Managing Organisation Change for State Airline - Case Study Example

Manage Organisation Change Name Institution Course Date Executive Summery Organisational change entails change of strategies, operations and structures for the purpose of boosting organisational effectiveness. State Airline has been faced with many challenges that have led to its failure. In order to get back to being one of the top airlines in the United States, there are some change requirements which it should adapt. These change requirements include improvement of service, boost of productivity, cost reduction etc. the change management strategy that is effective for State Airline is environmental adaptive. This change management strategy will enable the airline implement change effectively and reduce change resistance. A change plan for State Airline will entail the changes required, the persons responsible for the change process, the duration of the change process and change performance measures. Table of Contents Executive Summery 2 Table of Contents 3 Manage Organisation Change 4 Introduction 4 Change Requirements 5 Cut Operating Costs 5 Improvement of Productivity 5 Improvement of Service 6 Change Management Strategy for State Airline 6 Organizational Change Plan for State Airline 7 Transparency and Effective Communication 8 Effective Education and Training 8 Personal Counselling 8 Monitoring and Implementation 9 Change Plan Template 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Manage Organisation Change Introduction Many factors trigger the need for change in an organisation. Organisation change entails the process whereby an organisation changes its strategies, operations and structure to affect change within its business surrounding. In order for a change process to be effective, a change management strategy is required (Sirkin, Perry and Alan, 2005). Change management can be defined as the study of ways to integrate change without affecting organisational culture or its effectiveness. When change is implemented in an organisation, there may result to resistance. Resistance to change may be due to fear or uncertainty (Sirkin, Perry and Alan, 2005). Therefore, organisational leaders should develop a change management strategic approach to enabling organisational change that leads to organisational effectiveness. There are many reasons why change is required in an organisation. Some of these reasons include the desire for growth, competition, need for improvement and technological changes (Sirkin, Perry and Alan, 2005). There have been dramatic changes that have affected the airline industry. These changes have affected State Airline which is now struggling to get back to being one of the top airlines in the United Sates. In order to do this, there are many changes the airline is required to undertake. This report will detail out the change requirements for State Airline. It will also highlight effective strategy to be adapted by the airline in managing organisational change and will present a change plan to be adapted by the airline. Change Requirements State Airline is faced with many challenges as a result of changes in the airline industry. Some of the changes include intensive competition from Low Cost Carriers, ensuring safety and security of its passengers, labour and fuel cost increases, increasing congestion and flight delay and poor service. In order to overcome these problems, State Airline must undertake organisational change. Some change requirements for State Airline include: Cut Operating Costs Cutting of operating cost will boost State Airline’s competitive advantage and will enable it stand out among its competitors operating on Low Cost Carriers. State Airline can cut its labour costs and wage rates which can significantly reduce its expenses. In addition, implementation of information technology in relation to internet ticket distribution and online check-in can also reduce its operating costs. The airline can also involve airline advertisers who can offer complementary snacks to the passengers at no cost. This will enable the airline eliminate the costs incurred on meals. In addition, State Airline can also cut cost by use of faster turnarounds. State Airlines can make sure that its planes spend as little time as possible on the ground and possibly fly as early as possible which will highly enable the planes make more money. Improvement of Productivity One major issue facing State Airline is its reduced productivity. In order for productivity to increase, there should be a change in behaviour. Leaders are expected to create a business environment where employees can improve their productivity (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). Poor productivity is sometimes associated with poor management. Therefore, one way of improving the performance of State Airline is management change. a new management should be selected that communicate effectively to the employees, make more time for them and that make decisions wisely for the success of the Airline (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). This will eventually improve its productivity. Another way of improving productivity of State Airline is to develop the data and strategies necessary to reduce turn-around time without affecting passenger convenience. Improvement of Service There are many ways in which State Airline can improve its service. One way is by providing smartphones with Microsoft Dynamics point-of-sale system to all the flight attendants who handles scheduling updates, passenger manifests and frequent-flyer information. Moreover, the implementation of such information systems will enable the flight attendants take customer meal orders easily and receive detailed information regarding their planes. Another way of improving their service is merging with other airlines. Although mergers and acquisitions of airlines bear serious implications, there are a number of benefits that come with it (Hussay, 2000). State Airline has the ability to boost its services and brand image and recognition by merging with well-established airline. Furthermore, merger can lead to cost efficiency of State Airline by eliminating overlapping routes. Since one of the challenges facing State Airline is intense competition from other airlines, merging with another airline will give State Airline a competitive edge over other airlines assisting it achieve greater operating margins. Change Management Strategy for State Airline Development of a change management strategy offers a direction and purpose for change (Hussay, 2000). Any change management strategy should understand the characteristics of the change, a structure to implement the strategy as well as the risks and resistance to the change. This calls for a strategic approach which can be able to manage the change in the organization. State Airline ought to utilize Environmental-Adaptive as their main strategy in order to manage the various changes within the organization (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). In most circumstances, people do dispute loss and disrupt yet they adapt faster to new circumstances. In the case of State Airline, the changes that have greatly affected the airline are the need to reassign their workers from the old systems to the new ones. Environmental-Adaptive strategy attempts to alter the burden of transformation from management and the airline and to its people (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). The airline seeks to utilize the natural adaptive nature of people and hence avert any complications connected with changing the culture and the people in general. This strategy also centres on the usual observation and thought that though people are hasty to reject any change that they perceive as undesirable, they are also hasty in adapting to new circumstances. Therefore, rather than attempting to change an already existent system of the airline, it is wise and easy to slowly shift people from the old one and into the new one Therefore, once they have fully moved to the new organizational system, they have no choice but to adapt to the new environment (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). They will put more effort in facilitating the changes in the organization. Therefore, State Airlines can adapt this strategy since it is affected by time as well as the seriousness of the threats. Organizational Change Plan for State Airline In order to effectively ensure that the changes are well implemented, State Airline should develop a change plan. This change plan involves the following steps: Transparency and effective communication, effective education and training, personal counselling and finally, monitoring and implementation. Transparency and Effective Communication In order for State Airline to ensure that a change has been effectively implemented, the leaders ought to communicate effectively the specific reasons that lead to change in the airline (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). They also need to be transparent on the processes required in making the change. For instance, if the management in State Airline wish to enforce a procedure which will assist in enhancing the workforce in the organization, and at the same time need a huge amount of initial labour to get the new procedure operational, they should effectively communicate how necessary the change in procedure is. Effective Education and Training Appropriate education and training is very important for employees for it guides them in understanding the changes and helps them adapt suitably (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). Therefore, whenever a new procedure is put up in place, employees of a certain organization tend to be unaware of the process and ways in which it will fit into their day-to-day workflow. State Airline should enforce the need for education and training since it clearly indicates the importance of education and training in such situations because it assists them become familiar with the change and have the knowledge on how they can best adapt to the change (Dinsmore and Cooke-Davies, 2006). Personal Counselling Whenever a change accrues in an organization, most of the employees feel uncomfortable about the change (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). This mostly comes when they are directly affected by the change. Therefore, State Airline can take care of such employees by ensuring that its human resource department comes up with personal counselling programs which may play an important role in ensuring safety and comfort to their employees. These programs will guide them on how to deal with changes in the environment and how they can adapt to such changes (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). Monitoring and Implementation This is the final and the most important step of them all. It is significant in managing successful change and monitors how the change is being conducted within an organization (Harrington James and Nelson, 2013). State Airline can utilize this step by focusing on historical data and information and examining the performance of their employees with regard to the current changes within the organization. These behavioural changes demonstrated by the employees may then be compared to how they were performing in the past. In addition, the management in State Airline ought to monitor how the overall production of the airline is affected by the change in the organization. If the change in the airline is not enhancing the process, after the initial implementations, the airline management ought to fine-tune the change process in order to ensure that it is successful (Dinsmore and Cooke-Davies, 2006). Change Plan Template A change development plan has to be structured indicating the actions that need to be addressed by State Airline, followed by the people who should be in charge of the changes (Kaplan and Norton, 2011). In addition, the duration with which the change should be implemented should also be indicated and finally, the performance measures regarding the changes should be well noted. This procedure should be in the format as shown below. Actions Who When Performance Measures ......... ……. …… …… Therefore, when developing the change plan, State Airline ought to ensure that policies, procedures as well as performance measures strongly support the changes. The airline should also get rid of any organizational obstructions so that the change can take effect without any distractions. In addition, the airline can reinforce methods in which the changes have offered benefits to the airline. Conclusion Organisational change is triggered by a number of reasons including technological changes, the need for growth, improvement of operation, competition to name a few. State Airline has been faced with many changes over the years that have resulted to its decline. In order for the airline to return to being one of the top airlines in the United States, there are a number of changes that should be undertaken. For instance, since the airline has been faced with productivity problems, management change can be one of the ways in which State Airline can improve its productivity. The airline can improve its service by the implementation of information technology that will serve the purpose of all flight attendants. Merger and acquisition can also help the airline boosts its competitive edge and improve its service. The management change strategy that can be implemented by State Airline to drive change is environmental adaptive strategy. The organisation change plan for State Airline will detail out the change requirements, the time and people responsible for driving change and performance measures. References Dinsmore, P. C. and Cooke-Davies T 2006, The Right Projects, Done Right, San Francisco, Jossey Bass. Harrington H. James D., and Nelson D 2013, The Sponsor as the Face of Organizational Change, PMI. Hussey, D 2000, How to manage organisational change, London, Kogan Page. Kaplan R., and Norton D 2011, The Execution Premium: Linking Strategy to Operations for Competitive Advantage, Harvard Business School Press, 103. Sirkin, L., Perry K. and Alan J 2005, “The Hard Side of Change Management,” Harvard Business Review. Read More