Session 6 by Ricky

Identify a story in your organisation that helps explain issues that need to be addressed. Share your story with colleague, select one story from your group to share with the class. Upload into your group blog, a story about your organisation that helps explain issues that need to be addressed.

I would like to share a story that happened in my summer internship experience in Cathay Pacific Airways in the year 2010. My main duty is to learn the ground operation and customer assistance service.

After recovering from the financial crisis in the late 2008, the company was enlarging its airline destinations. However, when I came to the internship, I noticed that the company modified its paying and welfare system, and put a cost control through a few factors: the in-fight service and catering; employees’ medical and transportation allowance; besides, the employees' wages paying system was changed, from a daily-based pay to an hour-based pay. The result for the employees, especially for the cabin crews have to fly more to earn a satisfying wage level.

Some of the colleges felt unhappy and unfair, because the company has overcome its difficulty of financial problem two years ago and now becomes one of the biggest and profitable airline companies. However, it seems that the employees need to work more. After the deduction of the welfare and allowance, they can take few times of taxi to the airport. But some friends working in this company told me that it is not the first time the company cuts cost, so they seem to endure it. After all, Cathay Pacific is still one of the highest pay and welfare airline companies of the world.

The thing I learned is that working in a big and famous company does not mean that things will be easier. On the contrary, we should try to work hard to at least keep the present thing that we could have. Besides, as a new starter especially graduates, having a chance of working in a big company like CPA or HSBC is good, but do not focus too much on wage or welfare. A famous company never fears of losing employees, because there is always a long queue of people waiting for a position in the company. Instead, we should try to think what we can do, and what we can learn, at the time when we are working in the company, because, as a new staff works in a basic position, we do not have much bargaining power.

Reference:

"Cathay Pacific Airways Pilots Salary",

http://www.askcaptainlim.com/salary-propilot-78/294-cathay-pacific-airways.html

"Cathay Pacific Launches a Major Cost Cut",

http://www.businesstraveller.com/asia-pacific/news/cathay-pacific-to-launch-major-cost-cutting-mea