Analysis of Literature: Environmental Scanning and Conflict Management Styles

This article discusses the importance of environmental scanning in strategic planning and decision-making, as well as different conflict management styles. It explores how environmental scanning helps organizations understand their internal and external environments, and how conflict management styles can be used to resolve conflicts effectively. The case of Qantas and Perth Airport is used as an example to illustrate these concepts.

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Analysis of Literature
1. Environmental Scanning
In the current competitive world, corporations compete with each other with the aim of
being among the top in the market (Rowe Wright & Derbyshire, 2017). This calls for
environments scanning in order to get the perspective of the market’s potentialities, threats and
change strategies accordingly to counteract the forces. Environmental scanning is the process of
carrying out environmental analysis using analytical tools to get the patterns, trends,
relationships and occasions within the environment for making informed choices. As per
Samsami, Hosseini, Kordnaeij & Azar (2015), the environment under which an organization
operates is made up of both external as well as internal factors. The first step is to examine the
internal environment which includes the employees, management strategies, stakeholders,
business’s operational potential and the available products (Aboramadan & Borgonovi, 2016).
Through this, the organization is able to know the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats
for proper planning and strategy formulation. The external environment, on the other hand,
comprises the competitors, political factors, social factors, environmental factors, legal factors
and other forces that impact on the daily business of the firm. As the environment becomes
competitive, the organization also must be competitive and therefore must create measures to
counteract these forces (Srivastava & BarNir, 2016).
As per Spicer (2018), the airline industry is driven by stiff competition whereby
companies are striving all possible ways to provide the best services and products to the
passengers. The biggest airlines are competing with each other every day. The competition is
also augmented by the emergence of low cost-small airlines all in the same competitive
environment. Spicer (2018) pointed out that airline rivalry has intensified with the presentation

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of new varied selection that customers select from when traveling from one location to the other
(Spicer, 2018) This competition is healthy for clients since there is the provision of varied
choices and fares are kept fixed. This, therefore, shows that the market is functioning. When
companies are doing business in a competitive environment, the customers are benefitting,
because investors are investments in new amenities, and technology. Also, the state of the airport
get enhanced (Rowe Wright & Derbyshire, 2017).
Irrespective of the positive nature of competition occasioned by many players in the
market, Qantas is experiencing challenges maintaining its leading role in the regional market
(Toivonen & Viitanen). The issue that Qantas is facing relates to pricing. This has resulted due to
the battle seen in the Pacific route among competitors and is an issue hurting Qantas. This is
augmented with soaring fuel prices in the market, reduction in business travels due financial
crisis experienced globally (traveler, 2019). These variations in prices owing to stiff competition
forced the company to withdraw from some routes. Despite the federal government’s initiative to
support the aviation sector as a result of the economic recovery, Qantas still has not solaced
because the industry experiences stiff competition. As a way of strengthening the business and
securing future assets, Qantas sold the Melbourne terminal (travelweekly, 2019).
The Key Findings
As per Owen (2019), Apple Inc. through the use of environmental scanning identified
needs of the customers in the uses of technology. In order to meet these needs, Apple Inc.
developed HomePod. It is an audio system that is smart. It is reported that the system is able to
adjust to different stereos based on different listeners as well as switching off by itself if the
listener walks out of the room. This idea of exploring into the audio environment begun earlier
and was thought as a good idea. This is now coming as a reality with the immense urge to

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meeting customers’ needs. As per Dennis (2019), it is forecasted that the market for technology
products including the HomePod audio system is going to increase. It is because there is an
increased consumption of technology products by the present generation. This, therefore,
position Apple Inc. in a better place to develop these products in large quantities in order to meet
this large market. Environmental scanning paved the way for Apple Inc. for strategizing on
market demand (Dennis, 2019).
In this respect, as competition becomes stiff Qantas must ensure that there are rapid
changes in the organization so that they continue to keep the market dominance. The
organization has to undertake environmental scanning to identify crucial elements for long-term
planning and to ensure effectiveness in business. Moreover, Qantas has to identify the
competitors, their strengths, threats, and weakness so as to create strategies to capitalize on a
competitor’s weaknesses (Lau, Liao, Wong & Chiu, 2012). Additionally, Qantas must enhance
its major competencies and internal factors in line with the external environment.
Even though it is established that environmental factors are endless, Qantas have to
remain agile to consent and to change as per the changes in the external environment. Qantas
ought to be monitoring the environment to check if there are changes in prices of inputs involved
in the creation of a product so that they can undertake a more forecast scanning, analysis, and
prediction in order to come up with trustworthy selections of input costs. In the same way, there
might be alterations in competitors, technology change, taste as well as preferences of the clients.
Qantas, forecasting of possible actions is necessary so as to meet these changes (Babatunde &
Adebisi, 2012).
Additionally, scanning the airline business is essential in order to understand the
competitive structure of Qantas as a competitor in the market. The competitive position of

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Qantas assists in gauging its competitiveness with other players in the market. Furthermore, the
nature, the dynamics, history, and stage of the airline industry are essential in order to get an
understanding of the effect of globalization in the industry and thus competitive nature of the
industry (Zhang, Majid & Foo, 2011).
Qantas must analyze the national environment as well so that they get information about
whether the national framework is assisting the company attains a competitive plus within a
globalized atmosphere. The Qantas strategic planning has to recognize the current situation of
the environment and the business in order to give a concise prediction of the position of the
company in the coming future (El Abed, Ibnsouda, Latrache & Hamadi, 2012).
2. Recognizing Conflict Management Style
As per Amaresan, S. (2019), conflict management is defined as the procedure employed
in handling conflicts arising between two parties where an arbitrator take charge and stand in
between the two warring parties. The aim is to reduce the negative effect that impacts the
conflict and encourage the parties to agree. Conflict management that is successful normally
results in mutual relationships that are beneficial to both parties (Mundy, 2015).
There are conflict management styles that can be used in managing conflicts within
organizations. The first one is accommodating. This is a style where one of the parties has to put
down own desires for the sake of the other party. This is appropriate when the issues of others
are more valuable as opposed to personal needs. The second style is avoiding. It is where one
tries to postpone or evade the conflict and used especially when the conflict is more trivial and
one has not timed or afraid of coming face-to-face with the opponent. The third style is
compromising and this endeavor to finding a solution that is favoring both parties involved and
is essential when a solution is needed as opposed to getting a great solution, and when deadline

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must be met. The fourth style is collaborating and this establishes a solution that meets the
wishes of all the parties. It is appropriate when several perspectives need to be made, and when
there is a relationship between the entities involved. The fifth style is competing and this is
employed when a stance in needed to be taken against the parties. It does not see the perspective
of any party and push on an agenda until there is some acceptance of the agenda which might be
acceptable to some but not all the parties.
Qantas is in conflict with Perth Airport. The conflict is about Perth trying to levy fees on
Qantas in the name of aeronautical fees and it resulted in Perth launching legal proceedings in
West Australia Supreme Court against Qantas. Qantas is in disagreement with the accusation;
however, Perth is asserting that the fees have been on for over seven years. The airport increased
the fees by 38% so that it benefits both the private sector. This conflict is arising at a time when
the commission is reviewing rules to limit the supremacy of the airports in the airline business
(Lau, 2019). On the other hand, Qantas is accusing Perth airport of wanting to monopolize to
market. The conflict comes at a time when Qantas was supposed to move to T3 and T4 so as to
join other airlines at T1 runaway and went Qantas has been permitted to start direct flights to
Paris and Frankfurt as one of the ways of expanding to European destinations. Perth did not
allow Qantas to start the route to Auckland-Perth-Johannesburg because they are not using T1
(Wiggins, 2019).
Qantas is insisting on using T3 owing to security and low immigration services and pays
for the services for the few hours the terminal is open and that Qantas passengers flying Perth
overseas are given incentive of using Qantas local flight to their destinations which is in the same
place and passengers does not need to transfer to another place within the airport (Wiggins,
2019). When it changes to T1, it means that Qantas is going to pay for fees for immigration and

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security services just like other airlines. Moreover, at T1 passengers will have options to choose
either Virgin of Qantas. Qantas has a strong stance that they will move by 2025 on arriving at a
commercial agreement and to Perth, this is a long period of time and might be shut when that
time arrives (Lau, 2019).
The Key Findings
Conflict management becomes very complex and costly in an organization when not
handled in a skillful manner. It requires skillful communication and a good communication
atmosphere in which the parties can freely deliberate with no fear and intimidation. Also, it
requires the use of formal processes of resolving and establishing guiding rules for anticipated
behavior and performance because it allows the parties know the expectations (Scheeren, Vieira,
Goulart & Wagner, 2014).
Google in their conflict management strategy employs collaborating style. The
organization started forums so that they can be able to address the employees’ concern,
particularly on the project Maven. Through these forums, the company endeavored to convince
employees that the project is worth based on the ethics of artificial intelligence. The forum gave
each employee the opportunity to participate by asking critical questions concerning the project.
As a result of the magnitude of employees’ response, the company was able to give their
perspective and direction (Kowitt, 2019). Also, the company listens to its employees. This is
accommodating a way of managing conflicts. The willingness of Google to listen to workers and
in some case change is a way of trying to solve the conflict issues within the organization. The
company says that due to the magnitude of employees, it has devised a way of dividing the
meeting sessions and in different venues, so that conflict arising get haired and addressed
appropriately. Also, this is one of the ways of trying to quell increases of uncivil interactions that

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was seen in the use of forums (May, 2019). Additionally, the organization has revamped internal
channels of communications so that employees get to raise any issues like sexual harassment and
any form of discrimination which is not accepted under the Google’s code of ethics (May, 2019).
In view of the fact that organizations will never be free from conflict, it is important that
Qantas leaders learn to manage as they are known that best leaders shape conflicts and use them
for creating a good discourse to drive the organization forward. Besides the application of
conflict management styles, Qantas’ HR leadership ought to shape conflicts they are presently
battling with for the good discourse of the organization as is evidenced by Google’s approach of
conflict management (Ramsbotham Miall & Woodhouse, 2011).
In doing this, there is a need for creativity, vision, passions, cooperation and be
pragmatic. They need to be both comfortable and vulnerable with conflict so as to strive and
offer complete solutions to existing conflicts. Qantas management must be cognizant of the fact
that conflict is a natural part of the business and is encountered in everyday business processes.
There is a need for them to embrace and nurture it as one of the fundamental parts of an
organization’s growth. This is going to foster innovation, save time, save capital, and propel
Qantas to being a leader in this competitive airline industry (Georgakopoulos, Wilkin & Kent,
2011).

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