Case Study: Fletcher Jones and Continental Airlines Managerial Leadership

Leadership can be defined as the process of identifying a goal, motivating others, and make them to achieve the mutually goals (Giltinane, 2013). According to Humphreys (2002), successful leaders do this by applying their leadership knowledge and skills. A good leadership is not only good at management, but also use different leadership styles in different situations. A successful corporation must has a good leader who have the flexible ability which can provide a suitable leadership to make the company successful. Furthermore, there have no perfect leadership styles in the world. Different leader have different leadership styles which also have the different strengths and weaknesses (Ali & Waqar, 2013). Leaders need to consider

In this assignment, I interviewed Mr. Clayton Stambaugh, who is currently an Aviation Facilities Specialist in the Office of Planning and Programming (State of Illinois Department of Transportation). Largely, our interview was based on his previous position of Airport Manager at Pekin Municipal Airport (City of Pekin, Illinois), which he held for about 4 years because he has just got his new position. As Airport Manager, he oversaw the whole airport whereas in his new position he works under his boss. Mr. Clayton attended SIU from undergraduate to graduate level, concentrating on aviation management and aviation administration respectively. To achieve the objective of this leadership profile, I asked him questions regarding his early

Colleen Barrett is one of the most influential women in the world of business and her efforts have paved the way for future female executives. According to Dierendonck and Patterson (2010), “For five years in a row, SWA is the only airline to win the Triple Crown, ranked first in most on-time flights, least lost baggage, and fewest Customer complaints”(p 135). Colleen Barrett is a rare example of a leader that rose from the ranks of an organization to the highest position of the company while never receiving a formal education in business management (Southwest Airlines ' Colleen Barrett on 'Servant Leadership, 2008). Her greatest achievement while at SWA was completely changing the leadership style and atmosphere of the organization. According to Dierendonck and Patterson (2010), her remodeling of the organization has kept SWA the leader in their industry by “setting and achieving incredible records of performance”(p 135). Leaders at SWA still practice her servant leadership style of managing employees even after she left the organization (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). Before a leader can achieve greatness they have to overcome challenges in their career fields.

1. How would you describe Boeing’s approach to project management? What are its strengths and weaknesses?

The weakness of Qantas lies in the management and their lack of investment in their employees. The management weakness can be seen in many of the financial and operational issues. Qantas faces several Industrial disputes which the company’s competitors do not experience. These issues affect the interior structure and the external opportunities to gain new customers. This also makes this their biggest

Boeing was recently faced with the scandals which hurt the reputation of Boeing. The top management recognized the problem and tried to figure it out by effective management strategies.

When evaluating relationship management, we can see that Mr Callahan is held in quite high regard at Pancontinental Airways by his employees and is described as a ‘visionary leader’. Having the admiration of employees is very beneficial in any organisation, and by doing so can create many advantages in the industry, such as the maintenance of ‘low staff turnover rates and high commitment from staff’. This we can see as happening at Pancontinental Airways where the company employs individuals seen to have the ‘right attitude.’ This is then followed by ‘specific training to develop the already present personal qualities of staff’. (Case study) Callahan openly encourages membership of unions so that he can have improved negotiations than with the individual

Organizations like the Southwest Airlines all have a culture, which demonstrates how the organization works and usually acts as its motivational tool. An organizational culture is important to the organization, as it is the major element in helping attain the organization's goals and objectives. Cultures in organizations are vast, with different organizations adopting their own type of culture. The examples of culture include; club cultures, where employees of the organization are assisted to fit into the culture. This is the most common type adopted by most organizations. There is also the academy culture, where the organization keeps its most skilled employees. The skills are developed by the company and an example of the organization that mostly uses this culture is the large corporations like the Southwest Airlines. The base team culture is designed to maintain high skilled employees, as these employees have great skills and can work for many other organizations. Other organizations have cultures that are highly discouraged, like the fortress culture, where employees hardly know their fate, and can be laid off any time. These organizations often undergo changes through reorganization, and only the specialized skilled people have chances for positions in the organization. Despite these many types of the cultures, management should ensure culture that is reputable, and

The British Airways case study was a very interesting case to read. It proves that not all people can be leaders, especially the chairman, board and chief executives of British European Airways (BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC.) According to the case study of British Airways, the life at the “old” British Airways was “bloody awful” (Changing the Culture of British Airways, 1990, p. 1).

Analyze and describe the founding leader(s), leadership style, and major business principles of a profit-oriented entrepreneurial approach in which the primary goal is to provide a product or service to consumers and to make a profit

            Transportation plays an essential role to the success of many businesses and organizations. Without efficient transportation, many supplies and raw materials will not be brought from one place to another. It has been reported that humans have always needed to get around from place to place, making the act of walking a limitation on the distance traveled and the things they could carry. Consider the innovations that help humans travel around and transport cargo, including automobiles, ships, and airplanes (2006). Through these innovations, humans were able to effectively and efficiently move from one place to the next with the convenience of bringing luggage and

Another way of looking at this idea is that if an employee can directly relate to the success of the company, with the amount of profits they will receive, employees would join with management to improve the business profitability and productivity. Bell and Hanson (1987) also believe that by implementing a profit sharing scheme into a business, employees will have a greater sense of identity with the company and have a greater share in the company’s success. One example of successful implementation of this idea in New Zealand is Mac Pac. Mac Pac is one of New Zealand leading outdoor equipment providers. After 5 years of running the business, CEO Bruce McIntyre has implemented a profit sharing scheme into the business where Macpac distribute 20% of pre-tax profits to staff each year. Other business in New Zealand has followed this business model such as the CEO of GMV Associates New Zealand, who believes that “There are huge advantages in profit share because the staff becomes totally committed to the company” (Clark-Reynolds cited in Light, 1997, p.34). What this leads to is a decrease in employee turnover and increase productivity of workers, because they now have a greater interest in the company’s success. This translates into a more successful company.

The Co-operative is a group of people acting together to meet the common needs and objectives of its members. The ownership of the businesses belongs to its members and decisions are made dramatically by the group. The group are not about making big profits for its members, but believe in creating value for its customers; this is what makes the co-operative groups stands out amongst its competitor’s.

In order to sustain its numero uno position and maintain its brand image, it has to be able to compete against its core rivals and new entrants with a sound strategic plan. With a clear-cut vision and expert management team, the airline company looks to stabilize its future for both short and long term. But major problems in operations and other areas have continuously irked the airline company and Air Asia needs to do a stand out job in redefining their strategy and planning to contend with these problems. Air Asia should take a look into both the external and internal factors that have reaped success as well as failure for the airline and identify their strategy and planning for the future.

I stand today in the skeletal remnants of a game changing and trend setting carrier that during its hey days connected 72 centers through 420 daily flights on 77 aircrafts. –Vijay Mallya