Analysis of Organizational Structure in Qantas Airways

This essay analyzes the organizational structure of Qantas Airways, a flag bearer organization of Australia. The essay discusses the matrix-project type structure, its advantages, and disadvantages. It also provides recommendations for Qantas Airways to improve its organizational structure.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Name of the Student
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Author Note

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Introduction
The structure of the organization mainly defines the activities with the organizational
processes which include, coordination, supervision and allocation of tasks to the employees.
The modern organizations thereby need to be flexible in their operations and the efficient
enough to achieve competitive advantage in the industry where it operates. The structure of
the company can thereby be defined as the perspective with the help of which the individuals
are able to see the processes. The structure that is formed in an organization is based on the
industry in which the company operates (O'Neill, Beauvais & Scholl, 2016). The
organizational structure thereby helps in the allocation of resources and tasks to the
employees and the various areas. The various modes with the help of which the organizations
operate are also a part of the entire organizational structure.
The essay will thereby be based on a specific structure of the organization which is
the matrix-project type. This structure is mainly based on the ways by which the
organizations function without any specific boundaries that are related to the organizational
controls. The organization that has been taken into consideration for this analysis is Qantas
Airways.
Analysis of organizational structure
The Qantas Airways is the flag bearer organization of Australia which is mainly
recognised by the huge fleet size consisting of domestic and international flights. The
organization has its base in Sydney. The company has been successful in gaining more than
60% of the entire shares pf the Australian market. The different subsidiary airlines of the
company operate in various areas which include the regional centres and the trunk routes as
well. The major companies owned by Qantas Airways includes Jetstar Airways which is a

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low-cost based airline organization which operates the domestic and international services of
the company (Qantas.com. 2018).
Figure 1 – Source - (Qantas.com. 2018)
The organizational structure of Qantas Airways is comprised of both the centralised
and decentralised types. The structure can thereby be defined as boundary less in nature. The
various functions of the organization are thereby based on the different types of management
structure. The organization works with many subsidiaries that are present in different areas
which are thereby headed by different executives. The responsibilities and the roles of the
employees are exercised with the help of the positions that are held by them. The employees
of the company are arranged in such a manner which helps in the execution of various duties

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according to its objectives and goals (Van der Voet, 2014). The management of the company
has two different types of business which include, Qantas International and Qantas Domestic.
Both the businesses are managed by the chief executive officers. The two divisions of the
business also have different functions which include, the operational functions and the
commercial functions. The structure of the company is adopted in such a manner which helps
in the process of transforming the strategies for the purpose of achieving the goals and the
objectives. The company has thereby adopted the matrix organizational structure (Benzer et
al., 2017). The various executives of the organization are thereby assigned the appropriate
types of tasks or jobs which can be helpful in the achievement of the organizational goals.
The top management of the organization comprises of the members who are mainly
responsible for the corporate governance in the company. The high level managers and
executives are thereby responsible for the formation of policies and regulations that are to be
followed within the company. The other departments are a part of the next level of
management. The different departments that operate under the top management of the
company include, commercial business administration department, the administrative
management department, the functional management and the project management (Strese et
al., 2016). These departments operate under the top management of Qantas Airways. The
main aim behind the entire work process is to achieve the goals and the targets of the
company.
The operations of the company are thereby based on the three major levels which are
the top level, the secondary level and the ground staff. The top level management comprises
of the managers and the board of directors who have total control over the entire
organizational operations. The Qantas Domestic and the Qantas International operations are
controlled in an effective manner with the help of proper governance of the top management.
The business executives are a part of the secondary level of the company who are mainly

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responsible for the formation of policies, execution of the strategies and the operating the
plans that are provided by the top level managers (Earnhart & Leonard, 2016). This level has
also proven to be the link between the top level managers and the ground staff. The lowest
level of the entire structure of the company are the ground level staff. This level mainly
consists of staff who are present in the airports, the runways and the planes. The Qantas
Group is thereby committed towards complying to the regulations and laws that are set by the
government with high levels of integrity. The matrix structure has thereby been implemented
in the framework of corporate governance of the company and all the other levels as well
(Koufteros et al., 2014). This structure has been helpful in creating a positive environment in
the organization. The value of the shareholders of Qantas and the services that are provided to
the customers are enhanced with the help of the efficient organizational structure. The
attitudes of the managers and the employees are also decided with the help of the structure
that has been formed in the organization over the years (Lupton & Beamish, 2014). The
matrix organizational structure has been able to provide the highest profits to Qantas
Airways. The functions of the organization all over the operational areas has thereby been
controlled in an effective manner with the help of matrix organizational structure. This
structure has thereby been able to provide maximum value to the shareholders, the
stakeholders of the company which includes the huge customer base of Qantas Airways (Al
Shaar et al., 2015).
Disadvantages

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The different disadvantages of implementing the Matrix project structure in the
arrangement of Qantas airlines might result to different malfunctions. The different
disadvantages are being discussed in this section of the report.
Complexity of assigning projects to people- The implementation of the structure in
the organization might affect the proper functioning of the processes that are planned by
Qantas airlines. The company undertakes a whole range of actions, which might be affected
through the lack of proper control over the different processes in the market (Kassimali,
2012). The key idea of the change in the structure is to allocate the proper projects as per the
capabilities of the people in the organization (Qantas.com., 2018). However, the extension of
the activities to the different channels and the lack of proper identification of the skills and
the capabilities of the people have affected the performance of the organization. Monitoring
over the functions and the identification of the issues for further improvements in the
processes are often affected through the implementation of the Matrix project structure in
Qantas airlines (Csaszar, 2013).
Task and personality conflicts- The implementation of the structure in the
organization might bring in difficulties in communication between the different internal and
the external departments of Qantas airlines. The lack of proper communicative practices
affects the identification of the different personality types that affects the functioning of the
organization as per the objectives of the same (Burke & Barron, 2014). The different
objectives of the organization are dependent on the functioning of the varied aspects of the
change in the systems and the performance of the business. On the other hand, the
identification of the personality traits and thereby bring in changes in the structures has
affected the smooth performance of the business in the market.
Recommendations

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The recommended actions that might be undertaken by Qantas airlines are being
enumerated in this section of the report. It helps in the identification of the different needs of
the organization to bring in changes in the systems and the performance of the business
through the implementation of the matrix project structure.
 Allocation of assignments as per the capabilities of the people:
The organization must take steps to evaluate the different competencies that are faced
by the employees and the capabilities of the same before allocating the projects to the same.
Undertaking frequent training sessions with the employees helps the organization to bring in
changes in the po3erformance of the business as per the objectives.
 Communication to identify the personality traits:
The organization must take steps to build on the communication to identify the
different personality traits that will be helping the organization to allocate the work as [per
the expertise of the people working in the business. It will be helping the organization to
bring in improvements in the situation of the business and thereby make its expansion in the
international markets. The proper allocation of the assignments through the identification of
the expertise of the people will be helping the organization to bring in modification in the
market situations.

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