The Changes in British Airways - Coursework Example

Change Management in British Airways of Your Full of PART CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EVOLUTION OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF BRITISH AIRWAYS & RELATED DISPUTES (2009-2011) This essay will critically examine and review the elements and aspects of the change programme that was instituted in British Airways between 2009 and 2011. It will review and analyse the features of the change and how it led to disputes between the management who were to implement it and the crew members who felt affected by the changes Internal and External Framework and the Change Change is always induced by matters and circumstances that causes a company to find other strategic options to achieve its goals. In the case of British Airways, there were several external factors including competition, fuel prices and others that induced the change. On the other hand, internal matters like payroll constraints and other factors made it impossible to maintain their strategy. The biggest factors that induced the changes in British Airways was the introduction of competition in the international airline industry. The deregulation of airlines on the national and international levels changed the global airline industry from one based on national carriers to the entrance of smaller airlines and airlines from the developing world (Doganis, 2012). Due to the presence of these new firms, airlines like British Airways declined in the levels of profits they were making between 1995 and 2000, after which year they continued to make losses (Doganis, 2012). The second issue was with the high costs of operation which was due to the size of British Airways and their abilities to bargain on the markets and dictate good prices in the industry (Cox & Gray, 2013). Most airlines formed alliances to gain better control over the industry and this allowed them to gain a strong bargaining power in the process. British Airways had to do that to also survive. The third issue had to do with the major changes to aviation regulations and requirements in the United States after September 11th, 2001 when security became a major issue. Due to the fact that British Airways gained a large percentage of their revenue from the North American- European route, they were significantly affected by the changes disproportionately (Jarvis, 2014). Internally British Airways had a philosophy and culture that made it digress significantly in its affairs. Harigopal indicates that British Airways was focused on a service-orientation, whilst other competitors like Virgin and Southwest Airlines were market-oriented (2012). This caused consumers to gravitate towards airline companies that had an interpersonal relationship and connection to their clients. British Airways declined significantly due to these arrangements. British Airways was also occupied with the identity of being the national airline carrier and as such, their activities reflected the British attitudes a and traditions, which culminated in a bureaucratic and militarlistic model, as opposed to a more performance-oriented system (Harigopal, 2012). This affected the ability of the airline to meet its goals and the expectations of consumers. Nature of the Strategic Change: Variance between Planned and Actual Change The largest loss of British Airways occurred in 2009, after which the company embarked on a radical path towards job cuts and the amendment of employment contracts to achieve profitability (Jarvis, 2014). British Airways then proceeded to join the International Airlines Group (IAG) by merging with Spanish airline, Iberian Airlines (Jarvis, 2014). The idea was to pool resources to improve their bargaining power to achieve better results in their negotiations with other entities, and cut fuel costs. The main plans included: 1. To cut down on the number of employees by retrenching a number of people. Through this, 5,000 employees were to lose their jobs and the employment contracts were to be modified for employees, most of who were to work for an annual salary less than one month’s salary of the previous year’s salary (Levy, 2009). 2. The presentation of a contract of employment to new employees and newly promoted staff members which included major cuts in remuneration, as compared to the past (BBC News, 2009). 3. A move towards a more responsible environmental and social community membership. This included transparency and a commitment to the improvement of their energy efficiency and reporting 4. Focusing on a customer-oriented activity and process; 5. Attaining a more competitive posture in the industry. However, this came with major questions that were put forward by Unite, the Union and its related groups and components. Unite required that there were some important and vital changes because of variances that came with their view of what ought to be ideal as opposed to what actually happened. Unite indicated that the new packages did not treat British Airways staff members with dignity and respect. They argued that the cuts led to major problems in the working environment and this created a two-tiered staff. This is because the new staff members were going to be treated as a lower-class of workers whilst the older members were treated differently. This was against the notion of equal work for equal pay and was seen to be in bad faith. There was also the argument that the entire package was problematic and due to that, there was a strike planned before Christmas in 2009 (The Economist, 2009). This showed a major drift in the change process and indicates that there was no proper change and modification of the firm’s strategy without issues. Entrance into the developing world came with some issues and challenges from the Gulf carriers and other local carriers that were providing competition through a cost leadership approach. Change Management Strategy Utilized in Strategic Change The management of British Airways sought to find the best approach and the best way of making the structured changes with the lowest numbers of issues possible. First of all, they came up with plans that were properly explained. Their actions and the motivations for those actions were openly discussed and explained to the staff members. Secondly, there were voluntary options that staff members could choose to participate in. This was in opposition to other systems where changes are made en masse without much effort to give workers and staff members an option of whether to participate or not. This enabled the process to be somewhat organised and appropriate for the workers and other related stakeholders. Aside this, there were two main programmes that were meant to cause an evolution in the cultures and systems of the airline. This includes the following: 1. Changing to a market-driven activity by introducing the Putting People First (PPF) programme. This was to promote informality, enhance bonding in the company and also get the staff to support a customer-friendly image and manage stress due to extra hours of work and enhanced activities. Staff members were also assigned to clients and their families to provide them support. 2. Managing People First (MPF) was meant to get managers to change their behaviour and become more helpful. It sought to build care and trust and promote achievement in a less formal British Airways. Challenges and Difficulties of BA Management Team in Managing the Change The main challenges to British Airways’ activities were about the way and manner in which members of the cabin crew and other managers reacted to the desire and the need to change. They saw some of the changes as deliberate and disrespectful. Therefore, they had to come up with new measures and systems for the achievement of results. The challenges and difficulties included the strikes and other decisions and choices to stay away from work and also speak up against certain activities and processes. Secondly, there was a general sense of animosity and tension with the organisational culture because there was a requirement to change and make modifications. This naturally causes some kind of resentment and conflict within organisations. In British Airways, the demand for changes and training came with major problems about acceptance of this change, as some workers viewed it as an affront and a negative influence on the traditions of a company that had remained bureaucratic and closed for such a long time (Jarvis, 2014). This obstacle was overcome by the fact that the top managers of British Airways participated fully in the project and they spent time discussing and communicating with different interest groups on various levels. This came with a high level of reassurance and proper care and attention to promote and improve relations with all affected classes. There was also the challenge of getting workers to accept the IAG Alliance. Most people saw this alliance as detrimental since many British nationals seem to have a negative view of Spain. Therefore, there was a major problem and issue with the views and sentiments of workers towards the modification and movement to a different era. Conclusion The main causes of change in the 2009-2011 period was the poor performance of British Airways in the international airline industry. The problem culminated in major problems and issues with profitability and this also led to the need for partnership. Therefore, the external changes to the company led to the change in internal structures to promote efficiency and a more consumer-oriented attitude. The main form of resistance that came up was in relation to workers who united and protested. However, most of the process was well coordinated and the issues were adequately controlled. PART 2: ACADEMIC REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND RESISTANCE OF THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT APPROACH: A STAKEHOLDER APPROACH As identified in the first part of this essay, British Airways was faced with severe strains in by 2009 and this threatened the profitability and the survivability of the airline. This created an obligation for the airline to make significant adjustments and changes to its processes and systems. In this section of the essay, there will be a critical inquest into the concept of change and change management. This theory will be assessed, evaluated and applied to the three main stakeholder groups involved in the change of British Airways from 2009 to 2011. Theoretical Analysis Link theory to event BA Management Team Events and factors Evaluate to theories Resistance and anxieties Recommendation against resistance and anxiety BA Cabin Crew Events and factors Evaluate to theories Resistance and anxieties Recommendation against resistance and anxiety British Government and British Public Events and factors Evaluate to theories Resistance and anxieties Recommendation against resistance and anxiety Read More