2- Air Transport Management and Strategy

ASSIGNMENT #1
Assignment Brief Guidelines
Air Transport Management and Strategy (M03EDM)
(50% of Module Mark)
1 Introduction
The assignment is an important part of this module’s assessment scheme. It counts 50% towards the overall mark. You are required to read carefully the case study provided. In order to prepare your assignment, and, on the top of the information provided, you should also read a couple of additional reference materials.
Remember: assignments are individual pieces of work that should reflect your own opinions. You should therefore restrain from getting outside assistance or copying and pasting material from the internet or other sources in order to construct your arguments. Assignments are checked for plagiarism as part of the submission process.
2 Background
The case study for this assignment focuses on the strategic plan to improve aviation safety in Europe. You must read the following two documents provided:
1. The European Plan for Aviation Safety EPAS 2019 – 2023
2. EASA Annual Safety Review 2021
EASA is Europe´s aviation safety authority/regulator and its main purpose is to maintaining, enhancing and promoting the safety of civil aviation in Europe, with particular emphasis on preventing aviation accidents and incidents. The first document contains a high level 5-year strategic plan to address the topical issues of air transport safety in Europe. The second document is a comprehensive review of aviation safety issues occurred in Europe in 2021. One complements the other.
By studying this case, students will learn how strategic thinking and management concepts can be applied to aviation safety in a regional context.
3 Key Points
Please, read carefully the provided two documents. You must prepare an essay with your own views, addressing the following key points:
1) Strategic Position and Critical Analysis
a) Perform a brief research and establish the current strategic positioning regarding aviation safety in Europe. Please, use some of the analytical frameworks you studied. Draw your own conclusions.
b) In your opinion, does the EASA strategic plan/goals adequately addresses the deficiencies highlighted in the “EASA Annual Review 2021”? Justify.
c) How good is the highlighted strategy? In your opinion, does the strategic plan fall short of expectations or ambitions? What other measures/ initiatives should have been included in there? Explain and justify.
2) Strategic choices & Best Practices
a) Perform a brief additional research on ICAO, IATA, FAA plus a few other aviation leading nations regarding guidelines, best practices and recommendations to be followed in order to produce effective aviation safety strategies. Highlight your findings.
b) In your opinion, does the EASA’s EPAS adhere to such guidelines and industry best practices? Justify.
4 Learning Objectives
These cases are an interesting opportunity for students to further explore and acquire extra knowledge on critical analysis, strategic thinking and strategic implementation in the context of aviation safety.
5 Marking Criteria
The marking criterion for this assignment follows the scheme below:
# Issues Marks (%)
1 Strategic Position and Critical Analysis (Key Point #1) 45
a) Perform a brief research and establish the current strategic positioning regarding aviation safety in Europe. Please, use some of the analytical frameworks you studied. Draw your own conclusions
20
b) Perform a critical analysis of the provided documents. In your opinion, does the EASA strategic plan/goals adequately addresses the deficiencies highlighted in the “EASA Annual Review 2021”? Justify.
10
c) Provide your personal opinion about the value of the highlighted strategy. In your opinion, does the strategic plan fall short of expectations or ambitions? What other measures/ initiatives should have been included in there? Explain and justify.
15

2 Strategic Choices and Best Practices (Key Point #2) 40
a) Perform a brief additional research on ICAO, IATA, FAA plus a few other aviation leading nations regarding guidelines, best practices and recommendations to be followed in order to produce effective aviation safety strategies.
25
b) In your opinion, does the EASA’s EPAS adhere to such guidelines and industry best practices? Justify.
15
3 Extra readings
Evidence of using references or bibliography to support your arguments
10
4 Report organization, clarity, spelling, presentation, punctuation, page numbers, references, etc. 5
TOTAL 100

6 Submission and Deadlines
Assignments plus cover sheets must be electronically submitted into Moodle following EAU’s instructions and deadlines setup for this purpose.
7 Length
In terms of effort, I expect a maximum of a 2,500-word written essay (6 to 7 pages). The 2,500 words report includes headings and the body text. References, annexes, tables, charts and other additional elements should be counted in addition to that.
Penalties can be applied for those exceeding the 2,500-word limit!
8 Assignment Format
The assignment should be written in a typical academic essay format. I expect to find, above all, good strategic thinking and recommendations based on sound/logical business arguments as well as the contents taught in the classes. I also expect to find evidence on using some supporting references or bibliography. Because this module is focused on management practices, I expect students to use tables, charts, diagrams and other visual elements to support their views and analyses, since this is common practice in all business environments.
9 Writing the Assignment
The assignment should follow a certain structure, containing, at least, six important parts:
1. Cover Sheet
2. Introduction
3. Objectives
4. Addressing the Key Points
5. Conclusions
6. References or Bibliography
At the very end, if necessary, annexes can be added. Tables, diagrams, figures and charts should be combined with the main text when necessary. Please, do not forget to properly reference your sources.
Good luck with your assignment!