Human Resource Management at Virgin Airline - Essay Example

Virgin Atlantic is a UK-based airline having its headquarters in Crawley, UK, and operating from three operational bases at Gatwick Airport, Manchester Airport, and London Heathrow Airport. The private airline company was established in 1984 possesses a fleet of 38 planes traveling to more than 30 destinations in the world. With a workforce comprising of more than 1000 employees, Virgin Atlantic is rated as the world's leading airline service (Virgin Atlantic, 2014).

Research PlanIn order to evaluate the case of Virgin Atlantic, i.e. whether its human resource policies and strategies encourage employees to deliver quality services to the customers or not, the researcher is proposing to use a mixed research approach. A mixed research method allows researchers to use both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The researcher will first conduct interviews with the human resource managers of Virgin Atlantic Airlines to know what are the strategies that require employees to deliver quality services to the customers (Qualitative Research) (Boeije, 2009; Flick, 2009). Then the researcher will carry out a survey exercise with the employees of Virgin Atlantic Airlines to understand how the employees perceive human resource strategies that compel them to deliver quality services to the customers (Quantitative Research) (Balnaves & Caputi, 2001; Creswell, 2009).

Literature Review
The focus of a number of researchers has remained on understanding the role of human resource strategies on the quality of services delivered by service delivery organizations in their studies and observations (Batt & Moynihan, 2006; Irfan et al., 2009; Kabene et al., 2006; Ye & Liang, 2010; Wilson et al., 2008; Gi-Du et al., 2002). The research articles and books quoted above are not necessarily addressing the role of human resource strategies on the quality of services delivered in the airline sector only. Instead, the researcher has focused on multiple sources addressing the role of human resource management in different service delivery industries. Moreover, the evaluation of these studies and books would enable the researcher to gain further insight into how different models and tactics of human resource management can help businesses to yield maximum benefits.

Schedule of Work

Activity

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Proposal Submission

Initiating the Research Work (Developing a Background of the Study)

Literature Review

Research Methods

Primary Research

Primary Research Data Analysis

Interpretation of the Results

Concluding Report

Submission of First Draft

Final Submission