Strategic Human Resource Planning atQantas Airways - Case Study Example

Analysis of Qantas Airlines Limited Name Course Institution Date Analysis of Qantas Airlines Limited Introduction Qantas Airways Limited is a renowned airline in Australia. It has expanded and established its market leadership not just in Australia, but also beyond boarders. The airline has been offering services from 1920. This explains partly the secret behind its success. Being in one of the most competitive industries in Australia, the company has not shied away from exploring new opportunities all the time. A lot of this has been done with a key focus to the customer needs. The company is quite sensitive on the changing preferences and needs of the consumers of its various services. This is to ensure it remains relevant in the current market. The company is on the move of turning around the bad financial results that have been experienced in the recent years. This poor financial performance is greatly related to the recent global financial crisis. The full consequences of the global financial crisis that hit the world from 2008 to 2009 have been felt through reduction in profitability as well as overall turnover. The current CEO of the company is Alan Joyce. Having introduced the company, it is important to highlight that the purpose for this report is to establish the principles that are attributable to the company’s success. It is important to understand the unique management tactics that have made this company to stand out amongst many in the industry. Such information can be used by other players in different industries to turn around the performance of their companies. In addition, the tactics that have been used by this company can be tested against theoretical concepts that relate to management in the corporate world. One can use such case study analyses to gain a deeper understanding of the issues that influence corporate governance. This will work not just to turn around the performance of the company, but also provoke a better approach to key issues in the current market. In this regard, there are a lot of issues that have been discussed in depth in this report. Such issues include external environment analysis,planning and strategy formulation, and ethical behavior and social responsibility. External Environment Analysis General Environment (PEST Analysis) Economical The company has been quite stable in relation to financial performance. As a matter of fact, the company has been riding on its financial muscle to expand its operations in different arenas. This explains the reason the company owns a lot of airlines. Nevertheless, things have not been smooth since the global economic crisis. The financial results for the company from 2008 indicate that it was hit strongly and it is struggling to recover from that blow. From the year 2008, the company has not registered an increase its revenue turnover. In addition, the profits have been shrinking since 2008. The company had recorded a profit high of $197 million in 2008 after which the profits dropped to $123 million in the following year. Things became worse in 2012 where the company recorded a trading loss of $244 million. At the same time, it seems the aircraft accidents have worsened the effects caused by theglobal financial crisis. All these have left the company suffering financial losses. Currently, the company is on the path of recovery. Technology This is yet another factor that is attributed to the company’s success over time. The adoption of technology is based on the understanding of the dynamic nature of the industry. The company has put several measures in place to ensure that it takes advantage of the technological development that is taking place in the market. This is done with the determination to have a cutting edge over its competitors (Kotler 1999, p. 143). The company is constantly improving its products and services through use of technological to come up with better systems and processes. It attracts the most talented and innovative engineers to run its systems. This has been deemed as the source of innovation and creativity that the company boasts of. Specific Environment Competitors In aviation industry, competition is very stiff. This requires players to be innovative to avoid being rendered out of business. The increased competition is as a result of profitable opportunities in the industry. Therefore, Qantas Airline has been forced to be constantly on the move to deal with such competition. Currently, the airline has a very difficult task of dealing with competition from Virgin Blue Holdings Limited, Singapore Airlines Limited, United Continental Holdings Inc., etc. The company has been forced to adjust its operations to make it more competitive. This has involved acquisition of new airplanes in order to replace the once old airplanes that seemed to be spoiling the reputation of one of the most renowned airline in Australia. In addition, many other streamlining strategies have been implemented in order to deal with the stiff competition in the market. Customers The company has tried to maintain both its internal and customers especially after the global financial crisis (Boxall & Purcell 2001, p. 75). To begin with, the company has streamlined the overall workforce in the bid to improve the productivity of its internal customers (Boxall & Purcell 2001, p. 89). The company has not been able to increase the number of employees since the global financial crisis. The highest number of employees the company has had in the last 5 years is 33966 and that was in 2009. After that, the company has tried working with a lower number of employees in order to reduce the wage bill. This is happening in spite of the fact that external customers (passengers) have been growing ever since. Since 2008, the number of customers has grown from 38 million to 48 million. This indeed is incredible achievement over such a span of time. The company has managed to successfully grow the number of customers even in the midst of global financial crisis. Planning, Strategy Formulation and Implementation SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a very critical tool in analyzing the position of an organization. The tool is used to assess the factors that are within the reach of the organization that can propel it to prosperity or lead to its downfall (Fletcher& Crawford 2011, p. 65). This helps to assess the current position of the company in comparison to its future prospects. Through this analysis, the company will be in position to understand its strength and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and weaknesses. The information gathered through such an analysis is very critical in enabling key decision making in the organization. Strength Good reputation gained over long time Recent financial might has influenced the company’s investment decisions Its low-cost jets makes it affordable by different classes of customers The airline has diversified airline services Weaknesses Diminishing profits in the last five years Recent aircraft accidents Opportunities International flights are yet to be flooded Taking full advantage of growth in technology Threats The recent global financial crisis affected its operations Many entrants into the aviation industry making competition stiffer Planning, Growth and Development At this point, it is appropriate to emphasize the fact that the company has flourished in past as a result of the input made by the employees. The company has managed to exploit the talents in its workforce to come up with innovative ideas to spur development goals (Bratton & Gold 2001, p. 181). This has been realized in relation to the financial prosperity that the company enjoyed some years back. The company has taken advantage of technology to exploit innovation and creativity. This in itself implies that the company has been forced to develop human resource policies that enable it to attract and retain the best laborforce in the region. This has been based on the understanding on the contribution of employees on the success of any given organization (Belcourt & McBey 2009, p. 151). In this line, the company has a number of programs whose main aim is to attract the best talents into the organization. Some of these programs are the graduate recruitment and apprenticeship. They seek to attract and reward employees well in order to motivate them to commit themselves to the company. In addition to that, the recruitment programs that have been designed seek to understand the unique capabilities of applicants in order to place them in positions in which they will be most productive. This is very critical in cultivating goal-oriented approach to work. The human resource has put in place training and development programs all with the aim of sharpening the skills of the employees (Belcourt & McBey 2009, p. 146). Such programs aim at increasing the quality of work output and the overall creativity and innovativeness of employees. These programs have been found very successful in this organization. Similarly, these programs have been used to enhance succession of the management positions. The graduate recruitment and other recruitment programs are aimed at identifying and mentoring young personalities who have the ability to take up leadership positions in the company. This has helped maintain the culture since leadership positions are taken up by people who understand the system well. Strategic, Tactical and Operational Plans The company has demonstrated its commitment to ensuring high productivity of its workforce. One of the ways through which this has been facilitated is through the recruitment programs that have been put in place. Inasmuch as Qantas seems to be dominated by Australians, its recruitment policies have made it possible for the company to maintain diversity in its workforce. This is as a result of its strict policy when it comes to recruitment. The company is very keen to attract candidates for various positions based on merit alone and nothing else. In fact the company has been very keen to ensure that its overall image is representative in order to find it easier marketing its services in a global market (Fletcher& Crawford 2011, p. 65). This has been very fundamental in the company’s exploration of global market. Implementation of Ethical Behavior and Social Responsibility Ethics in Workplace It is the desire of any organization to maintain high ethical standards. This is because high ethical standard is equivalent to a brand. It has great value for business in the long run. Therefore, every company will always have a policy that stipulates high ethical standards for its stakeholders. The same is true for Qantas. The current CEO has expressed his commitment to ensuring that high ethical standards are achieved. This is not just through formulation of such guidelines, but communicating this to the immediate stakeholders. In spite of all these efforts, doubts have been shed on the CEO’s commitment to deal with ethics. Complains have been raised in relation to the fact that at times the CEO has failed to consult with the most important stakeholders in key decisions. Such decisions have had a negative impact on the services offered to customers. This has been considered laxity in relation to ethical standards set. Corporate Social Responsibility This is yet another element that corporate entities want to be associated with. Corporate responsibility portrays the company’s commitment to play a role in making a different in the community. It is always seen as an appreciation for the support rendered by the society through purchase of products and many other things. In particular, Qantas Airlines has invested a lot in corporate social responsibility projects over time. The company has demonstrated its full commitment to support the communities in Australia. One of such projects is the Qantas Foundation Community and Education. This foundation is meant to support the educational needs of the needy students in the community. Through this foundation, adequate resources are mobilized for the sole purpose of supporting the needy. This also builds a good reputation for the organization that affects the organization’s future prospects. Conclusion From the report, it is evident that Qantas been in the aviation industry for quite some time now. As expected, the key factor behind this success is the able leadership that has been steering the company’s objectives. The functioning of the various processes in the organization is continuously monitored to ensure it meets the dynamic needs of the customers. The company has taken great precaution to this by developing a workforce that easily responds to the needs of the customers. The training and development programs that have been put in place by the company have made it possible to develop the required skills that can serve the customers appropriately. In so doing, technology has been very significant. It is the primary ingredient for innovation and creativity which have been the backbone of this organization for decades. References Belcourt, M. & McBey, K 2009, Strategic Human Resource Planning, Nelson College Indigenous, New York, pp. 139-165. Boxall, P. & Purcell, J 2001, Strategy and Human Resource Management, 3rd Ed., Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire, pp. 63-93. Bratton, J. & Gold, J 2001, Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice, Psychology Press, Hampshire, pp. 163-187. Carter, E 2008, Successful Change Requires More Than Change Management, Journal of Quality & Participation, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 20-23. Furtado, B. & Fadil, P 2012, The Four Faces Organizational Culture, Competitive Review, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 283-298. Kotler, P 1999, Kotler on Marketing: How to Create, Win, and Dominate Markets, Free Press, London, pp. 137-187. Fletcher, R & Crawford, H 2011, International marketing: an Asia-Pacific perspective, 5th edn, Pearson education Australia, French Forest, NSW, pp. 56-79. Zeithaml, VA, Bitner, MJ & Gremler, DD 2011, Services marketing, McGraw-Hill Irwin, p. 95-126. Read More