Airservices Australia's Workforce Management Challenges - Case Study Example

Organizational Capability Analysis Part 1(Workforce Management Challenges) Name: Institution: Course: Date: Organizational Capability Analysis Part 1(Workforce Management Challenges) Introduction According to the Ministry for Infrastructure and Transportation’s Statement of Expectations and the National Aviation Policy White paper 2009, it is a requirement for airline organizations such as Airservices Australia to engage in the publication and provision of annual updates on its workforce plan (Airservices Australia 2012). Workforce planning is perceived as a major force for the organization because it provides a link between the organizations’ strategic objectives and the people initiatives necessary in the realization of these objectives. Management of diversity in an organization is considered as one of the major workforce management challenges facing the human resource department in Airservices (Airservices Australia 2012). The objective of this report will be to engage in the analysis of the challenges facing Airservices Australasia and the strategies developed by the organization to address these challenges. Airservices Australia Airservices Australia is a constitutional body that is owned by the government of Australia. The organization is charged with the responsbility of providing of safe and environmentally friendly airside services and air traffic management to the aviation industry. Airservices is involved in the management of air traffic operations for more than three million flights carrying approximately 60 million passengers annually within the Australian Flight Information Region (Airservices Australia 2012). Despite the gains that Airservices Australia has been able to realize in the process of executing its organizational mandate, the organization still faces the human resource challenge of managing diversity amongst its workforce. Part of these challenges can be attributed to the need for a specific set of skills within the organization for the execution of certain organizational responsibilities (Airservices Australia 2012). Managing workforce diversity at Airservices Australia The management of workforce diversity is based on the acknowledgement that employees within an organization differ in numerous ways such as age, gender, cultural orientation, marital status, disability, skills capacity, religion, and personality among other variables. However, the predominant diversity issues in each organization differ because of the existing societal trends and employment regulations developed by the government. Multiculturalism is considered as the most important dimension of diversity in Australia (Lawler 2006). This is because of the existence of a large number of international migrants emanating from diverse cultural backgrounds. For Airservices Australia, a diverse workforce constitutes a multitude of values, perspectives of the world, beliefs and understandings. The need for diversity in the context of an organization according to the Australia Care for International Business (ACIB 2000) is in its ability to improve on the quality of the decisions made by the management and the provision of innovative ideas and techniques towards generating solutions to existing organizational problems. The challenge with managing diversity in Airservices Australia is the decision by the management to consider diversity management as a problem within the organization that requires solution instead of addressing it an attempt to recognize existing multicultural differences as positive attributes existing in an organization (Lawler 2006). Objectives and issues facing human resource diversity management in Airservices Australia From a historical perspective, effective diversity management has been used in the provision of legal defensible position against charges on discrimination. While arguing on the level of diversity within its workforce, the management has often maintained in legal proceedings that it is not guilty of any form of discrimination because the workforce demographics is representative of the local Australian community (Lawler 2006). However, considerable debates have arisen especially when assessing the differences in diversity management and equal opportunities. When arguing from the perspective of Equal Employment Opportunity, workforce diversity management at Airservices Australia has been found to be lacking in its ability to not only recognize but also harness and value the existing workforce differences. While the existing laws and policies mainly drive Equal Employment Opportunity, diversity management is driven by the business case. It is important for the human resource management at Airservices Australia to consider the growing cultural pluralism in Australia, which results from the growth in workforce mobility, the development of international markets, globalization of business and the increase in the level of awareness of employee differences (Ford and Fisher 2012). Airservices Australia has been involved in instances of improving on its workforce diversity management as at a technique of overcoming labour markets segregation by addressing inequalities arising from individual differences such as gender and racial differences. While diversity management in Airservices Australia is inclusive of commitment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, there is need for the organization to embrace a broader scope of diversity management. This is because such an approach to human resources management would embrace cultural pluralism with the objective of maximizing the potential of the workforce, which is beyond the level compliance emanating from Equal Employment Opportunity Act. Airservices Australia has been using strategic deployment of diverse workforce as a technique of achieving a competitive advantage in the Australian aviation industry (Ford and Fisher 2012). Through this approach, the management at Airservices Australia has been able to develop diverse teams of employees, which aim at achieving innovation and creativity that have enabled the workforce and the organization to outperform homogenous workforces in of the organization (Ford and Fisher 2012) . Despite the ability of these teams to embrace innovation and creativity in the execution of their employment responsibilities, the human resource management still faces the challenge of retaining highly skilled and flexible workforce. Part of this challenge can be attributed to the benefits packages that the organization provides for its employees. Employee benefits such as improved salaries and wages, effective work-life balance policies, provision of promotions, delegation of responsibilities and provision of learning and training opportunities plat the role of attracting diverse pool of resources necessary for the realization of a competitive advantage within the organization’s market. This means that it is the responsbility of the organization to develop effective human resource strategies that are not only focused on the development of a diverse workforce but also focused towards the development of systems that retain these employees once they have been recruited (Kramar 2008). Strategies of improving human resource diversity management in Airservices Australia According to human resource management theory, it is the responsbility of the management in an organization to develop distinct functions, activities, and processes with the aim of attracting, directing, and maintaining the human resources of an organization. The main practices of human resource management in an organization that enhances the possibility of using its workforce to establish a competitive advantage through workforce diversity management include training and development, recruitment and selection (Ford and Fisher 2012). Recruitment and selection Manager and employees at Airservices Australia consider diversity management to be equivalent to the availability of equal opportunities for every employee in an organization. In this regard, Airservices Australia has been active in hiring more women and minorities as a technique of reflecting on the increasingly diverse market and gain more customers (Ford and Fisher 2012). Inasmuch as the organization has been effective in its process of recruiting and selecting diverse employees, there is need to develop techniques on how to recruit and retain high caliber group of employees by harnessing the creative capacity of its recruits. This is realizable through the creation of a working environment and organizational culture that ensures the flourishing of creativity (Martin & Woldring 2001). An additional technique through which Airservices Australia can ensure that it recruits and retains divers workforce is through the development of policies and organizational practices that provide employees with development opportunities for career planning and advancement, policies that focus on an effective work-life balance and techniques of monitoring disadvantaged groups such as persons living with disability. Through effective management of the recruitments and selection processes, it is possible for an organization to manage workforce diversity because such an approach will complement the existing affirmative action strategies and ensure the development of polices that address issues related to employment and promotion of minorities and women in higher levels of management (Martin & Woldring 2001). The Australian airline industry has grown and become highly competitive. This means that for an organization such as Airservices Australia, it is important to develop and retain a highly competitive and skilled workforce as a technique of developing and maintain a competitive advantage in the market. Through its recruitments and selection policies, it will be necessary for the organization to provide potential employees with information concerning its ability to embrace diversity and the strategies existing that demonstrate this ability. Furthermore, the organization mast also develop polices on how it addresses diversity related challenges that employees face (Ford and Fisher 2012). The organization must also streamline its human resource policies in its workforce plan to ensure that they are in agreement with the existing Australian laws on employment. For the employees, the availability of such policies will provide a platform for comparing Airservices and its competitors on the effectiveness of policies. The ability of the organization to attract more recruits compared to its competitors will be a demonstration of the level of objectivity that defines diversity management (Dagher et al 2008). Training and development The management of a diverse workface according to Maxwell et al (2001) is the provision of fair changes to employees to advance in their careers. Airservices Australia has not been successful in ensuring the provision of equal opportunities when training, retaining, and promoting its diverse workforce. This can be attributed to the existence of ineffective human resource policies that contributes to high levels of discrimination of the employees emanating from diverse cultural backgrounds. Training and development opportunities programs at Airservices Australia indicate lower representation of women and minorities. This has been perceived as a major obstacle to the ability of these groups to ensure career advancements and access to managerial position in the organization. Such employees also face difficulties in their ability to establish work related networks and effective mentoring relationships (Ford and Fisher 2012). It is important for the human resource management in Airservices Australia to ensure that its policies on employee training and development are aimed at reinforcing values, norms, and perspectives of a diverse organizational culture. Through this approach to organizational management, it becomes possible for the organization to create an environment that ensures the provision of equal opportunities of advancement to all employees. In addition, a technique improves on the reputation of the organization in the market hence enhancing the possibility that it will attract more customers and establish a competitive advantage (Dagher et al 2008). Conclusion Management of diversity in an organization is considered as one of the major workforce management challenges facing the human resource department in Airservices. It is important for the human resource management at Airservices Australia to consider the growing cultural pluralism in Australia, which results from the growth in workforce mobility, the development of international markets, globalization of business and the increase in the level of awareness of employee differences. By developing effective policies on recruitment, selection and training, it becomes possible for the organization to create an environment that ensures the provision of equal opportunities of advancement to all employees. In addition, a technique improves on the reputation of the organization in the market hence enhancing the possibility that it will attract more customers and establish a competitive advantage. References Airservices Australia 2012, Workforce Plan 2012-2013 ACIB (Australian Centre for International Business) 2000, The International Business Case for Diversity Management, Program for The Practice of Diversity Management, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs in Cooperation with the Australian Center for International Business. Dagher, J., D’Netto, B., and Sohal, AS 2008, ‘Managing Workforce Diversity in the Australian Manufacturing Industry,’ Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing, 8, 2, 1–15 Ford, J., and Fisher, S 2012, ‘The Role of Training in a Changing Workplace and Workforce: New Perspectives and Approaches,’ in Managing Diversity: Human Resource Strategies for Transforming the Workplace, eds. E. Kossek and S. Lobel, Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 164–193. Kramar, R 2008, ‘Flexibility in Australia: Implications for Employees and Managers,’Employee Relations, 20, 5, 453–460. Lawler, J 2006, ‘Managing Diversity at Work,’ in Human Resources at Work, ed. C. Molander, Lund: Studentlitteratur, pp. 159–185. Martin, G., and Woldring, K 2001, ‘Ready for the Mantle? Australian Human Resource Managers as Stewards of Ethics,’ International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12, 2, 243–255. Maxwell, G.A., Blair, S., and McDougall, M. (2001), ‘Edging Towards Managing Diversity in Practice,’ Employee Relations, 23, 5, 468–482. Read More