Qantas Case Study: Organizational Structure - Free Samples

Qantas: This brand operates both in Australian and international flights. Its airline services comprise of customer operations and marketing. The brands falling under this class include Qantas' local network and Qantas link.

Jestar:  This brand operates across the routes in Australia, Japan, and Asia. This segment comprises of Jester Japan, Jester Pacific, and Jester Asia.

Qantas Freight: This brand includes Qantas air cargo and business flight services that operate within the Qantas Freight, Star Express brands, and Australian Air Express.

Qantas Organizational Structure

Organization structure is very crucial in determining how responsibilities, power, and roles are allocated, monitored and coordinated (Al-Qatawneh, 2014). Alternatively, it provides a mechanism for the flow of the information in all levels of the management (Martinelli, 2010). However, the organization structure majorly depends on the company strategies and objectives (Mintzberg, 2009). The commonly used forms organizational are either centralized or decentralized structures. Similarly, Qantas has either adopted centralized or decentralized structure. The Qantas organizational structure comprises the aspects of both centralized and decentralized organization structure.

The company comprises of the various subsidiaries headed by different executives who have been bestowed with authority, roles, and responsibilities to be exercised under the area of their operations. Alternatively, the company employees have been arranged in a manner that the execution of their duties is in line with the company goals and objectives. The company management is based on two distinct businesses, Qantas Domestic and Qantas International with each business being managed by its chief executive officer. Additionally, the two business divisions have their commercial and operational functions.  This structure has been adopted as the way of focusing on the company strategies of transforming the Qantas International business as well as improving the Qantas Domestic business.

From the analysis of the nature of Qantas organization structure, it is clear that the company has adopted matrix type of structure. The top most company management comprises of the members of the corporate governance as well as an executive top management team. The highest level of management is responsible for establishing practices and policies to be adopted and implemented throughout the organization. Below the top leadership, there are various departments such as administrative management, commercial business administration, project management and functional management. All these departments work with the various team to ensure the organization goals and objectives are achieved.

Qantas Airline Leadership Style

Organizational leadership style is paramount in determining the organization direction and success (Jaroslav, 2013). As noted by Bhatti, Maitlo, Shaikh, Hashmi, & Shaikh (2012) leadership style is one of the effective organization management aspects in motivating the employees as well as implementing the organization strategies and plans. Some of the leadership styles commonly used in the organizations include authoritarian, participative and delegation styles. Authoritarian style entails the manager ordering the people to do what is expected of them without seeking their advice first. On the hand side, participative or democratic style involves the leader including the employees in the decision-making process. However, the leader has the final decision but most of the times take into consideration the opinions and views of the employees (Koech & Namusonge, 2012). Delegative leadership style permits the employees to make decisions on their own. However, it should be noted that under delegation style the leader is responsible for the decisions made by the employees.

Qantas Airline seems to largely accommodate all the aspects of the leadership styles in the management of the company operations and activities. The top company management has been very critical when handling the management of the diverse cultures of employees as well when reviewing the views of the shareholders. Therefore, this has called for the company to be rational when making its decisions or else it may result in conflicts with both the stockholders and the employees. However, there are some scenarios where the company has turned out to be authoritative. This has led to making the decisions which from the employees and trade unions perspective are not favorable. Similarly, the decisions have resulted to criticisms from various stakeholders including loyal customers and industry experts. For example, the company closure of the Singapore was countered with a lot of criticisms from the stakeholders. Many argued that the chief executive officer decision was more of authoritative than democratic (The Conversation, 2014). This scenario portrays Qantas applicability of authoritative leadership style. However, despite the management being authoritative it also portrays some attributes of participative and delegates leadership styles. According to Stribling (2013) Qantas leadership style is also found on the following elements:

Vision: The management of the company understood that for the team to be effective, it must have vision. To enable this, the Qantas top management leadership is based on providing direction, strategy, and vision to support the company employees in execution of the tasks.

Diverse Management Team: Qantas management comprises of individuals from different fields. The company diverse team offers a variety of skills, education, and views are essential for enhancing the Qantas management. Again, given the fact that the management team is from different disciplines they provide various leadership traits needed to make the management of the company effective.

Seeking opinion from Employees: Employees in the organization can be the source of very crucial information during the decision-making process within the organization (Bhatti, Maitlo, Shaikh, Hashmi, & Shaikh, 2012). This is because they are involved in the company activities on a daily basis and thus they can learn and observe the organization progress. Qantas Airline has recognized the importance of employee information and hence top management always consults them when making decisions. Agbim (2013) argued that this does not only help by involving the employees in the decision-making process but also helps in encouraging and motivating them. 

Collaborative: Qantas management believes that the leaders should be open, honest and collaborative. With this technique in leadership, the employees feel motivated and thus work towards achieving the organization targeted goals and objectives.

Qantas Airline Marketing Strategies

An effective business strategy should conform to the company vision and mission (Lynn, 2011). Similarly, it acts as the roadmap of aiding the company to achieve its objectives. The company establishes various strategies depending on the nature of the problem it aims to address. Some of the companies apply different strategies both in at domestic business entities as well in the international operations. Similarly, Qantas Airline has had strategies both for the Australian market and foreign markets.

Qantas Airline Australian and Oversee Marketing Strategies

Qantas has continued to maintain its competitive marketing strategies even though it is facing stiff competition from airline operators such as Virgin Airline (Mason, 2014). Despite the stiff competition, the company has consistently continued to apply its price war marketing strategy. Qantas targets the Australian low-cost customers whereby it has effectively and successfully outperformed its competitors. Again, Qantas applies the concept of portfolio diversification to increase the base of its domestic customers as well as in the international markets (McGowan, 2006). This has resulted in increasing the company growth opportunities in the local market. Other strategies that the company has applied to its marketing activities are as briefly discussed below:

Cost Efficiencies: The main goal of each company is to reduce the cost to the lowest level as possible and at the same time improve the organization profit margins (Karakaya, Badur, & Aytekin, 2011). This strategy has been majorly adopted by the companies as the marketing technique ( Kotler, Bowen, & Makens, 2006). This is because the company profitability is one of the strong competitive advantages the firm can use to outdo its competitors in the market. Likewise, Qantas has realized the importance cost efficiency and thus has applied it to penetrate both domestic and international markets.  

Segmentation of the Brands: Qantas has divided the company flying business into various brands. This enables the company to cater to the needs of several customers. For example, through this strategy the company has been able to cater to the needs of the different categories customers such as corporates, leisure travelers, and business travels.

Expansion to less Airline Dominated Region: The expansion of the companies to regions such as Asia has helped the company to establish in the new regions before the entry of the new players. For example, the expansion of the company operations into Asia has helped the company to claim a relatively large market share than its competitors. 

Comments on Company Structure and Strategies

An effective organization structure should aid the organization to establish suitable strategies in its roadmap to achieve the mission, vision, and objectives of the company. Qantas has had strong organization structure which seems to cater for the interests of each stakeholder. This has been effectively achieved by the management adopting a combination of leadership styles. Through the integration of the aspects of the various leadership styles, the leaders have been able to act situationally to address the problem at hand. Therefore, this paper comments that the company leadership has been transformational and situational and thus it is an effective leadership style. This can be evidenced by the company success in the industry both in the domestic and in the global market.

From the analysis of the company marketing strategies it has come out clearly that different natures of business should adopt different marketing strategies. Qantas Airline seems to have applied the right and suitable strategies. This can be attributable to the company success both in the domestic and international market. By the adoption of these strategies, Qantas has been able to claim a significant percentage of market share. Therefore, this paper concludes that the company has applied effective marketing strategies. This why the company has been able to dominate both domestic and global markets.

Conclusion

Organization structure, leadership style and the marketing strategies are fundamental aspects in the success of the organization.  The companies that adopt these concepts effectively are deemed to have smooth running both in their industries and markets. Qantas Airline has been able to realize success by putting these aspects into consideration. The structure helps the organization to allocate resources and delegate duties effectively for effective decision making. On the other side, leadership style provides the direction of the organization. Finally, the marketing strategies determine the profitability of the business as well as the competitive advantage of the company.

References

Kotler, P., Bowen, J. T., & Makens, J. C. (2006). Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Tran, Q., & Tian, Y. (2013). Organizational Structure: Influencing Factors and Impact on a Firm. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 3(2), 229-236.

Advameg Inc. (2016, April 22). Qantas Airways Ltd. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Qantas Airways Ltd. Retrieved from https://www.referenceforbusiness.com: https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/40/Qantas-Airways-Ltd.html

Agbim, K. C. (2013). The Impact of Organizational Structure and Leadership Styles on Innovation. Journal of Business and Management, 6(6), 56-63.

Al-Qatawneh, M. I. (2014). The Impact of Organizational Structure on Organizational Commitment: A Comparison between Public and Private Sector Firms in Jordan. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(12), 30-37.

Bhatti, N., Maitlo, G. M., Shaikh, N., Hashmi, M. A., & Shaikh, F. M. (2012). The Impact of Autocratic and Democratic Leadership Style on Job Satisfaction. International Business Research, 5(2), 192-201.

Jaroslav, B. (2013). The Leadership Style and the Productiveness of Employees in the Banking Sector in Slovakia. Journal of Competitiveness, 5(1), 39-52.

Karakaya, Ç., Badur, B., & Aytekin, C. (2011). Analyzing the Effectiveness of Marketing Strategies in the Presence of Word of Mouth: Agent-Based Modeling Approach. Journal of Marketing Research and Case Studies, 11(3), 1-17.

Koech, P. M., & Namusonge, G. S. (2012). The Effect of Leadership Styles on Organizational Performance at State Corporations in Kenya. International Journal of Business and Commerce, 2(1), 1-12.

Lynn, M. (2011). Segmenting and Targeting Your Market: Strategies and Limitations. School of Hotel Administration Collection, 353-369.

Martinelli, P. D. (2010). Systems Hierarchies and Management, Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 18(1), 68-82.

Mason, M. (2014, May 21). The Virgin battle is testing Qantas' domestic Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au: https://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/virgin-battle-testing-qantas-domestic-strategy-20140521-38nh9.html

McGowan, A. (2006). Inquiry to Australia's Service Industries. NSW: Qantas Airway Limited.

Mintzberg, H. (2009). The Structuring of Organizations. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Stribling, J. (2013, October 10). Seven tips on being a great leader from Qantas' Alan Joyce. Retrieved from https://www.jonstribling.com: https://www.jonstribling.com/7-leadership-tips-from-alan-joyce/

The Conversation. (2014, September 1). Qantas turn-around is Alan Joyce, the right leader for the job? Retrieved from https://theconversation.com: https://theconversation.com/qantas-turn-around-is-alan-joyce-the-right-leader-for-the-job-31051