Hr Planning at Qantas - Marking Guide

HR planning at Qantas - Marking Guide

Questions:

1. Evaluate the strategic contingencies affecting the strategic choices that Qantas has from both a theoretical and practical perspective, and examine how these choices affect human resource planning.

2. If you were in a position to advise Alan Joyce, what would you recommend he do to maintain the commitment of employees and implement HR Planning? Explain your recommendations.

Introduction:

This case is really about the strategic challenges facing Qantas in the challenges these poses in managing one of the most important resources, their human resources. The introduction needs to identify the essay purpose ands key issues. These include organisational strategy being dependent on external contingencies, the need to align the HR strategy and to implement a HR plan that aligns staffing requirements to the business strategy. In this case there are implications for job analysis and design, training and development, work-life balance and well-being, performance management, employee relations, occupational health and safety, rewards and recognition, [particularly in relation to cheaper staff from over-seas], redundancies, limited advancement opportunities, ethics, employee involvement and ultimately their commitment. Other issues that could be referred to include implications for reductions in recruitment and selection and targeting new employees that fit the new culture. This section should conclude with a brief overview of the layout of the rest of the paper.

Students may address the answers to the questions sequentially or they can integrate these by exploring specific themes - either is acceptable.

Question 1:

Evaluate the strategic contingencies affecting the strategic choices that Qantas has from both a theoretical and practical perspective, and examine how these choices affect human resource planning.

This question asks students to explore why and how Qantas strategic choices are influenced by contingencies from the external environment and how and why this in turn affects HR strategy. For example, increased competition from airlines in the premium Qantas market [Singapore, Malaysian, air New Zealand and Emirates Airlines] as well as competition for from the budget airlines [Virgin, Tiger, Air Asia] that have cheaper operating costs, because staffing and maintenance costs are lower; therefore, to remain competitive Qantas wants to cut the cost of staffing. They should define strategy, consider Qantas as vision and mission and then explore current contingencies that are affecting the organization. Qantas is pursuing a cost minimization strategy. Their Vision is " to create the world's best premium and low fares airlines in Qantas and Jetstar" (Qantas, 2011).

There is considerable amount of information available on the company's website including the code of conduct, corporate social responsibility and businesses practices and I would expect students to refer to these - particularly if they wish to highlight any incongruency's between what is stated and what is happening

The Harvard map provides a good model for exploring all the issues in the case. This will help draw out the conflicting agenda's (i.e shareholders seek profitablility; Management want to cut costs and maintain safety; communities want cheap fares; staff want fair remuneration and safe work practices). The contingencies can be drawn from the Harvard map (and broken down into the five DELTA forces (Demographics, Economics, Legal and regulatory issues, Technology, & Attitudes and values]. (I have suggested that students can embed information specific to Qantas in models - they may choose to use other relevant models - but the key is that they choose a strategic HR Model).

They should also draw out specific issues referred to: i.e the union demands, engineers concerns, Pilots role in doing some maintenance checks (depends on what these are - i.e. acceptable if they are trained to do these - for example, fuel level checks, air-conditioning etc and then called for assistance if this was needed). CASA (the Civil Aviation Safety Authority approval of some changes) and the impact of the Global financial Crisis etc.

What recommendation should they make? This will depend on how they interpret and present the evidence. For example, approval by CASA suggests these changes are appropriate and evidence from other airlines could be used to show these changes do match international best practice . [e.g. benchmark with other airlines]. Another perspective that students might take is one of social responsibility to employees in terms of natural justice and employee involvement and engagement. The challenge for Qantas is to maintain its position as the world's safest airline! This also highlights the tension that organization's face in meeting the different needs of the different stakeholders.

Question 2

If you were in a position to advise Alan Joyce, what would you recommend he do to maintain the commitment of employees and implement HR Planning? Explain your recommendations.

This question utilizes the HR planning strategies discussed in Chapter 2.