Business Studies

Complete the case study exercise, Spirit Airlines: Reducing the Cost of “No-Frills.” A transcript of this interactive exercise is also available.

Consider what you learned in the experience and respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:

Is process improvement alone a sufficient response to Spirit’s declining profits?
What other changes should Spirit make?
In what ways can the airline integrate empathy into its dealings with both employees and customers? Do you think it would make a difference?
What measurable outcomes should Sprit seek during the process improvement effort? Why?

ANSWER

Spirit’s Declining Profits

Business process improvement engages automating procedures and reorganizing operational resources to contain costs. The organization’s most significant inefficiencies and incorporates other software and applications essential in connecting available systems and cutting down manual labor. This process alone cannot be sufficient for Spirit Airlines because it must also consider improving its customer relations techniques. Users have complained about the airline’s customer service, with some reports ranking it as the worst company in America.

Other Changes

Misleading pricing has been another complaint presented by customers where they charge for additional luggage, which other airlines do not levy. Once these items are considered, the total price of flying on Spirit usually is more significant than that of competitors. This is an area the company has to restructure and remove these unnecessary charges. A flight delay is another area the business should consider improving because they upset clients who seek other alternatives. These two areas require full implementation of working processes, which will enhance the general service production to customers.

Integrating Empathy

Empathy can be outlined as the human capacity to experience another individual’s status from his/her opinion. More so in the business surrounding this refers to showing sympathetic feelings towards the consumer and his issues and acknowledging both positive and negative emotions that might happen. Spirit airlines can incorporate empathy into their services by treating their clients with compassion, have conversations with passengers and consider their thoughts (Travis, 2013). These actions would make a difference because when customers are treated well, the airline benefits from a unique competitive advantage.

Measurable Outcomes

One significant way that businesses remain competitive is through enhancing the available process, both financial and operational. Accomplishing these procedures need the creation of a way to measure improvements continually. Spirit Airlines ought to create metrics; measurable details of a system that will collect information before and after the change is introduced. Outcomes such as increased revenue, process improvements and increased profitability are essential to the business because it helps evaluate how effective the implemented approaches are performing from diverse standpoints.

References

Travis, D. (2013, July 23). Empathy, emotion, and the customer experience. www.retailcustomerexperience.com. https://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/articles/empathy-emotion-and-the-customer-experience/.