The 555-seat, double deck Airbus A380 is arguably the most ambitious civil aircraft program of all times. It is the largest passenger jet ever built. Its designers claim it will increase efficiency, use less fuel and generate less noise. Airlines can transport more passengers and cargo with the A380 than by any other commercial airliner, particularly on over sea flights and other extremely long flights (Airbus, 2011). Many airlines around the world, such as Air France, Emirates or Lufthansa have placed or will be placing orders for the A380.
This report is all about the troubled history of the Airbus A380. In four stages it will describe how Airbus can improve its business efficiency. The first chapter is about systems and operations management and how it is integrated at Airbus. The second chapter describes how information systems and operations management can be updated to improve their business efficiency. The role of soft systems methodology is evaluated in the third chapter analysing and defining the business requirements at Airbus. The last chapter is about the people, technology and organisational issues involved in improving the operations at Airbus.
Index of Contents
Introduction
Main Body
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
The 555-seat, double deck Airbus A380 is arguably the most ambitious civil aircraft program of all times. It is the largest passenger jet ever built. Its designers claim it will increase efficiency, use less fuel and generate less noise. Airlines can transport more passengers and cargo with the A380 than by any other commercial airliner, particularly on over sea flights and other extremely long flights (Airbus, 2011). Many airlines around the world, such as Air France, Emirates or Lufthansa have placed or will be placing orders for the A380.
This report is all about the troubled history of the Airbus A380. In four stages it will describe how Airbus can improve its business efficiency. The first chapter is about systems and operations management and how it is integrated at Airbus. The second chapter describes how information systems and operations management can be updated to improve their business efficiency. The role of soft systems methodology is evaluated in the third chapter analysing and defining the business requirements at Airbus. The last chapter is about the people, technology and organisational issues involved in improving the operations at Airbus.
Chapter one
Airbus first began studies on a large 500-plus seat airliner in the early 1990s. Airbus saw its new jumbo not only as a competitor to the Boeing 747 but also as a successor. In June 1994, Airbus began engineering and developing the new design, then designated this new project as the A3XX (Airbus, 2011). Just putting an A380 together presented Airbus with some big problems. It was not possible to create a manufacturing facility large enough to build the entire plane in one place. Different parts were constructed throughout Europe at so called Centres of Excellence (CoE):
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A company like Airbus, which is spread over whole Europe, needs a powerful systems and operations management. Systems and operations management (SOM) should be integrated in every part of a company. To assess the role of SOM at Airbus the different meanings of these terms have to be described first.
System Management is a centralised management of the IT infrastructure. To keep the overview over the resources is very important. Every financial and other shortage has to be spotted in time and has to be fixed (Laudon and Laudon, 2010). Systems management helps to save time and money especially at such big companies as Airbus S.A.S. or EADS.
Operations Management is an operational leading task and a very important module of the management. It consists of planning, organization, enforcement, controlling of the value chain and the provided services (Sox, 2011). Efficiency and effectiveness are very important. Efficient in terms of using less resources as possible and effective in terms of meeting customer requirements. Effectiveness is easier described as; doing the “right things” and efficiency means to do those “right things” right (Krcmar, 2003).
SOM connects every function of a company to a closed cycle. In this form of cycle every function is connected to each other and SOM is managing the information exchange between the different functions (Slack, Chambers and Johnston, 2010). In the case of Airbus, the function “Product and Service Development” (PaSD) is inviting new products or the range of services. This function for instant has to develop the new aircraft, the Airbus A380. PaSD needs a good knowledge of the terms of references in the company. These terms of references have to be forwarded, with the help of SOM, from the superior function to the PaSD function. But without the right staff the PaSD function cannot work effectively. Therefore the function Human Resource (HR) is needed. HR is concerned with the employment and arbitration of people in accord with the law and with the directives of the company. But HR also relies on SOM, which overviews all the needs, regarding the targets of the company. After the SOM function has clearly defined the staff requirements HR can begin with searching for new employees. Now the function Accounting and Finance (AF) comes into the play. SOM provides the relevant data to the AF. On the other side AF has the financial analyses for performance and decisions. The AF is concerned to all business transaction costs of Airbus. It ensures the money to the HR function so they can search for new employees etc. AF is also managing the payouts to the employees.
Frequently Asked Questions: Airbus A380 - A Troubled History
What is the Airbus A380?
The Airbus A380 is a 555-seat, double-deck airliner, considered the largest passenger jet ever built. Its designers aimed for increased efficiency, reduced fuel consumption, and lower noise levels. It allows airlines to transport a higher volume of passengers and cargo, especially on long-haul flights.
What is the purpose of this report?
This report examines the "troubled history" of the Airbus A380 and explores how Airbus can improve its business efficiency. It covers systems and operations management, information systems, soft systems methodology, and people/technology/organizational issues.
When did Airbus begin developing the A380?
Airbus initiated studies for a large, 500-plus seat airliner in the early 1990s. Engineering and development of the new design, initially designated A3XX, officially began in June 1994.
What were the manufacturing challenges of building the A380?
Constructing the A380 presented significant logistical challenges. It was not feasible to build the entire plane in one location. Consequently, different parts were manufactured at specialized facilities, known as Centers of Excellence (CoE), across Europe.
What is Systems Management?
Systems Management is the centralized management of an IT infrastructure. It focuses on maintaining oversight of resources, identifying and resolving shortages, and ultimately saving time and money, particularly within large companies like Airbus S.A.S. or EADS.
What is Operations Management?
Operations Management involves the operational leadership, planning, organization, execution, and control of the value chain and provided services. Efficiency (using fewer resources) and effectiveness (meeting customer requirements) are crucial elements. Effectiveness means doing the "right things," while efficiency means doing those "right things" right.
How does SOM connect functions within a company like Airbus?
Systems and Operations Management (SOM) integrates all functions of a company into a closed cycle, where each function is interconnected. SOM manages the information exchange between these functions. For example, it facilitates the flow of requirements from superior functions to Product and Service Development (PaSD) when developing new aircraft like the A380.
What are some of the other functions involved in SOM, and how are they connected?
Other functions involved include Human Resources (HR), which relies on SOM for staffing needs; Accounting and Finance (AF), which receives data from SOM for financial analysis and provides funding for HR; Marketing, which benefits from SOM's understanding of operational capabilities; and Information Technology (IT) and Engineering and Technology (ET), which are also linked and managed through SOM. ET may need to be updated across the whole company.
- Quote paper
- Wladimir Agapejew (Author), 2011, The troubled history of the Airbus A380, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/266841
