2. What problems can airline personnel face dealing with business travelers?

The psychology of air rage is a new area of study, and there are almost as many explanations as

2 examples. Most analysts of the phenomenon blame alcohol, but many people now think that the airlines are at fault. To cut costs, they are cramming ever more passengers into their aircraft, while reducing cabin crew, training and quality of service, all of which increase passenger frustration. In addition, there is increasing concern about another cost-cutting exercise, which could seriously harm passengers’ health:

cabin ventilation.

3. What is “code-sharing”? What other types of cooperation in airline business do you know?

Code sharing is a business term which was first originated in the airline industry in 1990 when the Australian airline, Qantas Airways and the US's American Airlines combined services between an array of US domestic cities and Australian cities. The code share was part of a "cooperative services" agreement between the two carriers before the various airline alliances were formed. Code sharing is a commercial agreement between two airlines that allows passengers to use a ticket from one airline to travel on another. Most major airlines today have code sharing partnerships with other airlines, and code sharing is a key feature of the major airline alliances. Lots of airlines, including all the big legacy lines, are involved with codesharing arrangements. Those arrangements permit you to buy through tickets on routs that no single airline can serve. They may also provide opportunities to cut the cost of your airfare.

There are different types of cooperation between airlines: associations (like International Association of Air Transport (IATA) which deals with the air navigation, the security of air transport and the coordination of flight services), particular global airline alliances and code share agreements that have multiplied over the past years.

Unit 3 ORGANISATION

1. What are the main differences between three main company structures: sole trader, partnership, limited company?

2. What is necessary for creating a good working environment?

3. What changes have many companies faced recently?

Unit 4 CHANGE

1. Do you see change as a danger, an opportunity or a challenge?

2. What is considered to be a key to success in a company?

3. What trends do you see emerging in the strategy of a large company?

Recent years have seen massive restructuring. Companies downsized and delayered, getting rid of levels of middle-management in order to become leaner, flatter, supposedly more efficient organisations. Often the reasoning was that computer networks allow top managers instant access to information that was previously gathered and transmitted upwards by middle managers, whose other main function was to communicate executives' key messages downwards to the workforce and in this they were accused of diluting or confusing the messages, or worse. With fewer organisational layers, top managers say they can communicate more directly with front-line employees, the people who actually produce the goods or services, and deal with customers. With less direct supervision, employees have often been encouraged to make more decisions for themselves in a process of empowerment.

Another trend was re-engineering, the idea that an organisation should not change incrementally,

but should start again from scratch with no preconceptions about how things-should be done, not just in manufacturing but in all the processes that contribute to what an organization does, hence business process re-engineering, or BPR.

The human side of this, again, was that there would probably be redundancies. The people

remaining would probably feel demoralized, wondering when the next wave of change was going to come and whether it would be their turn to be thrown out.

Business process reengineering (BPR) is a management approach aiming at improvements by means of elevating efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that exist within and across organizations. BPR is a restructuring an organization by means of a radical reconsideration of its core processes. The key benefits of BPR are:

· optimization of business processes:

· integration of IT systems;

· structuring and guiding of reorganization;

· business continuity planning;

· management knowledge.

Here are some characteristics of company cultures that others have used successfully.

· Mission clarity

· Employee commitment

· Fully empowered employees

· High integrity workplace

· Strong trust relationships

· Highly effective leadership

· Effective systems and processes

· Performance-based compensation and reward programs

· Customer-focused

· Effective 360-degree communications

· Emphasis on recruiting and retaining outstanding employees

· High degree of adaptability

· High accountability standards

· Demonstrated support for innovation and development

Unit 5 MONEY