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After examining the information on pages 57-58 of your textbook, and pages 9 & 10 of the Qantas Case Study, complete the following question. Please take note of the rubric. Your response can be either hand written or typed and MUST be submitted in class on Friday 22nd May 2009 in class.

Answer the following question. ____________________________________ _______________________________ In your answer, you will be assessed on how well you: Use your knowledge and relevant case study, Communicate using relevant business terminology, Present a logical, well-structured answer to the question in the form of a business report ____________________________________ _______________________________

Evaluate the effectiveness of management using the classical, behavioural and political approaches to management in the 21 st century.

Strengths, weaknesses, Qantas, define key terms. Dont just list dotpoints without having a sentence that shows your views on things. examples

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Management theories fully covered with Qantas

Executive Summary
A businesss number one goal is to achieve the bottom line (profit). In order to achieve profit a business must satisfy the ever so diversifying stakeholders needs. In order to achieve stakeholders needs businesses may take simple measures such as adopting a management theory. Most businesses dont tend to recognise that adopting the appropriate management style/theory will have a profound significance on the businesses performance. The fact is not one management theory provides all the answers. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. Qantas a well established business has adopted many management styles as its foundation for success. Along with adopting a management theory is managing change within the business. A lack in managing change will lead to a loss in competitive advantage. Qantas has also shown that managing change effectively can lead to great success. This report aims to analyse how management theories apply to Qantas. Furthermore to explain and evaluate how change is managed at Qantas.

Classical/scientific management theories

Autocratic: strong, centralised control with a single source of authority Bureaucracy: is the set of rules and regulations that control a business The scientific management theory an autocratic approach to management is an approach that studies a job in great detail to discover the best way to perform it, meaning there is only one way to get things done. Throughout the years 1947 to 1995 Qantas management was based on the classical-scientific management structure and culture was characterised by the following features: Hierarchal, with various levels of authority and power Bureaucratic with rules, regulations and highly centralised decision making A long chain of command Division of tasks through specialisation and a production line approach was taken. For example you cook the food for the passengers the way we tell you to and this is all you do till your shift ends. its our way or the highway A top down channel of communication

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Little contact between employers and employees because of the autocratic management style Strengths and Weaknesses of the Classical-scientific Approach The following strengths and weaknesses can be evaluated from Qantas airline classical- scientific approach. Strengths Based on scientific principles Employees become proficient at duties because of repetition Increased productivity The organisation is always planned, organised and controlled well Management has great authority Money is a important motivator Weaknesses Repetitive tasks can lead to boredom which can lead to a resignation of an employee which then leads to high costs of recruiting and training newly replaced staff Lack of trust between employers and employees Lack of communication between employers and employees Lack of motivation evident in staff Staff are neglected human; and social needs Lack of job satisfaction which reduces productivity levels, and long hours of work can lead to workers deteriorating and hence efficiency declines. Mc Donalds (making as burger goes through steps) and Henri ford motors adopt this strategy Qantas was under the scientific/classical management under government ownership

Behavioural management theory

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Teamwork: involves people who interact regularly and coordinate their work towards a common goal Delayering: eliminating one or more management levels Democratic leadership: is one in which the manager consults with employees to ask their suggestion and then seriously consider those suggestions when making decisions Leading: is having a vision of where the business should be in the long run and short term and being able to direct and motivate the human resources in an organisation to achieve its objectives Motivating: is the individual, internal process that energises, directs and sustains an individuals behaviour. It is the personal force that causes a person to behave in a particular way Communicating: is the exchange of information between people; the sending and receiving of messages The behavioural approach to management stresses that the employees should be the main focus in which the way the business is organised. A behavioural management approach makes greater emphasise on leading, motivating and communicating with employees. All of which is believed to be essential for the success of the business. Hence a democratic form of leadership is used to give employees greater participation in achieving the business goals. Having undertaken privatisation in 1995 and noticing that competition is arising from competitor airlines such as virgin blue and Etihad, these implications for Qantas meant that Qantas had to change its management theories and modernise in a sense. Adopting a behavioural approach to management seemed like the suitable management theory. Features adopted by Qantas include Teamwork structure and emphasis on multiskilling Delayering and forming a flatter organisational structure, reducing the number of levels of management giving greater responsibility for employees Democratic style of management , employees have greater input Qantas plans are shared with employees and employees are given minor projects to achieve goals. For example teams maybe created for managing Qantas catering business function

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Strengths and weaknesses of behavioural management theory By adopting this new management theory it was essential for Qantas to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioural management and deduce whether the business is able to meet the needs of all its stakeholders Strengths Importance of human resources is acknowledged endorsement of communication, teamwork, leadership and motivation has good conflict resolution mechanism such as grievance procedures Gives participation to employees. Employees player a greater role in achieving the business objectives Maximum satisfaction, motivation and involvement for employees in the business because of the feeling that the have importance and their opinions are seriously considered before the business makes any decisions Weaknesses Some workers prefer to work individually rather than a teamwork approach. Also conflicts between employees in a team will reduce productivity Complacency may develop among employees because of the flatter structure (however management is busy) Teams may operate inefficiently, wasting time. May result in poor decision making where popular decisions may override the best decision. Because of the wider span of control managers will find it difficult to manage all teams at any instance, hence employees may go off track and produce ineffective products Project based businesses will use behavioural management theory. Especially businesses who encourage team work With deregulation in 1991 of removal of regulations over entry and price controls, as well as the privatization in 1995 of Qantas, implications on management were: Qantas had to become more competitive, efficient and profitable Had to pay taxes and levies paid by other businesses

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Had to make a profit and pay dividend to shareholders

Qantas had to change its management, exhibiting elements of behavioural management theory

Political management theory

Organizational politics- are often the unwritten rules of work life. They involve the pursuit of self interest through informal methods of gaining power or advantage. Political management theory recognizes the presence of conflicting goals within an organization, power coalitions and organizational decisions that favor the self interest of those in power- management. This involves organizational politics: Qantass adoption of behavioural management theory lacked power and authority. A teamwork approach is unnecessary for some job positions, and a sense of complacency was developing amongst employees. Qantas had to reinforce its power and position into the business. It then adopted features of political management including: Autocratic agenda based In the political management theory there is use of power as influence such as legitimate power, expert power, referent power, reward power and coercive power. For example the chairman executive officer (CEO) would have legitimate power, and the statisticians in customers flying trends would have expert power There is also a great influence on power and solving conflicts by means of negotiation and bargaining. Negotiation and bargaining is a decision making process among people with different expectations

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Structure is based on coalitions. A coalition is two or more people who combine their power to push or gain support for their ideas Balancing interests of competing stakeholder groups

Strengths and weaknesses of political management theory Strengths Points out the existence and importance of coalitions Highlights the need for managers to adopt new skills in negotiating, bargaining and conflict resolution. This approach facilitates change and encourages communication and ideas between management and employees which may improve workplace practices and fosters innovation. This approach towards management is constructive way of dealing with conflict as grievances are handled well where the interests of parties involved are represented. States that all stakeholders views need to be taken into account Weaknesses Managerial dominance and control over employees may become acceptable behaviour making it uncomfortable for the employee Some strategies may be manipulative Performance may be affected as managers become sensitive about coalitions abuse of power can result to unethical/illegal practices in the workplace and possible loss of employees

Government is a business that uses power to run. Qantass adoption of behavioural management theory lacked power and authority. A teamwork approach is unnecessary for some job positions, and a sense of complacency was developing amongst employees. Qantas had to reinforce its power and position into the business. It then adopted features of political management including: the above

Systems

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A system is a set of interrelated parts that operate as a whole in order to achieve a common goal The Systems management approach views organisations as an integrated process in which all the individual parts contribute to the whole. Within the systems approach there are 4 main components (IPO then F) Inputs: the various human, financial, material, equipment and informational resources needed to produce the goods Processing: the managerial processes convert inputs into a finished product. These managerial transformational processes are planning leading organising and controlling Output: the products as well as other outcomes (such as profits, employment, waste and pollution) Feedback- information about how well the organisation has performed in relation to its goals Advantages: Shared purpose and direction, supported by common values Empathy and sensitivity towards the needs of all members within the group Cooperative interaction between all groups within the organisation Disadvantages Doesnt solve all the problems Lacks detail A business that may use this management theory maybe a data entry operator business. Qantas management recognizes that all its individual parts contribute to the whole organization (synergy). Changes in one are of the business will influence performance and create impact in other parts. They are interrelated and Qantas management makes sure they are coordinates so that Qantas can achieve its goals. In order to achieve synergy all parts of Qantas have common goals.

Contingency management theory

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Contingency theory stresses the need for flexibility and adaption to management practices and ideas to suit changing. This approach recognizes that simple principles do not always apply in all organizations, thus managers need to be flexible and adaptable to suit the changing circumstances. It points out that each situation requires its own unique solution. A contingency approach enables managers to adopt the style most appropriate to the situation. In times of rapid change they may choose to be more formal and autocratic, but at other times they may be more democratic and inclusive.

Advantages
Prepares business for major changes Adapts to change easily

Disadvantages
isnt detailed enough to operate a full workplace managers may be wasting too much time preparing for changes rather than operate in the business efficiently The fashion industry will always change its products to meet with the current fashion stage selling winter products in winter and summer products in summer Qantas operates in a dynamic business environment, it has to adapt to the constantly vigorously changing environment and solve any problems by adopting a contingency theory. Management practices are now more flexible and suited to changing circumstances, e.g. quick changes to terrorism, Iraq war, SARS, increases in fuel prices, economic downturn and changing market circumstances of low cost airlines. Each of these situations need a unique solution. These changes in management have enabled a more efficient and productive Qantas, being able to deal better with changes in the internal/external environment more effectively.

Conclusion
It is evident that the management theories: political, scientific-classical and behavioural pose advantages and disadvantages to businesses such as Qantas. In the 21st century consumers have changing interests as well as employees need challenges and motivation. Therefore modern day

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management theories are the most effective such as political and behavioural as they are more people based. However through research; features of a scientific approach are important such as authority, as employees can tend to complacency without the pressure. Therefore in order to succeed in this economic downturn businesses like Qantas use features of all the management theories to eliminate the flaws one management theory and take benefit from another management theory hence enforcing overall effective management in the business.