WestJet Case Study: Alternative Courses of Action & Engagement Culture

This case study examines WestJet's need to enhance employee engagement amidst high growth, focusing on alternative courses of action to address the lack of collaboration between senior leadership and the pilot association. The analysis presents three alternatives: internal recruitment, implementing an open-door policy, and addressing employees' psychological needs. Internal recruitment aims to improve employee relationships and trust, while the open-door policy seeks to create a safe space for employees to voice concerns. Addressing psychological needs focuses on employee well-being to foster trust and improve work effectiveness. Each alternative is evaluated for its advantages and disadvantages, providing a comprehensive overview of potential strategies to build a stronger engagement culture at WestJet. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and solved assignments for students.

Running head: ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION
ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION
The lack of collaboration has been noticed in WestJet among the senior leadership
team and the pilot association. WestJet needs to use these alternative theories for engaging
their employees as they are unable to grow the engagement culture, there are three alternatives
listed below:
Internal recruitment
WestJet needs to improve the relationship among the employees and need to engage
them in various job roles that will help them to become responsible and build trust in the
company. The internal members are needed to be hired instead of the external members
(Taneja, Sewell & Odom, 2015).
Advantage: It will reduce the time for hiring, the internal member’s track record is easily
accessible and they are culture fitted. The internal members will require a short time to
onboard and adjust to the new role. It is cost effective as there will be no need for the
arrangement for the interview procedure.
Disadvantage: It will create resentment among the employee and managers, may result in
the inflexible culture and will leave the gap in the existing workforce. It will also limit the
pool of the applicants (Taneja, Sewell & Odom, 2015).
Open door policy
WestJet needs to introduce the open door policy for building the protective and strong
engagement culture among their employees.

2ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION
Advantages: The employees will be free to open up their problem, which they many times
feel uneasy to ask for from their seniors. The important that employees will be able to ask for
like their job performance level, promotion and other.
Disadvantages: There are things which employees might not know when to ask for or what
to ask for. The employees may ask for the flexibility and other reliabilities, which the
company may not be able to afford (Bedarkar & Pandita, 2014).
Physiological needs
WestJet needs to look after the psychological needs of the employees as taking care of
the employee’s psychological needs is necessary for any business.
Advantages: It is one of the easiest need to meet with the clear return on the investment. The
employee’s health and taking care of their security make them build the trust bonding with the
company. Like during the stress period, supports are needed to be provided to get the effective
work done (Bedarkar & Pandita, 2014).
Disadvantages: While providing psychological needs the employees are not be provided
with all the flexibilities as the huge amount of flexibility can hamper the work culture.

3ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION
References
Bedarkar, M., & Pandita, D. (2014). A study on the drivers of employee engagement
impacting employee performance. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 133, 106-
115.
Taneja, S., Sewell, S. S., & Odom, R. Y. (2015). A culture of employee engagement: A
strategic perspective for global managers. Journal of Business Strategy, 36(3), 46-56.