SWOT analysis for Q R National
Strength
One of the major strengths of Q R National Ltd is its position in rail transportation. Q R National Ltd is the leading rail transporter of coal in the region. The coal, which is transported from the mine to the ports, gives the company financial stability and an advantage over its competitors. The company also commands over one third of the world’s coal exports, making it the strongest in the region. The company’s recently established performance-based culture has seen its profitability go up. Its work force expertise also ensures that it remains at the top of its competitors (Walker 2010).
The company’s management and board consist of experienced and dedicated persons, who ensure that the company moves forward in terms of profits, popularity and productivity. Through dedication and experience, the management team is expected to influence growth and expansion of the company (QR National 2011). The focus and invigoration demonstrated by the executive leadership has ensured that Q R limited remains the leading regional exporter of coal. The company’s track record has assured its shareholders increased investment in the company’s shares. This is because the company has been having a track record of growth from 1960 to the present day (QR National 2011).
Weaknesses
One of the weaknesses of this company is its heavy reliance on labor union decisions, meaning the company’s operations would be greatly affected if unfavorable decisions were to be made by the unions. Based on the nature of its activities, the company experiences various difficulties in attracting and retaining experienced employees. This is because most of the company’s workforce is casual, with limited skills and expertise (Q...
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Q R National 2011, An iconic Australian business with over 145 years of history, QR National, NSW.
Queensland Bulks Handling 2003, Queensland Bulks Handling, viewed 27 August 2011,
< http://www.qbh.com.au/ >
Queensland Coal Corporation 2010, Queensland Coal Corporation, viewed 27 August 2011, < http://qldcoal.com/ >
South Galilee Coal 2010, Project updates, viewed 27 August 2011,
State of New South Wales 2011, The NSW coal industry, viewed 27 August 2011,
Walker, J 2010, QUEENSLAND has guaranteed it will be hands-off in the management of the country's biggest rail freight hauler, viewed 27 August 2011,
Also Qantas was running with an autocratic leadership style meaning autocratic managers like to make all the important decisions and closely supervise and control workers. Managers do not trust workers and simply give orders (one-way communication) that they expect to be obeyed. This approach derives from the views of Taylor as to how to motivate workers and relates to McGregor’s theory X view of workers. This approach has limitations but it can be effective in certain situations.
Selecting new employees in nonunion operations. (1996). Management Report for Nonunion Organizations (Wiley), 19(5), 5-6.
For decades, the steel industry has been one of the toughest markets on a global scale with most steel corporations ending up in bankruptcy. Foreign and domestic competitors, management issues, environmental issues, political agenda’s and technology have had much to do with the demise and more so of the success of the steel industry. The issues that this case focus on Nucor Corporation was of:
Employees are motivated to join labor unions for various reasons. Most important of all is to seek redress for any real or perceived injustices in the workplace (Kearney, & Mareschal, 2014). The management should take cognizance of this fact and act accordingly to roll out a labor relations strategy that will enable them relate well with their employees whether unionized or not. When dealing with union matters at the company, the management should take bold steps in preventing the increase of union-related activities by enticing the employees by enhancing grievance handling and how the employees relate with the company (Carrell, & Heavrin, 2004). This can be achieved by:
UPS is the largest parcel delivery service in the world. They also help their customers its customers with supply chain management, logistics, and financial services. UPS used to be a trucking company with technology, now it¡¦s a technology company with trucks. One of the UPS¡¦s key success factors is the way they manage their operations. Their carefully designed network of vehicles, sorting facilities, and hubs combined with their IT system, allows them to pick up 13 million packages each day from 2 million addresses for delivery to over 6 million commercial and residential addresses worldwide with highest levels of reliability, efficiency, and speed. Also the integration of its air and ground operations gave UPS the ability to optimize utilization of its assets while still meeting customer service requirements. Other key success factor is UPS¡¦s human resource management. UPS has lowest turnover rates in the industry and succeeds in developing a portion of its workforce for management positions each year. The company¡¦s unique culture emphasized accountability and efficient execution at every level of the organization.
While many of the laws and regulations that arose out of the labor movement protect workers and define employer’s responsibilities, there has been significant pressure from employers to ensure that their organization does not organize. Dias (2009) states that “most organizations feel the constraints of having a union organization are too great”; negatively affecting the organization’s cost of operation and efficiency (p. 278). In response to the organizational desire to remain union free, Human Resource Managers (HRM) have an important role to play in regards to employee relations within organizations (Dias, 2009). Dias (2009), identifies three phases of unionization, the first is the “organization is union free and there is little to now interest in unionizing” (p.
Introduction: Leighton Holdings is Australia’s one of the most reputed organization, which is active in engineering and infrastructure, mining and resources, environmental services industries and telecommunications which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1962. This company has operations in different countries including Australia, South East Asia, New Zealand, Vietnam, China and Middle East. The main focus and activities of Leighton Holdings include market positioning, strategic direction and planning, financial management and corporate and public affairs.
"Our actions are centred on improved cash flow and profitability -- and at the same time strengthening our strategic core"- Paul Allaire- CEO(24/10/00)
The company believes in working together and collaborating with other industries on new technology to minimize the environmental footprint. The company wants to sustain a relationship with it partners and employees. Also the CNR has a human rights code of conduct which every employee has to accept before they become a member of the CNR family. Over the past 5 years the company has shown a significant increase in their stocks and they had a 74% increase from 2010-2014. They company had one of the most tremendous drops in 2013 due to their oil spill. The sales did very well too, in 2010 they had $14,000 million and in 2014 they ended with $21,000 million. CNR has established a great profile which has been a big contribution to their financial success of the
The Lincoln Electric Company is one of the most successful, well-managed, manufacturing companies world-wide. The company’s organizational culture has played a key role in its continued success over the years. Because of its strong culture, the company has been able to maximize employee productivity which ultimately leads to its ability to offer their products at lower prices than their competitors and maintain a stable market share.
In the past 20 years, the technology has been improving as well as the behavior of human. Another change that has been significant enough in the workforce is the generation. Since the baby boomers is reaching the retirement ages, the workforce changes its face. During the change of the pace there are many issues regarding the younger generation. Though, the unprepared new labor force brings another issues to the most company. As the new age begin, the company is struggling with the high demand of spending and low output level from the employees. This event challenges the human resource management on the search of potential employees. The consideration breed the pros and cons whether to keep, train and improve or recruit and change the force. The essay will provides the thorough exploration to oversee the positives of developing dedication of the employees. The method will be used are research and case discussion. The objective of the written report is to provide an insight of the importance of loyalty from the employees.
... organizational structure that needs to be maintained for its operations in Australia. As the suggestion has been of total ownership thus span of control is needed and these factors have been discussed in this report to illustrate how effective the organization can be in Australia.
They say “Our deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world give us our strong relationship with consumers and are the foundation for our future growth. We will bring our wealth of knowledge and international expertise to the service of local consumers - a truly multi-local multinational.
Traditional literature in the field of labor relations has focused immensely on its benefit towards the employer and in the process equating it to working rules. This has been so despite the field being expected to cover the process of, labor management, union formation, and collective bargain; all which are anticipated to create a positive employer-employee relationship. This relationship is said to be positive if there exist a balance between employment functions and the rights of the laborer. Also important to note, is that this relation is equally important to the public sector as it is to the private one. Therefore, to ensure a mutually conducive labor environment exists, effective labor management process and inclusive negotiation program should be adopted (Mulve 2006; Walton, 2008).
In the future, employing organizations will face a wide range of issues and challenges in meeting their workforce requirements. These periods of difficulties generally will center around the effects of external environmental influences on the organization and the manner in which it manages ongoing issues. Many of these external factors filter down and influences an organizations roles and responsibilities for talent scarcity, changing products or services, shifting demographic composition and their consumer preferences, etc.