MBA – Adding Value for Aviation

I was disappointed to read the media’s recent attack on MBA qualifications as a form of higher education. Although, at best, this piece came across as attention seeking and sensationalist, the potential impact it could have on a candidate to seize the opportunities created by such a qualification could be devastating, should either they or their financiers believe this self-serving hype.

For those that have not read the article entitled “Harvard’s Masters of The Apocalypse”, the author lists a number of ‘infamous’ Harvard MBA graduates and firmly lays the blame for the current economic crisis at their feet. The list, which only details high-profile, male graduates, in my eyes just confirms that there are always exceptions and that anyone can manipulate data in order to make broad generalisations, that are meaningless.

For me, although I cannot comment on Harvard’s MBA that the author of the article holds, one of the best decisions I have ever made was to invest in putting myself through the MBA programme and I genuinely believe it has provided added-value to both my employers and the aviation industry as a whole.

My career in aviation, as detailed in my biography, started in 1994, when I joined British Airways’ new operations in Jordan. I rose quickly through the ranks through hard work and dedication – a personal trait that spurred me on to undertake the MBA programme as I knew it would help broaden my horizons.

I was certainly not disappointed with the programme as it introduced me to what has become a lifelong passion – Sustainability, Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility – which influenced my decision to undertake my dissertation on Aviation Sustainability and has, in turn, shaped my future career path.

And I was not the only one whose career approach was influenced by this module alone, many of my colleagues within the aviation industry that have completed MBAs and MScs have taken career paths towards sustainability – a significant area that will support the long term, environmentally-balanced, development of the industry. These new directions in aviation management were made possible through the undertaking of higher education qualifications, learning and bringing back the wealth of knowledge into our industry.

With this in mind, I feel that the article’s failure to acknowledge the good achievements of MBA graduates around the world actually serves to undermine the integrity of an entire education system that has helped people, industries and communities to move forward and progress. Placing the responsibility of the global economic failure squarely on the shoulders of a post-graduate degree is ridiculously simplistic and completely fails to place the accountability where it belongs. At the risk of of falling into the same trap, I will qualify what I am about to say by acknowledging what is commonly known; that the economic downturn is the result of several factors, but in my opinion, organisations played a leading role. Organisations have corporate visions, with supporting strategies and objectives that are set to achieve those visions. Their recruitment strategies are based on their corporate visions and strategies. If the organisation’s sole focus is on appearing to make significant profits, whatever the cost, then that is the type of graduate they will be seeking to employ.

I was really pleased to receive an email from Jeannette  Purcell, Association of MBAs CEO, to advise that the association have organised an event to meet with Mr Delves Broughton in a panel debate to address the absurd propositions he makes in his article. Here’s a link with more details.

I think really, the key question that potential MBA and postgraduate students should ask themselves is what is driving their  motivation to enter into higher education and how can they add real value to their industries through that higher education, as in this day and age, the key criteria for success in business is the need to meet the three sustainability standards  – economic, environmental and social.

Current Issues In Aviation

Hello and welcome to my first blog. Having worked in the aviation for more than 16 years, I am passionate about issues affecting the industry’s future, especially in terms of customer experience and sustainability.

This blog will focus on creating educated debate about those issues from an informed perspective, bringing to light the challenges that face both consumers and the industry alike and, hopefully, providing a platform for both to have a voice.

One key area that interests me is how the airlines service their diverse customer spectrum, especially in the tough economic climate.

The economic downturn has impacted dramatically on the airline industry and with increasing costs and environmental responsibility being taken by the carriers, I can understand how difficult it is for the airlines to differentiate themselves from the competition and attract customers.

The past decade has seen the industry focus on providing low budget options for customers, which has made air travel more accessible, but has impacted on service and created a greater void between the economy and business class experience.

Now, it has been reported that some airlines are to further increase this void by providing business travellers with buy-on-get-one free opportunities to the US.

My view is that this approach is not appropriate and that actually now is the time when the airlines should be focussing on providing a better service to all.

I do understand the rationale behind the idea of providing exceptional service to more wealthy clients being seen to possibly have a greater financial benefit. But, improving general levels of service to all customers would have an even greater return in terms of brand loyalty and customer satisfaction – overall reducing the investment needed to deal with customer complaints and refunds.

In doing this airlines would be able to re-inject the notion of ‘experience’ back into air travel to provide opportunities that are supported by a quality, rather than quantity assurance and reduce the divisions that seem to be reinforced on a daily basis.

In a recent online survey on travel trends that I carried out, certainly many respondents came back with comments demanding that airlines bring good customer service back into the economy cabins. Passengers are calling for good value for money, this clearly seems like a good a business opportunity for airlines that wish to differentiate their product and attract customers on board their aircraft.