Contents

• This paper analyses the following case –
• “Atlanta International Airport” Short Case:
• Atlanta International Airport employs over 10000 people, and it has staff from 300 organizations based at the airport to cater to the needs of their customers. There are 200 retail shops and restaurants. The airport handles around 80 million passengers per year and about 1 million flights. Atlanta International Airport is recognized as one of the most efficient and well-managed airports in the world.
• The ground crews are loading and unloading aircraft, putting meals on board, filling the fuel tanks and cleaning the airplanes. The baggage handling operation is sorting, checking and dispatching bags to the many departing flights. The airlines’ ticketing staff is dealing with lines of passengers, each of whom may have a different destination. The information desk deals with the many queries, such as people wanting to know if their plane is delayed, the location of a hotel, or trying to work out how to get by road or plane to their final destination. Passengers flow through the lounges, passport control and security checks, and use duty free shops and restaurants, all of which have to always be kept clean and fully stocked. All of these activities, and more, are coordinated by the airport’s Director of Operations.
• According to the Operations Director, the secret of managing operations is to make sure you have very good processes and procedures. Everything has to be well planned and tested. Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world. Therefore, it should continually try to improve all the processes and operations happening on its premises.

Description

This paper answers the following question on the case –
After defining what is a transformation model and what is an operation or process, identify the micro-operations to be found at the airport and clarify the difference between transformed resources and transforming resources. Also summarize the job of the operations director (and his/her priorities), and discuss an example of a business you know that has successful operations.