Qantas Airways’ Human Resource Management

Discuss about the Human Resource Management for Qantas Organizational.

Organizational restructuring helps in improving efficiency, keeping up to date with technology as well as implementing strategic and governance changes that are mandated or made by the organization’s owners. There are several reasons as to why organizational restructuring is done. Such reasons include to change the business’s nature, introduce new working methods, new technology, buyouts, as well as enhancing competitiveness. This essay focuses on Qantas airline, to offer advise how the company can restructure its Human Resource to enhance competitiveness.

Qantas Airways is considered to be Australia’s largest airline. The company’s Human Resource operates under four primary areas which include the business segments, learning, shared services, corporate, as well as the development level. Under the corporate level, the Human Resource Management is concerned with the staffs’ remuneration and benefits, the airline’s industrial relations with its rivals as well as management’s development (Careau, et al, 2014, pp.42). Also, at the business level, the Human Resource teams mostly are in collaboration with other organization’s segments to make sure that there is effectiveness in delivering strategies that will necessitate competitive advantage. It is observed that the Human Resource play a crucial role in the organization. Under the shared services, the Human Resource is tasked with the duty to manage employees’ records, support remuneration, as well as the recruitment process, management of the workers’ compensation (Firestone, 2014, pp.102). Additionally, in this level, the Human Resource is entitled to develop strategic schedules regarding the employees’ traveling schemes as well as the schedules. Lastly, under the learning and the development levels, the Human Resource Management is responsible for coming up with the staffs’ training programs to assist them in delivering their work efficiently.

The Qantas Human Resource Management’ cornerstone is job design and analysis. For efficient functioning of any organization, job analysis is considered to be the primary hub of the activities performed by the Human Resource Management. In the process of job analysis, the Human Resource Management is tasked with the duty of planning, recruitment, selection, placement, as well as inducing the employees (Garavan and Carbery, 2012, pp.151) Some of the procedures that are anchored by job analysis consist of the selection of personnel, training, task evaluation, and performance appraisal. Additionally, Qantas organizational strategy is as well supported job analysis’ process particularly when it comes to dealing with talent crisis as well as competition. As per the Human Resource Theory, Strategic Human Resource Management aims at linking all Human Resource functions with a company’s goals. 

The Importance of Job Analysis and Design

Qantas Human Resource Management in its process of job analysis focuses on the different employees’ training requirements. Nonetheless, in the job analysis process, the Human Resource Management is concerned with determining factors that have an influence on the company’s behavior. After completing the job analysis process, job design is the next step that follows in the company (Gumus, Bellibas, Esen and Gumus, 2018, pp.33). The aim is to outline and organize duties, task, as well as responsibilities in one single unit to attain specific objectives. Job design is important at Qantas because it facilitates effective feedback.

The company has had numerous issues as a result of its Human Resource Management. The company has undergone a managerial change which has a result of lowering costs such as labor costs by the HRM with the intention of enhancing productivity. Nonetheless, there has been biasness at Qantas which has resulted to complain and strikes from the staff demanding increase in salaries (Kehoe and Wright, 2013, pp.373). The staff’s unresolved problems have resulted in scandals in the company. It is clear that in the processes of job analysis and design, the company’s Human Resource Management has resulted in selecting the wrong candidates. This is evident from the company’s pilots who are incapable of monitoring their location thus ending up in the wrong way. Additionally, as a result of specious commands, the company was involved in an in-flight accident that led to the death of customers. These incidences demonstrate that the company’s Human Resource Management is inefficient and has resulted in more losses within the company (Mules and HSIE, 2013, pp.8). The company’s Human Resource Management can be improved by revisiting the company’ recruitment and selection process to ensure that only the competent employees are selected. Additionally, the organization should its strategy and restructure its Human Resource such that it focuses more on the employees.

Aimed at motivating its employees, Qantas has embarked on training with the aim to develop its employees. Training is considered to be job design’s imperative part. The importance of training at the company is to ensure that the company’s staff become conscious of the work demands. Training is inclusive of leadership training during employee orientation. Training and development are important in determining a company’s success (Moslehifar and Ibrahim, 2012, pp.531). Qantas Airways invests a lot of capital in ensuring having the beliefs that as a result, it improves their competitiveness. The Human Resource theory asserts that employees require maximum HR’s support and that is why Qantas offers staff training with the focus of offering motivation and enhance Qantas’ competitiveness. This is evident by the fact that the company opened almost $10 million employee training institutions aimed at building on the economies of scale. The development process can be improved by restructuring HRD such that it invests more in training and developing its pilots and other staffs (Nilsson and Ellström, 2012, pp.30). It is also prudent that the company’s HR develops a performance management plan to monitor employees’ performance.

Issues with Qantas’ Human Resource Management

Motivation refers to the process of creating enhanced enthusiasm in achieving organizational goals which is accompanied with the satisfaction of individual needs. There are three motivational theories which are motivational theories namely. They include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. According to Maslow, individuals tend to want an item and this want depends on what these individuals currently have (Pakdel, 2013, pp.243). Maslow went ahead to propose five distinct levels of needs which individuals require satisfaction for their needs. The lowest level is the physiological needs. Some examples of these needs include food, water, shelter as well as clothing. Once these needs are satisfied on an individual, the needs shift to the next level which I the security needs. In this level, there is desire by an individual to feel secure, inclusive of their families and society (Parijat and Bagga, 2014, pp.7). They should as well feel protected against violence. This need is solved through job security, savings, and insurance. The third level is the love and belonging needs. Individuals require to receive and offer love in this level, as well as feeling appreciated and maintain healthy friendships. The esteem needs is the fourth level. At this level, individuals have the need of uniqueness regarding self-respect as wellenjoy esteem from other people. According to this theory, the highest level is the need of self-actualization. Its development depends on the satisfaction of the presiding four levels.

The second theory is Herzberg motivation theory. The theory identifies that what makes individuals happy is the manner in which they are utilized and what they do, while the manner in which they are treated makes them unhappy. The theory by Herzberg is of Motivators and Hygiene factors (Sheehan, Garavan and Carbery, 2014, pp.9). The two factors identified results to satisfaction among workers but work for different levels. The motivator factors such as adding responsibility, availing learning opportunities, achievement, advancement, as well as recognition probably results in long-term satisfaction. Normally, the factors motivate by changing work’s nature thus challenging an individual to develop their talents as well as fulfill the potential. These factors are as a result of intrinsic feelings. If the factors are absent, then satisfaction does not take place while the staffs’ satisfaction improves if the factors are given value. However, the hygiene factors such as supervision, salary, company policy, working conditions among others results in short-term satisfaction.

The third theory is the expectancy theory that was originally developed by Vroom. This theory stands for the probability that an action results in an outcome (Shuck and Rose, 2013, pp.352). In its perspective, any action taken must yield an outcome. Expectancies are defined based on their strength. The maximal strength is demonstrated by the subjective certainty that an outcome presides over an act. The subjective certainty that an outcome will not preside an act demonstrates the minimal strength.

Improving Qantas’ Human Resource Management

If Qantas is to gain competitiveness in the marketplace, it should adopt the above theories of motivating its employees to ensure that they perform their best in achieving organizational goals (Taboli, 2012, pp.558). Specifically, the company should adopt the Herzberg motivational which focuses on the short-term and the long-term satisfaction among the employees. Additionally, the company should also adopt the expectancy theory that indicates a high possibility of an outcome once an act is performed. This means that if the employees are satisfied, then there is the possibility of increased job performance.

Many definitions that tend to describe an effective leader. Nonetheless, an effective leader should possess these features: first, according to the servant leadership model, an effective leader should be concerned with others’ needs particularly those of the team members before they consider their own needs (Young, Hugenberg, Bernstein and Sacco, 2012, pp.117). Second, according to the leadership with the autocratic model, an effective leader should possess god power as well as control over the other team members. The employees, in this case, have limited option of suggesting or commenting on the team’s best plans. Last, according to the leadership with transaction model, an effective leader should at all times assign specific activities to the staff to perform.

Conclusion

It is evident that Human Resource restructuring is very vital in situations where it has failed to attain its goals of selecting and recruiting the staff. In so doing, there is assurance that an organization would gain competitiveness in the marketplace. Additionally, the Human Resource development is essential in ensuring that the staff is motivated in delivering its core duties.

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