Analysis of Qantas Airways: Ethics, Environment, and Leadership Styles

This report examines Qantas Airways' management practices, focusing on social responsibility, managerial ethics, and leadership. It discusses the airline's environmental initiatives, ethical compliance, and criticisms related to fuel efficiency and employee treatment. The analysis includes opportunities and threats within the business environment, such as investment potential and rising fuel costs. Furthermore, the report highlights Alan Joyce's transformational leadership as CEO and its impact on organizational performance. The report concludes that Qantas has made strides in CSR and ethical conduct, though criticisms and challenges persist. Students can find similar solved assignments and past papers on Desklib.

Running Head: MANAGEMENT
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Introduction of management
5/25/2019

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Executive Summary
Qantas Airlines, based in the Australia is recognised as the second largest and oldest airline in
the international market. It has been found that the airline provides services to approximately
19.7% passengers around the world. The report has stated different aspects of management
of the operations, of the airlines leading to growth and sustainability in the long-term.
Furthermore, the contribution of CEO, and the leadership in the organisation has contributed
towards the success of the airline. Hence, it can be summarised that Qantas captures 62%
share of the domestic market, and aims to lead high profit-margin and success in the near
future.

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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
1. Social responsibility and managerial ethics at Qantas Limited..........................................................3
2. Criticism/negative side of company’s CSR and managerial ethics...................................................4
3. Business environment and Opportunities & threats of Qantas airways............................................6
4. Organisational style of leadership at CEO and impact on organisational performance.....................7
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8
References.............................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The report brings about the discussion on the concept of corporate social responsibility and
managerial ethics in context to business organisations. The company which has been selected
to analyse the managerial ethics, business environment, is Qantas Airways. The company
Qantas Airways limited is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by the fleet size,
flights, and international destinations. Therefore, the discussion will revolve around the topic
of organisational social responsibility, and ethical practices. It will also explain the negative
aspects or criticism of the CSR in the organisation. The aspect of criticism arises on the part
of different stakeholders of the organisation, such as employees, customers, creditors,
suppliers, and others. In the later part, the report will bring assessment of the opportunities
and threats of the company and the actions taken by Qantas to overcome them. In the later
part, the report will lead on to the discussion of the CEO of the organisation in the history and
style of leadership. The readers will again an understanding of the work practices, leadership,
and their impact on the organisational growth and success in longer period.
1. Social responsibility and managerial ethics at Qantas Limited
At Qantas, protecting environment or environmental sustainability has been considered as a
guiding principle to their business practices. From the foundation of the company in Central
Queensland , almost before the period of 100 years, the company has achieved the
advantage of being innovative airline in the Australia (Qantas, 2018).
The company has shown high commitment and concern towards the environment, and have
introduced new programmes for the use of electricity and water. It also includes control on
the amount of water sent into landfills and the impact on the communities.
The company has maintained a record of implementing the initiative for improving
efficiency and reducing the fuel use, and greenhouse gas emission. For the better experience
of their customers, who are considered a part of the key stakeholders, Qantas invests in
introducing or using the fleet, that ensures fuel efficiency, such as the Airbus A380 and

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Boeing787. For improving the operational efficiency, the airline has started working with the
aspect of navigation technology that is based on GPS (Raynes and Tsui, 2019).
Moreover, it has been also found that the company has been using the weight reduction
measures, for an instance, replacing the hard copy operating manuals with an iPad, and
pantry equipment light in the weight. Qantas has also taken initiative through redesigning
their flight paths to lessen the noise produced near the residents. For the betterment and
welfare of the community, Qantas donate their uniforms, as a charity to the people to be used
as pillows and mattresses. Besides, the Australian airline leader, Qantas has also worked or
initiated maintaining bins in all of their major airport terminals to manage the waste, and
ensure hygiene. Along with the reduction or management of the waste, the airline ensures
reducing the air pollution, thereby reducing the impact on the environment (Lee, 2016).
These aspects can be stated as the social responsibility of the company towards ensuring best
services and experience of their customers, and enhancing their satisfaction.
Now, moving on to the discussion of managerial ethical practice, Qantas is committed to
complying with all the applicable laws and regulations to conduct their business, with high
level of ethics. Compliance to the ethical practice of risk management and protecting or
ensuring the correct use of customer data is essential in the work practices. A positive
impact of the above-mentioned ethical practices on their stakeholders, mainly customers. As
Qantas, practice of risk management has been mainly focused upon ensuring the safety of
their customers and people. Besides, this the group’s Privacy policy has been also designed
to protect the data or information of their customers. This has led to a positive and genuine
experience of their customers leading to increased efficiency, and stakeholder value
(Fernando, 2018).
2. Criticism/negative side of company’s CSR and managerial ethics
Now, this section of the report will bring light onto the negative aspects or criticism of
corporate social responsibility and ethical practices of Qantas. To discuss this, an example
can be quoted to state the negative aspects or criticism of the airline, Qantas in terms of
ethics. For any business organisation, carrying out their operations managerial ethics are
vital for their efficiency. To define the term, managerial ethics refers to the set of basic, or
moral principles and belief which leads to an impact (positive or negative) on their employees
(Williams, 2017).

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To mention the negative side or criticism of the social responsibility of the airline, Qantas
certain points has been highlighted from the recent study. Qantas has been ranked as highest
or the major worst airline in terms of the fuel efficiency and carbon emission, when they fly
across pacific. The issue or reason behind their failure for the fuel efficiency was found ,
because the airlines made use of four engine planes, particularly on the pacific flights
(Nankervis et al., 2016).
The company and one of their managers have been fined on the grounds of the reason, of
mistreating their employee, who made complaints of issues or problems. According to the
Fair pay Act, the court found that the employee was subjected to unlawful coercion for
withdrawing his complaint (News.com.au, 2018). As a result, the company was fined for
$13,200, as a warning sign for the bully. This act determined that the managers or the
organisation must work in accordance to the workplace ethics, and should comply with the
stated rules or guidelines of the employment. Furthermore, the airline declined to be
interviewed or asked questions by the media, or any authority (Maryani, 2018).
The outcome of this particular issue was observed in terms of the change in their practices.
The company reduced mentioned or gave the statement that they will not be engaged in such
practices in the future time. Not only this, the management of airlines also took actions
towards providing training to their managers in relation to their responsibilities as mentioned
in the act. Another major criticism or case of unethical practice at Qantas by one of the
former flight attendant, reported that she was the victim of harassment by a manager on the
flight. She further claimed that the issue of sexual harassments has been increasingly rising,
and uncontrolled. In this case, the airline old that the news.com.au exclaimed taking the case
seriously and further the investigation was thoroughly investigated, and the employee
immediately apologised. Therefore, for Qantas airways being a leader, in the aviation
industry and must do right thing for their employees and customers to build positive image,
and lead to higher growth (Guest, 2012).
3. Business environment and Opportunities & threats of Qantas airways
The company first started their business in the Queensland, and is considered second oldest
airline in the world. Today, Qantas is famous around the globe, as a leading long-distance

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airline, and represents a true trademark of Australia. Now, in around 47 countries, around
35,000 employers work in Qantas at 173 destinations. From the research, it has been found
that Qantas has been recognised as the winning brand within Australia (Whyte and Lohmann,
2015). Therefore, the core competencies of the airline include customer service, reliability,
safety, and efficient engineering and operational service. From this discussion, it has been
understood that the company has attained a competitive edge in their services or operations
within business environment. The airline operates in a competitive environment, and aims to
further enhance their working by improved services. Thus, it states about the opportunities
and threats available for the airlines, which they face in their working environment
determining their impact on the operations of the airways (Qantas, 2018).
Opportunities of Qantas Airline :
A free and stable cash flow of the airline provides a great opportunity to make investment in
other related products segments, also they can invest in advanced technologies.
Government agreements lead to new opportunity for the airline to open or expand into new
markets. Positive or new trend in the consumer behaviour is one another aspect that create
opportunities for expansion into new market. Qantas enjoys the low rate of inflation, which
brings stability in their market.
However, there are some threats to the a airlines, such as by the growing number of
distributors, as these local distributors are paid higher profit margins in some of the
markets. Another major threat, which has been observed in context to the airline, is the
management of the costs, as it is one of the major issues for the airlines in the present
scenario. A high rise in the cost of fuel has been found along with the maintenance and
upkeep of their fleet. Therefore, airlines manage or struggle to balance their prices cover up
their cost appropriately. Besides, this Qantas face threat in terms of high currency
fluctuations, given the different political environment in different markets. Thus, some of the
major threats to the airline that affects their operations in a negative manner (Qantas group,
2018).
For overcoming the issues or threat mentioned above, related to the local distributors, the
company has established a strong dealer community, and with various distributors. This has
facilitated, in a way that the dealers promote the company’s products and provide training to
their sales team to lead towards enhanced experience of their customers. The management of

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the airways also ensure the availability of free cash flow at ease to invest in the new
projects.
4. Organisational style of leadership at CEO and impact on organisational
performance
Here, in this particular section, the discussion will determine the style of leadership applied in
Qantas Airways Limited. The style of organisational leadership will be illustrated in context
to a particular CEO from the history or past years. Leadership can be defined as the act of
influencing the behaviour and performance of the individuals in any organisation. Therefore,
it is important for the growth of efficiency and success of the airline within industry
(Muenjohn et al., 2018).
‘Alan Joseph Joyce’ has been identified as the most successful Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) in the history of the Australian Airline Qantas. It has been found through research
Australian newspaper article mentioned him as the most influential leader in the airline
business.
Alan Joyce AC has been a transformational leader, as he made a challenging position of the
company, Qantas Airlines. The management style of the Joyce was persuasive and he was
considered as the role model in the airline industry. A transformational leader is one who
identifies the need for the change in an organisation by working together with a team. The
leader practising this style of leadership guides, the vision and inspires people to work for a
common goal and attain their desired interests (Qantas., 2018).
At first, Joyce was heavily criticised by the customers, media and shareholders, but the
perspective towards the leader has been changed over years. From the newspaper, and
recent study it has been found that the CEO Joyce, took or led the business of Jetstar from a
small discount operation, which included just 14 aircraft, to the business operating a
domestic network. In the aviation industry, Joyce was known as a calculated ‘risk-taker’,
and stated that the element of risk is important and should be considered vital in every
business organisation. He is considered as the right leader for the job, and led to the
increasing growth and success of the airlines. Moreover, a high rise was observed in the
profits of the Qantas, as announced by the CEO around $921 million, in the year 2016, which
led to a turnaround in the period of six months. Therefore, Alan Joyce’s leadership has been

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considered remarkable in the history of the airlines and led to the increased profitability in the
future years. Therefore, it can be stated that a positive impact has been found on the working
of the business, leading to high growth and success of the airline (Yang and Baasandorj,
2017)
Conclusion
To conclude the above discussion it has been analysed that the aspects of social responsibility
and managerial ethics are vital to every organisation. The concept has been demonstrated
through the case of the Australian airline Qantas, and the related aspects. It has been analysed
from the above report that the airlines has been performing high and led to the satisfaction of
their customers and employees largely. Leadership is also considered a vital element for the
profitability and success of the Qantas with the effective contribution and role of the CEO.
Hence, it can be stated that the airlines must overcome issues, or threat such as competition
and should continue to strive for excellence and success within Australian aviation industry.

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References
Fernando, M. (2018) ETHICS, VALUES AND RESPONSIBLE
LEADERSHIP. Leadership: Regional and Global Perspectives, p. 99.
Guest, A. (2012) Qantas fined $15,500 for mistreating worker. Retrieved from:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-15/qantas-ruling-a-warning-to-bullies/420129
ICAS. (2018) Qantas: The most remarkable turnaround in the aviation industry? Retrieved
from: https://www.icas.com/ca-today-news/qantas-nine-lives-flying-kangaroo
Lee, S.Y. (2016) How can companies succeed in forming CSR reputation? Corporate
Communications: An International Journal, 21(4), pp.435-449.
Maryani, M. (2018) Regaining Company’s Reputation: What is a Brand and Who Cares
about Them? The Case of Qantas. Jurnal Ilmiah ESAI, 7(3), pp. 164-172.
Muenjohn, N., McMurray, A., Fernando, M., Hunt, J., Fitzgerald, M., McKenna, B., Intezari,
A., Bankins, S. and Waterhouse, J. (2018) Leadership. United Kingdom: Cambridge
University Press.
Nankervis, A.R., Baird, M., Coffey, J. and Shields, J. (2016) Human resource management:
strategy and practice. United States: Cengage AU.
News.com.au. (2018) Former Qantas Flight attendant alleges against sexual harassment is
‘rampant’ in industry. Retrieved from:
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/former-qantas-flight-attendant-alleges-
sexual-harassment-is-rampant-in-industry/news-story/1aa8699131430cdec9916011b3bfd955
Qantas Group. (2018) Waste, energy and water. Retrieved from:
https://www.qantas.com/infodetail/about/environment/our-commitment-to-environmental-
sustainability.pdf
Qantas group. (2018). Our Planet. Retrieved from: https://www.qantas.com/in/en/qantas-
group/acting-responsibly/our-planet.html

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Qantas. (2018) Our Commitment to Environmental Sustainability. Retrieved from:
https://www.qantas.com/infodetail/about/environment/our-commitment-to-environmental-
sustainability.pdf
Qantas. (2018) Our Company. Retrieved from:
https://www.qantas.com/travel/airlines/company/global/en
Raynes, C. and Tsui, K.W.H. (2019) Review of Airline-within-Airline strategy: Case studies
of the Singapore Airlines Group and Qantas Group. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 7(1),
pp. 150-165.
Whyte, R. and Lohmann, G. (2015) The carrier-within-a-carrier strategy: An analysis of
Jetstar. Journal of Air Transport Management, 42, pp. 141-148.
Williams, G. (2017) The airline industry and the impact of deregulation. United Kingdom:
Routledge.
Yang, A.S. and Baasandorj, S. (2017) Exploring CSR and financial performance of full-
service and low-cost air carriers. Finance Research Letters, 23, pp. 291-299.