Angela Hawkins - DB Forum 5 Singapore Airlines (SIA) main ingredients of success were built on the organizations campaign principles: \"show you care through body language evidencing interest and attention, dare to care, and be service entrepreneurs\" (pp. 538-539). SIA has been successful over the years because the senior leadership focused on providing the best customer experience for everyone who chose to fly their airlines. Employees who were in direct contact with customers were interviewed and had to pass the personality profile test which looked for individuals that had a servant attitude. The company also invested in their staff by provided service training that lasted for four months and continued to develop programs that were geared around customer service. Bove and Johnson (2000) performed research on customer service that was very similar to the SIA business model. \"The customer-service worker relationship model\" was focused on building a strong relationship between the customer and the organization's staff, the model stated that employees were apositive asset for a service firm as they help build a true loyal customer base. In situations where a valued customer only develops a strong relationship with one service worker, the resulting high personal loyalty warrants some special attention by service managers as the firm will enjoy a positive positioning by the customer and high levels of repeat business only as long as the employee is accessible to the customer (Bove & Johnson, 2000, p. 510). This model would be hard for SIA to follow, because the organizations customers interact with different staff members whenever they fly with the airlines. The principle is applicable because it entails staff forming a relationship with the customers by focusing on the customer and not the transaction. Motley (2004) also wrote an article that talked about ways that organizations can encourage service excellence to help the business build a relationship with the customers and help build the success of the organization long term. The different areas he talked about were \"customer service is not negotiable, stress importance of teamwork, customer service is an experience, impress every customer, set goals and measure performance\" (Motley, 2004, p. 37). Both articles are relevant to SIA's vision and mission statement of always providing the customer with the best experience when flying with their airlines. SIA success has become vulnerable in recent years due to other airlines now offering flights at lower cost, decrease in businesses sending their senior leaderships on business trips, other airlines offering the same services, and labor shortage within Singapore. It is hard to maintain a leadership position within the organization because of the current policy that mandates that leaders move to different positions within the organization every three to five years. It is hard to continuously improve because there is no set right or wrong when handling a situation that is centered around a customers complaint. When leadership reviews complaints they look at the issue from all angles and try to analyze whether or not if following the organizations policy will be detrimental to the organization's customer satisfaction. For the organization to continually improve they will have to start deviating from their current practices when it comes to their hiring processes. Integration of other cultures into the organization well be a rough transition but it is necessary in order for them to continue in the airline industry. World class-organizations needs to continuously seek opportunities to develop their mission, vision, and goal statements. They need to remain relevant in today's society and sticking to past successes and remaining stagnant in their ideals and beliefs will not allow them to be successful in the ever changing market. References Bove, L. L., & Johnson, L. W. (2000). A customer-service worker relationship model. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 11(5), 491-511. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.co m/docview/233667824?accountid=12085 Jick, T. D., & Peiperl, M. A. (2011). Managing change: Cases and concepts (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Motley, L. B. (2004). Encouraging Service Excellence. ABA Bank Marketing, 36(3), 37. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?d I rect=true&db=bth&AN=12946303&site=ehost-live&scope=site Jim DB Forum 5 Singapore Airlines (SIA) has been at the top of their game for many years. They now find themselves dealing with the question \"how do we stay on top when we are the best?\" Historically, they have gotten to the place where they are by a dogged pursuit of service. SIA demonstrated service to the passenger by offering gourmet food, vintage wines, smiling hostesses, and the best onboard technology. Other airlines were able to copy the delivery of these service items, leaving SIA vulnerable to passenger loyalty. In addition, lower cost options with fewer amenities were entering the marketplace, further diluting the customer pool. SIA embarked on new areas of improvement by creating a brand image in the \"Singapore Girl,\" modernizing their fleet of airplanes, and embarking on a program to offer outstanding service on the ground. Due to airline regulations and nuances of cultures within their routes, some passengers perceive that the ground service of SIA is not as stellar as many of their other areas of service. Also, passengers have noticed that while the \"Singapore Girl\" is very well trained and handles tasks with ease, she is not always perceptive to the needs of individual passengers. How does any industry stay on top when their customer service survey responses show little to be improved upon? One study in healthcare where service is generally rated high suggests that instead of focusing on the satisfaction scores, one should look at the areas where there are variances. [ CITATION Fri09 \\l 1033 ]. They further state \"providers can implement process-improvement studies even when data are limited. The crucial issue is using the available data as effectively as possible.\" [CITATION Fri09 \\p 34 \\l 1033 ] This makes the argument that improvement is still possible when you are the best and that there is data available if you are looking for it. How do world-class organizations continually improve and change? It comes down to people. \"Several authors...highlight the importance of organizations to focus on the implementation of continuous improvement, developing internal culture and structure that fosters its practice, rather than just giving emphasis to tools and techniques for problem solving.\" [ CITATION Gon16 \\l 1033 ]. SIA seemed to put this idea into practice. They saw that many of their techniques and tools were being copied, making them vulnerable to competitors. The difference maker for the future was their people. They hired the best, trained them well, and then empowered them to handle situations with the customer. \"Hiring the right front-line staff was thus a major priority\" [CITATION Jic11 \\p 542 \\l 1033 ]. After hiring the right people SIA rigorously trained employees. This was an ongoing process at all levels of the organization. \"Its goal was to help empower employees to take steps to make things better and be flexible.\"[CITATION Jic11 \\p 543 \\l 1033 ] SIA did not rest on their success. They understood that while they were strong with many of the tools and technologies of the trade, this would only carry them so far; and others were able to copy the tools without much investment. The big difference for the future was investing in their people. \"Success is achieved by offering attention to not only the technical aspects of a quality management program but to the critical role of human behavior as well\"[ CITATION Lam15 \\l 1033 ]. Singapore Airlines placed the emphasis on people to stay on top: people who flew on the airline and those who served the people who flew. Roberty Money - Discussion Board 5 What have been SIA's main ingredients of success? Superior inflight service, most modern fleet, and outstanding ground service. The slogan "A Great Way to Fly" described the all-around experience customers received at Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines (SIA) began in 1947 as Malayan (later Malaysian) airlines. Malaysian Airlines operated between Singapore, Kuala Lampur, Ipoh and Penang. Over the next two decades, there were additions of the DC-4, Skymaster, Vickers Viscount, Lockheed Super Constellation, Bristol Brittania, Comet IV, and the Fokker F27. On 16 September 1963, the Federation of Malaysia was born and the Airline became known as Malaysian Airways Limited. In May 1966, it became Malaysia-Singapore Airlines. Later, the new look of the Airline evolved further with its first Boeings - three B707s, then a fleet of B737s. In 1972, Malaysia-Singapore Airlines split up to become two entities - Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airline System. This change house a special fleet of B747s, B7272s, and DC-10s. The new Singapore Airlines also boasted a new airfreight terminal and a B747 hangar. Singapore Airlines offers World Gourmet Cuisine in all classes. Regional dishes are often served on their respective flights, such as the Kyo-Kaiseki and Shi Quan Shi Mei. Shahi Thali meals available for First Class passengers on flights to Japan, China and India respectively. SIA's Services Ground Services Passengers may check-in between two to 48 hours prior to flight departure. This may be done traditionally over the counter or at the lounge within the airport. Self-service kiosks are also available at Singapore Changi Airport. Online printing of boarding passes is available through internet check-in. Passengers on short trips may also check-in on their return flight upon departure from the city of origin. Singapore Airlines operates a full wide-body aircraft fleet from four aircraft families: The Boeing 747, The Boeing 777, The Airbus A380, and The Airbus A340. The airline has had a history of naming its fleet according to plane makes: The Boeing 747-400s were dubbed Megatop. The Boeing 777s were called Jubilee. The Airbus A340-500s were named Leadership. How has their success become vulnerable? Why is it difficult to maintain a leadership position of a company like SIA and continuously improve? Shortage of domestic routes for serving Singapore. Faced difficulties on International routes to gain the admissions to Airports, landing rights, securing flight shots, attracting new customers and many more. Singapore Girl, the iconic image and brand was first established in 1968. The original branding was developed by Ian Batey. The Singapore Girl wore the traditional uniform "Sarong Kebaya". In an era of corporate social responsibility and globalization, some customers thought it was a bit offensive and degrading to women. The Singapore Girl has a visual trade mark and brand for Singapore Airlines. The Singapore Girl is said to engender "Asian values and Hospitality". This was a mishap with some western beliefs. The Singapore Girl has been described as "caring, warm, gentle, elegant and serene". A wax figure of the Singapore Girl was created and shown at Madame Tussaud's wax Museum in London in 1994. This sculpture was sent to the Delta Airlines shuttle concourse at LaGuardia Airport in New York City in 1995. The culture for SIA was that of Chinese Confucian ethic. The majority of SIA's employees were Singaporeans with shared values and concerns, and SIA's management saw the importance of this unity (Jick & Peiperi, 2010). People moved up under performance and rank was of no concern. Recruitment was rigorous also in that potential employees had to undergo the personality test. SIA believed "you can't change attitude" (Jick & Peiperi, 2010). The company tested on the personality test to find the right employees. The traits of narcissism lack of selfregulation lack of remorse, and lack of conscience have been identified as those displayed by bullies (Boddy, 2011). SIA deliberately tested to avoid such traits. What do world-class organizations need to do to improve and change continuously? The duality of continuity and change has conventionally been treated as a dilemma, i.e. either to be in continuity or to change. In the post-modern concept of change management, this duality is reformulated as a paradox so as to deal with continuity and change side by side (Sushil, 2013). In the context of strategic change, an interesting duality is of continuous change versus discontinuous change. Continuous change implies that the post change stage in an organization maintains a linkage with the pre change stage (Sushil, 2013). For example, change happening in various business processes by way of continuous improvement leading to the evolution of the same process (Sushil, 2013). In contrast, discontinuous change would mean almost no relationship between pre and post change stages. Some prominent examples of discontinuous change are: business process reengineering, and blue ocean strategy. Business process reengineering works on a clean slate approach leading to fundamental change in the process design resulting in dramatic improvement in performance (Sushil, 2013). Innovations can be instructional products, process changes or a new instrument (Porter, 2005). References Boddy, C. R. (2011). Corporate psychopaths, bullying and unfair supervision in the workplace. Journal of Business Ethics, 100(3), 367-379. Jick, T. D., & Peiperi, M. (2010). Managing change: Cases and concepts (3rd ed.): McGraw-Hill Higer Education. Porter, B. E. (2005). Time and implementing change. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(6), 1063-1065. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2005.00576.x Sushil. (2013). Does continuous change imply continuity?, Editorial. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, pp. 123-124. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bah &AN=90309651&site=ehost-live&scope=site