FRAPORT AG
“Bridge across cultures 2004”
Aschaffenburg
November 7th – November 19th 2004
Liesbeth Bloemendal
Bernd Florian
Tiia Turtola
Istav’n Deak
Simon Bruynsteen
Introduction
Our task was to find out cultural dimensions in the airport of Frankfurt. The company
is called Fraport. We made questions about several different topics to get an
impression of company culture. The questionnaire included elements about power
distance, uncertainty avoidance, femininity & masculinity, Individualism or group and
high/low contexts.
On Tuesday 16 November 2004 our group traveled to Frankfurt airport to meet
Annette Schmidt, who is Senior Executive Manager in the project office.
The meeting started with a presentation given by Annette Schmidt about history,
facts and plans for the future. Afterwards we had the chance to ask her questions
about cultural dimensions. The meeting lasted about two hours and we got a lot of
information. This report is a result of this interview.
By reading this report we hope you will get an idea about the different cultural
dimensions at the airport of Frankfurt.
Aschaffenburg,
November 2004
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Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………..
Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………
Chapter 1: Company Profile……………………………………………………
- Fraport Profile…………………………………………………………..
- Some Figures……………………………………………………………
- Business Strategy……………………………………………………...
- Group Segments………………………………………………………..
Chapter 2: Power Distance……………………………………………………..
Chapter 3: Uncertainty Avoidance…………………………………………….
Chapter 4: Individualism or Group…………………………………………....
Chapter 5: Femininity / Masculinity…………………………………………...
Chapter 6: High / Low Context…………………………………………………
Chapter 7: Time…………………………………………………………………...
Chapter 8: Conclusion…………………………………………………………..
Log…………………………………………………………………………………..
- Liesbeth Bloemendal…………………………………………………..
- Tiia Turtola……………………………………………………………….
- Istva’n Deak……………………………………………………………..
- Simon Bruynsteen……………………………………………………..
- Bernd Florian……………………………………………………………
Appendix 1: Interview Questions……………………………………………...
2
3
4–5
4
4
4–5
5
6
7
8
9
9
10
10
11 – 13
11
11
12
12
13
14 – 15
Chapter 1: Company Profile
Fraport profile
Fraport AG owns and manages the busiest commercial airport in Germany. The
airport’s operational area covers about 19 square kilometers. It can be seen as busy
city: where a huge variety of services are available for travelers, including conference
facilities, entertainment and shopping possibilities.
There are 63,000 employees, therefore the Frankfurt Airport is the largest
employment complex at a single location.
In Frankfort there are 5,081 male employees (68%) and 2,328 female employees
(31%). About 65% of the employees are working in shift operations.
The biggest employers at the airport are Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Fraport AG, LSG
Lufthansa Service and International Mail Center.
Some figures
Each day there are 133,000 passengers, 116,000 pieces of luggage and 4,240
trains.
International Ranking
Passengers
1
Atlanta
2
Chicago- O’Hare
3
London-Heathrow
4
Tokyo-Haneda
5
Los Angeles
6
Dallas/Fort Worth
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Cargo (incl. mail)
Memphis
Hong Kong
Tokyo-Narita
Anchorage
Los Angeles
Seoul
Fraport
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7
8
9
10
Frankfurt
Paris-CDG
Amsterdam
Phoenix
Frankfurt
New York-JFK
Singapore
Louisville
Business strategy
The core business of Fraport AG is operating Frankfurt Airport which is the most
important international hub in continental Europe and Germany’s largest airport.
In order to maintain their market position in the next decades, the airport should
focus itself on expanding the airport capacity and the retailing business.
Remaining the most important international hub can be done by maximizing business
process efficiency, offering an integrated, customer-oriented range of services and
optimizing intermodal transportation systems by combining use of rail, road and air.
A growth factor for the airport is the expansion of a runway system by adding a new
landing runway. This includes a new passenger terminal and other necessary
infrastructure.
Potential growth can also be seen in the retail business. A shopping centre where
business travelers and vacationers have an agreeable time is important for Franport.
The travelers expect attractive shopping opportunities with a colorful, high-value
range of products, attractive restaurants, bars and cafés.
‘Creating Value for the Future’ is a value management project, which has the
objective to increase value, based on stock market values, competitive position, their
cost structures and customer satisfaction.
Group segments
Aviation
This segment focuses on the development and operation of airport infrastructures
and providing air traffic specific security services. There are 9,926 employees in this
segment.
Ground handling
The Ground handling segment covers the provision of aviation ground services such
as handling, passenger and cargo services. This segment provides employment for
7,067 persons.
Non-Aviation
This segment includes maintenance, supply and engineering services. Also it counts
for the operations relating to the development, management and marketing of the
airports. The segment has 3,852 employees.
Others
This segment includes activities supporting airport operations, such as information
and communication system services, energy supply and the operation of canteen
facilities at Frankfurt airport. There are 2,508 employees in this segment.
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Chapter 2: Power Distance
Power distance can be seen as the acceptance that there are less powerful
employees in an organization and that the power is being divided unequally.
At Fraport the supervisors and employees see each others as equals. But this
depends on the individual. On organizational level the employees expect that the
managers tell them what they should do, because it is important that there are no
mistakes being made by the personnel. The supervisors will give their employees
instructions.
If employees have a question they can ask their supervisors without making an
appointment. Especially when they have a direct contact with the customer it is
important that a quick solution can be given. It is not common that the employees of
the operational and tactical level have direct contact with the management.
Once a year the employees can have a breakfast with the Chief Executive Officer.
The main reason for this event is that the employees can have a view of the strategy
and policy of Fraport. The employees can discuss their experiences with their direct
colleges, this is called the snow ball effect.
Due to security reason there are a lot of rules on how people should work. Especially
on the operational and tactical levels there is a strict working regulation. The
management does not expect that the employees bring in ideas, concerning their
tasks.
On organizational level the salaries are based on public tariffs. Therefore there is not
a huge gap between the salary of a supervisor and an employee.
On the second management level there are bigger gaps between the salaries of the
employees, based on experience and education.
To remain their position as the most important international hub it is important that
Fraport can use their personnel effectively. The management of Fraport negotiate
with the employee representatives about human resource management aspects,
such as working hours.
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Chapter 3: Uncertainty Avoidance
Avoiding uncertain situations in the daily business is a big issue for Fraport. It is also
mentioned in the common vision of Fraport that the top priority is safety and security.
Obviously safety has to be the main goal for an airport. Especially after 9/11 when
the whole business broke down and a world wide crisis of security issues started.
This attitude influences the working conditions at the Airport in Frankfurt and
consequently the company culture. At Fraport exists an unwritten law of a zeromistake level. That means it is very important for the company that there are no
mistakes being made by the employees. Mistakes are not accepted.
This is not only because they want to remain their high quality, but also because a
simple mistake can have incredible consequences. If you think about a safety-check,
a fault in searching for weapons could have a dramatic outcome. Incorrect classifying
of luggage pieces could cause delays and confuse the whole time schedule. For this
reason, making a mistake as an employee is seen as real problem even though the
company think you can learn by making mistakes and it is not mentioned in a special
guideline.
To avoid mistakes in uncertain situations there are things like job descriptions and
strict orders especially for workers in a lower level. For strategic decisions the
company uses specialists or in special cases they use the help of external experts.
Furthermore, social skills play an important role as well. It is not only important to hire
high educated specialists with great qualifications but they should also have people
with communications and socializing skills. The appropriate balance is needed. It
depends on the kind of job. A job in the management requires more skills than only
an education, which fits to the job.
Fraport is trying to keep uncertainty as small as possible because of specific
reasons. Nevertheless, the future is seen as a chance rather as a threat. The
company has already made long-term plans with high increasing rates. They have
optimistic expectations.
Fraport has a lot of integrated services. They like to do most of the business them
selves. By doing this they can be independent from other companies and can provide
one face to the customers and they can provide their services as good as possible.
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Chapter 4: Individualism or Group
Meetings are a common tool at Fraport. There are a lot of open discussions about
current issues. Today people are more aware about the value of time and they try to
avoid unnecessary meetings without a result or a decision in the end.
A lot of ideas are the result of a group meeting. Decisions can be made by a group
but also by individuals. Final decisions are made by the Chief Executive Officer of
Fraport. But for sure it makes no sense to follow a strategy without an agreement of
the rest of the executive board.
Group meetings can be on the same level or in between different levels. For
instance, there had been several workshops with employees of different levels to find
an idea concerning a new logo for the airport.
Social structures between employees of a department or in the company in general
are quite normal and welcome. The company offers a lot of events to promote the
team spirit and the interest in each other. People shall identify themselves with the
company as a part of the group.
If there are two persons who get married and they both work in the company or in the
same department it is not a big issue for the company, as long as the relationship
doesn’t influence the work live and the employees are working on operational or
tactical level. On strategic level it is not common that there is a couple, since they
have a big influence on the company policy.
The shareholder’s situation is different compared to other companies because of the
public interest in a traffic infrastructure. The main shareholder is the country
Germany and the state Hessen. For this reason, the employees of Fraport are being
paid by the system of German government employees (BAT).
In this system are only a few different levels of payment possible. The system is not
flexible and allows no variation within one classification. This is already changing.
New employees get an individual employment contract with individual arrangements.
In case of an extra reward like bonus it depends on the situation if the bonus is set
for an individual person or a group. An example for a group reward could be in case
of a successful project performance.
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Chapter 5: Femininity / Masculinity
The company is still dominated by men. Only a small share of the workforce is
female and the situation didn’t change that much the last four years. The women at
Fraport have jobs in all kind of levels. You can find one in executive board, for
instance. Nevertheless, regarding the female workforce there is a small change
recognizable. The company offers special trainee programs for women in men
dominated subjects like engineering.
Regarding behavior characteristics in the company, the company culture has
something between male and female personality. There is no special dress code and
the status is not very important but professional business clothes are expected for
the employee of the strategic level.
Usually the communication is informal but it also depends on the level of hierarchy in
the company. The management is more focused on finding a consensus than being
assertive.
The management of Fraport see training as a necessity on operational level. On
strategic level it can be seen as a way to motivate their employees.
Every three month the workforce obtains a questionnaire about the job satisfaction.
The company cares about their employees and if they are satisfied and innovative.
Chapter 6: High / Low Context
Even though Fraport has employees from several countries, the company language
is German. It is common that the employees communicate by phone, mail or face to
face.
They try to avoid meetings, because there are a lot of those where hardly anything is
discussed. Personal contact is seen as very important. They have an operational
manual in which employees can read the company policy, strategy and regulations.
Due to technological improvements the management of Fraport has decided to
inform the employees by putting information on the screensaver. They also use the
intranet, where important information can be found by the employees.
A dress code is used by the employees of Fraport, although there are different dress
codes per level. On strategic level the employees are expected to be dressed
“business like”. That means suit for men and a tenue de ville for the women.
If the employees are in direct contact with the customers they should wear uniforms.
Also tattoos, big earrings, fancy hair and piercing are not allowed.
Fraport does not use a company symbol to communicate the company identity to the
employees. It is only done by words through the supervisors and managers. By
having workshops with employees from different levels the management and the
employees come to an identity.
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Chapter 7: Time
Fraport is future orientated and they have several plans for the future. Fraport is
growing all the time and they are planning of building more runways in the future.
Expansion plans in Germany can take several years. Ms Schmidt said it can take
more than 10 years due to several groups who are interested, such as the public
government and stakeholders, so they plan the future pretty far ahead.
History is also important to them, they are proud of their growth from a small airfield
operator to an international hub. Also if there is going to be a big war in the future
Fraport plays a big role because the United States is going to use Fraport as their
main airport.
Chapter 8: Conclusion
Fraport can be seen as a company where there is a high power distance on
organizational level, because the employees expect that the supervisors tell them
what to do.
In the air transport industry security is important especially after 9/11. Therefore at
Fraport there is a zero mistake policy.
When the management of Fraport decided to relanche the brand, they hired an
external organization, because that organization would have more know how.
Fraport is an organization with high uncertainty avoidance.
Group meetings are done on the same level and between different levels. Social
structures between employees of a department are welcome and Fraport offers a lot
of events to promote the team spirits and the interest in each other. Fraport can be
seen as an organization which is group orientated.
The management of Fraport see training as a necessity on operational level. On
strategic level it can be seen as a way to motivate their employees. If the employees
reach several goals they will get a bonus, this can stimulate competition between the
managers. On strategic level Fraport can be seen as a masculine company.
Fraport communicates in a low context, because everything is communicated by
words in stead of symbols.
Fraport is future orientated and have several plans to remain an important
international hub.
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Log
Liesbeth Bloemendal
In the personal reflection I will describe my experiences during the 8 th International
Intercultural Management Course. The main reason I wanted to participate this
course was because I wanted to explore other cultures. I must say that I reached my
goal while during these two weeks I got acquainted with the Belgian, Hungarian,
Finnish and German habits.
The lessons concerning intercultural differences were very interesting; especially the
lessons given by Ildiko gave me insight in the communication between other cultures.
I must also say that the lessons such as business meeting techniques and
presentation techniques were a bit boring, while the Dutch students already got
familiar with those techniques.
The negotiation sessions were interesting, because you could really see the
differences between cultures. The Dutch and German people argue more and state
their opinion. The Belgians are friendlier (not playing hard to get). Of course you
should realize that maybe the personality also influences the reactions.
During the two weeks I worked with an international group and after one week we
discussed each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They think that I was quite in the
beginning, have a lot of knowledge and speak English very well. The members of the
group saw me as a person who can organize and as a spokesman.
The Hungarian member thought I was dominant, because I always spoke and had an
answer for everything. Of course this was not my intention, but if nobody else speaks
I cannot stay quite. By asking for their opinion and their ideas I wanted to stimulate
the discussion.
I really enjoyed the company visit to the Frankfurt Airport, because I have studied
Tourism and Leisure management. Therefore I knew a lot about this industry.
I can say that I have learned a lot during the two weeks about intercultural
management. I am sure that it will help me in the future.
Tiia Turtola
My goal was to learn communicating better in English and learn about other cultures.
This trip didn’t go as a planned. Sure I learned a lot from other cultures, presentation
techniques, and language but I also learned a lot that I didn’t expect.
Sadly I was ill for a while so I missed some lessons and wine tasting trip. But I
learned about German healthcare system. In the hospital they couldn’t give me a
description but they said they can take me in there. I didn’t want to stay so I went
looking for another doctor and I found one. I found it weird that one doctor cannot
describe medicine more than for one day. I had to go again to another doctor the
next day to get more medicine. The doctor didn’t speak much English and I don’t
speak Germany, but we found other ways of communicating and in the end we
understand each other.
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I like working in groups, but I found out about my self that because my language
skills are not so good I have some problems of expressing my self. Other members
of my group may consider that I am lazy or just not interested. But if I say how I think
things should be done they make me explain it so long that finally I just go on with
what they want because it is easier. We had this test of what kind of team member
you are and my result was that I am a team worker and a company worker. I had
some feedback from my group and they like me as a member of the group but think
that I should speak more of what I think. So that is something I have to focus on.
Overall I think that I have the best group.
I have learned a lot in these two weeks. I learned how people from different cultures
like to do work, what they think about different things and a lot about their countries.
This course leaves me little hunger to learn more about other cultures.
Istva’n Deak
When I got here I was really happy because there were a lot of young people and I
like to meet foreigners. I thought it would be interesting to learn about those people
and now I am not disappointed. There were some who had a strange character, but
when I met these men or women, I realised that I can like their behaviour .
Let us have a look to the course in general:
I liked the lessons but I really think that we needed some more free time to see this
wonderful country. It was bad that we had only one free afternoon in Frankfurt. After
all the lesson were of good quality and I picked up a lot of useful information about
international business and relationships. I learned a lot about languages and different
cultures and I learned some Finnish, Belgian, Dutch, German expressions.
There were many tasks and things to do, but I think we could do it efficiently. But also
there were a lot of party (sometimes with the police) and it made the evenings too
long and I was tired almost every day, I really enjoyed this camp.
About my team:
In our team there were five different personality (Tiia from Finland, Liesbeth from
Holland, Simon from Belgium, Bernd from Germany) and it caused some problems
but I think we solved them easily. There was a leading or there were two leading
person and some “hard-working ant” and I think this was a successful international
team.
In conclusion: I am happy because I could meet a lot of interesting people.
Simon Bruynsteen
Meeting new people and being abroad is a real adventure for me. I came to the
Intercultural management course to explore the unknown and to learn something
more about other cultures. I wanted to meet foreign people, and I thought that it
would be hard. Each county has his own habits and act in a different way.
During the last two weeks I saw that the differences between our cultures is not that
big at all. At the end we are all European people.
At the beginning I was a little afraid of the courses. As a computer programmer I
have little experience with management. Most of the topics we had to deal with were
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new for me, so I have learned a lot during the two weeks in Aschaffenburg. I learned
about interviewing people and about cultural dimensions.
I came to Aschaffenburg with a lot of stereotypes. A lot of them disappeared very
quickly.
I have never seen a group of 60 people that became so close. After only one night it
seemed to me like we are one big family that lives together for two weeks.
When I came to the Intercultural Management in Aschaffenburg I had some personal
goals to accomplish:
- discussing the stereotypes and differences between cultures
- making new European friends
- improve my English language skills
- make it a valuable experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.
I am pretty sure that those two weeks fulfilled all these goals. I see those two weeks
as the best time of my higher education. Two weeks that I will never forget!
Bernd Florian
At first of all I have to say that I am happy that I could take part in this intercultural
program. I did not had special expectations regarding the two weeks. Maybe
because I already had intercultural experiences because of studying abroad and
because of several international friends. The more I was surprised how things went
on in this group. It appreciated to see how fast people of the five nations started to be
interested in each other. Acceptance, tolerance, and respect against each other
started very early (with single exceptions) and the group was mixed up nearly all the
time (except breakfast).
In situations of disagreement, misunderstandings, or different attitudes it was not
easy to find out the real cause for this. It could have been cultural differences but in
many cases I think it was more because of factors like different personalities,
different age, or different motivations, for instance.
The fact that the nations get different credits for this program should be avoided in
future. It leads to different motivation levels and causes problems within the groups.
For me it was interesting to meet people from Hungary, because I did not had much
experience with them before. I was surprised to see differences between people from
the Netherlands and from Belgium. As a German sometimes you have the stereotype
both would be equal concerning cultural aspects.
I made a lot of new experiences and I could extend my personal horizon. Most times
people of different nations were more equal than I thought but sometimes there were
differences I did not expect. I could mention a lot more examples but I am afraid the
printer has not enough paper.
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Appendix 1: Interview Questions – Fraport
1. Can you tell us something more about Frankfurt airport?
– Structure
– Aim / Objective
– Culture
2. For you it is important to reach a high standard. How do you realise it and how do
you remain it?
Power Distance
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Are there different cultures in your company and if so, what are the main
differences?
Do managers and employees see each other as equals?
Do employees expect that managers tell them what they should do?
Are there a lot of supervisors?
Can employees contact their supervisors on their own initiative?
Is there a big gap between the salary of a supervisor and an employee?
Are there a lot of rules on how people should work?
Is your staff represented by an union?
Are there a lot of meetings? What kind of?
Uncertainty avoidance
12.
13.
14.
15.
If you hire a new employee, what is the most important? Where do you judge
on?
After 9-11, how do you see the future?
If you should make a strategic decision, is it important to have the knowledge
of a specialist?
How do you handle if an employee makes a mistake?
Individualism or group?
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
How do you reward someone?
Do you think that people can learn of their mistakes?
How do you judge and evaluate employees?
Is it all right if employees have a relationship?
Are decisions made by an individual person or by groups?
Femininity / Masculinity
21.
22.
23.
Do the employees think acknowledgement? Are promotions important?
Do managers seek for consensus rather than being assertive?
Are there women in high management position?
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24.
25.
Are there a lot of formal / informal rules for employees?
Do you have a questionnaire about the satisfaction of your employees? Do
you stimulate them?
High / low context
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
Do you communicate by mail / phone or in a direct way?
What is your company language?
Do you have a company simbol and what does it mean?
How do you communicate your norms and values to your employees?
Do you use a more formal way to communicate (professional words) or is it
more informal?
Do you have a dresscode?
Are there differences in the way of communicating with international
employees?
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