Hrm in Singapore Airlines
SINGAPORE AIRLINES: WHAT IT TAKES TO SUSTAIN SERVICE EXCELLENCE – A SENIOR MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
Jochen Wirtz and Robert Johnston1
Published in: NUS Business School Research Paper Series, December 2001
1
Jochen Wirtz is Associate Professor of Marketing with the NUS Business School, Faculty of Business Administration, National University of Singapore, 17 Law Link, Singapore 117591, Tel: +65-8743656, Fax: +65-7795941, E- mail: fbawirtz@nus.edu.sg, Http://www.nus.edu.sg; Robert Johnston is Professor with the Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. We are most grateful to the various members of Singapore Airlines’ senior management, who generously provided their time, ideas and secrets to success in a number of in-depth interviews. The case was commissioned by the Institute of Customer Service in the UK as part of a study into Service Excellence. The authors gratefully acknowledge the sponsorship provided by Britannic Assurance, FirstGroup, Lloyds TSB, RAC Motoring Services, and Vodafone. We also like to acknowledge Karen Liaw, Public Affairs, Singapore Airlines for arranging our interviews with SIA’s management, and Jasmine M.C. Ow for providing excellent research assistance throughout this project.
2 SINGAPORE AIRLINES: WHAT IT TAKES TO SUSTAIN SERVICE EXCELLENCE – A SENIOR MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
ABSTRACT
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading carriers. This article reports a series of in-depth interviews with SIA’s senior management on the ir views on what made SIA a service champion, and what it will take to maintain its lead in the industry. Excerpts from there interviews were broadly organised into the four sections: (1) SIA’s Perspective of Service Excellence, (2) Understanding Customers and Anticipating their Needs, (3) Training and Motivating the Front Line, and (4) Managing with an Eye for Detail and Profits.
3 SINGAPORE AIRLINES: WHAT IT TAKES TO SUSTAIN
Jochen Wirtz and Robert Johnston1
Published in: NUS Business School Research Paper Series, December 2001
1
Jochen Wirtz is Associate Professor of Marketing with the NUS Business School, Faculty of Business Administration, National University of Singapore, 17 Law Link, Singapore 117591, Tel: +65-8743656, Fax: +65-7795941, E- mail: fbawirtz@nus.edu.sg, Http://www.nus.edu.sg; Robert Johnston is Professor with the Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. We are most grateful to the various members of Singapore Airlines’ senior management, who generously provided their time, ideas and secrets to success in a number of in-depth interviews. The case was commissioned by the Institute of Customer Service in the UK as part of a study into Service Excellence. The authors gratefully acknowledge the sponsorship provided by Britannic Assurance, FirstGroup, Lloyds TSB, RAC Motoring Services, and Vodafone. We also like to acknowledge Karen Liaw, Public Affairs, Singapore Airlines for arranging our interviews with SIA’s management, and Jasmine M.C. Ow for providing excellent research assistance throughout this project.
2 SINGAPORE AIRLINES: WHAT IT TAKES TO SUSTAIN SERVICE EXCELLENCE – A SENIOR MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE
ABSTRACT
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading carriers. This article reports a series of in-depth interviews with SIA’s senior management on the ir views on what made SIA a service champion, and what it will take to maintain its lead in the industry. Excerpts from there interviews were broadly organised into the four sections: (1) SIA’s Perspective of Service Excellence, (2) Understanding Customers and Anticipating their Needs, (3) Training and Motivating the Front Line, and (4) Managing with an Eye for Detail and Profits.
3 SINGAPORE AIRLINES: WHAT IT TAKES TO SUSTAIN