Entropy-Topsis Method to Evaluate Vietnam Airlines’ Domestic Ground Handling Performance

International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering, ISSN(p): 2320-2092, ISSN(e): 2321-2071 Volume- 7, Issue-11, Nov.-2019, http://iraj.in ENTROPY-TOPSIS METHOD TO EVALUATE VIETNAM AIRLINES’ DOMESTIC GROUND HANDLING PERFORMANCE 1TIEN-CHIN WANG, 2YEN THI HONG PHAM 1National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan; 1,2Foreign Trade University, Vietnam E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Abstract - Ground handling is an important part of airline’s frequently outsourced services occurring in the airport. This study aims to introduce an entropy-Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) Method to evaluate Vietnam Airlines’ domestic ground handling system. The entropy will be used to calculate the weight of each criterion set by the airline company and the TOPSIS will be used to calculate the performance rankings of 17 ground handlers in 2017. As a result, “safety” is figured out to be the most important criterion and the rankings based on 7 criteria and related suggestion will also be given. Keywords - Entropy-TOPSIS, Ground Handling, Performance Evaluation, Vietnam Airlines. I. INTRODUCTION purposeful actions to station managers to boost up the efficiency and effectiveness of the services. To Vietnam Airlines (VNA), the flag carrier of Vietnam, support thisVNA’s evaluation, the authorswish to has recently launched a program to evaluate the recommend the entropy-TOPSIS method to rank the ground handling service quality offered at 17 performance of the system. The data used was the domestic airports. This was a part of its strategic 2017 data that VNA consolidated. It is believed that management in order to improve the quality of its this method is suitable because it is objectivity-based. domestic service system. Although VNA also offers Moreover, unlike the useful ranking techniques, for ground handling services as a part of its business, it example,MAUT, ANP, MACBETH, AHP, etc., can provide self-handling for only 4 out of 17 TOPSIS needs relatively low inputs for required input domestic airports in main cities as Hanoi, Ho Chi information, while offering complete ranking with a Minh, Da Nang, NhaTrang. For the remaining closeness score. In the rest of this paper, Section 2 domestic airports, it outsources the services from emphasizes service quality, and its criteria in air local airport authorities. In outsourcing, the literature industry service. Section 3 proposes the research has indicated the importance of setting up an methodology, and Section 4 describes and then appropriate management process which can assist an discusses the results of the data analysis. Finally, airline company to encounter the risk of control loss some relevant conclusions and suggestions are [1]-[2]. VNA provides a full range of services presented in Section 5. containing ticketing reservation, ground services and in-flight services. Among these, it recognizes that II. LITERATURE REVIEW airport ground services are of importance because they have direct impact on passengers’ experience. 2.1 Service quality in the airline industry The airline company therefore governs the ground There is an unambiguous relationship between service quality by using a Service Level Agreement service quality and profitability in academic (SLA) signed between VNA and the ground handlers literature. In 2018, Lin et al. claimed that offering and by assigning its representatives at the airports to superior quality has been of key importance which coordinate and supervise the on-site service quality assisted the business to be able to be survival and level. The SLA includes a set of service standards successful in the competing business environment which are mutually agreed. It also comprises targeted [3]. This view is supported by Hill et al. (2016) who goals to control the overall ground handling wrote that superior quality can lower company’s provider’s performance. The indicators or criteria of costs, differentiate its products as well as charge a the SLA generally cover the punctuality of in-coming premium price [4]. Hence, in the airline industry, by and out-going flights, check-in process, boarding enhancing degree of service quality, the airline process, staffing attitude, passengers’ complaints, company can reduce operating costs and increase mishandled baggage and mishandled personal travel market share and return on investment (ROI), documents. With the view of better satisfying improve flexibility, and maximize transportation passengers flying with VNA, the program is to efficiency [5]. That also supports the motto “service evaluate the performance of the domestic ground quality improvement results to profitability handlers by addressing ranking levels of service improvement”. In the air service industry, it is quality among them. Besides that, based on the realized that in focusing more on service quality, evaluation results, the carrier will take a managerially management thinking has been changed towards Entropy-TOPSIS Method to Evaluate Vietnam Airlines’ Domestic Ground Handling Performance 51 International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering, ISSN(p): 2320-2092, ISSN(e): 2321-2071 Volume- 7, Issue-11, Nov.-2019, http://iraj.in customer orientation [6]-[3]. Carriers have aimed at In this step, an initial evaluation matrix is created satisfying passengersas well as meeting customer with n assessment criteria and m alternatives. With expectations. There has been evidence that it is the intersection of each alternative and criteria given crucial to understand what customers actually expect as xij,,the initial decision matrix D is as follows: and want in order to offer the foreseen high-quality service (e.g. [7]-[8]-[9]-[10]-[11]). In their study, CCC1 2 n Fuzzy weighted SERVQUAL method was proposed A1 x 11 x 12 x 1n (1) by Chou et al. (2011) to assess passenger’s A x x x D x 2 21 222n , i 1, 2,..., m ; j 1, 2,..., n . perceptions and the service quality differences ij mn between passenger’s perceptions and expectations Axmxx m1 m2 mn [10]. There might exist meaningful gaps affiliated to mn passenger service expectations and perceptions of service quality by the related frontline managing Step 2Constructing the normalized decision personnel as claimed in astudy of carrier service matrix quality through a process perspective [7]. The initial decision matrix needs to be normalized to form the matrix by using the normalization method. 2.2 Criteria and sub-criteria for ground handling xij (2) r , i1, 2,..., m ; j1, 2,..., n . evaluation ij m x2 Ground handling services have been received little ij attention from literature. Scholars mainly have i1 focused on evaluation of service quality of an airline so they insufficiently covered the services. The CC12 C n services were commonly included in ground A1 r 11 r 12 r 1n servicesat the airport(e.g. [12]-[13]-[14]-[15]). In A2 r 21 r 22 r 2n individual research, they utilized either some of the i1, 2,..., m ; j1, 2,..., n . Rrij , following coherentcriteria: baggage mishandling, mn A r r r check-in process, boarding process, customer m m12 m mn mn complaints, staff attitude, staff professional (3) knowledge skills, language skills, waiting time, and punctuality, etc.[12]-[15]-[16]-[17]-[18]-[19]-[20]- Step 3Computing the objective weights with [21] or they specifically studied only one criterionlike Entropy baggage handling[22], consumer complaint [16], The criteria weights are objectively determined by the denied boarding [23], and on-time arrivals [24]. information entropy method. III. METHODOLOGY 1 m ej r ijln r ij , i1, 2,..., m ; j1, 2,..., n . 3.1 Application of the entropy-TOPSIS for airport ln m i1 ranking (4) In 1981, Yoon and Hwang introduced the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution Recalculate the weight of each evaluation criterion (TOPSIS) [25]. This method is to solve complex W = (w1, w2,…, wn) decision problems in the real-world. With TOPSIS, a minimal number of inputs can be used whereas the 1 e j output is yet the output is easily understandable. The wj n , i1, 2,..., m ; j1, 2,..., n . principle concept of TOPSIS is that the best solution 1 e j offered has the shortest distance to the positive ideal j1 solution (PIS) and the furthest distance from the (5) negative ideal solution (NIS). In 1947, Shannon proposed the Entropy Weight Method (EWM) Step 4 Constructing the weighted normalized deriving from Shannon entropy model [26]. The decision matrix method’s advantage is elimination of subjectivity According to normalized decision matrix R and the which enable to produce the results in more accord gained entropy weight wj, constructing the weighted with facts. With the method, the index’s weight can normalized decision matrix R is as follows. be identified based on an amount of information. The process of the entropy-TOPSIS method consisted vij r ij w j (6) of 8 steps which were applied for 17 domestic airports (seeAppendix) regardingthe 7 criteria (see Table 1). Step 1.Constructing the initial matrix Entropy-TOPSIS Method to Evaluate Vietnam Airlines’ Domestic Ground Handling Performance 52 International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering, ISSN(p): 2320-2092, ISSN(e): 2321-2071 Volume- 7, Issue-11, Nov.-2019, http://iraj.in n A1 v 11 v 12 v 1n 2 Si v ij v j , i1, 2,..., m ; j1, 2,..., n . A2 v 21 v 22 v 2n i1, 2,..., m ; j1, 2,..., n . j1 Vvij , mn (11) A v v v Step 7 Calculating the closeness coefficient to the m m12 m mn mn (7) ideal solution Ci Step 5Determining the positive ideal and negative S C i (12) ideal solutions i SSii V v ,,, v v positive ideal solution (8) 12 n Then, choose the alternative with value of Ci closest to 1. negative ideal solution (9) V v12,,, v vn Step 8 Ranking the preference order Step 6Calculating the relative distance for each The decision-makers can make a choice of the alternatives alternatives in ranking order.

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