PIA vs AIRBLUE

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR OF PIA AND AIRBLUE

INTRODUCTION The project aims to analyze the organizational behaviour of two organizations belonging to the same nature of industry; one from the public sector while the other from the private sector sector of Pakist Pakistan. an. Pakist Pakistan an Intern Internati ational onal Airline Airliness is select selected ed as the publicpublic-sec sector tor organization whereas Airblue as the private-sector organization.

A comparative study of the two organizations comparing and contrasting on various parameters of Organizational Behaviour has been carried out in the report. This has been done to analyze the impact of individuals, groups and structures on behaviour within the organization for the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the organization.

Thus Thus,, the the repor reportt eval evaluat uates es the the two two orga organi nizat zatio ions ns on thei theirr organ organiz izat atio iona nall cultu culture re,, leadership styles, employee behaviour, development and motivation, group behaviour and organizational politics. After a thorough analysis, recommendations have been proposed to improve the efficacy of the organization.

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HISTORICAL PROFILE

PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is a national airline, operating passenger and cargo services covering eighty-two domestic and foreign destinations. Established in 1955, PIA has a vast experience in the airline industry of Pakistan with a large fleet of aircrafts. The fleet size is forty.

PIA is a huge corporation with more than 17,000 employees. This organization is divided into following departments: Human Resource and Administration, Marketing, Corporate Planning, Information Services, Finance, Flight Services, Flight Operation, Engineering, Procur Procuremen ementt and Logisti Logistics, cs, Custom Customer er Service Services, s, Train Training ing and Develo Developme pment, nt, Qualit Quality y Assurance.

The organogram of the organization follows, with the Chairman at the top and directors of depar departm tment entss repo report rtin ing g to him. him. The The stru struct ctur uree is cent centra rali lized zed with with the the toptop-le level vel management making the decisions.

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FIGURE 1: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF PIA

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AIRBLUE

Establi Establishe shed d in 2003, 2003, Airblue Airblue is a privat privatee airlin airlinee which which offer offerss passen passenger ger and cargo cargo transportation to both domestic and foreign destinations. There are nine destinations of Airblue. It is credited as the first private carrier of Pakistan to operate the Airbus A320 and introduce e-ticketing, wireless check-in and self check-in kiosk facilities. The major depart departmen ments ts includ include: e: Human Human Resour Resource, ce, Market Marketing ing,, Sales, Sales, Financ Finance, e, Operat Operation ionss and Systems Support and IT.

The size of the organization is not as huge as PIA and mostly comprises of young


AIRBLUE

Establi Establishe shed d in 2003, 2003, Airblue Airblue is a privat privatee airlin airlinee which which offer offerss passen passenger ger and cargo cargo transportation to both domestic and foreign destinations. There are nine destinations of Airblue. It is credited as the first private carrier of Pakistan to operate the Airbus A320 and introduce e-ticketing, wireless check-in and self check-in kiosk facilities. The major depart departmen ments ts includ include: e: Human Human Resour Resource, ce, Market Marketing ing,, Sales, Sales, Financ Finance, e, Operat Operation ionss and Systems Support and IT.

The size of the organization is not as huge as PIA and mostly comprises of young employees. It is the first airline to have employees trained according to international standards. It is technologically advanced though the size of the fleet is not comparable to that of PIA. The fleet size of Airblue is eight.

The organogram of the organization follows. It shows that the employees report to their divisional heads that in turn are answerable to the Chief Executive Officer.

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FIGURE 2: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF AIRBLUE

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1.1. CULTURE The The dist distin ingu guis ishe hed d cult cultur uree is deter determi mine ned d by the the visi vision on and and valu values es commu communi nicat cated ed throughout throughout the structure structure and amongst amongst people. Since Pakistan International International Airlines Airlines is a bureaucratic organization, so the culture is similar to that of any gove rnment organization. On the contrary, Airblue is a privately held company and has an open-organization cult cultur ure. e. The The cult cultur uree dete determ rmin ines es the the type type of lead leader ersh ship ip,, comm communi unica cati tion on and grou group p dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcome is performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development.


1.1. CULTURE The The dist distin ingu guis ishe hed d cult cultur uree is deter determi mine ned d by the the visi vision on and and valu values es commu communi nicat cated ed throughout throughout the structure structure and amongst amongst people. Since Pakistan International International Airlines Airlines is a bureaucratic organization, so the culture is similar to that of any gove rnment organization. On the contrary, Airblue is a privately held company and has an open-organization cult cultur ure. e. The The cult cultur uree dete determ rmin ines es the the type type of lead leader ersh ship ip,, comm communi unica cati tion on and grou group p dynamics within the organization. The workers perceive this as the quality of work life which directs their degree of motivation. The final outcome is performance, individual satisfaction, and personal growth and development.

1.2. VISION OF PIA ‘To ‘To be a world class airline exceeding customer cus tomer expectations through dedicated employees committed to excellence.’

1.3. VISION OF AIRBLUE ‘To provide exceptional customer service at low prices.’

FIGURE 3: SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANIZA ORGAN IZATIONAL TIONAL CULTURE CULTURE

CHARACTERISTICS

PIA

AIRBLUE

INNOVATION AND RISK TAKING INNOVA ATTENTION TO DETAIL OUTCOME ORIENTATION PEOPLE ORIENTATION TEAM ORIENTATION AGGRESSIVENESS

Low Low High Low High Low

High High Low High High Low

STABILITY

High

Low

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The results show that PIA focuses more on the goal rather than means to achieve it while Airblu Airbluee does the opposit opposite. e. Theref Therefore ore,, employ employees ees are highly highly valued valued in Airblue. Airblue. The charac character terist istics ics and values values form form the organi organizat zation ional al struct structure ure which which determ determine iness the behaviour of employees and the effectiveness e ffectiveness of the organization.

1.4. VALUES FIGURE 4: VALUES OF PIA

FIGURE 5: VALUES OF O F AIRBLUE

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2.1. EFFECT OF LEADERSHIP ON DECISION-MAKING A public organization, PIA, has an autocratic style of leadership. The decisions are made by the top level management without involving their employees. These decisions are primarily policy-based decisions like the purchase of new planes, replacement of new fleets and changes in the fares of tickets. On the other hand, Airblue involves employees in the decision making process, however, the right to make the final decision rests with the author authoriti ities. es. The top managem management ent reserv reserves es the right right to take take decisio decisions ns regard regarding ing discount offering, chartering of flight, or investment in any particular sector. Therefore, Airblue follows a participative style of leadership.

FIGURE 6: LEADERSHIP STYLES

AIRBLUE Leaders

PIA Leaders

AIRBLUE Employees

PIA Employees

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2.2. DELEGATION OF TASKS TASKS Delegation of authority is limited due to the centralized structure of PIA. The authorities reserve the right to make decisions in interim board meetings.

Airblue has a decentralized structure: it believes in delegating power to its employees. Decentralized structure helps in motivating employees through involving them in the decision making process.

The scope of delegation of power in Airblue depends upon situation; the more critical the situation the more top level management is involved and vise versa. This is because at the end of the day, decision making affects the processes. Thus, decisions are made by right people-the competent and experienced employees.

To ensure job involvement of their employees, Airblue believes in empowering them according to their designations. Apart from that, there are some restrictions like every employee cannot visit the passenger check –in data. Only the authorized employees, who use ‘ED NET’ (intranet, (intranet, protected by strong firewall) have the access to such information. This leads to differentiating one employee from the other in terms of delega tion.

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3.1. EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES At PIA, PIA, every every employ employee ee is expecte expected d to show show comple complete te respons responsibi ibilit lity y throug through h their their attitudes attitudes and avoid behaviour which clashes clashes directly directly with the organizati organization’ on’ss interest. interest. In case of deviant workplace behaviour, administrative action is taken against the employee according to the standing rules of PIA.

POLICIES ES AND All All huma human n reso resour urce ce issu issues es are are deal dealtt in acco accord rdan ance ce with with the the POLICI PROCEDURES MANUAL VOL. I & II , which deals with every aspect of employee

behavior.

At Airb Airblu lue, e, if a conf confli lict ct aris arises es betw betwee een n the the indi indivi vidu dual al’’s work work behav behavio iorr and and the the organizationally desired behavior, there exists a formal ‘Resolution Process’ in which an inquiry committee takes a thorough review of the problem. The employee is called personally and the matter is discussed along with a verbal warning. If the situation arises again, the employee is given a written warning to strongly clarify his inappropriate performance. The third time a letter of termination is handed over to that person. This signifies that Airblue is very particular in maintaining high standards of quality, negligent behavior is never overlooked.

3.2. TRAINING TO ENHANCE ATTITUDES A PIA Training Center (PTC), operating in Karachi, conducts training courses to augment the skills skills of employ employees ees while while the scope scope for enhanci enhancing ng their their attitu attitudes des (belie (beliefs fs and emotions) through these courses is meager.

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Airblue does not conduct any formal training programs regarding the development of empl employ oyee ee atti attitu tudes des:: beli belief efss and emot emotio ions ns.. Inst Instea ead, d, Gene Genera rall work worksh shops ops such such as ‘Sign ‘Signifi ificanc cancee of Adapta Adaptable ble Attitu Attitudes des in Organi Organizat zation ions’ s’ and ‘Enhanc ‘Enhancee Perfor Performan mance ce throug through h Attitu Attitudes des’’ are being being conduct conducted. ed. Further Further,, employ employees ees are given given instru instructi ctions ons regarding the attitude norms set by the organization.

3.3. EMPLOYEE DISSATISFACTION If PIA believes that dissatisfaction or absenteeism is affecting the productivity level of employees, then the root cause of such factors is identified. If a genuine reason emerges, the employee is assisted in rectifying the situation; if not, then the employee might get a letter of warning.

Employees at PIA can express dissatisfaction through the ‘Suggestion Boxes’ located at various sites of PIA. Furthermore, quarterly employee co-ordination meetings are held where all employees can share their views with their bo sses and subordinates.

If Airblue perceives factors such as dissatisfaction or absenteeism are leading to the decline in productivity then following measures can be taken:

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Shifts among the employees can be rotated. There are 2-3 shifts in day so they can take turns doing the shifts from morning to evening as convenient.

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•

In case of frequent absenteeism, AirBlue investigates the reason. If the reason is valid, the company voluntarily grants the employee a leave, for instance, if an employ employee ee is gettin getting g marrie married d or a member member of his/he his/herr family family is critic criticall ally y ill. ill. However, under normal circumstances, absenteeism is unacceptable apart from the stated holidays.

In the employee wishes to raise his voice against dissatisfaction, there is a proper channel to report the issue at Airblue. Airblue. Initially, Initially, the employee can report to the supervisor supervisor. If the problem still persists, then the matter can be taken to the assistant manager, who in accordance with the marketing or other senior manager takes into consideration the cause of employee dissatisfaction.

3.4. CODE OF CONDUCT If the code of conduct is violated in PIA, a ‘Show Cause Letter’ is issued while in severe cases the employee is suspended until a proper p roper investigation takes place.

Airblue strictly emphasis on the code of conduct for its employees as it aims to maintain the behavioral ethics set by the organization. In case of a conflict over the code of conduct, then formal discussion between the employee and the upper management takes place to resolve the issue. Largely, the organization believes in maintaining a flexible culture for the employees.

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4.1. RECRUITMENT AND HIRING An entire Recruitment and Selection Division is functioning in the HR & Administration Department. Decisions are taken by the top management of PIA regarding the attributes requir required ed for hiring hiring.. An assessm assessment ent form, form, based based on certai certain n charac character terist istics ics such such as personality, skills and qualifications, is used to evaluate a candidate. The verdict of the management management is forwarded forwarded to the recruitmen recruitmentt division division which then initiates the procedure procedure of recruitment and selection.

After difficult circumstances the Human Resource Department is now fully functional and policies and procedures are now in place. New recruitments with clearly defined levels of skill and competence in all areas are being made. New inductions both on the management side and specifically the operational side of cockpit crew, cabin crew and ground engineers will continue at regular intervals so that the shortages experienced in these areas are fully taken care. The policy is to promote people from within the airline at all levels. However, where PIA does not find the relevant competencies they hire people from outside which is based on market salaries. Salaries of all the employees including operational crew have been considerably enhanced in an effort to align PIA salaries with regional airlines over a period of time.

The hiring process is centralized as it is done by the top level HR team by Airblue. Airblue incorporates various initiatives for the employee development program as it leads to increa increased sed produc productiv tivity ity of the organi organizat zation ion.. The organi organizat zation ion evaluat evaluates es severa severall personality attributes at the time of recruitment. These include the following:

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Language Skills: Airblue prefers people with fluent spoken English and coherent

speech delivery, particularly for employees as operators and at helpline centers to provide fast and efficient services. •

Level of Knowledge: Evaluations are based on the academic backgrounds and

past educational educational performance performances, s, especially especially the extent of mastery mastery in their required field. •

The extent extent to whic which h he/sh he/shee can can bear bear Confide Confidence nce Level Level of the Employe Employee: e: The pressure such as workload and unexpected situational handling is gauged. Further, the degree of being an extrovert is judged.

•

Level Level of Adaptab Adaptabilit ility: y: As Airb Airblue lue requ requir ires es the the ‘bes ‘bestt fit’ fit’ pers person on for for thei their r

organization, the level of adaptability is essential to adjust in the culture.

4.2. EMPLOYEE PROMOTION During promotions experience, skill, education and past performance of the employee are considered, however, experience takes precedence over all other deciding factors. PIA believes that experienced employees have the knowledge and expertise, gained over years, to handle diverse employees and unpreced ented situations.

Regarding preference of experience over the skill or vice versa for the promotions, Airblue prefers skills as compared to experience. This suggests that the organization has a dynamic culture that respects talent and caliber over the constraint to attain a certain experience. experience. The top management management evaluates evaluates employee employee performance performance continuously continuously and acutely, acutely, and rewards the deserving ones o nes through promotions.

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4.3. COMMUNICATION The organizational structure of PIA is centralized, therefore decision-making is a timeconsuming process and delays occur in downward communication. Though, it is believed that the current Chairman is inclined towards a decentralized system, the effectiveness of such an approach in PIA remains to be seen.

Effective communication is essential in all organizations and it becomes even more essential in an organization like PIA due to its large size and expanded network. It is necessary that people from various departments communicate between each other to have an overall uniformity. Previously fax was widely used to transmit information, however, with the technological advancement e-mails are used for this purpose. Another mode of communication is through letters.

The preferred means of communication at Airblue among different departments is via email, through internet, since it saves time. In addition to this, there is quite frequent intermingling of people across different department. Cross functional teams often meet together to discuss issues at hand.

4.4. FEEDBACK Empl Employ oyee ee feedb feedbac ack k is cons consid ider ered ed impo import rtant ant in PIA PIA to an exte extent nt as it enabl enables es the the management and the human resource department to have an insight on the needs and the requi require reme ment ntss of the the empl employ oyees ees.. Accor Accordi ding ngly ly top top mana managem gemen entt is info inform rmed ed about about

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employees’ necessities which have led to decisions being made in the favor of the employees in the past and has also a lso improved overall system of the organization.

Airblu Airbluee strongl strongly y focuse focusess on employ employee ee feedbac feedback k to enhance enhance the product productivi ivity ty of the organization. This is conducted in two patterns:

•

Informal feedback is conducted throughout the year. Employees can easy access

their their higher higher offic official ialss for any kind kind of issues issues,, sugges suggestio tions ns or compla complaint ints. s. Every Every feedback is regarded carefully and sent to the higher management if it serious in nature. •

Formal feedback is conducted once in a year. This involves a formal documentation

processes. Every employee gives their open feedback and these complete documents are forwarded to the top management where a formal meeting is conducted to discuss every issue governing employee satisfaction, suggestion or complaint.

Apart from this, any striking idea from employees, if it actually suits the organization interest interest is soon adopted adopted and the employee employee is given due credit for that in either monetary terms or promotion. This shows the high employee involvement in the organization culture.

4.5 JOB ROTATION At PIA, employees are not rotated amongst various departments unless they request for a rotation.

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In order to make the employees familiar with multi-dimensional tasks, employees are rotated within the department at Airblue: employees in finance exchange tasks relating to finance; employees for operations are rotated so they learn various kinds of operations instead of one. However, there is no rotation between dep artments.

4.6. EMPLOYEE SECURITY According to the “Business Principles & Ethics Policy”, employees at PIA are required to maintai maintain n an environm environment ent,, devoid devoid of harass harassmen ment, t, in which which all member memberss are equally equally respected and encouraged to contribute to the best of their abilities in an atmosphere of freed freedom om and and mutu mutual al trus trust. t. Empl Employ oyees ees are are encou encoura rage ged d to voice voice thei theirr troub trouble less and and apprehensions so that dissatisfaction levels are curbed.

Airblue believes in maintaining a secure culture within the organization to rule out any verbal abuse, sexual harassment or any other irregularity. The company maintains a set of HR policies that clearly defines the issues, procedural solutions and the penalties the violator has to bear. Especially for those departments where there is more female staff, a supervisor is kept to check for any irregularity on every shift to ensure a safe working environment.

4.7. EXIT INTERVIEWS At PIA, exit interviews depend on the immediate supervisors and Departmental Heads. Some of them are keen on the idea, others are not: there is no clear policy for exit interviews.

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During downsizing employees are offered different packages such as a ‘Golden Hand Shake’ in in which employees are paid a lump sum amount for their services. This is done do ne to maintain a healthy relationship between the management and the employees and also to make employees feel that they are being taken care of in the organization.

Airblue always carries out exit interviews if employees voluntarily want to leave the organization. In exit interviews, a thorough review is conducted to find the causes of dissatisf dissatisfaction, action, differences differences in organizati organizational onal culture, culture, adaptability adaptability dilemma and salary salary issues. A separate record is maintained for all such employees and then based on that, the employees are provided with additional tools for continuous motivation and enhanced satisfaction.

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5.1. MONETARY REWARDS Amid a highly competitive environment, PIA needs to motivate its employees. For this purpose, ‘Promotion Boards’ are held twice a year. ‘Extra-mile Awards’ are handed over to the competent employees. An ‘Employee Suggestion Scheme’ gives employees an opportunity to be vociferous regarding their issues. The three best suggestions are given monetary awards ranging from Rs.5000 to Rs. 20,000.

Apart from the basic salary, fringe benefits are in the form of Medical Entitlement, Free/Rebated Air Tickets, Utility Allowance, Rent Allowance and Meals at discounted rates.

In contrast to this, Airblue incorporates a vibrant culture of motivating its employees through different tools to ensure continuous satisfaction, growth and energizing behavior. The core core element elementss used used to motivat motivatee employ employees ees are yearly yearly and quarter quarterly ly moneta monetary ry appraisals based on their outstanding performance.

5.2. EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION Employee satisfaction is essential for the retention of competent employees at PIA. The management management strives to achieve this by promoting promoting employees employees in next pay groups (moveover), giving monetary rewards (bonuses) and transferring employees to foreign posts.

Airblue Airblue emphasizes emphasizes on employee employee satisfacti satisfaction on because it believes believes that employees employees are the essence of the organization. Satisfied employees produce better performances which

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enhance customers’ perception about the organization. The Vision Statement of Airblue cannot be achieved unless the employees and customers are satisfied.

Airblue gives special consideration to its highly competent employees. For continuous motivation that keeps the driving force within these people alive, Airblue uses several channels that include:

•

Long-term additional benefits: educational loans for the children, medical and free air-traveling facilities through Airblue, greater insurance benefits and several other perks and privileges.

•

Contin Continuou uouss rise rise in salari salaries es and bonuses bonuses when when employe employees es exceed exceed pre-se pre-sett target targets. s. However, continuous review is also kept on the performances so that any decline in performance can be monitored and rectified. Notice is then immediately sent to the concerned competent person for his h is notification.

•

Promotions that include job enrichment program are included in the motivation plan, so that the competent employees could be given more challenging jobs in order to sharpen their decision making and intellectual skills.

•

Airblue is expanding its operations as it has recently started its flight service to Manchester on June 1, 2007 and would soon be launching its operation to USA. They motivate motivate employees through short training training courses courses abroad where they are paid extra bonuses bonuses US Dollars Dollars along with regular regular salary. salary. The expansion process enables quick and better job promotions to these foreign flights, though the criterion is strict and it is

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mandatory to complete certain number of flight hours before employees are taken to foreign flights.

Airblue conducts various program and meetings to signify the achievements made by its employees that depend on particular region, District or Sales Office. The ceremony for this purpose is held every third month and titles such as ‘Employee of the Quarter’ or ‘Employee of the Year’ are awarded. They have the ‘Travel Counselor of the Quarter’ whos whosee job job is to handl handlee the the trav travel elin ing g and and vari various ous flig flight ht proc proces esse sess the the custom customer er convenience. According to the Area Manager: “We “We consistently challenge our employees (to remain competitive) by maintaining a healthy competition between them. For example we divide our aircraft maintenance staff into teams and challenge them to turnaround the aircraft within 35 minutes. If they finish the task before time (say 32 minutes), their team gets 5 points. These points are added at fixed intervals and are used to recognize and reward teams with excellent performance.”

5.3. FLEXIBILITY IN REWARDS Ther There e is no flexib flexibili ility ty in the compan company’s y’s benefi benefits ts and admini administr strati ative ve procedures according to the policy of PIA. This can also be due to the reason that the organization hires contractual employees regularly.

Airblu Airbluee does does not have have benefi benefits ts and admini administr strati ative ve polici policies es that are unique unique for any particular employee: they are unanimously applicable to all employees. However, there is some leniency for senior officials; for instance, a person amongst the top management

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who had served for considerably longer period of time will enjoy more health and insurance benefits as compared to a person of middle level management

5.4. NARRATING SUCCESS STORIES The success stories at PIA are narrated to employees in order to motivate them and obtain the finest performances from them.

Airblue believes in narrating past examples, of those who have made an extraordinary differ difference ence in the organi organizat zation ion,, as an essent essential ial tool tool to motiva motivate te employe employees. es. This This is achieved through two methods:

•

Quarterly Conferences are conducted in their press room where they call some worthy guest to address the employees to narrate paradigm examples from the past.

•

Being highly technologytechnology-orien oriented, ted, they mail the success success and development stories of renowned people to ev every ery employee, from the head office, for easy access.

5.5. SHARING OF INFORMATION Effo Effort rtss are are made made by PIA PIA’s manag managem ement ent to ensu ensure re that that empl employ oyees ees are are expos exposed ed to information in a manner which minimizes uncertainty amongst them so that they are not disillusioned. However, information through grapevine disturbs this p rocess at times.

In terms of sharing information to its employees about company apprehensions, Airblue does does not disclo disclose se complet completee inform informati ation on to its middle middle and lower lower managem management ent,, only

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inform informati ation on releva relevant nt to employ employees ees is disclo disclosed sed.. This, This, howeve howeverr, never never acts acts as a demotivating tool for its employees rather it is a part of the organization charter that is set by the top level management. However, customer feedback is notified to every employee for acknowledgement and improvement purposes.

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6.1. TEAMWORK In an airline industry almost all tasks are performed through team work and PIA is not any different. From ticket reservation to the landing of the plane team work is the decisive factor. Employees work in various teams such as ground staff, cabin crew, flight attendants, office staff etc. All these teams have different sets of tasks to perform but cohesion among these teams is necessary to run the day to day operations. Considering the diverse nature of employees PIA has, it is difficult to make team work e fficient so it is major challenge for them.

Airblue strongly believes that its efficiency and effectiveness is attributed to team work, so it takes all measure to enhance teamwork performance. The work processes are carried out by mutual collaboration, and the right distribution of work according to the caliber of employees. To enhance team spirit among various teams that are meant for specific project or assignment, the organization motivates them through certificates, shields, and personal word of appreciation. The continuous interaction with each other and learning as a one unit un it helps to increase overall productivity. productivity.

6.2. FORMAL GROUPS At present, all unions have been banned in all public/semi-government organizations under the policy of the government. Disagreement among employees is resolved through applications and appeals. Some cases may be dealt by the ELT (Employee Leadership Team), headed by the Chairman.

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Being a service provider, Airblue does not have any labor unions that could go on strike due to disagreements. If disagreement occurs, the issue is taken to the concerned manager for mutual discussions to resolve the issue. The organization takes care in providing convenience to its employee to avoid disagreement situation.

6.3. INFLUENCE OF GROUPS ON DECISION-MAKING The sheer size of the organization leads to the formulation of various formal and informal groups at PIA. The informal groups influence the overall decision making process to some extent due to the nature of the workplace. These informal groups are formed because many employees have been there in the organization for several years and they share common interests.

At Airblue, only formal teams have the authority to take part in the decision making process while informal teams does not take part in such processes. Nevertheless their good work is always appreciated.

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POWER AND POLITICS In PIA employees are less empowered which means all the power rests with the top level management and they can exercise it at their will. Also their power cannot be challenged by the employees employees and compliance compliance to the decisions being made by them is essential. essential. We We can also say that in PIA that that legiti legitimat matee power power is exercis exercised. ed. This also also leads leads to high high employee dissatisfaction because in order to be influential one needs to have personal cont contac acts ts.. This This is the the reas reason on empl employ oyee eess focu focuss more more on netw networ orki king ng rath rather er than than concentrating on their jobs. We were not able to get an insight on the various political issue issuess in the organi organizat zation ion but it is a common common observ observati ation on that that illegi illegitim timate ate politi political cal behaviour is a common practice. It is present in the form of nepotism, intentionally damaging the image of other employees.

In Airblue Airblue employees are empowered and have a freedom to express express their own opinions though compliance to the decisions being made is also mandatory there but before the decisions are being made employees feedback are taken. Contacts do matter but the level of compete competency ncy overwh overwhelm elmss it. In Airblue Airblue expert expert power power is exerci exercised sed and employ employee ee feedback is considered essential.

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CONCLUSION Organizational Behavior forms an integral part of any organization for prosperity. Greater emphasis needs to be laid on controlling and monitoring of organizational behavior because in the present dynamic environment employees are the key to success in any organization.

It has been observed that PIA and Airblue share similarities and differences. This is mainly due to the varying structures and leadership styles. As mentioned on various account accounts, s, PIA has a centra centraliz lized ed struct structure ure in contras contrastt to the decentr decentrali alized zed nature nature of Airb Airblu lue. e. This This has caus caused ed highe higherr conf confli lict ctss and poor poor manag managem emen entt of emplo employe yees es as decisions are made by the top level management without involving the employees. In addition, this leads to complexities in employee tasks as it takes more time to reach the information from top to bottom. Due to this bureaucratic nature of PIA, inefficiencies have crept in and morale of the employees has plummeted over the years.

Delegation of tasks is minimal at PIA. The current status of employees is less control and authority over different tasks apart from their own assigned tasks, so employees feel distant as far as other issues and problems of the departments are concerned.

Both have centralized hiring processes. However, PIA emphasizes on experience whereas Airblue Airblue prefers prefers skills. skills. Therefore, Therefore, the organizati organization on has young and active employees employees who may lack in experie experience nce but not compet competence ence.. This This has increa increased sed product productivi ivity ty of the employees and consequently of the organization.

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Both Both prefer prefer commun communica icatio tion n through through electr electroni onicc mails. mails. However However,, Airblu Airbluee has direct direct communications in the form of meetings of cross-functional teams. This enables two-way communication in contrast to the to-down communication at PIA.

Relatively effective channels of expressing dissatisfaction are present at Airblue. The meetings and suggestion boxes at PIA are ineffective; employees feel reluctant to voice their concerns in a meeting amid others and complaints in the suggestion boxes take time to reach bosses and therefore, action is postponed.

It has been observed that Pakistan International Airlines fears change. They fear that the system will become unstable, their security will be lost, and they will not understand the new process, therefore, will not know how to respond to the new situations. PIA turned its attention on employees when it faced competition. Otherwise, it was concentrating more on expansion expansion and profitabil profitability: ity: an outcome oriented approach. On the contrary, contrary, Airblue has maintained a culture focused on their employees from its inception.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

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DECENTRALIZATION PIA should should decentralize decentralize is its structure structure that would lead to the easy management, management, increased motivation, easy access to information and resolution of the conflicts (as they would be resolved by the immediate manger time span would then reduced). Since Since employe employees es issue issuess regard regarding ing their their behavi behavior or would would lessen lessen,, so it would would ultima ultimatel tely y lead to more more satisf satisfied ied employ employees ees that that would would result result in enhanced enhanced productivity of the organization.

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EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT PIA should make efforts towards empowering the employees that is going to lead to more employee participation in the decision making process and also result in more employee satisfaction and enhanced motivation. Apart from this, employees would feel more independent to discuss the issues explicitly without hesitation. This would also enhance team work process at PIA as quality team and crossfunctional teams. The employees will work with more commitment and dedication and every employee would work to his/her fullest due to increased motivation. However, with empowerment comes accountability, so it is suggested that while they empower their employees, there should also be a “controlled check’’ on them

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to ensue the correct usage of power delegated to every employees within their circumscribed limits.

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OVERHEAD COSTS PIA should also reduce its overhead costs that are it should mange its resources: labour more effectively, so that with less input, more out put can be achieved and the saved resour resources ces can be utiliz utilized ed in other other areas areas such such as introd introduci ucing ng more more training courses for the employees so that the quality of the workforce could be increased. Hiring the services of expertise can improve the efficiency of their services, so by saving the overhead costs, they can utilize that money for the expertise services. So by analyzing the various segments of the organization and making making the right right correct correction ions, s, it can substa substanti ntiall ally y improv improvee the standar standards ds of Organizational behaviour beh aviour..

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TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION The suggestions of the employees can prove to be very effective in improving the oper operat atio ions ns as they they are are the the ones ones who who manag managee them them.. Ther Theref efor ore, e, a toptop-do down wn approac approach h should should be replace replaced d with with two-wa two-way y communi communicat cation ions. s. In this this way, way, the empl employ oyees ees woul would d feel feel moti motiva vate ted d and valu valued ed as they they woul would d be incl include uded d in decision-making.

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AIRBLUE

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Consistent hiring policies should be administered and should not change from time to time.

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People should be encouraged to exercise expert power. New venture teams should be incorporated to develop new ideas based on the feedback taken from customers and employees.

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Total quality management should be catered to within the work groups and implementation of various skill enhancement programs for quality and productivity improvements such as Six Sigma should be provided to its executive employees.

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PIA vs AIRBLUE

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