Will You Fly Qantas ?

[gobbledonk]

Flash, I've read different things about the level of anti-Japanese sentiment in Thailand, but they dont seem to have any qualms taking their money. One of the biggest surprises during my 2004 trip to China was that younger Chinese considered their peers in Japan to be 'cool' : I guess most of that was based on TV, but it was interesting nonetheless. By contrast, a young Polish girl I met in the early noughties hated the Russians with a vehemence that stunned me - clearly, that pain will take longer to heal.

[Flashermac]

I saw a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment in the 1970s and early '80s. Older Thais still remembered the war, and Thai students complained about the behaviour of Japanese tourists. They said the tourists would fly on JAL, stay in Japanese-owned hotels, shop in Japanese-owned department stores, eat in Japanese restaurants ... and shag Thai women. They also mocked the Japanese for their herd mentality, travelling around in packs following their tour leader's flag. There were student protests in Bangkok about Japanese "economic imperialism".

 

I haven't seen that attitude in years though. Thai kids grow up on Japanese cartoons, read Japanese comics etc. Japanese are viewed as "cool" by the young folks today.

 

p.s. A Polish joke I remember from the Cold War days.

 

 

Question: "If the Russians invade and the East Germans help them, who do we fight first?"

 

Answer: "The East Germans. Business before pleasure."

[gobbledonk]

Yeah, I'm still wondering where all these 'cool' Japanese are - the tourists who come to Oz often seem to have been dressed by the same 'stylist' who dresses middle-aged folk from the Midwest when they go to Hawaii. It must be a particular shock to see how 'undressed' the locals are in places like Cairns ....

[Julian2]

Strange, I talked to so Chinese students in Kunming around 2006 and all they could say about Japan was that would like to see it flat, black and glowing in the dark.

I doubt their parents would have been born prior to 1945 but they knew all about the Japanese, China and WW2.

 

Their opinion on Taiwan surprised me as well.. it wasn't a problem, they were still Chinese and all Chinese eventually come home of their own accord.

[Julian2]

Qantas: Flying in the face of commonsense or a wily strategy?

 

It is possible that it has been baiting the water with blood to attract the sharks.

 

At the recent Qantas annual meeting, shareholders endorsed the current management strategies and huge pay increases for chief executive Alan Joyce. This is odd as Qantas’s share price has fallen under his watch. Further, Qantas is in conflict with several of its key stakeholders: the government, passengers and important parts of its workforce.

 

The grounding of the Qantas network precipitated travel disruption and much discussion about the causes of the chaos. Now the chaos is past, what will be the outcomes of the current industrial relations process? In answering this question, we should keep in mind other questions about Qantas.

 

Fair Work Australia gave Qantas 21 days in which to negotiate settlements with the unions that represent its international pilots, licensed engineers and baggage handlers.

 

The claims of each of these unions are different, but a common aspect is that each has concerns about income and employment security. Therefore, they are all seeking agreements that include reassurance about such matters, while Qantas aims to cut costs by more outsourcing in Australia and overseas.

 

In most cases, parties to industrial relations claims would prefer to reach settlements by negotiation. This gives them more â€ownership†of the settlements than if an arbitrator imposes a settlement, with the risk that an imposed outcome is one that neither party would have wanted.

 

However, since relationships have sunk to such a low level of trust, we are unlikely to see quick negotiated settlements between Qantas and all these unions.

 

If Qantas and the unions do not settle these disputes by compromise and negotiation, Fair Work Australia will arbitrate. The tribunal is skilled at evaluating the arguments and making appropriate decisions. Earlier decisions have constrained outsourcing in some circumstances. Nevertheless, arbitrators are generally reluctant to make decisions that prescribe detailed management strategies.

 

Hence, it is unlikely that Fair Work Australia will prevent Qantas from restructuring. Nonetheless, if it is to thrive as a world-class airline, Qantas has to rebuild relations with its various stakeholders, not least its workforce.

 

Trust is even more important in a service-sector business like an airline than in, for instance, remote mine sites. Mining companies have deployed aggressive industrial relations tactics with parallels to Qantas’s recent approach. (Interestingly, Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford led similarly aggressive industrial tactics when he was chief executive of miner Rio Tinto.)

 

In contrast to mines, however, airlines are customer-facing enterprises, where staff work close to the immediate customers.

 

Many Qantas staff feel they are being treated unfairly, for instance, because the CEO was given a big pay increase at the same time he was asking the rest of Qantas to cut costs. If staff think they are being treated unfairly they are unlikely to invest much discretionary effort. They are less likely to give exemplary service to customers. Customers who get poor service are more likely to take their business to an airline that provides better service.

 

Southwest Airlines is one of the world’s most admired airlines in terms of its staff and customer relations. Southwest offers low fares and excellent customer service. Southwest sees its workforce as a source of value, rather than merely as costs to be cut.

 

Virgin Australia has been trying to learn from Southwest. Qantas, too, could learn much from Southwest, if its aim is indeed to improve its industrial relations. Let’s hope that this is its aim.

 

Perhaps, however, Qantas has another aim: to induce a takeover bid. If so, this would follow the example of the former Qantas chief executive and board. Four years ago they supported an unfortunate attempt by private equity funds to buy Qantas. This could now be easier to achieve than then; Qantas’s share price has fallen greatly since then. Its chairman is also an adviser to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

 

If private equity funds bought Qantas, the new executive team’s industrial relations tactics would make Qantas’s recent tactics look mild. The New Qantas would also sell many of its assets, including those that it inherited from Australian taxpayers. This could involve the sale of Jetstar and the Frequent Flyer scheme, resulting in fewer services for rural areas.

 

Might Virgin Australia then become the national flag carrier? Its rhetoric is about creating more jobs in Australia, rather than offshore!

 

Professor Greg Bamber works in the Department of Management. He is a co-author of Up in the Air: How Airlines Can Improve Performance by Engaging their Employees.

[think_too_mut]

Flash, I've read different things about the level of anti-Japanese sentiment in Thailand, but they dont seem to have any qualms taking their money. One of the biggest surprises during my 2004 trip to China was that younger Chinese considered their peers in Japan to be 'cool' : I guess most of that was based on TV, but it was interesting nonetheless. By contrast, a young Polish girl I met in the early noughties hated the Russians with a vehemence that stunned me - clearly, that pain will take longer to heal.

 

 

My observation would be - Japan is for Asia what UK was for Europe in the 60ies. Copied and admired.

 

Roughly, in Asian constelation, Japan is like UK, Korea is like Germany for Europe.

[think_too_mut]

Would I fly Qantas? No, if there is any choice. Still have FF point biz class Tokyo-Sydney, surprised they are still valid.

 

If a 3 layer cake in aviation industry was to be baked: Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, and the icing on the cake, ANA of Japan. Even JAL.

[kamui]

My observation would be - Japan is for Asia what UK was for Europe in the 60ies. Copied and admired.

 

Roughly, in Asian constelation, Japan is like UK, Korea is like Germany for Europe.

 

I think it is more complicated.

 

Japan was the economical engine in Asia, before the rise of China. At the same time there is still a simmering of hatred in many Asian countries (especially Korea, China, Taiwan, China) against Japan, because the Japanese have never really apologized for the WWII atrocities (neither financially nor verbally be the Japanese leaders).

 

 

Therefore Japan was never able to become the cultural leader in Asia - Korea had even laws which did ban Japanese publications like comics e.g. Only in the past decade Japanese youth- and pop culture became famous in Asia, but by then China did already overshadow Japan economically and culturally.

[think_too_mut]

I think it is more complicated.

 

Japan was the economical engine in Asia, before the rise of China. At the same time there is still a simmering of hatred in many Asian countries (especially Korea, China, Taiwan, China) against Japan, because the Japanese have never really apologized for the WWII atrocities (neither financially nor verbally be the Japanese leaders).

 

 

Therefore Japan was never able to become the cultural leader in Asia - Korea had even laws which did ban Japanese publications like comics e.g. Only in the past decade Japanese youth- and pop culture became famous in Asia, but by then China did already overshadow Japan economically and culturally.

 

On the surface, Japanese are crazy for Korean soapies, Korean food, cross travel is abundant.

 

What you are saying flares now and then (among politicians and media) around some incidents but it does not show as everydays life.

 

When my daughter saw Mickey Mouse for the first time, she exclaimed: "Rat!".

 

But she had known Doraemon, Purikiwa, Anpanman...all that before coming to Japan.

 

About China enclipsing Japan - culturally, style, life templates - long way to go.

[kamui]

On the surface, Japanese are crazy for Korean soapies, Korean food, cross travel is abundant.

 

What you are saying flares now and then (among politicians and media) around some incidents but it does not show as everydays life.

 

When my daughter saw Mickey Mouse for the first time, she exclaimed: "Rat!".

 

But she had known Doraemon, Purikiwa, Anpanman...all that before coming to Japan.

 

About China enclipsing Japan - culturally, style, life templates - long way to go.

 

Japan will keep its own culture, no question about this. But the economic and future cultural engine will be China.

I just discussed with Japanese company owners about developing a fair in Tokyo. They said it's too late. The Japanese market is too small and the fair wouldn't attract enough Asian buyers. For them it's either Singapore or Hongkong...