1

British Airways





Management InIormation System
Assignment














Southbank University

TABLE OF CONTENTS



Sr. No Title Page No.

Introduction 2


2. British Airways 5


3. SWOT Analysis 7


4. InIormation System at British Airways 9


5. Conclusion 23


6. ReIerences/Bibliography 24

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1.0 Introduction


1.1 What is Management InIormation System?

Management inIormation system, the name itselI suggests that the company`s data or
important records are preserved in an electronic Iorm. An inIormation system can be
deIined technically as a set oI uniIied components that collect, process, store and
distribute inIormation to support decision making, co-ordination and control in an
organization. The Iunctions beneIit the managers to support decision-making,
coordination and controlled inIormation systems. Also the employees get an advantage to
analyse problems, visualize complex subjects and create new products with new
innovative techniques. The inIormation systems have a great inIluence on the managers
in any particular organization as decisions are impossible without inIormation and
managers are constantly seeking more and better inIormation to support their decision-
making.

Any particular InIormation systems have a Ieature to contain inIormation about particular
people, places and things within the organization or in the environment surroundings it.
By inIormation we mean diIIerent data, are base oI raw Iacts representing events
occurring in organization or the physical environment beIore they have been organized
and arranged into a Iorm that people can understand and use. Any organization needs to
inculcate the basic three activities oI an inIormation system. And initially the company or
any organization needs to generate the inIormation that organizations need to make
decisions, control operations, analyse problems and create new products or services.
These activities are input, processing and output. Input deals with collection oI raw data
Irom within the organization or Irom its external environment. Processing converts this
raw input into a more substantial Iorm. Finally output transIers the processed inIormation
to the respective people who will use this data. InIormation systems also require
Ieedback, which is output that is returned to appropriate members oI the organization to
help them evaluate or correct the input stage.
(K.Laudon J Laudon, management information svstems, Fifth Edition, Chapter1, page no 7

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InIormation systems are costly to purchase, install, and maintain. ThereIore, in a world
where business enterprise is operated Ior value maximization, it is natural to suppose that
Management InIormation System oIIers economic value and that this value overcomes
the costs. As such it has rightly been an objective oI Management InIormation System
research Ior at least two decades to determine the economic role oI Management
InIormation System.
Management InIormation System improves the Iirm`s competitiveness and makes them
Ilexible, more responsible and more proIitable through decreasing the cost and creating
possibilities Ior accessing new markets and customers.























1.1 Function oI an InIormation System

(K.Laudon & J Laudon. Management information svstems, Fifth Edition, Chapter1, page no 8)


Environment

Suppliers Customers

ORGANIZATION















Regulatory Stockholders Competitors
Agencies
INFORMATION SYSTEM

00/-,.

INPUT
PROCESSING
CLASSIFY
AGGANGE
CALCULATE

OUTPUT

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1.2A Business Perspective on InIormation Systems:

An inIormation system is an organizational and management solution, based on
inIormation technology, in terms oI any business perspective, to Iace the obstruction and
hindrance generated by the environment. To Iully understand inIormation systems, a
manager must understand its own organization and management in broader aspect and
inIormation technology dimensions oI the systems and their power to provide solutions to
bridge the gap between the organizations and meet the incompetence oI the organization
in a better way.

InIormation systems are an integral part oI organizations. Indeed Ior some companies
such as AIRLINES INDUSTRIES, without the inIormation systems there would be no
business. The key element oI an organization is its people, structure, operating
procedures, politics and culture. The above-mentioned industry can be broadly deIined in
Iorm oI BRITISH AIRWAYS. British airways are one oI the world`s Iastest airline
service providers. We would deal in more details how British Airways maintain high
level oI InIormation Systems.





















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2.0 British Airways: New Technology Paradigm


History of British Airways

British Airways can trace its origins back to the birth oI civil aviation, the pioneering
days Iollowing World War I. On 25 August 1919, its Iorerunner company, AircraIt
Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T), launched the world's Iirst daily international
scheduled air service between London and Paris. That initial Ilight, operated by a single-
engine de Havilland DH4A biplane taking oII Irom Hounslow Heath, near its successor
company's current Heathrow base, carried a single passenger and cargo that included
newspapers, Devonshire cream and grouse. It took two and a halI hours to reach Le
Bourget. Shortly aIterwards, two more British companies started services to Paris, and to
Brussels. These pioneer companies struggled against severe diIIiculties. Passengers were
Iew, Iares high, and air travel rarely less than an adventure. One pilot took two days Ior
the two-hour Ilight to Paris

As a result, British Caledonian was born in 1970, when the original Caledonian Airways
took over British United Airways. Two years later, the businesses oI (BOAC) British
Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways (BEA) were combined
under the newly Iormed British Airways Board, with the separate airlines coming
together as British Airways in 1974.

In July 1979, the Government announced its intention to sell shares in British Airways.
The Civil Aviation Act 1980 was passed to enable this to happen. Lord King was
appointed Chairman in 1981 and charged by the Secretary oI State Ior Trade to take all
necessary steps to restore the Group to proIitability and prepare it Ior privatization.

In February 1987 British Airways was privatized. Over one million applications were
received Ior shares in the airline, oIIered at 125 pence, making the Ilotation 11 times
oversubscribed. Freed Irom the constraints oI Government ownership, British Airways

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announced a merger with British Caledonian in July. The merger went ahead Iollowing
approval by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission later that year.

Today British Airways operations are carried in more than 130 countries and cities round
the globe with 600 oIIices and destinations. II we closely analyze the success oI British
Airways over the years, we can see that due to adapting new technology in the business
and the use oI appropriate technology in proper planned systems have had dramatic
changes in the operation in British airways. The Iollowing exhibit explains how
implementing inIormation systems in the company inIluenced British airways.
(www.britishairwavs/historv/html.pdf)

Major InIluences on British Airways Associations

(T.Lucev, Management information svstems, Fifth Edition, Chapter7

Planning
Requirements
External
environment
inIluences

Use oI InIormation
Technology

Management
Style

Organizational
structure
Decision making
requirements
Primary Iunction
& size oI
organization

Control
Structures

Legal
Requirements
Management
Information
System

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3.0 SWOT Analysis

3.1 Strengths:

N British Airways is one oI the most competitive and robust airline services in the
world.

N Growth in international trade drives growth in international travel at the Iaster rate
than growth in GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

N The speed oI British Airways and the Iall in real prices has meant that British
Airways has increased market share oI its passenger.

N In terms oI Iatalities per passenger mile, the long-term saIety record oI British
Airways is better than other airlines services


3.2: Weaknesses:

N As the demand Ior air travel increases, parts oI the air transport inIrastructure-
such as air traIIic control and ground transportation are becoming congested. This
increases delays and may pose a threat to saIety.

N The new air traIIic control system Ior British Airways was delayed and is over
budget. Parts oI the air traIIic control system are not working as eIIectively as
they should.

N The government has used departure taxes on air travel as a way oI raising its own
revenues. So every take oII oI British Airways cost lots oI money, making things
very expensive.

N Restrictions on night Ilying can produce congestion and delays at other times.

N Lack oI runway and terminal capacity at some airports thwarts the opportunities
Ior new services oI British Airways.








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3.3: Opportunity:


N There is still potential Ior more regional British Airways Ilights Ior departures to
satisIy business travel demand and the growth in short breaks.

N The Internet and InIormation Systems can provide a simpler route to the better
British Airways market Ior consumers and business. It makes searching Ior
availability and the lowest Iares easier and reduce distribution costs Ior airlines.

N Due to implementation oI new inIormation systems there is potential Ior more
direct bookings to reduce distribution costs.

N Increasing collaboration with alliance partners and code sharing partners can
increase sales and reduce costs. This could lead to higher levels oI cross
shareholding and consolidation in British Airways.

N There is considerable potential Ior Iurther development oI low Iares services in
Europe.


3.4: Threats:

N Oil prices have a knock on eIIect on aviation Iuel prices and may lead o a squeeze
on British Airways proIitability.

N The development oI video conIerencing and other Iorms oI communication may
have a small impact on the business travel market.

N High-speed rail links may have an impact on some domestic and short haul routes.

N Concern over the environment due to aircraIt emissions may hinder some traIIic
development.

N The publicity given to Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) may stop some passengers
Irom traveling.

N Civil British aircraIts are oIten a target Ior hijackers and terrorists.







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4.0 InIormation Systems at British Airways



EIIicient Management oI InIormation System has enabled British Airways to plan co-
ordinate, organize and control. It provides inIormation needed Ior strategic planning and
Ior day-to-day operations. The various levels oI management in British Airways typically
require the inIormation they receive to be Iormatted in inIormation system processes.
InIormation Ilows in Iour diIIerent ways in British Airways and much other organization.
These diIIerent levels oI management decision-making can be described as Iollows:
Strategic Information System, 1actical Information System and Operational
Information System.

Strategic InIormation System:

This type oI inIormation systems is largely external in terms. These inIormation systems
are basically dealt with the top authoritative people in the organization oI British Airways
to decide on mergers and acquisitions, new purchases oI Boeing, capital investments and
Iinancial structuring. Large area oI inIormation required Ior this type oI inIormation
systems is Irom the Market and economic Iorecast, political and social trends, legislative,
environmental and technological constrains and opportunities.

%actical InIormation System:

These types oI inIormation systems are largely internal and external sources, with
concern on the current and Iuture perIormance. The main decision example Ior British
Airways in maintaining this type oI inIormation system is pricing, capacity planning,
budget preparation, purchasing contracts etc. to maintain the inIormation systems some
oI the inIormation is required like Ior instance cost and sales analyses, perIormance
measures, summaries oI operations, production, budget / actual comparisons etc.


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Operational InIormation System:

This type oI inIormation systems is largely internal, mainly historical, detailed

inIormation on a daily or weekly basis, oIten quantitative, high precision and narrow in
scope. The main aspect oI why British Airways database is so eIIiciently controlled is
due oI the appropriate Iunctioning at Operations level. The operational level inIormation
system oI British airways mainly deals with production scheduling and disseminating
Ilights timings and destinations, maintenance oI customer data base, re-ordering, booking
acceptance by all means oI payments, credit approval etc.

(W.Robson, Strategic Management &Information svstems, Second Edition, Chapter3, page no 81- page 89

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1actical
Planning

What are the new Iacilities and services provided?

What are the pricing patterns reIund policy and
discounts?

What is the new system or methods need to meet
strategic plans?

Payments oI the employees.







Strategic
Planning

Where does our company
Stand?

Which business should the
Organization is in?

How should they be Iinanced?

What are the new investments and
Capital issues?















Operational
Planning
What materials, Iacilities are needed Ior operations?

What are the new methods oI organizing operations?

What operations should be perIormed with existing Iacilities to meet speciIic output?

1.2 Management InIormation System Levels oI Planning
(T.Lucev, Management information svstems, Fifth Edition, Chapter7

Operational
Planning

DiIIerent operating systems at British Airways

Database management and online booking.






Strategic
Planning

Current Structure oI
British Airways

Mergers, tie ups and
Collaboration

Financial modeling & Investment
Strategies

Capital Investments & planning

1actical
Planning
Services provide by British Airways

Pricing, ReIunds and discounts

Implementing new operating systems.

Payments oI the employees.












1.4 Management InIormation System levels oI planning
BRITISH AIRWAYS



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5.1 Strategic Level oI InIormation System:


5.1.1 Current structure oI BRITISH AIRWAYS:
British airways today have one oI the largest operations than any other airlines in the
world. British airways have taken over all the other small business in the past. Last year,
more than 44 million people chose to Ily on the 499,000 Ilights that it operated. That`s
the equivalent oI 80 passengers checking in every minute around the clock. The airline
also carried more than 907,000 tonnes oI Ireight and mail last year (up 1.1 per cent on the
previous year) equivalent to one tonne loaded every 35 seconds. Today British Airways
Group Ileet comprises oI 348 aircraIt - one oI the largest Ileets in Europe. The airline
takes great pride in delivering the highest levels oI innovative customer service. This year
it unveiled 600 million worth oI new customer services and products, to be introduced
during the subsequent two years. This is the biggest investment oI its kind in airline
history. Today the main structure the British airways are following is the three ~C
Customers: With this strategy BA is Iocusing on total customer satisIaction Irom every
perspective oI a traveler. This strategy can help BA to improve its goodwill position in
the market regarding saIety, comIort and improved service quality.
Company: The above strategy requires heavy investment in R&D, product modiIication
and advertising expenditure. This would help the company in attaining product leadership
and however, result in a downturn in the short run but will eventually be proIitable in the
long run with increasing Rate OI Interest (ROI) as more and more customer would take
the beneIit oI these services and could increase the potential market share.
Competitors: Very Iew companies will be able to match the R&D structure oI this
adopted strategy. BA will have to ensure patents Ior these innovations to their services
making it harder Ior competitors to imitate similar services.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 1,
page no 14, October 2002)

15
5.1.2 British airways merger with other airlines:

Today British airways has tie ups with big airline which include American Airlines, Aer
Lingus, Cathay PaciIic, Finnair, Iberia, LanChile and Qantas. They introduced their joint
services and beneIits, under the banner "430 world revolves around you", with the aim oI
making travel to more places around the world easier and better value. 30 world serves
more countries than any oI its competitors and was voted the world`s best airline alliance
in the Iirst awards recognizing this sector oI the industry. Besides 430 world, British
Airways has one-on-one relationships with a number oI airlines. It owns a 17 per cent
stake in Qantas and 9 per cent in Iberia. It counts among its subsidiaries German airline
Deutsche BA, and UK regional airline British Airways CitiExpress, both oI which
operate in British Airways` colors under Iranchise arrangements. Other members oI
British Airways` Iranchise Iamily include British Mediterranean Airways, Comair, GB
Airways, Loganair, Maersk Air, and Sun Air. These Iranchise airlines operate to over 100
destinations, most oI which are not served by British Airways itselI. These "alliance"
arrangements enable British Airways to oIIer passengers smoother travel to more places,
with any one airline unable to Ily every single route worldwide Ior Iinancial and
regulatory reasons. Through 430 world and its other alliances, British Airways can oIIer
passengers seamless Ilights to some 600 destinations in more than 130 countries
worldwide.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 12,
page no 355, October 2002)

5.1.3 Financial aspects oI British Airways:

British airways apply its planning objectives and Iacilities guidelines when planning new
developments to assist its managers in assessing the appropriate capacity and size oI
Iuture Iacilities. These planning objectives are described in Iorm oI financial modelling
and financial planning.




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British airways key issues, which underlay its investment decisions, are:

,An accurate assessment oI Iorecast demand/opportunity including key
assumptions;

-The options considered, including those which might not require any, or required
little, capex, ie do nothing` or do minimum`;

. A proposed solution that is most appropriate to meet the business need and which
maximizes shareholder value (or alternatively minimizes loss oI shareholder value
in the case, Ior example, oI asset replacements);

/ The appropriate balance between cost (capital and Iuture operating costs), time
(delivery programme) and quality oI Iacility to be provided with the resulting
impact on customer service, with supporting benchmarks against previous
comparable projects where possible;
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 4,
page no 96, October 2002)

5.1.4 Capital Investment and Capital Planning:

Some of the British airwavs future investment strategies are.

The most important strategy oI British airways that aims to (a) maximize utilization oI
existing runway capacity, whilst ensuring high levels oI saIety and security and
delivering a high level oI service quality.

(b) The implementation oI early works to provide Ior the advanced release oI stands
prior to the opening oI Terminal 5, in order to meet short-term demand.

(c) The completion oI works to the airIield Western Apron and piers to allow Ior the
introduction oI the A380 aircraIt Irom spring 2006;


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(d) The progressive build-out oI Gatwick to ensure its passenger-handling capacity meets
the Iull capacity oI the existing runway. This is primarily Iocused on the expansion oI the
North Terminal, aprons and airside (the timing and speciIication oI this part oI the
strategy is dependent on the mix oI traIIic that in turn depends on the resolution oI open
skies`, the BA strategy, and the actions taken by other Gatwick airlines.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 9,
page no 284, October 2002)

5.2 Tactical Level oI InIormation System:


5.2.1 Services provided by British Airways:

Over decades British airways has brought many changes in quality oI the service they
provide. They are successIully trying to bridge the gap between its customers and the
organization. It has served its customer with sheer dedication and devotion. The main
reason why British airways are successIul in retaining its customer is by providing
pioneering and innovative services to its customers and its crewmembers.

This time British Airways again came up with one more innovation in providing a better
service to its crewmembers. The name oI the service is BASIS (British Airways SaIety
InIormation system). Whilst the saIety data gathering programmes include those
pertaining to Ramp and Cargo Handling. SESMA (Special Event Search and Master
Analysis) is a Flight Data Recording (FDR) programme that monitors the saIety health oI
the Ileets' operations while guaranteeing crewmembers complete anonymity. The FDR
Ior each Ilight is examined Ior 'events' where saIe Ilight envelope parameters have been
exceeded. All events are stored in a BASIS database and the more serious are discussed
at a monthly meeting oI technical managers and British Airline Pilots Association
(BALPA) representatives. Despite the misgivings oI Ilight crew and management at its
introduction, this programme has proven to be a highly valuable saIety tool. It has been a
rewarding collaboration between Ilight crew, pilots' association and Ilight management in
a saIety programme.


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The primary beneIits oI the SESMA programme are that the data can inIorm Flight
Operations exactly how the aircraIt are being operated. Thus it gives excellent Ieedback
on training initiatives and on conIormity with Standard Operating Procedures. Apart Irom
this some other external services provided by British airways are Baggage Iacilities,
suIIicient parking space, shopping mall inside the airports, easy other Ilights connection
etc.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 6,
page no 197, October 2002)
(www.winbasis.com/download/FDM20manual.pdf)

5.2.2 Pricing Policies:

I) Structure of charges internallv.

Airport charges are currently structured into:

,Landing charges, with a distinction (except Ior large aircraIt at Stansted) between oII-
peak and peak charges. Landing charges are generally Ilat rate, but with a small degree oI
diIIerentiation between weight bands, mainly in oII-peak periods. There is also some
diIIerentiation according to noise classiIication oI aircraIt.

- Charges on terminal departing passengers, those Ior international passengers being
above those Ior domestic passengers.

. AircraIt parking charges, based on maximum authorized weight oI the aircraIt. At
Heathrow and Gatwick, a higher rate is applied in peak periods. At Heathrow and
Gatwick parking charges accrue immediately aIter landing subject to a taxi time
allowance oI eight minutes.

BA currently pays a rebate oI 3 per departing passengers to airlines, which have to
coach their passengers to remote stands. From 2001/02, this has been applied separately
at the rate oI 1.50 per arriving or departing passenger on remote stands.


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Payments oI the rebate are oIIset against airport chargeshence other charges can be
increased to compensate, and it has a neutral eIIect on British airways revenue and
proIits.

II) Structure oI charges externally:

According to the inIormation system oI British airways the quoted yields are net oI the
discounts, which amounted to 2 million. Apart Irom that, other Iorms oI incentive are
also oIIered to assist carriers to develop the majority oI new routes at the airport. These
are treated as marketing expenditure and in 2001 amounted to approximately 15.5
million. This is accounted Ior as a cost rather than a revenue oIIset and hence does not
reduce revenue yield.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 7,
page no 185, October 2002)

5.2.3 Implementation oI quick response technique to technical problems:

This is a new technology developed by British airways to respond to its customer`s
complaints as soon as possible. BA records data on the availability` oI critical
equipment, such as stands, jetties, escalators, passenger conveyors, liIts and baggage
conveyors. Availability is deIined in terms oI the proportion oI time, Ior which the
equipment is ready Ior use, rather than the proportion oI occasions that it is available
when an airline requires, this is reIerred as serviceability` to avoid conIusion with the
availability oI the equipment to a particular Ilight when needed. These measures, which
are used in the existing new service proIile, either use measures oI downtime produced
automatically by 'Maximo Iault-reporting system or involve manual examination oI
records. PerIormance is calculated separately Ior each terminal and statistics are
circulated. This Maximo technology helps the operational activations, such as emergency
stops; engineering Iaults; basic maintenance; and extra maintenance.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 6,
page no 511, October 2002)


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Also there is a new technology designed Ior saIety purpose called as The Air Safety
Reporting Programme British Airways run air and ground saIety reporting
programmes, which require all staII to report saIety, related events. The British Airways
ASR programme is highly successIul. The ASR programme is the primary air saIety
Ieedback process.
It is exclusively concerned with aircraIt Ilight path but with any aspect oI the operation
within or without the aircraIt that concerns air saIety. Consequently it oIIers a complete
snapshot oI the saIety oI the whole operation. Moreover, as it enables management to
correct the reported problems it acts as a selI-reinIorcement loop and generates a positive
saIety culture among the Ilight crew.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 6 ,
page no 495, October 2002)

5.2.4 Payments oI the Employees.


The contractual basic hours Ior Iull-time employees are 40 hours a week, inclusive oI
meal breaks. Hours oI Iull-time shiIt workers also average 40 a week over the shiIt cycle.
British Airways believes that the pay rates were competitive, but not excessive
It introduced separate, lower pay bands Ior new employees. The diIIerence between the
midpoints oI the old and new pay scales varied according to job by between 5 and 19 per
cent. For security staII and other operatives the diIIerences were about 13 per cent
compared to last year. According to the inIormation systems report 37 per cent oI British
Airways employees at Heathrow were on the new rates oI pay, with 32 per cent at
Gatwick and 48 per cent at Stansted. With the inclusion oI 1,174 Iiremen and managerial
grades, who were on pay rates which were broadly market-related and to whom new
entrant pay scales did not apply, and some 430 engineering technicians who were
employed on old` pay scales, which were not signiIicantly diIIerent Irom the current
market norm, the percentage oI staII on market-related pay scales was 56.4 per cent. The
remaining 2,950 staII was on old pay rates.
(British Airwavs plc. A report on the economic regulation of the London airports companies, chapter 7,
page no 234, October 2002)


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5.3 Operation Level oI InIormation System:

5.3.1 DiIIerent types oI technology used Ior managing inIormation system at
operating level.

Managing a geographically diverse business eIIectively and proIitably depends on strict
yet Ilexible monitoring and control oI all corporate data streams. Additionally, using the
latest technology to provide instant access to continuously updated inIormation, stored on
secure, reliable and high-perIormance hardware, is essential. To achieve this, British
Airways maintains a complex series oI databases running on a variety oI interconnected
and oIten interdependent systems.

Most oI the systems are controlled Irom British Airways` two main data centers at
Heathrow Airport. In particular, the data centers are responsible Ior maintaining key
DB2 and IMS databases. For British Airways, DB2 is a key strategic DBMS in
handling large application databases. British Airways introduced DB2 as the primary
means oI combining the beneIits oI relational databases and Iast transaction processing,
giving a platIorm on which BA could develop their various data-intensive business
systems. Having gradually developed various DB2 applications, British Airways
realized that the perIormance and availability and hence the service provided to end
users could be signiIicantly improved by replacing the standard IBM, utilities with a
purpose-built tool set. BA is especially interested in creating Iaster throughput oI critical
processing Iunctions in all oI their production systems. In eIIect, BA needs to minimize
both planned and unplanned downtime, through ever-Iaster, more reliable reorganizations
and recovery.

'DELTA IMS VIRTUAL TERMINAL, one oI the new improved technology system
introduced in British Airways helped them deliver their service goals and control costs.
British Airways had begun to install number SoItware`s products Ior both DB2 and IMS
and had been impressed with the results achieved and the level oI sales and technical
support that had been provided.


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It was thereIore a natural step to enter into a program to implement an integrated and
comprehensive suite oI products Ior backup, recovery, and resource and perIormance
management. These solutions are designed to ensure maximum data availability, using
high-speed utilities and backup and recovery products. One oI the crucial issues driving
British Airways Iorward is the need to provide 100 data availability, becoming a
24x365 IT organization. This is vital in a business where staII and users worldwide need
instant access to a wide range oI inIormation whose unavailability can result in a loss oI
business and aIIect the company`s reputation.

5.3.2 Database management and booking:

BA is no strangers to Voice Enabled Services. Voice recognition technology has already

helped to improve telephone bookings. It has already taken an enormous volume oI calls
out oI our contact center. Further incremental changes are already predicted, including
the ability to book hotel rooms and rental cars.

Harnessing recent developments in speech recognition technology and the beneIits oI an
integrated development and deployment environment, Claritus developed a Iully
automated, speech-enabled IVR solution using Nuance Voice Recognition (ASR) and
Rhetorical Text to Speech synthesis (TTS), enabling callers to request brochures using
normal spoken language. With no need Ior live agent intervention at any stage, an
eIIective, reliable 24/7 customer service is now in place. The system is backed up by the
InkIish Contact Center to ensure that IulIillment is still possible in those Iew cases where
callers either reIuse to talk to a machine` or do not say what is reasonably expected.

The system was developed using the Envox 5.0 soItware development environment and
operates on the Envox runtime platIorm. Envox is particularly suited to the rapid
development oI scalable IVR applications and supports Iull ODBC connectivity, in this
case to a SQL server database. "The system is state oI the art and we've been assured by
Envox that it is the Iirst application oI its kind developed using the Envox 5.0
environment.

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The speech recognition component that the application uses to capture inIormation Irom
the caller is the Nuance 8.0 speech recognition engine; the most accurate, scalable and
reliable speech recognition soItware on the market. The text-to-speech capabilities oI the
service supporting the dialogue responses are provided by the Rhetorical voice TTS
engine, providing the highest quality synthesized voices and resource eIIiciency on the
market today.

The solution has 30 telephony ports and is capable oI handling up to 1000 calls per hour,
24 hours a day. The system provides Iull veriIication oI caller address details using Royal
Mail PAF data.

This application oI industry leading speech recognition and IVR technology delivers an
enhanced caller experience and provides a striking example oI speech enabled technology
reducing costs and indirectly adding value to a brand. BA was able to record voice
prompts using their own voice talent to ensure they retained control over the presentation
and branding oI the customer experience. The solution is proving highly stable and has
been very well received by both BA and InkIish, providing a highly cost eIIective and
customer Iriendly means oI IulIillment Ior a mass media marketing

(www.britishairwavs.com/cms/masterEn/content/application/companvsvstems.pdf)












24
5.0 Conclusion


InIormation system is integral to the business oI British airways. Running an airline is
based on a high amount oI inIormation content. InIormation systems play a critical role in
such key Iunctions as the passenger reservation systems; yield management systems and
Ilight operation. Apart Irom the above-mentioned examples there are various other Iields
in which inIormation systems play a vital role in British airways. Some oI them are very
useIul in terms to know the Iinancial status oI British airways, the Iuture investment etc.

British airways can be broadly divided into diIIerent levels oI inIormation systems within
the organization. Some oI them, which are mentioned above, are Strategic level
information system. This inIormation system is used to take strategic decisions to aid in
Iorecasting the budget Ior the company. Decisions include review oI Iinancial statements
and estimations oI Iuture proIits and costs and thus helping them to budget Ior the next
Iew years. Management-level systems This inIormation system helps the Management
to do and track Sales. The managers get ready data oI quantitative analysis. They get
ready coeIIicients, pie diagrams, charts etc and thus track sales according to their
products and Regions, which they cover. Knowledge-level systems This inIormation
system helps the people in the technical departments and those involved in the research
and development by aiding in tracking the developments in the technical and research
Ironts. These systems help British Airways to automate all the paperwork and thus bring
about eIIicient oIIice work. Operational-Level systems These systems include
Transaction Processing Systems as Iollows. Order Tracking Svstem. This system uses an
inIormation base oI all the orders undertaken over a period Ior ready reIerence and
action. The order database is used to service the clients and distributors and works in
conjunction with other transaction processing system. Emplovee Record Keeping.
The human resource departments use this system. It helps the management to keep
employee records.



25
6.0 ReIerences & Bibliography

Books reIerred:
N Edwards Chris , Ward John & Bytheway Andy, The Essence oI InIormation
Systems 2
nd
Edition, London, Prentice-Hall, 1995
N T Lucey, Management InIormation Systems
8
th
Edition, London, Prentice-Hall, 2001
N Laudon C. Kenneth & Laudon P. Laudon, Management InIormation Systems, 7
th

Edition, London, Prentice-Hall, 2002
N William Cats-Baril & Ronald Thompson, Management InIormation Systems, 7
th

Edition, Times Mirror Higher Education Group, 2002
N McLeod,JR Raymond & Schell Georgel, Management InIormation Systems
8
th
Edition, London, Prentice-Hall, 2001
N British Airways plc
A report on the economic regulation oI the London airports companies
(Heathrow Airport Ltd, Gatwick Airport Ltd and Stansted Airport Ltd)
Volume 1: Chapters 2002

Web Pages reIerred with last accessed dates:
www.ba.com

http://www.bashares.com/phoenix.zhtml? c69499&pirol-index&genphase2true

http://www.american-
britishairways.com/announcementIiles/announcementIiles/Irame.htm

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/crhome/public/engb