollenbeck (2010) say BA’s management does not allow employee inputs, even when solving employee welfare issues. Therefore, there is a high rate of centralization of managerial powers in the organization. Furthermore, there is a low incidence of mutual relationship (between employers and employees) in the organization (the delegation of authority in the organization is almost nonexistent).
At a managerial level, Schermerhorn (2011) says there is a high level of employee neglect. Workers have always protested this situation through strike threats and go-slows (Spellman 2010). Schermerhorn (2011) believes that, partially, this problem stems from employee appraisal programs. For example, BA’s management recognizes personal successes without considering the influence of employee contributions towards similar efforts. This way, many employees feel unappreciated.
Two-Factor Theory
The two-factor theory explains why employees often experience job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Based on the work of Fredrick Herzberg, the theory suggests that one set of workplace processes cause job satisfaction, while a different set of workplace processes cause job dissatisfaction (Miner 2005). Through this analogy, the theory postulates that job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are independent of one another (Miner 2005). Some researchers have used the two-factor theory to explain why BA’s employees experience job dissatisfaction (Nelson & Quick 2008). For example, the theory explains why BA’s autocratic leadership style contributes to employee job dissatisfaction. This view stems from studies conducted by Herzberg, which showed that autocratic leadership styles often lead to job dissatisfaction (Miner 2005).
The high levels of supervision and tall hierarchical structure at BA outline elements of the autocratic leadership style that lead to job dissatisfaction (Nelson & Quick 2008). For example, the theory explains that most employees are likely to develop job dissatisfaction if they complete organizational tasks because the managers require them to do so (Miner 2005). However, the likelihood of experiencing job satisfaction if they complete organizational tasks that they like to do is high (Miner 2005). The two-factor theory has also highlighted the role played by highly formalized organisational structures in contributing to job dissatisfaction. This relationship stems from the theory’s link between strict organisational policies and job dissatisfaction.
Employee Motivation
Miner (2005) says motivated employees are usually highly satisfied with their work. Different aspects of BA’s management and governance affect employee motivation. For example, communication strategies and decision-making processes affect employee motivation. Nelson & Quick (2008) affirm that BA employees experience a low motivation level because of the highly centralized decision-making structure of the organization. However, it is difficult to see (openly) this limitation because, on the surface, the managers of BA seem to give their employees a lot of room to innovate and be creative about their organizational tasks.
However, the organization’s board of directors has to approve any outcomes that may arise from this process (CAP Online 2012). CAP Online (2012) says this precondition stems from a management’s belief that standardizing employee innovations would improve the organization’s efficiency. This precondition affects the motivational levels of employees because they have to surpass their creativity and convince the management board about the importance of their innovations. Robbins (2005) believes that this requirement “dampens” the spirit of innovation because workers have to conform to traditional management principles that leave little room for intellectual innovation. Therefore, employees suffer from low motivation in this regard.
The high focus on business needs, as opposed to social needs, also affects the level of employee motivation at BA. Managers have always given priority to meeting business needs (before employee needs) by requiring employees to sacrifice their time for purposes of business prosperity (CAP Online 2012). Consequently, employees sacrifice a lot of their “spare time” for work. Usually, BA’s management fails to recognize these efforts by failing to provide any “out of the box” incentive, or appreciation, for the employees to continue doing the same. Consequently, employees develop low levels of motivation and job satisfaction.
Researchers have also highlighted the nature of work design as a significant contributor to job dissatisfaction at BA (CAP Online 2012). Particularly, they highlight the failure by the managers of BA to allocate specialised duties to skilled employees (CAP Online, 2012). Therefore, employees in the organization fail to perform the organizational tasks that they understand. This situation creates low motivation levels for the employees (especially those who feel their competencies are under-utilized). Consequently, their low morale contributes to lower levels of job satisfaction in the organization. The failures to allocate work roles and duties to trained employees also compound this problem.
Expectancy Theory
Researchers have used the expectancy theory to explain the low motivational levels at BA (Nelson & Quick 2008). The expectancy theory explains that most employees choose their behaviors, based on their outcomes (Miner 2005). At the center of this theory is the benefit of adopting a particular behaviour. This theory significantly affects organizational behavior because it encourages managers to focus more on performance as a motivational factor for employees (Miner 2005).
The expectancy theory explains the human resource challenges at BA because it shows how the lack of tangible outcomes in workplace processes affects employee morale. Nelson & Quick (2008) believe that the lack of congruence between employee inputs and organizational goals partially explain this problem. The failure of BA’s management to include employees in the decision-making process of the organization also offers no “expectancy” for the employees. Therefore, they develop low morale. Comparatively, if the management allowed the employees to set their goals, they would be more motivated to accomplish them (thereby improving their job satisfaction). Miner (2005) affirms this fact when he says the separation of decision-making processes from employees would hurt their motivation levels. Nelson & Quick (2008) further explore the mismatch between performance and effort, at BA, by saying the poor work design between employee skills and employee roles creates a greater divide between employee performance and employee efforts. Stated differently, employees do not need to increase their productivity if their organizational tasks do not fit their skills.
Summary
The theoretical conception of job dissatisfaction at BA highlights leadership and management challenges as causes of its human resource challenges. Motivational theories also support some of these findings. However, this theoretical framework fails to explain the solutions that the managers of BA could use to mitigate this problem. Therefore, the proposed study would dig deeper into the underlying issues affecting employee dissatisfaction and formulate possible solutions. The study would also explain why job dissatisfaction has been a perennial problem in the organization. Moreover, the interconnection between job satisfaction and other elements of employee welfare, such as employee motivation, would also suffice in the same analogy.
Methodology
Research Design
The proposed research approach would be an action research. This is a collaborative research approach that investigates and solves issues between a researcher and a client (Patel 2005). Therefore, besides generating new knowledge, it also provides solutions for the same problems. The diagram below shows the structure of this approach
Within the above framework, the proposed study would mainly use a mixed research design for analysing the research problem. This design uses quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The mixed research design would be beneficial to the proposed research because it provides a framework for using multiple methods for solving the research problem. Its main weakness would be reconciling the discrepancies that may arise from using different types of research data.
Data Collection/Instruments
The main data collection method for the proposed study would be secondary research. Secondary researches analyse materials from past research studies. The main sources of secondary information would be books, journals, government websites, and business publications (the scope of these sources of information may expand through the research process). The researchers would obtain these sources from online libraries, school libraries, and similar facilities. The main advantages of using this approach are the time and cost effectiveness of secondary research. Similarly, this research method helps to gather extensive data regarding the research issue. Data inaccuracy, time lag issues, and propriety issues are some disadvantages associated with this method.
Data Analysis/Statistical Procedures
The data analysis process would mainly involve the coding technique.
The four basic steps outlined below show its processes
Step 1
The data analysis process would start by contextualising the research sources. Mainly, this process would evaluate the publication history of the secondary research sources and evaluate how they fit within the research framework. Broadly, this step would ascertain how the research sources fit into the scope of the research topic.
Step 2
The second stage of data analysis outlines the start of the coding process. This process involves allocating research attributes to pieces of information that have the same contents, or address the same issues. However, the proposed study would assign such attributes, based on unique themes of analysis. Every theme should have a special code of analysis.
Step 3
The third step of the data analysis process analyses the text structures of the coded themes. The main aim of this process is investigating if thematic analyses overlap one another. Later, this process would provide an overview of how every theme answers the research questions (guides the emerging arguments).
Step 4
The last step of the data analysis process involves examining the discursive statements that would arise from the data analysis process. Mainly, it would establish the validity and reliability of the discursive statements. The same analogy should provide enough grounds for the construction of the study’s findings.
Limitations of the Study
The main limitation of the proposed study would be its “indicative” nature. Certainly, because the research does not involve an empirical analysis, its findings only outline the possible issues that affect BA. Therefore, the possibility of deviances between the real and “indicative” outcomes of the research process is real.
Possible Research Problems
The main research problem that could suffice in the proposed study includes the lack of updated research information, which appeals to the research issues. For example, some of the information available could relate to human resource issues that BA’s management solved. To overcome this challenge, the proposed study would ensure the information used in the paper is current and relevant to the scope of study.
Proposed Research Schedule
References
Miner, J 2005, Organizational Behaviour: Essential theories of motivation and leadership, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk.
Nelson, D & Quick, J 2008, Understanding Organisational Behaviour, Thomson/South-Western, Mason.
Patel, S 2005, Research Methods for Organizational Studies, Web.
Robbins, S 2005, Organisational Behaviour, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River.
Schermerhorn, J 2011, Organisational Behaviour, John Wiley, Hoboken.
CAP Online 2012, British Airways New Identity, Web.
Spellman, R 2010, A Flying Shame for British Airways, Web.
Wagner, J & Hollenbeck, J 2010, Organisational Behaviour: Securing Competitive Advantage, Routledge, New York.
Do you need this or any other assignment done for you from scratch?
We have qualified writers to help you.
We assure you a quality paper that is 100% free from plagiarism and AI.
You can choose either format of your choice ( Apa, Mla, Havard, Chicago, or any other)
NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.
NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.