Introduction:

Business environment is define as all those factors that affect a company's operations, and
also includes customers, competitors, stakeholders, suppliers, industry trends, regulations,
other government activities, social and economic factors and technological developments
or shortly as the external forces influencing the business decisions.
Part A
Task 1:
AC 1.1 Explain the strategic context of Ryanair using its purpose, mission
statement, vision, objectives and core competencies.
Every company has its vision, mission, goals, philosophy to be in the top of the business
or simply we can also say to make a profit as much as it can.
Vision is define as a image of the future that an organization is aiming to achieve. Ryan
Air vision is to committed to ensure that all consumers to take advantage of it's low fares.
Their policy is to increase the number of vision impaired customers able to travel with
them. Mission is define as a company's function, markets and competitive advantages; a
short written statement of our business goals and philosophy. A Ryan Air mission
statement defines what an organisation is, why it exists, its reason for being. The
company believes that any worthwhile passenger service commitment must involve a
commitment on both pricing and punctuality, that's why Ryan Air is committed to
publishing Customer Service Statics each month which confirm that Ryan Air position
for Customer Service is in number 1 with unbeatable prices and punctuality. Its mission is
based on the betterment of the customer. Company offer low fares at all time and on all
route is also one of the mission of the company.Simply Ryan Air philosophy is just giving
customer a service and made huge profit i.e. smile, charge and serve. They don't care
about the passenger's baggage, security, health, food, water and cleanliness of a plane.
Their theme is passengers pay money, they buy a tickets and Ryan Air doesn't care.
1.2 Review the issues involved in the strategic planning process of Ryan Air.
Strategy of Ryanair is to provide services with cheaper price. So the competitive
advantage of ryanair is cheaper price than other airlines. For maintaining their
competitive advantage Ryanair faces different issues those are as follows:
1. There are lots of airways which is provide cheap fare of flight such as easy jet, Virgin
express, Air Berlin and so on. As minor airways use the same routine, minor airports get a
purchasing power from the airlines competition. It is hard situation for Ryan air to
minimize the fare. 2. The aviation turbine fuel costs fluctuated as economic and political
situation changes and increasing demand of fuel. Also, the fuel should be paid by US
dollars, so change of exchange rate affects to the fuel cost. Ryan air had not added
surcharges like other airlines so that they could maintain lower fares. But increasing fuel
cost makes hard to maintain lower price for Ryanair. 3. As I mentioned earlier, there are

so many airlines offer cheap fares in Europe. The major competitors of Ryanair were
easyJet, bmibaby, Air Berlin, SkyEurope, Wizz Air and Aer Lingus. Also, there were
other low cost substitutes like train and tram services in Europe.
AC 1.3 Explain the different planning techniques that could be used by Ryanair to
increase the effectiveness of its strategy.
The planning process involves some steps which are generally called SOSTAC Model,
which is used to implement and monitor plans progress.
S stands for Situation Analysis
Situation analysis answers where the business is right now. It involves conducting a
marketing audit which is a comprehensive and periodic examination of Ryanairs
marketing activities so as to identify problem areas and then propose solution for
overcoming problems..
O stands for Objective Setting
Objectives are what the company wants to achieve through its activities. To set objective
for Ryanair, SMART criteria can be used. Objective can be corporate, business and
marketing. Corporate objective for Ryanair includes increase their profitability, marketing
objective includes increase their market share through their extensive marketing
campaign.
S stands for Strategy Development
Strategies are the means to achieve Ryanairs objectives. Strategy can be developed
through various techniques such as- the ANSOFFs matrix, Boston Consulting Group
(BCG) matrix. These strategies are used to fulfil Ryanairs objective to expand and grow
its profitability in the market
T stands for Tactical Development
Tactics are the techniques to achieve the objective of Ryanair through the chosen strategy.
Tactics development includes the use and manipulation of 7Ps- Product, Price, Place,
Promotion, People, Process and Physical evidence.
A stands for Action
Actions are required to take when strategy and tactic has been set for Ryanair. Action plan
for Ryanair includes three activity- Allocating tasks and responsibilities, Scheduling of
marketing activities and Setting the marketing budget.
C stands for Control
When the chosen strategy with the correct tactics has been implemented for Ryanair
control is required which means taking corrective measures if things are going according
to plan. Control includes benchmarking and balanced scorecard method.

AC 2.1 Produce an organizational audit for Ryanair using appropriate techniques.

Strengths:
Strong pan European brand (36 bases),
Biggest and most profitable LCC Europe and
Focused aggressive and innovative management system.
Secondary and regional airports allow cost reduction and fast turnaround. Strong balance
sheet and cash generation allow facing eventual problems, increase capability to attract
finance, enhance capability to take risk and face new challenges and competitive price on
aircrafts parches. Reduce barriers to its entry in new market, while contributing to
increase barriers to new entrants.
Weakness:
Exposed to regulation on airport deals and passengers compensation, the distance
between secondary airports to the main location. Lacking of appropriate frequency in
certain routes and brand is strictly linked to a low cost model and maintain the position
could be challenging. Too much exposed to outsourcing. Market extremely sensitive to
price elasticity, prone to bad press I that its top management is perceives as arrogant and
provocative.
Poor customer service is one of the big weaknesses of Ryan air.
AC 2.2 Carry out an external environmental audit for Ryanair using appropriate
technique.
Ryanair is influenced by external factors that include; political, economic, social,
technological, legal and environmental factors.
Political:
In 1997, deregulation of aviation opened up opportunities for airlines across Europe to
compete with each other. Formation of EU is opening up the market still further.
However, world political crisis also has an effect on Ryanairs performance. For examplebecause of military operations in Libya, Ryanair is being forced to divert its flights from
Trapani airport in Sicily, increasing its operational expenses (Paris 2011).
Economic:
As a European operation, so many of its operations are not affected by exchange rates,
despite operating internationally. However, Oil price and tax policy are an issue for all
airlines. The Economist (2005) argues that compared with most forms of transport,
aviation is under taxed.
Social:
Migrant workers has expanded the market for Ryanair, as many from less affluent Eastern
European countries have migrated to west, and are likely to prefer to return home
regularly on cheap tickets (Creaton 2005).

Technological:
The internet has enabled Ryanair to keep costs down by allowing customers to book
tickets and check in through its website rather than through an agent and employees.
Aircraft technology offers opportunities.
Legal
The legislation has the most impact on Ryanair. Because of European Commission ruled
that subsidies from Charleroi in Belgium were illegal (Creaton 2005), Ryanair's share
price dropped by 30% (The Economist 2004b). In 2009 European Commission again
blocked the acquisition of AerLingus (29.8%), the Court upheld the Commissions
decision (United States Securities and Exchange Commission 2009). Moreover, as
Ryanair employing staff across Europe, legal issues are more complicated than within a
domestic operation.
Environmental
The main environmental issue facing Ryanair is that of greenhouse emissions. At present,
aviation accounts for roughly 5% of the UK's emissions, but this is expected to rise to
25% by 2030 (The Economist 2005). On November 19, 2008, the European Council of
Ministers has put a cap for CO2 emissions, will be effected from 2012. Therefore,
Ryanair has invested 17bn over the past 10 years on its latest aircraft replacement, have
reduced fuel burn and CO2 emissions by 45% (Wikinvest 2009). Moreover, Ryanair is
subject to international, national and, in some cases, local noise regulation standards.

AC 2.3 Explain the significance of stakeholder analysis for Ryanair.

Stakeholders are the people who are affected by or can affect the activities of the firm.
There are three types of stakeholders - internal, connected and external.
The stakeholders of Ryan Air are:
Shareholders
Shareholders are person who have shares in the company. The shareholders participate in
distribution of additional stock offerings, profits, assets on liquidation, inspection of
company books, election of board of directors and other rights established in the contract
with the firm.
Employees
Employees are believed to be a source of competitive advantage. The employees' skills,
knowledge and abilities give contribution in the success of the organization. In return, the

employees expect economic, social and psychological satisfaction in the place of

employment.
Customers
The customers are the source of the firm's earnings. The customers purchase the firm's
products and services in exchange with satisfaction of needs, wants and requirements.
Suppliers
The suppliers are part of the firm's value chain. In exchange with the suppliers products,
services or expertise the firm is expected to be a source of business and facilitate a
professional relationship in contracting for, purchasing, and receiving goods and services.
Competitors
competitors are also important stakeholders. They expect the company to observe the
norms of competitive conduct established by society and industry.
Governments
the national government and other governmental departments are important stakeholders
that have direct impact on the firm's strategies. The government expect the firm to pay
taxes, to adhere to the letter and intent of public policy dealing with the requirements of
fair and free competition; discharge of legal obligations.

References:
Creaton, S. (2005). Ryanair: How a Small Irish Airline Conquered Europe. London
Kotler, P., Shalowitz, J., Stevens, R. J. (2008). Strategic Marketing for Health Care
Organizations: Building a Customer-Driven Health System. San Francisco
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