Employee Training Programs In Emirates Airlines, UAE

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Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832770” Study Background PAGEREF _Toc377832770 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832771” Study Area PAGEREF _Toc377832771 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832772” Research Objectives and Research Questions PAGEREF _Toc377832772 h 7

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832773” 2.1 Research objectives PAGEREF _Toc377832773 h 7

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832774” 2.2 Research questions PAGEREF _Toc377832774 h 7

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832775” 3.0 Literature review PAGEREF _Toc377832775 h 7

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832776” 3.1 Corporate employee training programs PAGEREF _Toc377832776 h 8

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832777” 3.1.1 What is the importance of employee training programs? PAGEREF _Toc377832777 h 8

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832778” 3.1.2 What are the various methods and techniques of employee training programs? PAGEREF _Toc377832778 h 8

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832779” 3.2 Effectiveness of employee training programs PAGEREF _Toc377832779 h 9

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832780” Research Methodology PAGEREF _Toc377832780 h 9

HYPERLINK l “_Toc377832781” 9.0 References PAGEREF _Toc377832781 h 11

Introduction

The topic for this business research proposal is employee training programs in corporate, especially those which are undertaken in airline industry. This proposal also throws light on the methods in cabin crew training domain.The company for this business research proposal is Emirates Airlines, South UAE.

Study BackgroundCurrently, this is the age of globalization and usage of computers on large scale. People from different countries in the world are coming close to each other. They come together to achieve a variety of well define objectives. These objectives can be in terms of moral, ethical, profit-making, social, and political or business related.(Robert A. Ristau 2010:74)

Today almost companies operate with computerizing system and various make their own working system. As follow this trend, employees who recruited from companies newly have to know knowledge of their positions and development of company’s benefits. (Chron 2013)

According to Schneider ElectricCompany, the employee training program useful to develop skills and get knowledge. (Schneider-electric 2013)

The companies need to hire good personnel for carrying out their operations in smooth manner. For this purpose, concepts of human resource management have been developed in recent times. Companies have laid down their own policies and procedures to hire working staff. This staff belongs to various positions in a corporate. The companies have to hire people who are suitable to their positions and can complete duties assigned to them. The policies of recruitment are in proper structure. After recruitment, the candidates become responsible employees of the company.(Dubin, Robert 1958:213)

At this stage, training and development comes into force. Employees have to be trained so that they complete their tasks in efficient way. Their skills have to be developed so that they serve the clients properly.Especially, in the Airlines industry almost new cabin crew get several steps training programs for safe flights and provide perfect services to clients. (Hall dale Group 2010) The flight accidents occur often than other industry, that’s why airlines industry more focusing their employee training for safety flights. It can understand with Figure 1.

Figure1. Frequency of Industrial Accidents (Fujitsu 2013)

Corporate training has started in corporate on an increasing basis. In this training program, an instructor is given a job of training the new candidates in operating an equipment or performing a particular duty. This function has to be done according to the defined criteria of the company. The company has a set of work processes for a particular task and it expects its employees to perform it in the same way. This is also to ensure uniformity in the operations of the company. Thus, after obtaining training, the employee learns how to operate equipment or fulfill a particular objective. (Wisdom Exchange TV 2013) The figure 2 shows that the employees can get results from training.

Figure2. Survey Results: Top 10 Topics in Training and Development

(Ready to Manage 2012)

Corporate training and corporate education should not be confused. The corporate training is based on the employee perspective. It has to increase the operational potential of the employee. But corporate education increases the knowledge of both employee as well as the company. (The Economic Times 2013)

Employee training programs have increased the skills, work portfolio and better efficiency of the employees. (Cool Avenues 2010)Employee training programs are termed as training and development. It is also known as branch of human resource management or learning and development. (Support Industry 2012)But for a management expert, these fields are different and not interrelated. (Patrick J. Montana and Bruce H. Charnov 2000:225)

Study AreaEmirates Airlines is one of the leading airlines company in South UAE along with UAEn Air. Its headquarters is situated in Seoul. Its routes are spread over Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania. Many pilots, ground staff and flight attendants are employed in Emirates Airlines. (Emirates Sustainability Report2012)

It is an award winning company for carrying out its operation. (Sky Trax2010) It is known for the exclusive flight services it has been offering since the past years. (BCSD UAE 15 January 2009)

Emirates Airline witnessed a tragic accident of Emirates Airlines Flight 214. The plane crashed at San Francisco International Airport in the period July 2013. (Herald Sun 2013) This plane crash caused losses to several lives of passengers and crew personnel. After this horrific accident, Emirates Airlines reviewed its policies relating to employee training. Emirates Airlines has promised to review its training programs and make necessary changes. (Bamber, Greg J. et al. 2009)

After analysis of various factors that caused this mishap, following points can be outlined which are related the employee training in Emirates Airlines:

Work processes and testing requirements must be explained properly to the employees. This will lead to safe operation of airplanes. The concerns of safety and communication aspects between new and experienced staff must also be taken into consideration.

Proper communication between the personnel is very important for a successful operation.

Emirates Airlines has promised to introduce a system for fatigue risk as part of employee training.

Employee will be trained with safety management systems.

(Gale, Alastair 2013)

Companies provide range of services to the end-users.Forexample, a construction company constructs buildings and houses. Hence, it needs skilled civil engineers and architect. The company trains this staff to construct in a way it has been doing since years for the people.A software company trains its software engineers and testers to create software solutions in its unique way.

Similarly, airline industry provides airline services to its clients. It requires large number of pilots, aircraft engineers, cabin crew personnel, air hostesses and so on. These personnel have to be trained so that they become an expert in their area of operations. (How stuff works 2013) Cabin crew personnel are trained in a way that it manages the overall functioning of aircraft cabins. This can range from supervising cleaning functions to administering duties. This personnel are trained so that they understand how their own company provides these services to the customers.

Cabin crew working staff is required to be aware of all aspects and elements of aviation industry. They are required to know the aviation rules and regulations. (Essence-learning 2012) Cabin crew staff obtains this knowledge by studying in universities and securing relevant qualifications.

But qualifications are not the only sufficient parameter for achieving efficiency. These personnel must understand the working culture of the company. Every company has its own norms and working culture. A company has its own applications and software for recording data and handling activities. For this purpose, cabin crew training is necessary for a company. A company includes training activities so that the personnel undertake activities without much supervision. (Thomas N. Garavan, Pat Costine, and Noreen Heraty 1995:1)

Research Objectives and Research QuestionsThis research is carried out to understand importance of employee training programs by Emirates Airlines.

2.1 Research objectivesThe research objectives of this business research proposal are as follows:

1. To identify the different employee training programs in Emirates Airlines

2. To evaluate the effectiveness of employee training programs in Emirates Airlines

3. To analyze the challenges in the implementation of employee training programs in Emirates Airlines

2.2 Research questionsThe research questions will help to identify the following critical areas:

1. What are the various employee training programs in Emirates Airlines?

2. Are employees training programs effective in Emirates Airlines?

3. What are the challenges in implementation of employee training programs in Emirates Airlines?

3.0 Literature reviewLiterature review gives an idea about why a particular research has been conducted. Thus, in this business research proposal, the basic intention of literature review is to understand the importance of employee training programs.

The below mentioned sections 3.1 to 3.3 are drafted to explain the different employee training programs, their effectiveness in reality and the challenges faced by corporate in implementing the same.

3.1 Corporate employee training programs3.1.1 What is the importance of employee training programs?An employee obtains qualification from a recognized university or an educational institution. The employee learns lot of subjects and clears various examinations before securing a degree. But during this phase of formal education, that candidate is not known to the corporate world.After several tests and interviews, a candidate is selected for a particular position in a company. This position is generally based on the basic qualifications and additional skills. But still, the employee is lacking in specialization of tasks in terms of company operations.

The new employee is a raw material in the language of company management. Thecompany has to conduct a number of training programs and activities to sharpen the skills of new employee. The company invests much amount of money as well as considerable time in conducting these training activities. Staff is hired for the reason of providing training lectures and sessions of the newly joined staff. Thus, after this process, a candidate is turned into new employee and thereafter, a trained employee.(About.com 2013)

3.1.2 What are the various methods and techniques of employee training programs?Training programs are conducted not only for new recruits but also for experienced personnel. The various methods and techniques of employee training programs are explained as follows:

Induction: This training is for newly recruited personnel. This training activity make a new employee acquainted with the work processes, applications, culture and staff of the company. (Sulekha 2012)

On-the-Job training: In this training program, an employee is assigned with a specified task and his work is under observation by manager. Manager provides feedback on his work after every stage of progress. This takes much time of the company but an employee completely understands the working process and assigned tasks. (About.com 2013)

Job rotation: This method is for experienced staff. The company may rotate the position of the employee from one department to another. In this way, the employee will understand the requirements of different positions of the company. The employee’s viewpoint is broadened and may visualize every task in more defined manner. The employee may feel more interested in the new opportunities offered by the company. But on the other hand, there are chances of losing morale by the company or the employee may get confused with the definition of employee’s responsibilities and may feel over-burdened. (About.com 2013)

Job mentoring: In this method, a mentor is allocated for an employee. The employee can then consult the mentor when he gets any problem with his work. (Management-mentors 2013)

3.2 Effectiveness of employee training programsThe employee training programs are designed keeping in mind with the long term goals of the company. One cannot measure the effectiveness of employee training activities within a short span of time. Employees are trained, and then they show performance for a number of years in the same company on a consistent basis. (Stephen Dakin and J. Scott Armstrong 1989)

The effectiveness of employee training programs can be outlined in following way. The first way is Training evaluation forms. These forms which test the capability of an employee who has attended the training must be given to everyone. These forms evaluate the effectiveness of each and every training program conducted by the company. The second way is Performance appraisal. This is the most common methods adopted by all companies. Employees are to be evaluated on the basis of their performance at regular intervals like quarterly, monthly and yearly.

Research MethodologyPrimary data is the information collected directly from the source. This data has not undergone any form of information processing and as such it is also referred to as unprocessed data. Therefore, primary data cannot be found or located anywhere else (IWH 2013). In this research, primary data can be collected through surveys and questionnaires. Surveys can either be a web survey, interview survey or a mail survey. The primary data is collected in order to assess the effectiveness of employee training programs in Emirates Airlines. Primary data would be used to identifythe challenges facing the implementation of employee training programs in Emirates Airlines.

There are several advantages of using primary data during research as explained hereafter. First of all, the researcher collecting the data is able to focus on both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the issues being investigated. Secondly, since the researcher has control on the search design, he or she is able to address particular research issues by ensuring that the design factors in these issues appositely. Moreover, the researcher has control on the process of information collection, and this enables the researcher to determine various requirements such as the size of the project, time frame required; and the aims and objectives of the research (IWH 2013).

Data analysis

The questionnaire used in the research is shown below. Its findings were the most significant for the whole research, and as such these findings will be analyzed hereafter. The questionnaire sought to find out details about the following:

1.The relevance and effectiveness of the employees training programs in Emirates Airlines. This component is covered in the questionnaire by the following questions:

a)Do employees receive the relevant training in relation to their job description? This assesses the functional relevance of the training programs to the job descriptions.

b)Do employees receive the required training concerning new and emerging technologies? This assesses the effectiveness of the training program in enabling the employees to utilize modern tools in improving the quality and volume of their output.

c)Do supervisors and/or team leaders support the employee’s efforts to gain knowledge outside the job (for example, continuous education, conferences, and membership in the appropriate professional organization)? This assesses the effectiveness of the training program in enabling the employees to acquire more applicable knowledge that can be used to improve the quality of their work output.

2. The challenges in implementation of employee training programs in Emirates Airlines can be indirectly assessed by finding out whether the knowledge gained in the program can be translated into practical output that can be used to increase both the quantitative and qualitative output of Emirates Airlines. This component is covered in the questionnaire by the question: Have employees been able to utilize the skills learned in the training program in real-life situations?

Questionnaire.

In the questionnaire, the following numerals were used to indicate the response:

1.Strongly Disagree

2.Disagree

3.Neutral

4. Agree

2. Strongly Agree.

The research questions were formulated as shown below:

1.Do employees receive the relevant training in relation to their job description?

2.Do employees receive the required training concerning new and emerging technologies?

3.Do supervisors and/or team leaders support the employee’s efforts to gain knowledge outside the job (for example, continuous education, conferences, and membership in the appropriate professional organization)?

4.Have employees been able to utilize the skills learned in the training program in real-life situations?

The various employee training programs in Emirates Airlines were grouped in accordance to the categorization of job descriptions. These job descriptions were broadly categorized into: 1. Pilots’ training program. A total of 20 pilots were enrolled. 2. Flight attendants’ training program: A total of 50 flight attendants were enrolled. 3. Maintenance workers’ training program: A total of 100 maintenance workers were enrolled. 4. Aviation engineers’ training program: A total of 15 aviation engineers were enrolled. Thus, a total of 185 employees were enrolled in the training programs (Emirates Airlines). The results obtained were tabulated as shown below. 4.1 Functional relevance of the training programs to the job descriptions. Do employees receive the relevant training in relation to their job description? This assesses the functional relevance of the training programs to the job descriptions.

A total of 185 employees were assessed. The results showed that 22 employees strongly agreed while 45 just agreed that the training programs were relevant to their job descriptions. The results also showed that 83 employees were neutral concerning the aforementioned statement. However, 19 employees strongly disagreed while 16 employees just disagreed with the aforementioned statement (Emirates Airlines).

Agree 45+22 / 185 = 36%

Disagree 16+19 / 185 = 19%

Neutral 83 / 185 = 45%

Based on the above results, it can be concluded that about 64% of the employees are either neural or they do agree that they received the relevant training in relation to their job description.

4.2 Training regarding new and emerging technologies.

Do employees receive the required training concerning new and emerging technologies? This assesses the effectiveness of the training program in enabling the employees to utilize modern tools in improving the quality and volume of their output.

A total of 185 employees were assessed. The results showed that 25 employees strongly agreed while 77 just agreed that they received the required training concerning new and emerging technologies. The results also showed that 72 employees were neutral concerning the aforementioned statement. However, 6 employees strongly disagreed while 5 employees just disagreed with the aforementioned statement (Emirates Airlines).

Agree 77 + 25 / 185 = 55%

Disagree6 + 5 / 185 = 6 %

Neutral 72 / 185 = 39 %

Based on the above results, it can be concluded that the majority of the employees do receive the required training concerning new and emerging technologies.

Is there Support for the employee’s efforts to gain knowledge outside the job.

Do supervisors and/or team leaders support the employee’s efforts to gain knowledge outside the job (for example, continuous education, conferences, and membership in the appropriate professional organization)? This assesses the effectiveness of the training program in enabling the employees to acquire more applicable knowledge that can be used to improve the quality of their work output.

A total of 185 employees were assessed. The results showed that 35 employees strongly agreed while 108 just agreed that their supervisors and/or team leaders did support their efforts to gain knowledge outside the job. The results also showed that 30 employees were neutral concerning the aforementioned statement. However, 6 employees strongly disagreed while 6 employees just disagreed with the aforementioned statement (Emirates Airlines).

Agree 108 + 35 / 185 = 77%

Disagree 6 + 6 / 185 = 7 %

Neutral 30 / 185 = 16 %

Based on the above results, it is evident that the supervisors and/or team leaders do support the employees’ efforts to gain knowledge outside the work area.

4.3 Utilization of skills learned in the training program.

The challenges in implementation of employee training programs in Emirates Airlines can be indirectly assessed by finding out whether the knowledge gained in the program can be translated into practical output that can be used to increase both the quantitative and qualitative output of Emirates Airlines. This component is covered in the questionnaire by the question: Have employees been able to utilize the skills learned in the training program in real-life situations?

A total of 185 employees were assessed. The results showed that 8employees strongly agreed while 85 just agreed that they have been able to utilize the skills learned in the training program in real-life situations. The results also showed that 63 employees were neutral concerning the aforementioned statement. However, 25 employees strongly disagreed while 4 employees just disagreed with the aforementioned statement (Emirates Airlines).

Agree 85 + 8 / 185 = 50%

Disagree25 + 4 / 185 = 16 %

Neutral 63 / 185 = 34 %

Based on the above results, it is evident that over half of the employees do agree that they have been able to utilize the skills learned in the training program in real-life situations.

The results shown above do show that the employee training program is well received by the employees and that they have been able to apply the learnt skills in the workplace. Moreover, the fact that Emirates airlines do promote continuous education may explain why the aviation engineers have been able to seamlessly apply their acquired knowledge in the operations of the company.

5.0 Conclusions.

Employee training programs are beneficial to all business entities including Emirates airlines. Tough training remove the employee from the workplace, it does – in the long term – improve the output of the employee. Employee training is vital for Emirates airlines because of it educates its workers on how to effectively use new and emerging technologies and it also promote the career development of its employees. It also enables the employees to maintain their safety in the workplace, and the airline is also able to comply with the set rules and regulation governing the aviation industry. All in all, employee training does improve the profitability and productivity of the airline thus ensuring that Emirates airlines has a competitive edge in the aviation market.

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