Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Format Other
Volume of 2 pages (550 words)
Assignment type : PowerPoint Presentation
Description
Task 2 – Conflict resolution (10 minute individual presentation)
Devise a system of conflict resolution that might be used to solve the disputes arising from the above problems and present your findings. You will need to give examples of potential dispute and how the conflict might be resolved to the satisfaction of all concerned.
To ensure that researched data is accurate and balanced, multiple sources should be used. These may include; company data, industry journals, academic texts, CEO comments. All sources must be Harvard referenced.
Introduction
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) is a UK based semi-public aviation organization founded in 1962. It is the leading air traffic services provider for aviation activities in the United Kingdom and over 30 other countries across all continents. With its more than 5,000 employees comprising of Air Traffic Control Engineers, Science Technical Analytical and Research Staff, Air Traffic controllers and Air Traffic Services Assistants, the organization is responsible for air traffic control for individuals, commercial and military users (NATS, 2016). As one of the global leaders in the provision of air traffic control services, NATS is regarded with a worldwide reputation in the consultation industry serving a wide range of clients including governments, air traffic service providers, and airports.
NATS’s aim is to control the airspace system for users to conduct safe, efficient and orderly movement of air traffic (NATS, 2016). Air traffic services provided by NATS include the separation of aircraft in flight and on the manoeuvring area and guiding them through environments that are free of hazard during operation from one airport to another using established routes. Airlines notify NATS’s air traffic control units of flight plans by providing details and routes used by controllers to facilitate clearance permissions for landing and take offs.
Airways and routes controlled by NATS consist of an airspace system that is monitored by radar. The remaining uncontrolled airspace in NATS served areas are majorly used for military, and recreational purpose as pilots in this space require minimal guidance (Louise Butcher, 2014). However, to promote standardization and ethical practices, the activities of the organization follow strict laws and regulations. Codes of conduct utilized by NATS must follow international air safety regulations, consumer protection, airspace regulations and economic regulatory guidelines formulated for the aviation industry by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
The regulations and compliance systems followed by the employees of the organization ensure strict adherence to safety and efficient performance of services provided by NATS in the air traffic control department because of the delicate nature of the involved operations (Louise Butcher, 2014). It is important, therefore, to understand the systems applied to ensure complete compliance with the critical regulations and statutory rules to expose threats and pressure presented by other departments to the effectiveness of the compliance mechanisms.
Regulations followed by NATS
Safety Standards
Regulations in air traffic control services promote the practice of high safety guidelines of operations in the aviation industry in a standardized formulation. The aviation activities in the UK are controlled by measures developed and overseen by the CAA and the general and private Aviation sector which follow the international aviation framework such as the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) (Volodymyr Kharchenko, 2014). Regulations in the aviation industry provide the country with standards for piloting, air traffic control qualifications, aircraft airworthiness, standardized equipment to monitor aircrafts movements and other general aircraft activities (Civil Aviation Authority , 2014).
It is a mandatory requirement by EASA and the CAA that air traffic services providers such as the NATS meet specific standards of safety by employing approved tools and equipment in their operations (Volodymyr Kharchenko, 2014). The CAA ensures that tools, equipment and the general infrastructure used by service providers do not endanger aircraft while in flight and before engaging in take-off or landing procedures (Civil Aviation Authority , 2014). Equipment such as radar machinery and radios must meet standards set by the UK aviation body as well as international regulations in aviation on proper quality and regular inspections (Yeryashov, 2017). NATS have a mandate to ensure their operations uphold the best of ethical practice according to all necessary provisions. This is achieved by defining specific roles to each member of the team within the air traffic control department. The devolved functions ensure proper procurements and purchasing procedures that follow CAA and international Aviation of acquisition, operation and maintenance procedure.
Licensing and Certification
Licensing is one of the strictest requirement NATS is expected to follow. The UK government through the CAA demands all organizations follow through some procedure to establish the worthiness of its staff and equipment used. The licensing process enables the government to control and regulate activities of the organization more efficiently. The CAA is mandated to the licensing of NATS services through a standardized framework set in place by the Economic Regulation Group, the Safety and Regulation Group and the Directorate of Airspace Policy (Civil Aviation Authority, 2015). Besides using the certification for tax compliances, the government outlines strict measures that the company has to follow to acquire their permits to provide air traffic services and to ensure the permit is not revoked. The air traffic control service employees and air services engineers attached to the organization must meet set certification and other standards as regulated by the CAA and the international aircraft regulation organizations (Civil Aviation Authority, 2015). Staff must undergo proper medical examinations on a regular basis, as well as regularly upgrading their skills to keep up with the fast-growing technological trends.
Financial Regulations
Additionally, the company is mandated to disclose its financial performance on a regular basis (NATS (2), 2017). According to requirements of the UK fiscal, regulatory authority, the company is prescribed to file a financial report to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). This is in line with provisions of UK laws on company operations and standards that aim to encourage transparency, tax obligations, and other ethical practices according to industrial, financial evaluations and reporting systems. As a public company, NATS is required to file its financial performance with accuracy ensuring statistics availed portray the actual performance of the company to the UK aviation industry and the world at large, the company shareholders and all stakeholders. This regulation requires NATS to allow financial auditing by the state in the case of any suspicious reporting (National Air traffic Services (NATS), 2016). The company is therefore expected to employ high economic ethics in reporting, using both internal and external auditors who bring the correct commercial image of the company according to existing laws.
Consumer Protection
The National Air Traffic Services Company is mandated to protect the rights of its consumers (Gillen, 2006). The company is required to provide the best communication of its services to its clients with prudence and accuracy while keeping the set ethical guidelines provided by the government and the general aviation industry. This include the use of the best available language understood by the parties, communication of schedules, guidelines and help in approached time.
Compliance Mechanism Employed by the Organization
NATS has put in place various mechanism to ensure the different departments uphold the set provisions and regulatory frame work using different approaches. In order to provide safety of services to its clients in the UK and its worldwide market, the company has applied state of the art air traffic management infrastructures in its area of operation to ensure efficiency (NATS, 2017). The installation and application of the modern mechanism for communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems (CNS/ATM) facilitate immediate location and accurate establishment of communication networks through satellite signals (NATS, 2017). These advanced technologies ensure safety and efficient management of a wide range of the air traffic.
The company employs the automatic global navigation systems that utilize a network of satellites to carryout constant communication and reporting on the activities of the airspace. This provides the clients with a reliable surveillance network. Aircraft in flight can broadcast their speed, direction, attitude and identity two times every second with their communication received by radio networks and GNSS receivers to facilitate proper guidance from the air traffic operators in the control facilities (NATS, 2017). The navigation systems utilize the performance-based-navigation method which provides more accurate establishment of the route systems and flight pathways to ensure safer and more efficient landing and take-off clearances via the uncongested airspaces. Also, the communication system used by NATS is an improved ground-to-ground communication virtual network that is more efficient over the multiple limited point to point connections in the air traffic messaging platforms. The company is, in addition, embracing the emerging communication technologies in the VHF and HF datalink voice communication to increase safety and reliable communication systems.
Apart from the installation and use of high technology systems in the monitoring of the air traffic and provision of the best operation mechanisms to its clients, NATS ensures regular preventive mechanical services to its infrastructure through close collaboration with the suppliers (Doganis, 2006). The company guarantees all systems work according to the set standards to provide the best of services that are safe and secure. There exists a schedule in the company to facilitate regular scrutiny of the performance of equipment and a provision of multiple back-up plans in case of breakdowns of a system in operation during the conduction of the daily control of aircraft. Highly specialized technicians perform these scheduled maintenance activities. Also, the different equipment usually undergo regular inspections performed by the International Standards inspection subsidiaries such as the National Standards Body through the British Standard Institute.
The company satisfies the CAA licensing requirement by complying with the various elements needed in the industry (Yeryashov, 2017). These include the practice of ethical guidelines dictating air traffic control services and the appropriate tax observation. NATS welcomes the regular auditing of its activities by the government through the CAA and make necessary corrections on any recommendations presented. On the other hand, NATS has invested heavily in staff education and acquisition of skills. All employees must undergo strict screening before they become part of the organization. Technicians working in the air traffic control department are sourced from CAA approved training institutes with proper certification and educational and training qualifications (Louise Butcher, 2014). In fact, NATS, as an organization, provides training services to air traffic controllers employed by the company and the broader global aviation industry (Civil Aviation Authority, 2015). Skills by the employees undergo regular upgrading through intensive training to keep up with the dynamic trends in technology.
The United Kingdom public registered companies operate under the requirement of reporting their financial performance to the public. The National Air Traffic Services Company makes available its financial reports to the public domain four times every year (Yeryashov, 2017). Through the competent employment of its financial staff, the company can compile with the CAA and the UK Financial Reporting Council. This is achieved through both internal and external financial auditing that is conducted with high levels of transparency.
The advertisements conducted by the company are ethical and non-exploiting to the targeted individuals. Information shared by the company for public consumptions usually is abiding by the moral standards of the industry. Clients are provided with clear instructions on the procedure followed in the airspace while applying the best equipment available in the industry to facilitate the services.
Conflict in complying with regulations
While there are no presented issues in the compliance with both internal and external regulation followed by the company, there exist several instances that may cause challenges to the strict adherence to the regulatory framework guiding the operation of NATS.
The provision of the safe and secure controlling services requires systems of coordinated activities such as the acquisition, operating and maintenance of the different tools and equipment on the air traffic infrastructure. The purchase desk of the company must coordinate adequately with the technical teams at the end point of the service delivery to ensure the best standards and technology is put in to use. The Service engineers and the operators are better placed to recommend the best equipment worth investing in that promise the best outcome. This may be facilitated better with adequately coordinated activities between the finance department and the purchasing unit.
Additionally, the administration of the company must have a constant schedule for supervision for the technicians to establish any breakdown as soon as possible to minimize breach of service delivery to this security-sensitive industry. If any lack of proper communication between the technical team composed of air traffic controllers, engineers and the management team, the company may be jeopardizing its ability deliver safe and secure services. Proper maintenance of breakdown equipment may fail to occur in good time and therefore threatening the compliance with safety regulations formulated by the CAA and the international bodies of aviation.
There may exist pressure in employee skill development to meet the changing trends. Coordination between administration and the internal skills training and development team is essential. Friction between the two may emanate from lengthy procedure required to process the acquisition of proper equipment. The standard of skills practiced by the service operators may, therefore, fail to meet the standards as regulated by the UK aviation authorities.
Conclusion
In summary, NATS is an established organization in the aviation industry with a recognizable reputation across the world. Operations of the company are regulated by the government and other controlling bodies to facilitate practices that are within the law. While the company strives to abide by the regulation set in the industry, the framework of activities conducted by the different departments within the organization present threats to compliance processes. However, proper coordination of the internal operations ensures lawful and ethical practices. This increases the image of the company in the industry that is reciprocated with improved market performance.