Ryanair – Comprehensive Strategic Analysis and Evaluation of This Business Enterprise
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Comprehensive strategic analysis and evaluation of this business enterprise
which answers the following questions
In¬depth environmental analysis of the European Airline industry and discuss the implications for the budget sector and especially for Ryanair.
An integrated understanding of the functioning of a company – its human and technical operations, leadership, customer relationships and financial structure.
Implications of the internal functioning to create viable strategic positioning and discuss any changes to Ryanairs approach to ensure an improved sustainability
Evaluate the strategic leadership style of Michael OLeary
Table of Contents
i. Title Page
ii. Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Current strategic position
II.1 Market Segmentation
II.2 Prescriptive, Emergent or something unique
II.3 Competitive Advantages
III. Functioning
III.1 SWOT Analysis
III.2 Human and Technical Operations
III.3 Customer Relationships
III.4 Financial Structure
III.5 Leadership
III.6 Implications on strategic positioning
Environmental analysis
Recommendations
V.1 Changes to ensure sustainability
VI. Conclusion
VII. References
VIII. Bibliography
IX. Appendices
IX.1 Appendix A – PEST Analysis, Haberberg and Rieple (2001)
IX.2 Appendix B – Selected responses to survey on no¬frills airlines – Haberberg and Rieple (2001)
IX.3 Appendix C – Excerpt concerning Ryanairs dispute with the EU Commission
IX.4 Appendix D – Financial Information
I. Introduction
Ryanair is an Irish airline competing in the fairly recent development of the European budget airline industry. They are one of the key players within the market, and perhaps the most profitable.
This report undertakes a detailed study of Ryanair. It looks at Ryanairs current strategy and the management of that strategy. It identifies how the business operations and functions impacts on the carriers customer relations and leaderships with regard to their overall strategy.
It also gives a brief evaluation of Ryanairs financial structure as well as an environmental analysis of the European airline industry and how this affects Ryanair.
The report is mainly a case study analysis based on Eleanor OHiggins review of Ryanair conducted in 2004. However, other secondary research has been analysed and used to support the arguments put forward in this document.
II. Current strategic position
To evaluate any organisations strategic position certain factors have to be assessed. These include those below and also the environmental analysis which follows later in the report.
II.1 Market Segmentation
Ryanair lay claim to their market segment by stating they were Europes first no frills airline, www.ryanair.com. Ryanair have made strategic decisions based on increasing their competitive edge, the main one becoming involved in attracting customers at both ends of their routes. Haberberg and Rieple (2001), support this by showing that Ryanairs key source of revenue from as far back as a decade ago has been in enticing passengers from France, Italy and Scandinavia. This has had the advantage of increasing their market share as well as the added bonus of creating a well recognised brand name across Europe.
II.2 Prescriptive, Emergent or something unique?
A prescriptive corporate strategy is one where the objective has been defined in advance and the main elements have been developed before the strategy commences.an emergent corporate strategy is one whose final objective is unclear and whose elements are developed during the course of its life, as the strategy proceeds. Lynch (2000)
As is shown above by Lynch (2000) the two recognised strategy models are extremely different, however these are the two dominant strategy approaches as stated by Dennis Foster in his lecture on Managing Strategic Change (2006).
It is safe to recognise straight away that Ryanair does not sit uniformly with
either strategy. However certain aspects or functions could certainly adhere to one or the other as these are sections that make up the carrier as a whole and for an organisation of Ryanairs size different parts would have different aims and objectives underneath a main umbrella strategy for the organisation.
For example any planning undertaken by Ryanair for new routes or planes would follow the prescriptive model as the objective would have been defined beforehand and elements such as finance will have had to have been agreed before any purchasing goes ahead.
On the other hand emergent strategies may be in place for things like training and development where elements can be discovered along the way for example if an issue arose where staff needed more health and safety training then the training programme could be redirected.
Ryanair, as already stated, follows neither strategic approach religiously and possesses