2.1 Introduction
2.2 Airport Development
2.2.1 Airport History
The history of the development of airports worldwide dates back to the late 1800s with the first ever professionally functional airport according to NYC Aviation (2012) was developed in the outskirts of Paris dubbed Port Aviation. This fact is however indispute since other factions lay claims to being the world’s first or oldest airport. For instance according to Prince George’s Department of Parks and Recreation (2010) College Park Airport in Maryland is the oldest airport that is functional to this day having been established in 1909 by Wilbur Wright. Other claims were laid by the Sydney Airport in Sydney to be the world’s oldest functional airport despite starting its operations in 1920 way after many airports had already been established some of which have since ceased to function (Sydney Airport, 2010).
However, the development of airports did not pick up pace until the onset of World War I where there was growing demand for airfields and war planes in military bases around the world. One of the earliest military airfields was the Paris – Le Bourget Airport which was commercialized after the war. The same trend was replicated across the world especially following the culmination of World War II there was more demand for commercial airlines where airports continued to improve due to the boom of the business. Airports in the 1960s were built to be more sophisticated to handle more human traffic for commercial purposes. The design began to take a familiar shape all around the world with the terminal buildings on one side that also house the control tower, while on the other side, there is a runway for landings and take-offs (Neufville, 1994).
Today airports arequite advanced where passengers unlike in the 1960s board their planes directly from the terminal not having to travel a distance on the groundby bus to get to the plane on the runway. This advancement has been effected by the introduction of the aero bridge boarding system that eliminated outdoor passenger boarding. Through this system the plane is boarded at a gate where the aero bridge directly connects the inside the plane and the passenger waiting lounge. Hence, passengers can easily board the plane once it’s at the gate (Neufville, 1994).
The development of airports through history has also taken several customizations to suit different environments and needs of the aviation industry in terms of capacity as well as the purposes of the airport. For this reasons there are various terms that are used to describe different forms of airports as discussed subsequently.
2.2.2 Airport Definition and Related Terms
The historical development of airports has been coupled with the generations of different definitions of the different types of airports. Several terms that are used in the Aviation industry in regard to the term Airport are as presented; an airport is a place where an aircraft i.e. manmade flying machines such as helicopters, and fixed winged aeroplanes take off and land. An airport usually consists of a runway, a control tower and terminals where passengers use to board the aircrafts. It also includes mechanisms of loading and offloading passenger baggage from and onto the plane (Avionics, 2010).
There are several interchangeable terms that can be used to refer to the Airport. The terms airdrome, airstrip and airfield, may be used to refer to the airport. In most instances, an airdrome refers to a facility that has not met certain legal requirements to be labelled an airport. Hence, not all airdromes are airports although all airports are airdromes in that an airdrome is lesser to an airport until it has met certain legal protocols (Avionics, 2010).
Other terms used to refer to a helicopter landing and taking off area are; heliport, seaplane base, and STOLport. Heliports are dedicated to helicopters while seaplane base is used for landing and take-offs by small planes that do so on the water surface. A STOLport on the other handis a Short Take-Off and Landing port (STOLport) that usually has a runway less than 1,500 m long meant for small aircrafts (Avionics, 2010). The next section discusses several roles of airports.
2.2.3 Significant Roles of Airports
The role of the airport can be effectively elaborated through the various implications that it presents for passengers, in business, tourism and the public in the form of contributions that airports make in the development of various economic sectors.
Foremost, airports play a very central role in the military that is evident in the development of airports through history. In fact, the military played a very central role in the development of airports through World Wars I and II as discussed in this paper. Essentially, the role of airports in recent times just as was in the past for the military was to providing air support in times of battle. Today, however, the technology has grown to the development of a mobile airbase at sea known as the aircraft carrier, a warship that allows the navy to lodge attacks and defend its territories from the air without having to depend on a land based airport (Bennett, 2011).
Secondly, airports have made substantial contributions in the Hotel industry and the Tourism sector. Olipra (2012) reports that the impact of airports where there are low cost carriers has been that there is increased travel to the tourist destinations. This is especially so regardless of whether the tourist destination is popular or not. In fact, airports that provide access to tourist destinations as the entry point for tourists allow for the development of various sectors of the economy that majorly revolve around the tourism sector and the hotel industry. Resultantly, jobs are created, and revenues generated which ultimately result in economic thrive of the regions where such airports are based.
Ramgulam, Mohamed, and Raghunandan (2012) also agree that airports contribute substantially in the development of tourism and regional infrastructure mainly through providing connections and linkages between persons to ensure that transport and communication between regions of the tourist and the destination makes it easy for tourists to make visits to the destination. Moreover, airports play a central role as they are the initial link between visitors and the locals resulting in sustainability of socio-cultural benefits brought about by tourism activities.
In a study to investigate the effects of airport expansion in Rural Kenya Awiti et al. (2013) found that there are numerous benefits attributable to the expansion of the Kisumu airport that translated into the generation of more sales revenues and volumes both wholesale and retail which was as a result of increased numbers of tourist visitations. There was also increased investment in the region in the form of financial institutions and business organizations that ultimately led to the generation of more income in the region.
Basically, the impact of airport in the service business is quite marginal as it results in an influx effect in the generation of service based businesses in and around the regions that the airports serve. This is aside from the opportunities that the development of airports create for the personnel that are directly employed in the aviation industry including; aircraft controllers, crew members, pilots etcetera (Awiti, Okoth, Aila, Okelo, Odera, & Ogutu, 2013).
Fundamentally, airports play a crucial role in social, economic and political spheres as discussed, these roles are made possible through the relationship between airports and airlines. The following section presents an analysis of the connection between airlines and airports.
2.2.4 Airport-Airline Relationship
The relationship between airlines and airports can be understood from the different roles of airports discussed in the previous section. Definitively, an airline is a company that provides air transport services to passengers and cargo. Such a company is licensed to operate by the government or an aviation authority. There are a variety of airlines ranging from ones that just operate one aircraft such as a small commercial plane or a helicopter to full service international airlines that operate hundreds to thousands of aircrafts. For this reasons airliners can be categorized into either of several categories such as international, intercontinental, intra-continental, domestic, regional etcetera depending on their vastness in terms of capacity and areas of operation. Some airliners form alliances and mergers with others in an arrangement that is usually based on mutual benefit. In such an arrangement the airliners ensure they support partner’s operations in the regions of their strong holds (Goh & Uncles, 2002).
The correlation between airlines and airports is based on mutual benefits although it could be argued that airliners gain the more from airports or vice versa depending on the argument inclination. Nonetheless, the fact is that airlines cannot do without airports as much as airports cannot without airliners.Suffice to say that airlines depend on airports to provide them with destinations for landing and delivering their cargo and passengers. On the other hand, the airports also depend on the airlines to bring in business from the passengers and the cargo they carry. As such airliners may own airports in the regions they operate on one hand, while, on the other hand, the airport can own Airliner Company. Whichever the case, the relationship between the airline and the airport is such that there are benefits to be realized in either case for both entities (Goh & Uncles, 2002; Dobruszkes, 2006).
The relationship between airports and airlines as discussed present the management of the airport with numerous challenges that require effective handling of the operations of the airport. Hence, the following section is dedicated to analysing the operation of an airport with regard to the mandate of the airport’s management in ensuring effective and efficient operations of the airport.
2.3 Airport Operation
2.3.1 Airport Management
Airport management is particularly focussed with the organization of resources and manpower to ensure that passengers and cargo that come through the airport either as arrivals or departures have an easy time in terms of experiences with the airports’ management. In essence airport management incorporates aspects of ensuring the safety and security of passengers and goods while at the airport similarly it incorporates all factors related to ensuring that the airport environment is comfortable for travellers either arriving or departing from the airport (Gonzalez-Prieto, Lordan, Sallan, Simo, Enache, & Fernandez, 2011).
Others note that aspects of airport management must incorporate the effective management of time delays that cargo and passenger traffic experience while at the airport either awaiting arrival or departure. In addition, airport management performance is measured to a great extent by its capacity to ensure non-congestion of airports. To this end the prerogative of airport management systems is therefore to ensure that there is ease in the flow of traffic of both cargo and passengers movement at the airport (Zou & Mandanat, 2012).
Whereas different authors such as Gonzalez et al. (2011) and Zou & Mandanat (2012) may differ on particulars about the specific management proprieties that an airport’s management are concerned with; it is popular opinion across the board that management of the airport in efficiency and effectiveness purely reflects on customer satisfaction levels which is directly related to the effective and efficient management of inflows and outflows in and out of the airport respectively (Bilbao, 2014).
The achievement of this objective often requires that the management of the airport ensures that all factors that pertain to the effective functioning of the airport are addressed. According to Gonzalez-Prieto et al, (2011) ensuring that passengers spend the least time possible awaiting transportation in and out of the airport serves to improve its management ratings. On the other hand Zou&Mandanat (2012) point out that the most crucial element is to ensure that the management of the airport has the latest technology that can help in communication efforts that make the time spent in the airport by travellers worthwhile. For instance, the management of the airport can make it possible for persons awaiting their departure time to browse the internet through Wi-Fi technology provided by the airport technical support department free of charge.
Similar sentiments are shared by Bilbao (2014) who also notes that there are various advantages that accrue to the airport due to management adopting different forms of technology in the effective and efficient management of both cargo and persons in and out of the airport. Such technological solutions are as varied as much as their intended purposes are. For instance incorporation of soothing music that plays in between announcements is meant for the customer’s comfort while awaiting departure at the airport. On the other hand, technology used to move cargo and passengers’ baggage is meant to ease the congestion that may be as a result of persons moving in small spaces with their luggage at the airports. But also baggage transport assists the management in securing the premise as all the baggage is inspected for any terrorist threats.
2.3.2 Airport Operational Systems
As discussed above airport, operational systems are built to essentially ascertain that three fundamental elements that are congestion, security and customer satisfaction. Around these three factors, there are measures that the management of the airport takes to ensure that the efforts of its staff and technical solutions all work toward building confidence in the airports’ competencies. This is done to secure the property in the airport and to ensure the security of the passengers and cargo. Similarly, the effectiveness of the management is also gauged by how efficient the airport can handle incoming and outgoing traffic without instances of congestion causing unnecessary delays at the airport. Also, important is to ensure comfort on the part of customers such that they have a pleasant experience when they are at the airport’s premises. All these elements are discussed as under;
• Airborne and Land Functions of Management
The management of the airport has very little role to play when the passengers or cargo are airborne, however, they have everything to do with the wellbeing of the passenger and cargo whether airborne or on land. The role of the management of the airport when a passenger or a cargo plane is airborne is to ensure that the plane navigates correctly and is directed to land safely on the airport. This is usually a function of the control tower at the airport premises to ensure that all planes make a safe landing in the airport (Zou & Mandanat, 2012).
On the ground, however, there are various elements that the management of the airport is directly concerned with in ensuring the safety of both passengers and cargo. According to Bilbao (2014) terrorism is a growing concern around the world that has necessitated security measures that are stringent on the part of airports given that airports are the most obvious entry points of terrorists. Further, instances of terrorism where planes have been hijacked are quite reminiscent in the airline industry especially since 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States of America. Since then, and in light of the ever growing terrorism threats all over the world, the management of airport facilities cannot afford to laze on the job when it comes to matters insecurity. For this reason, the management’s prerogative on the ground is to ensure the security of the passengers arriving or leaving together with their goods and cargo, as well. What is more this role of the airport in ensuring security threats are tackled at the entry point also stretches into the security of the country in general by being able to avert security risks once they are taken note of on arrival at the airport.
Cheng & Liang (2010) present a solution for civil airport safety management based on the effective management of risks. In this system that is widely used by airports around the world the airport’s security is managed through effective management of records of those who are travelling through the airport as well as the cargo that is being taken through the airport.
The system developed is termed as the B/S system i.e. the Browser Server system that records all data about travellers and also incorporates a list of those blacklisted by law enforcement authorities not to travel. Through the system the management of the airport ensures that passengers are cleared by the B/S system before they board a plane to depart. Similarly, the BS system as well clears individuals who are arriving at the airport as well as their cargo to ascertain that if they were wrongly cleared from their departure destination; such mistakes are corrected before their entry into the airport by initiating deportation procedures (Cheng & Liang, 2010).
Other concerns of the airport’s management, while the passengers are on the airports premises other than their safety, are to ensure that they are entertained, comfortable and informed. This they achieve through the use of several technological solutions that take the form of technological improvisations or staff organization. The overall effect being that the customer is made to feel comfortable while at the airport premises (Gonzalez-Prieto, Lordan, Sallan, Simo, Enache, & Fernandez, 2011).
• Departure and Arrival Procedures
The protocols followed on arrival and during departure from the airport are such that the management of the airport secures both passengers and cargo movement. The operations involved for both passengers and cargo is to go through security clearance at airport premises. Hence, the fundamental objective of the management is to ensure that all people and goods entering and leaving the airport are frisked for any security risks (Cheng & Liang, 2010).
Jain &Hailemarian (2010) agree that security measures must be adhered to on arrival and when departures are made from the airport whether for cargo or for passengers. This security they note can only be ensured by placing several checkpoints where passengers check in. They add that this must be done before passengers can be allowed to wait for their flight to be ready to take off at the departure hall.
They however add that the most crucial protocol that an airport must observe after security measures are observed are that the transport mechanisms between the plane and the entry point of the airport should flow smoothly. The smooth flow of ground traffic to and from the plane is essential in ensuring that there is no congestion at the airport. Therefore, the management must ensure that the ground transport to the terminal of both passengers and cargo is made easy through the use of belts on rollers for bags and access vehicles human beings where there is no direct boarding mechanism for passengers onto the plane (Neufville, 1994; Jain & Hailemariam, 2010).
Similar sentiments are advanced by Chiamberto (2011), which suggests that procedures during arrival for airports should be eased for passengers who have particularly had a long flight and would not appreciated any delays at the entry point of the airport. To achieve this, the management of the airport must focus on the minimization of the time that passengers and cargo arriving at the airport take to get security clearance. In the same line, the management should also minimize the time that is spent for the plane to land and get to the arrival hall, as well as the arrival time baggage claim. Similarly, the time it takes from baggage claim to public service should as well be reduced to the minimal.
However, this is not to imply that the airport compromises security measures along these points to ease congestion. In fact, airport authorities must ensure that security measures are adhered to above all else. Nonetheless, to ensure profitability of the airport’s business especially in the case of locally served routes with alternative regional speed trains that arrive in destinations in good time as to rival air travel in the local regions, airports have to really ensure that they fast track their clearance and handling procedures for passengers arriving at the airport in order to remain competitive (Chiambaretto, 2010).
2.3.3 Airport Operational Attributes
Airport operations encompass several activities that the management of the airport does in ensuring that the traveller has access to several amenities at the airport which make the travelling experience pleasant. More to that the airport operational attributes are concerned with an earlier mentioned prerogative of the management which is concerned with ensuring that the customer/traveller is comfortable at the airport premises to ease passengers of the anxieties that are associated with the hustles of travelling (Gonzalez-Prieto, Lordan, Sallan, Simo, Enache, & Fernandez, 2011). Several operational attributes of airports based on the facilities that are located in their premises are as discussed as under;
Foremost, the literature reviewed here in present facts on the importance of ensuring that the safety of the passenger and cargo coupled by travellers comfort and the reduction of congestion at the airport as the main concerns of the airport management in ensuring effective and efficient management of the facility.
In a research conducted by Widarsyah(2013) to investigate the impact of airport service quality dimensions on the overall airport experience by travellers; it was discovered that passengers were very appreciative of quality services from experiences in airports that offered such services making their experiences at the airport memorable. The same study also found that passengers who had bad experiences in airports with poor services had bad memories about the airports which created perceptions in their minds about the poor state of services in such airports.
Consequently, passengers with pleasant experiences from quality services offered at the airports had all praises for the airports and they recounted these in testimonials to others who also appreciated the services and made a point to visit the airports themselves. On the other hand, airport experiences that were followed by bad experiences resulted in people downplaying the standards of the service delivery in such airports. As a result, airports with poor services suffered a bad reputation that had ripple effects in the business that the airports received since it was on a decline (Widarsyah, 2013).
According to Widarsyah (2013) passengers’ experiences, are based on the service quality received at the airport premises. These include both services received from staff members and airport facilities. In a similar study conducted by Archana&Subha (2012), several attributes of airports that were mentioned as to add to the quality of service of the airport include; lounges with comfortable sofas where visitors can sit while waiting for departure. In such lounges addition of travel information displays also proved a plus in informing passengers of the flight time and other pertinent issues with regard to their intent on travelling.
Other attributes mentioned in the report also involve soothing music that is not disturbing to the ear served to relax travellers from anxieties that are related to the adrenaline rush with respect to travelling arrangements (Archana & Subha, 2012). The same sentiments are advanced by Atalik (2009) who agrees that service delivery from the passengers’ perspectiveis the epitome of their experiences in airports and in fact the reason why they make future stops through the airport or not. The concern that Atalik was centred on majorly encompasses the voice of the customer in interpreting the quality of services that they received.
Archana&Subha (2012) also discovered that passengers also care about how their baggage are handled particular when boarding or alighting from the aircraft as they manoeuvre with their luggage in the airport’s premises. Passengers particularly mentioned baggage trolleys, belts and carts as very helpful in moving their bags from one place to the other. Where such facilities were absent the services at the airport were deemed to be poor.
The ease of access to boarding or alighting the aircraft, passengers correlate the use of aerobridges as better service than passenger buses that ferry them to the location of the plane for boarding or from the plane to the terminal when alighting. Similar views are held by customers who are of the popular opinion that the airport should be served with banks and currency exchange services that consequently, travellers access to financial services. There should also be adequate ATMs that a passenger can make withdrawals from regardless of the currency differences. Other essential facilities that passengers refer to in gauging the service quality of the airport are availability of toilets, prayer rooms, first aid kits, car rental facilities and a post office. These prove quite essential for different categories of travellers who find the availability of such facilities as to make light their travelling huddles (Chao, Lin, & Chen, 2013).
Passengers also note that they care about quality services with regard to the availability of parking space for their vehicles when they arrive at the airport for departure and that they would also want to find their vehicles secure at the parking when they jet back into the airport. Likewise, passengers were concerned about the poor state of airports that had dilapidated infrastructure for instance the lack of adequate escalators where passengers were forced to use stair cases that prove quite a task. Some airports were found to be inadequately labelled with directions that made it quite difficult for passengers to find their way around the airport. On this note, passengers noted instances when they approached staff members for help but could not communicate due to the language barrier (Atalik, 2009).
According to Chao, Lin & Chen (2013), fundamentally service quality is what drives passenger traffic through the airport. They propose that the airport include amenities that the passenger requires despite the fact that they are on travel. For this reason, they stress that an airport information desk is paramount in ensuring that passengers have adequate information about their journey and travel arrangements.
What is more, passengers require attention, and this must be given by the staff at the airport. To achieve this, the management can ensure that they are ready to assist passengers with which ever challenge they might need assistance for. To this end the management of the airport should make available retail stores and eateries that the passengers can revel in last minute shopping on arrival or before departure from the airport. Such facilities also serve to preoccupy passengers who are waiting for their plane’s departure time to arrive or others who might be waiting for their relatives and friends to arrive so that they can receive them (Chao, Lin, & Chen, 2013).
Fodness& Murray (2007) agree with Atalik (2009) on the premise that passengers have expectations of quality services when visiting airports for the first time and subsequent visitations. It is also important for airport management to ensure that they are maintaining the standards of quality services or that they match up to the expectations of the passengers by providing quality services.
More importantly, airport management must ensure that services offered by the airport are not compromised for any reason; the sure way of achieving this is by organising both its human and manmade resources are organised around providing the customer with a pleasant and memorable experience at the airport (Fodness & Murray, 2007). Bogicevic, Yang, Bilgihan&Bujisic (2013) note that the customer satisfaction is driven by the quality of services offered at the airport which makes it paramount for the management of the airport to ensure that quality of services offered deliver on the promise of quality made by the management as well as meets clientele expectations (Bogicevic, Yang, Bilgihan, & Bujisic, 2013).
The operations of the systems of the airport requires managerial skills as well as an understanding of the needs of the aviation industry with regard to expectations of clientele and industry players. The subsequent section presents several theories of airport operation that can assist in the management of the operational systems of an airport as discussed here in.
2.3.4 Theories Related to Airport Operation
This section details three areas of theory that are essential in the management of airports operations. They include; operational theory, management theory and systems theory. Operational theory is concerned with problem solving techniques especially in decision making. Management theory on the other hand is concerned with aspects of the relationship between managers and employees in the working environment. It is especially focused on how mangers handle employees to ensure that tasks are completed. Systems theory is also focussed the contributions of several units of systems in the organization to the general system of operation of the firm. These three areas of theory are each discussed in greater detail as below.
• Operational theory
The theory of operations is concerned with the aspects of how the description regarding how several tasks are organised and how they are completed or should be completed. An operations theory can be documented, or it can be a mental picture of how tasks are completed. Operational theory encompasses details on the problem solving that majorly is concerned with the identification of a problem and the development of solutions to such problems within an organizational framework (Wacker, 1998).
Gupta & Boyd (2008) advance that operations management draws from the theories of operation particularly, the theory of constraints. They add that the theory of constraints is where the management strategies to allocate resources both of staff and other resources financial or otherwise in tailoring the best approach to coordinate functions of different departments within the firm. This coordination culminates in the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organization guided by it principles in service delivery and quality standards.
The theory, they add is very instrumental in reaching across functional operational boundaries which to a great extend helps in addressing pitfalls in decision making that in effect influences the quality, process, inventory and capacity among other attributes of the organization's operations. Essentially, the operation theory is particularly concerned with the manner in which various resources are organized within the organization to produce an overall effect that encompasses effective management of the firms operations (Gupta & Boyd, 2008).
• Management theory
Management theory is concerned with the collection of different ideas that are then used to define the rules and policies that are employed in managing a business enterprise. Theories of management define the relationship between top management and subordinates. On the one hand, management theories gauge the role of the employee in making attempts towards achieving set goals and targets of the organization while, on the other hand, management theories are concerned with the role of the top management in motivating employees (Bobic & Davis, 2003).
The most precise explanation of management theory is provided in McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. Developed by Douglas McGregor in the 1960s in this theory; the former theory X is concerned with strict supervision while the latter theory Y is more liberal. The benefits of theory Y are such that the management is tasked with all responsibility of ensuring operations are functional in the firm. As a result, the management does not encourage employee participation in decision making or delegation of responsibilities. Theory Y is the contrary of theory X where employee participation is paramount Employees are encouraged to participate in decision making. What is more, theory Y also encourages employees to take responsibility by delegation of duties and making employees feel like they are central contributors to the success of the company (Stewart, 2010).
Whereas theory X is widely seen to be authoritarian and unfriendly to the employee as compared to theory Y of management that comes out as quite liberal; both theories have their benefits as theory X is quite effective in managing large numbers of staff conducting a particular task that is labour intensive such as construction workers. On the other hand, theory Y is most suited for the service industry such as the management of call centre where there are many differentiated cases that the job addresses which require skill of personnel in effectively addressing the concerns (Carson, 2005).
• Systems theory
Systems theory encompasses a wide scope of operational management strategies and techniques that bring together several aspects of management of different factions within an organization. It focuses on the study of institutions systems in general and the contributions that each makes in the overall wellbeing of the organization. Systems theory incorporates the inclusion of self-regulating systems that are found in nature and in global ecosystems which combined contribute to human learning processes.
According to Mele, Pels&Polese (2010), Systems theory was developed by a biologist by the name L. von Bertalanffy in the 1930s. The theory explains that the world is made up of systems that stem from a problem, which through the system functions are organized to provide solutions to the problem. The theory also advances the system is composed of goals where there are strategic inputs in the form of investments made toward the achievement of projected output. Lastly, the theory advances that the systems’ success is effectively gauged by measuring how well it works, and this can only be done through the feedback received from beneficiary parties to the system.
Pertinent to this discussion the airport management is deemed to be a system where the main problem it faces is the delivery of quality services. Hence, its goals are to ensure that services delivered to its clientele are of intended, acceptable and expected quality standards for the customers. Therefore, the management of the airport then makes strategic investments in the form of inputs whose main output projections are quality service delivery. In the end, the management of the airport can then measure the standard of quality delivery through the feedback that they receive from clientele made of cargo owners and passengers employing the services of the airport from time to time (Mele, Pels, & Polese, 2010).
Patton & McMahon (2006) add that systems theory is also concerned with aspects of Entropy which is the measure of the degree if disorder in the system. It also includes the measure external and internal environmental influences to the organization's systems. Likewise, systems theory is also concerned with the subsystems and super systems in regard to their boundaries and how these affect the system of the organization.
More importantly, systems theory is hinged on the benefits and challenges that arise in an organizations system as a result of interdependence between the organization’s system and other systems within and without the organization. Generally, Systems theory is concerned with the contributions of several factions or units in the organizational framework that influence its holistic operations (Patton & McMahon, 2006).
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