Introduction
Culture is a unique way of practice of living by each specific group in the society that brings language, communication, beliefs, customs, and traditions to bring out a positive impact on the society. On the other hand, a workplace is a place where people from diverse and rich cultures, ethnicities, racial backgrounds, and nations come across the world to achieve the same goal for the organization. Therefore, in the workplace, cultural diversity requires positive attitudes, communication, and teamwork to achieve an organization’s preset goals efficiently through better debates, better strategy, better risk management, and better organizational outcomes. Cultural diversity is a reality in the modern days’ workforce as it aims to value differences between people irrespective of their colors, race, ethnicity, disability, age, education, social strata, and geographic region and encourages people to fulfill their prospective potentials in terms of organizational aims and objectives.
The approach to cultural diversity in today’s workforce goes beyond the limits of an individual’s equal opportunities in society rather it focuses on the rights of a particularly disadvantaged group of the society in the workplace as diversity poses strengths as well as diverse challenges to a number of multinational businesses in the market. The technical proof of the success of cultural diversity in today’s world is Qantas Airways Ltd of Australia whose CEO and Managing Director, Alan Joyce states the significance of a diverse environment and inclusive culture in the workforce which builds a sturdy logical foundation for the effectiveness of the approach of cultural diversity in order to boost the morality of the business organization. This paper presents an opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of cultural diversity and inclusiveness in the workforce, its necessity for multinational business companies, and the challenges leaders of the organizations face to go through difficult times while building on Alan Joyce’s argument regarding the successful inclusion of cultural diversity in Qantas Airways Ltd.
History of Qantas Airways Ltd
The Qantas Group of Airways Ltd has a long and prospective history in the industry of Australian Airlines as it is the second oldest airline in the world that first started its operation in 1920. Qantas Group started its mail and passenger services in 1920 until 1947 when the Australian Government bought the Airline and restricted its flying only to international spaces. This was the time when the domestic market was heavily regulated but until the early 1900s when Qantas Group due to the deregulation of the domestic industry entered the domestic market of Australia again. With the continuous reorganization and reconstruction of the Airline industry in Australia, Qantas Group kept on changing in order to meet the demands of the consumer market. It reflected its continual restructuring through generating different potential revenues from various other business arenas while maintaining an extensive network of international as well as domestic routes for keeping the business profitable.
Qantas Airlines faced collapse recently that made the industry take some serious initiatives in their environment to provide the firm to implement the appropriate and inclusive approach of cultural diversity to survive and compete with other airlines in the market and also to ensure the highest facilities for the consumers. Qantas has the privilege of keeping its relationship with various regional carriers which is why it has committed to altering its environment on the basis of cultural diversity for the long-term best interest (O Neill, 2016). Building on Qantas’ struggle in the thriving global market of the airline industry, I agree with Alan Joyce’s notion of cultural diversity in the workplace to increase the market share of the industry as well as to make the company flourish.
Alan Joyce’s Strategic Planning for Qantas Survival
Referring to Alan’s statement about the survival of Qantas Airways Ltd in the ever-emerging field of aviation, it was no doubt the largely profitable airline in the aviation industry back in 2004 due to its well-managed culturally diverse work environment when the market suffered great loss. The Managing Director, Alan Joyce stresses strategic management in this regard for the long-term performance of the organization in the competitive aviation market. The Deloitte Human Capital report in 2018 recalled the significant turnaround of the Australian Airline, Qantas Airways Ltd from the collapse as it went through a loss of approximately $2.8 billion in 2013. The loss was so great that the company had not witnessed it in its 98 years of flying history. However, in 2018, Qantas Group made headlines when it showed up with a record profit of $850 million. Due to its fast forward comeback in the aviation market, Qantas Airways won the prestigious award of World’s Safest Airline as it increased its profit to 12% of its operating margin in the market (Arup, 2010).
The question arises that how a company in great loss made it to headlines as one of the Safest Airlines as well as its workers as the best employers in all of Australia’s business companies. The reason is none other than better operational management and financial practices were put into actual practice through the inclusive and culturally diverse work environment where all the success depends upon increased focus on customers and employees (Taylor, 2016). Thus, as Qantas Managing Director Alan Joyce states the secret of the company is that the massive turnaround of the organization in the aviation market was the product of “a diverse environment” and an underlying condition of “a very inclusive culture” of the company. Building on Qantas CEO’s statement, it is indeed a safe point of view that diverse perspectives in the workplace compel the company’s management as well as the employees to make better decisions for the organization. As Joyce indicates that better strategy, better arguments, and better risk management in a diverse and inclusive work environment make the employees think that they are in a prospective place to embrace leadership directions that lead to creativity, innovation, and better outcomes.
Necessity of Cultural Diversity for Multinational Companies
Similar to Qantas’ philosophy of thriving in the aviation market in a better way after its collapse, other multinational companies should adopt the approach of cultural diversity as according to Joyce it generates “better strategy” and “better outcomes” while evaluating the internal challenges that the underlying culture of the organization faces. Each organization should necessitate the fundamental behaviors in the organization to drive cultural diversity and inclusiveness in the underlying environment of the organization if behaviors do not align with the leadership and organizational strategy, no amount of organizational restructuring can create an environment that is inclusive and diverse to meaningfully change the culture (Dibb et al, 2005).
Therefore, diversity management in the workforce is the strategy through which anyone from any background, race, ethnicity, gender, age, or other factors can assimilate into a single force by not discarding the cultural identities of the individuals in any organization rather they should be valued and maintained to foster better organizational outcomes. Cultural diversity is indeed an opportunity for organizations whether they are multinational, intercontinental, or global companies to help them understand the value of inclusiveness and how employees, as well as management, can live in harmony within their own workforce (StudyCorgi, 2021).
Another Example: Coca-Cola’s Success Secret due to Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness
Another example I want to mention of cultural diversity and inclusiveness that led to better outcomes in the workforce is Coca-Cola Company as the model employer in the larger business community across the world for diversity and inclusion in the work environment. The strategically managed company of Coca-Cola and its leadership ensures the equality of diverse cultures within its workplace whether employees are bisexual, gay, or lesbian which reflects their long-standing achievement in the world’s market. The company’s inclusive and diverse work culture is reflected in its seven core values include integrity, accountability, passion, collaboration, diversity, leadership, and quality.
The unwavering focus of the company on the diverse work culture poses a roadmap that fosters open, safe, healthy, and inclusive work (Biggadike, 1981). The example of the Coca-Cola Company is a social vision of culture that is inherent in its diverse cultural commercialization which provides it special recognition in the global world. Diversity of culture, thus, brings potential substantial benefits including flexibility, creativity, and competitiveness that are adaptable to customers’ and employees’ needs. Qantas Group in a similar way follows strategic management under the diverse cultural conditions that make positive relationships in the market because strategic and cultural diversity has a direct relationship with business and therefore Qantas was able to cope with the uncertain workplace environment conditions in order to get superior performance (Robbins and Judge, 2009). Qantas Group achieved this outstanding place in the world of aviation by recognizing the airlines’ up-to-date strategies, mission, and objectives on current by determining the goals that are present in the current market’s position as well as the strategies and objectives that are pursued stating the principal intention of Qantas organization.
Conclusion
To conclude the discussion regarding the CEO of Qantas Airways Ltd, Alan Joyce’s stance about the effectiveness of cultural diversity and inclusiveness for fostering better outcomes for the organization, I strongly agree with Joyce’s notion of “cultural diversity” for fostering “better risk management, better debates, better strategy, and better outcomes.” Organizations particularly multinational companies should consider extending an opportunity for their employees to be themselves in their workplaces without trying to fit into a certain culture so that each member of the business organization can potentially bring their talents to the teamwork.
References
StudyCorgi. (2021) ‘Globalization and Cultural Diversity in the Workplace. 8 December.
Robbins, S.P. and Judge, T., 2009. Organizational behavior. Pearson South Africa.
Biggadike, E.R., 1981. The contributions of marketing to strategic management. Academy of Management Review, 6(4), pp.621-632.
Taylor, E., 2016. Silencing the critics: two years on from a record-busting net loss, Qantas chief Alan Joyce has overseen bumper results and says the rapid recovery owes as much to its turnaround programming as it does to plunging fuel prices. Airline Business.
Dibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W.M. and Ferrell, O.C., 2005. Marketing: Concepts and strategies (p. 850). Houghton Mifflin.
Arup, C., 2010. The global financial crisis: learning from regulatory and governance studies. Law & Policy, 32(3), pp.363-381.
O Neill, R., 2016. The importance of a diverse and culturally competent workforce. Busidate, 24(3), pp.9-13.
