The Increasingly Complex World of air Travel

In the increasingly complex world of air travel, the work of the air traffic controller is becoming increasingly vital. It is the task of these professionals to ensure the safety of all air passengers and personnel by coordinating the system of aircraft leaving and arriving at the airport. With increasing amounts of aircraft and narrower margins between arrival and departure times, it is becoming increasingly important to carefully coordinate and control air traffic.

Generally, air traffic controllers serve under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This agency is part of the Federal Government. The nature of the job, as mentioned above, is complex and requires precise cooperation of a team. The radar associate controller for example organizes flight plans to ensure that more than one aircraft does not schedule arrival and/or departure times for the same period.

When a particular team's airspace is left, responsibility for its flight path and safe arrival is delegated to the following control team. Other elements that need to be taken into account in terms of continued flight safety include weather conditions and other aircraft in the vicinity. Coordination therefore needs to meticulous not only within each control team, but also between different airport teams and the pilots themselves.

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Being involved in air traffic control requires a particular set of skills in employees. The ability to make quick decisions needs to be complimented with clear thinking and memory skills. Furthermore, air traffic controllers need to be highly skilled in electronic communications equipment, along with the necessary articulate skills to communicate necessary information quickly and clearly to pilots (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2006).

The entire system is overseen by the Air Traffic Control Systems Command Center, located in Herndon, VA. Several air traffic controllers work here in coordinating the management of the entire air traffic control system. The Center is burdened with the task of identifying any problems such as bottlenecks or time table problems in the system. These problems are then solved with an appropriate management plan. This overall managing body provides the air traffic controllers under them with the necessary management strategies to facilitate their complex task (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2006).

In order to further simplify the complexity of air traffic control by means of management, the National Airspace System (NAS) Architecture is an automated system implemented by the FAA. This long-term strategic plan is aimed at increased efficiency in air traffic control by helping employees in their work with increased air traffic. Through NAS Architecture, the FAA and the aviation community are enabled to continue plans and discussions relating to modernization in the system.

It is clear that very complex management systems are needed to create a safe and secure travel experience for all passengers and personnel using air traffic. Managerial accounting is a vitally important part of this process. If adequate accounting systems are not in place, air traffic control cannot possibly function either efficiently or adequately. Efficient accounting systems are therefore a very important part of management in air traffic control systems. Several systems are in place to facilitate cost accounting in the profession.

The Cost and Performance Management Charter (C/PM) is one of these systems. Its vision includes strategies to increase the efficiency of operations through measurement and information for easier decision making. On an executive level, accountability for the success of the organization is shared by all leaders within each section of the air traffic control system.

In terms of improvement, employees are encouraged to identify possibilities for improvement within the workplace and the system as a whole. Such encouragement occurs through rewards for identifying such improvement opportunities. This includes areas where funds can be more efficiently applied to improve the process of air traffic control. The working conditions of employees are furthermore made as pleasant as possible by informing individuals of their particular contribution to the general goals of the organization within which they function. This ensures that employees provide their workplace with more value through an understanding of how such value occurs through their work. The understanding of value also provides employees with a higher level of satisfaction and pride in their work, and the number of valuable employees leaving their work for reasons other than retirement is reduced. This helps to reduce the cost of hiring new employees and the concomitant training costs.

Performance improvements like those mentioned above entail certain costs and resource allocations in order to optimize such improvements. The role of C/PM entails a framework for the integration of goals, planning and budgeting in the initial phases, while outputs, results and activities for achieving the planned outcomes are monitored on a continuous basis. C/PM therefore plays the dual role of planning and implementing strategies while also monitoring the results of the initial planning setups. In short, money is related to the results achieved. Resources are to be used effectively and efficiently in accomplishing the mission of air traffic control.

What this means specifically for air traffic controllers, is that each individual is to be made aware of his or her particular role in ensuring the safety of all air traffic users. In terms of cost accounting, the work situation and abilities of each employee should be taken into account when planning resources use issues. Overtime pay incentives and personnel shortages should for example not take precedence over the general health of employees making use of overtime opportunities. The health of air traffic controllers is of vital concern for the mission of air traffic safety. If a personnel member is not healthy, he or she is a safety risk, and no cost-cutting strategy should be used at the risk of safety.

Labor is therefore one of the most important aspects of cost accounting for the FAA. Air traffic control is a fairly well-compensated job. Benefits include overtime pay, and the working conditions are pleasant. At approximately 78% of the FAA's operations costs, labor makes up around 45% of the Agency's total costs. It is therefore important to ensure that these funds are applied in an effective and efficient manner that ensures the optimal safety of all air traffic users.

In ensuring one of the primary objectives of the FAA, namely air safety, air traffic controllers are the Agency's most important business asset. Nevertheless, it is also true that there has been limited specific visibility regarding key projects within the industry. This means that little monitoring has taken place on the actual time spent on these projects, the labor hours provided, and the quality of the outcomes. If an efficient cost accounting system (CAS) is to be implemented, it is certainly necessary to improve cost and performance management and incentives within the air traffic control industry.

A newly implement labor distribution reporting system will improve visibility by obliging all involved, from executives to employees, to report on the actual time spent on projects and tasks. This will give a clearer account of actual costs, performance and outcomes, providing managers with opportunities to make improvements where necessary. In the process however it is also important to keep in mind a non-threatening management system. Employees, as seen above, should be specifically informed of the necessity and benefits of any newly implemented system to facilitate the transition and change necessary.

Strengthening the CAS will result in a better understanding and management of overall costs, thus providing better control of cost growth. This is sound business, as cost growth control will also mean price control and an increase in the customer base. Existing customers will also be more likely to return if they experience a continuous effort by management to maintain the lowest possible air travel costs while ensuring optimal safety standards.

The ABA is the corporate leader that monitors and reviews the performance of the FAA. Performance information is then used to identify possible areas of improvement. A two-way system of communication is therefore provided from the topmost level of management through to the most basic of employees. The system of reward rather than punishment for identifying areas of possible improvement is also a great incentive for employees to remain open in their communication to management. A non-threatening system of communication regarding labor performance reporting and other such implementations will also help to maintain visibility on the true costs and outcomes of certain projects.

While it is important to maintain open communication channels in almost all organizational setups, it is seldom as vitally important as in the air traffic control industry. It should always be at the forefront of attention of all involved that lives are at stake. A single mistake can result in great tragedy. All employers and employees in the industry should therefore constantly be acutely aware of the fact that communication and improvement are continuously required.

Communication is the most important key aspect in the air traffic control industry. It is vitally important that employees in this profession use their communication skills efficiently and accurately (U.S. Dept. of Labor, 2006). In terms of cost and management, these skills are valuable assets in optimizing the performance of the industry.

When communication is accurately used, costs and outcomes can be managed in such a way as to optimize the experience not only of air traffic users, but also of all employees and managers in the industry.

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