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Global information system: Qantas Airline

 
  • Global information system: Qantas Airline
  • Executive summary
  • Qantas airline is one of the leading airline companies in Australia. Analysis of the company corporate mission it is evident that the company has been committed in ensuring that they provide quality services to their customers. External business relations has helped the company to improve on the service delivery, for instance through collaboration with Dubai based Emirates the company has managed to reach most of the European countries. Despite the company doing well in both local and international market it also experiences problems related to management and technology. This report therefore presents some of the problems currently faced by the company. In addition to analyzing the problems faced by the company the report also presents some of the possible ways that the management of the company need to implement in order to deal with these challenges. Finally, the report also analyses the crowdsourcing and its role in promoting growth and development of the company.
  • Part 1
  • Background
  • The Qantas airline was founded in 1920, therefore making the company one of the second oldest airlines in the world. The airline has managed to grow where it now operates in over 20 locations within Australia and 21 international destinations in different countries. Being one of the oldest airlines in Australia the company has managed to gain experience and operational accountability and technology. The company is also famous in providing excellent customers services, safety operation as well as the outstanding engineering services. In order to facilitate service delivery the company has also invested in various business that are related to the airline industry for instance the company holds about 27% of the shares in the Vietnams Jestar pacific. One of the major strength of the business is the factor that it has managed to employ over 35000 employee who are dedicated toward ensuring that the company achieve its objectives.
  • Key products and services
  • The company provides their client with approximately four classes of services of international routes and two classes of services with regard to the domestic routes. First class passengers mainly use the Boeing 747 and A380s where they enjoy flat seats, complementary meals and beverage among other good services. The airline also provides services to business class passengers where they enjoy priority in check in, baggage delivery and boarding. The company also offers premium economy class services to their customer. In the case of premium economy the passenger are provided with privacy of separate cabin and complementary meals and services. Moreover, the company also provides economy class services to their customers where they are provided with opportunity to purchase products at considerable low prices. With regard to providing services to their customer the company has also improved in their in-flight technology where the passengers can text messages and make calls for a certain fee.
  • Corporate mission
  • The long-term mission of the company is to operate Qantas as one of the best premium airline in the world and operate their Jesta brand as one of the low fare airline in the industry. Another major mission of the company is to ensure that they comply with all the applicable laws and regulation regarding the ways of conducting business with regard to the ethics and integrity. With regard to its employee the company aims at developing an inclusive environment where the employees are given an opportunity to participate in the decision-making.
  • Corporate structure
  • The company main head office is located in Mascot in New South Wales. The chief executive offices heads the company together with other executive committee members. There are 11 executive committee members who help in the governing various affairs of the company. Some of the executive committee members include the chief executive officer of the Jestar airways, group executive for the government and corporate affair who is responsible for managing the company corporate affairs. Another important member of the executive committee include the group executive for services and technology who is responsible for ensuring that the company adopts new technology in their operations.
  • Business strategies
  • One of the main business strategies of the airline is to continue improving the Qantas and low cost Jetsta brands (Datamonitor, 2011, p.3). Through improving the company’s brand the management aims at ensuring that they promote their uniqueness in the service delivery and therefore ensure that their customer are able to recognize the company products. Moreover, through improving the company brand the management aims at promoting the emotional connection with their customer. Another major organization strategy is to restructure its international business strategies and hence ensure that the company is able to partner with other big companies in the industry. This is to help ensure that the company is able to access some of the unutilized international markets.
  • The management of the company also aims at improving their and local and international market share. In order to facilitate improvement of the market share the management of the company has committed efforts in improving the quality of services they provide to their customers. In addition the business also aims at increasing their profitability. In order to increase on their profitability the management of Qantas has implemented various ways of lowering the cost of operation( Roberts,et al,.2012,p.43) The management has also restructured their workforce to eliminate the redundancies and improve the flow of work in the company.
  • Analysis of the business it is evident that the management of the organization has also committed effort toward ensuring that they exhibit the modern management theory in their operation. The management of the company also now exhibit democratic style of management where the involved in decision-making. Contingency plans have also been implemented in order to ensure that the company is able to effectively manage the incidences such as terrorism.  
  • Relationship with external business
  • Managing the externals business relationship is an important aspect in ensuring that an organization achieves its objectives. This is because the various external businesses have the potential of assisting the business to survive and develop. In this case the management of Qantas airline has established some partnerships with other international airline in order to improve their service delivery. In relation to this the company has partnered with the Dubai-based airline emirates. This has helped to ensure that the company flights are now able to make stopover in Dubai. With the new partnership the company is now able to make 65 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa and UK. Partnership with Dubai- based airline has also helped in enforcing the uniform baggage policy. This has in turn helped to ensure that the Qantas economy class passengers are now able to check in up to 30kg of luggage without paying any extra charges.
  • Moreover the management of the company has also committed effort towards ensuring that they comply with the various laws set by the Civil Aviation Safety and Authority. The management of the company has committed effort towards ensuring that their employees become good corporate citizen. With regard to maintaining ethics in the company as stipulated by law the management has set strict measure to deal with the employees who do not adhere to the code of ethics. Most importantly the company has also developed legal department to help ensure that the company complies with various rules and regulation set by the Australian government.
  • Part 2
  • Challenges related to management
  • Qantas like many other large companies’ experiences challenges related to the management. In this case the following are some of the management related challenges
  • Achieving their organizational goals
  • The management of Qantas is also faced with the challenge of ensuring that the company achieves their goals. In this case the management of the company has been forced to deal with the challenges of the raising labor cost in the Australian market. There has also been an increase competition on the domestic routes due to the emergence of the Tiger airways (De Roos, Mills, & Whelan, 2010, p. 546). Various changes in the workplace law have also affected the performance of the company. Moreover the company has been faced with the challenges of dealing with high number of air accident. This is because the airline has been associated with at least one air accident in almost each decade. In addition the company has been forced to postpone some of their long route due to the various environmental constrains. This has in turn affected the image of the company hence lowering its customer base. Increased pressure from the government to reduce the energy and carbon pollution is another major challenge that has hindered the company to achieve their objective. This is because the management of the company has been forced to invest in projects that can help in the development of alternative fuel sources that are environmental friendly.
  • Dealing with underperforming employee
  • The management of Qantas is faced with the challenge of dealing with the underperforming employees. This is because some of the employees usually have personal issues with the management, which in turn affects their work performance. Underperforming employee in an organization may negatively affect the performance of the entire organization. In relation to this the management of the company has also been faced with the problem of ensuring that they bring out the best in their employee. However, it is important to note that the management of the Qantas airline has developed measures to motivate their workforce.
  • Selection and recruitment challenges
  • The employee recruitment is an important exercise in ensuring that the company acquires the right person with the right skills for the job. In this case the management of Qantas has been faced with challenges in selecting and recruiting employee in the organization. This is because in some cases the company has hired some employees who are unable to perform their duties effectively.
  • Change management
  • Change management is an important aspect in ensuring that the company achieves it set objectives (Smith & Mounter, 2008, p.172). This is because effective change management help to ensure that the company is able adapt with the various modern technological. In this case Qantas airline being involved in the airline industry, which experiences some radical changes the company, is faced with the challenge of implementing some of these changes.
  • Organizational challenges
  • High cost of jet fuel is possibly the most apparent confront facing Qantas airline. Jet fuel prices have been a major problem facing Qantas airline over years (Oxenbridge, et al,. 2010,p.182). Fears of higher oil prices gained grip recently after the International Monetary Fund warned that crude oil prices could increase up to about 20 or 30 per cent. This is because of the recent sanction by the European Union and US to Iran to halt oil supplies. Qantas calculations show that, the cost of jet fuels have increased tremendously over the past years. Increase in the jet fuel prices has been a great challenge as it acts as disincentive to the passengers. Passengers have become more sensitive to higher fare and other charges making them to shift to other airlines.
  • Organization structure of Qantas airline has resulted to communication challenges. Since various functions are separate, for instance, accounting and marketing, functional goal has overshadowed the overall organizational objective. As information starts from the C.E.O and trickles down to employees, there have been constant misunderstanding between the employer and the employees. This is because employees are never incorporated in decision-making process. Failure to incorporate employees in decision-making process may have adverse effect such as strikes. A good example is the strikes by the Qantas employees in 1989. Poor organization structure of Qantas airline have also exposed it to stiff competition not only from its usual rivals Singapore airline and Cathay pacific but also gulf carries such as Etihad and Emirates. This has lead to reduced market and eventually decline in its profit.
  • Communication challenges, which have resulted from the organization structure adopted Qantas airline, have also lead to delay and sometimes cancelation of flights. This is because of the various functional units failing to coordinate effectively.
  • Technology related problems
  • Airlines being among the most areas where technology is noble has suffered a number of challenges related to technology. For instance, Qantas airline have encountered the problem of database collapsing. This has lead to loss of crucial information, which has further led to delay within the airport, for instance, due to loss of passenger’s flight booking details.
  • The emission of carbon by the airplane, which has come because of technology, has added onto expenses incurred by the Qantas airline. This is since the introduction of the carbon tax by the government. In addition; this cost is further transferred to the passengers as flight charges and trigger them to shift to other airlines giving an advantage to competitors. Moreover, Qantas airline is also faced by the challenge of coping with carbon emission issue and go green.
  • Qantas airline is facing the problem of bringing its airports and airlines into twenty first century. This involve booking a flight online, printing your own baggage label at home which will help to avoid the check- in process. However, this calls for the airline to invest heavily in technology to overcome this technological challenge.
  • Qantas is also vulnerable to technological challenge such as failure of transmitters. This has greatly hindered communication within and outside the organization.
  • Security
  • The management of Qantas airline faces various challenges related to the security management. In this case the company needs to develop high technology measure to deal with high insecurity in the airline industry (O'Connell & Williams, 2011, p.4). This there implies that the management of Qantas airline has to ensure that implement the automated process that security that technology can provide to ensure that they provide through inspection of the passenger boarding the planes. Moreover the management of the company is also faced with the challenge storing confidential and sensitive information. This therefore implies that the company must ensure that they implement various security measures to protect the company information.
  • Failure of the flight display system
  • The flight display system refers to a computer system that is used to display flight information of the passengers. Computers that are connected to display boards or TV screens control. Most of these diplays system are normally located around the airport terminals. The information displayed in these screen or boards include the airline name, city of origin or destination, they also indicate the expected arrival and departure time. Most importantly the flight displays system is also used to indicate whether the flight has landed or delayed or the passengers have boarded. However, it is important to note that Qantas airline has experienced problems related to flight displays system. This therefore implies that the management must improve their flight display systems to avoid causing inconveniency to their customers. Most importantly improving their flight display system can help to ensure that their customers are able to get detailed information regarding their flight.
  • Problem related to Satellite Flight Guidance System
  • Beside controlling and stabilizing the aircraft it is also necessary to provide a suitable flight path for the aircraft. The satellite flight guidance system allows a pilot to fly following a certain command on a control system or be able to determine the flight path himself according to a given path flight task. In addition the use of the global positioning system in the airline allows the pilot to compare the pilot to compare his computer data base information of contour maps from all over the world and continuously update the pilot regarding the land terrain. For the case of Qantas airline it is important to note that the company has not managed to upgrade their flight guidance system, which in some occasions causes inconveniency to the pilot. The management of the company therefore needs to implement the modern system in the fight controls such as the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) technology, which can allow safe approach to an airport in adverse weather conditions.
  • Part 3
  • Crowdsourcing
  • Background
  • Crowd sourcing refers to the act of using the collective intelligence, which is gathered from the public, and using that information to complete the various business related tasks. In addition crowdsourcing allows the business to overcome the physical or the financial challenges through recruiting or collaborating with others in order to produce quality goods and services. With regard to crowdsourcing various business usually send out an open call to wider variety of the internet users who have interest and expertise related to the subject and then allow them to compete for the best solution. In some cases the winner of the challenge or the people who came up with the most creative ideas are rewarded. For a successful crowdsourcing the, managers of the company must ensure that they collect all the information from all the participants for easy comparison of the ideas.
  • One of the major benefits of crowdsourcing is the fact that it allow an organization to benefit from the creativity and resources from its audience (Afuah & Tucci, 2012, p.356). Moreover crowdsourcing also allow a business to get immediate result regarding the current business needs. In relation to this it allow the business to increase on its productivity while minimizing their labor expense. In addition crowdsourcing allows the business to get direct feedback from their customers regarding the products and services. This help ensuring that the business is able to respond to some of the concerns from the customers. Most importantly crowdsourcing allows the business to involve their customers in the making decision regarding the application of new technology in the workplace. In most cases the results and crowdsourcing are displayed in the business main website, this implies that the business can be able assess the effectiveness of their website. Another benefit of crowdsourcing is the fact that it forms an effective marketing tool for the business since it allows the people to visit the company main website and hence be in a position to acquire information regarding the products offered by the company.
  • However, crowdsourcing also has some disadvantage when used in a business. This is because in most case the participants are often in competition with one another and hence they may not be able to interact. In addition the participants may leave the project uncompleted since they do not sign any contract. Use of crowdsourcing in a business may also pose challenge related to copy rights. This is because in some cases people may copy ideas used by other companies during crowdsourcing.
  • Use of crowdsourcing in Qantas airline
  • Qantas airline can use the crowdsourcing to improve their performance in several ways. In this case the company can use their social sites to create an opportunity where the people can participate in crowdsourcing. Use of the social media in this case can help the airline to increase their reach. In addition the business can use the social media to build their reputation and hence increase in the customer loyalty.
  • The management of Qantas airline can also use the crowdsourcing to assess the reaction of the customers upon introduction of a new product in the market. The company can also use crowdsourcing to solve the various problems management of the company may be facing. This can in turn help to ensure that company is able to achieve its goals of acquiring a large market share. Most importantly the company can use the crowdsourcing to acquire new talents in an organization. This is because in crowdsourcing the talents search for an organization and hence allow the business to get an opportunity to acquire news skilled personnel.
  • Moreover the management of Qantas airline needs to ensure that they use the crowdsourcing in order to facilitate building of a strong company information system. This is because using croudsourcing the business can be able to acquire new idea of building a strong flight control systems. Crowdsoucing can also help the company to acquire new ideas of marketing their products (Afuah & Tucci, 2012, p.356). In relation to this the company can be able to establish the most effective advertising method based on the feedback from the audience. It is also evident that the company can be able to carry out market research using the crowdsourcing and in turn establish the various ways that the business can be able to improve on its performance. In addition implementation of the crowdsourcing will also help to ensure that the business shares information regarding the products and services they are offering. Finally one may also argue that application of the crowdsourcing in Qantas airline will help to ensure that the company develops a strong company website (Allahbakhsh, et al,. 2013,p.76) The following are some of the steps that can help company to implement their crowdsourcing strategies
  • The management of the company therefore needs to ensure that they explain to their audience the role of the intentions in conducting crowdsourcing. This can help to ensure that the participants are aware of the intention of the company. In relation to this the management needs to ensure that they explain to the participants the reward available upon completion of the projects if it is available.
  • After establishing the purpose of the crowdsourcing the next step involves identification of the pattern and the media to be used in the collection of information. In this case the company can use their main website as the best space to carry out crowd sourcing. The company social site can also be used to carry out crowdsourcing.
  • After carrying out the crowdsourcing the management of the company need to ensure that the analyses the entire feedback from the audience. This can help to ensure that the company is able to identify the best idea from the audience. Finally, after indentifying the best the idea the management needs to ensure that they reward such an idea. Most importantly the management needs to ensure that they integrate such an idea in the operations of the company.
  • Summary of key finding
  • Analysis of the Qantas airline business strategies it is evident that through their promoting the jetstar brand the company will be able to increase the market share. Through their business strategies of ensuring that they provide quality services to their customer the company has managed to increase their customer satisfaction. Application of the modern theories of management in the company has helped to promote democracy in the management of the company affairs. This has in turn helped to ensure that the company employees are to participate in the decision-making. Considering the various external business relations it is evident that through their collaboration with the Dubai-based airline Emirates the company is now able to access many European countries.
  • The management of the company is faced with challenges in related to managing the underperforming employee in the organization, which has in turn affected the performance of the organization. Change management is another critical problems faced by the management of Qantas airline since the company operates in the airline industry which experiences various radical changes. One of the main causes of failure of the company to achieve their objectives is due to the recent fluctuation of the oil prices.
  • In relation to technology the company also faces various challenges related to security management. This is because with the increase in the number of terrorism cases the management of the company has been forced to implement several measures to facilitate inspection of passengers. Failure of the flight display system has also been another major challenge that the company face with regard to technology. In addition, the company also experiences problems related to Satellite Flight Guidance Systems, which has in some cases led to delaying of flights.
  • Recommendations
  • In order to ensure that the company achieves its objectives the chief executive officer needs to implement the following strategies.
  • The management of the company needs to ensure that they embark on research. Conducting research can help the company in making marketing decisions (Parasuraman, Grewal, & Krishnan, 2007, p.4). This is because it can help the company to establish the reaction of the customers with regard to new products. Moreover conducting market research can help the business to survive the competition since the company can be able to understand the marketing techniques used by their competitor. This can in turn help to ensure that the company is able to develop effective marketing techniques. Most importantly conducting market research can help to ensure that the company effectively responds to the needs of the customers (Doole & Lowe, 2008, p.104).
  • Employee motivation plays an important role in ensuring that an organization achieves its objectives. This is because motivation is known to enable people to work with enthusiasm. In relation to this proper implementation of reward systems can help to ensure that the management is able to deal with the underperforming employee. Motivating the employee can also facilitate the development of friendly relation in the organization. Most importantly motivating the employee can help to promote stability in the workforce.
  • Engaging in Crowdsourcing can help the company to acquire new ideas of improving the performance of the company. Conducting crowdsourcing can help the business to identify the feedback from the customers. In addition the company can use crowdsourcing to develop an effective information system to manage their database.
  • Currently the company experiences problems related to satellite flight guidance system, and hence the need to implement modern system. In this case the company needs to implement the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) technology to improve the flight guidance system. In relation to this the management needs to ensure that they introduce the modern ways of database security management in order to ensure that the company information remains confidential as possible.
  • Conclusion
  • From the above it is evident that the current Qantas airline business strategy has helped the company to ensure that the company continues to offer excellent services to their customers. Improvement in the external business relation has helped the company to improve the quality of services they provide to their customers. Despite the increased company growth it is evident that the management of the company also experiences some challenges. In this case the management experiences challenges in dealing with the underperforming employee in the company. The company also experiences some challenges related to technology. In this case the company experiences challenges related to the failure of the Satellite Flight Guidance System hence the need for the company to implement the modern systems. Moreover it is also evident that crowdsourcing also plays an important role in ensuring that the organization achieves its objective. In this case the implementation of crowdsourcing can help to ensure that the company is able to develop an effective modern database system. Finally, the company also needs to ensure that they constantly conduct market research. This will help to ensure that the company to adopts the best strategies to survive the high competition in the airline industry.
  • Reference
  • Afuah, A., & Tucci, C. L. 2012. Crowdsourcing As a Solution to Distant Search. Academy Of      Management Review, 37(3), 355-375.
  • Allahbakhsh, M., Benatallah, B., Ignjatovic, A., Motahari-Nezhad, H., Bertino, E., & Dustdar, S.             2013. Quality Control in Crowdsourcing Systems: Issues and Directions. IEEE Internet   Computing,     17(2), 76-81.
  • Datamonitor: Qantas Airways Limited. 2011. Qantas Airways SWOT Analysis, 1-9.
  • De Roos, N., Mills, G., & Whelan, S. 2010. Pricing Dynamics in the Australian Airline      Market. Economic Record, 86(275), 545-562.
  • Doole, I., & Lowe, R. 2008. International marketing strategy: Analysis, development and implementation. London: Cengage Learning. Co.
  • O'Connell, J. F., & Williams, G. 2011. Air transport in the 21st century: Key strategic         developments. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate
  • Oxenbridge, S., Wallace, J., White, L., Tiernan, S., & Lansbury, R. (2010). A comparative            analysis of restructuring employment relationships in Qantas and Aer Lingus: different            routes, similar destinations. International Journal Of Human Resource Management,      21(2), 180-196
  • Parasuraman, A., Grewal, D., & Krishnan, R. 2007. Marketing research. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin
  • Roberts, J., Danaher, P., Roberts, K., & Simpson, A. 2012. Jetstar Airways: How Modeling          Guided The Brand Migration Strategy Of A Low-Cost   Carrier. Gfk-Marketing Intelligence Review, 4(2), 42-51
  • Smith, L., & Mounter, P. 2008. Effective internal communication. London: Kogan Page.
  • Company website
  • http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/home/au/en
  1. Explaining the purpose of carrying out crowdsourcing
  1. Choose the crowdsourcing pattern
  1. Managing the outcome
  1. Conducting market research
  1. Motivating the employee
  1. Engage more in crowdsourcing
  1. Implementing modern Satellite Flight Guidance System
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