The extent of white water changes

Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2
The extent of white-water changes in Jumeirah Group............................................................................2
The extent which this resulted from a planned or an unplanned approach to change...............................3
The role of business strategy and external factors in the shift from calm to white waters.......................4
Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................5
References...............................................................................................................................................6
1

Introduction
Jumeirah Group is a Dubai based luxury hotel chain that has been internationally acclaimed with
various travel awards. After its establishment in 1997, the company became a member of Dubai
holding in 2004. The aesthetics and supreme hospitality at its various properties have established
as a leader in luxury hotel chains of UAE. Burj Al Arab Jumeirah is one of the most lavish
properties of the group. The operations are led by the executive team of highly qualified
professionals. Over the years the company has successfully established many luxe properties in
UAE and many other foreign countries. By following Arab ways of hospitality and providing
exhilarating experience to their guests the company has established a brand name and has a loyal
customer base. The competitive advantage enables the company to stand out in the tough
competition of the hospitality industry in UAE which is one of the most popular luxury travel
destination (Jumeirah, 2019). The company has succeeded to sustain in the competition
through being a leader in bringing changes thus meeting expectations of the guests. In this
report, we will study types of changes in the organization and strategic responses suitable to
different situations.
The extent of white-water changes in Jumeirah Group
Every organization is bound to adapt to changes in order to remain relevant and survive in the
dynamic industry. An organizational change requires its leaders to manage the effort of
improvement of the operational flow of the organization. An effective change management
strategy is required to manage such changes as the intensity of change can result in a varied level
of response from the internal as well as external stakeholders of the organization. Two types of
metaphor are used in describing the changes in calms waters and white waters. Under white
waters the changes come drastically and may have negative impact on the organization during
the transition phase. The complexity of a problem and response time required often leads to a
white-water change (Palus & Horth, 2018). The white water change often proves to be
beneficial for the company and its stakeholders but the changes are observed later on. It may
hamper the reputation of the organization if not managed properly. Thus, effective
communication to ensure that the intent of bringing in the change is communicated properly is
highly needed.
2

Due to recent slow-down in emirates tourism, the Jumeirah Group had to cut down 500 jobs
from its properties in different countries. It had a negative impact on the 13,500 employees of the
group. The third quarter of 2019 recorded the lowest occupancy level of the decade which led to
such a harsh decision (Parasie & Pacheco, 2019). It has caused much resentment among the
staff. Thus, the transition period required gaining the employee’s trust, removing their doubts
and insecurities.
Such change must have been big news for the employees in the organization. Insecurity among
employees may lead to sudden high attrition and low motivation among existing employees.
Such lay off should be planned beforehand and done in a phased manner so that the impact does
not appear to be sudden. Incentives to laid-off workers and outplacement assistance will be a
sign of compassionate behaviour of the management. Sudden lay off and the restructuring of the
manpower often leads to major resentment among the employees. It conveys the negative image
of the organization in the industry. The survivors of a lay off should be made a participant in
rebuilding a strong and competent workforce. Employee engagement and profitability falls down
due to low morale and negative work atmosphere (Sucher & Gupta, 2018).
The extent which this resulted from a planned or an unplanned approach to change
The white-water change that has taken place in Jumeriah Group in the recent time was a planned
change as the slowdown in the technology was being observed since the beginning of the year.
The slowdown observed by the sector compelled the organization to take measures in order to
ensure profitability of the operations. The Mintzberg and Waters model of deliberate (planned)
and emergent (unplanned) strategy can be applied in this situation to understand whether the
white-water change made in the form of layoff of 500 employees was a planned or an unplanned
change.
The strategic planning in an organization always involves the possibility of contingency that may
occur in the course of execution of such a plan. Unexpected opportunities or threats arise as an
impact of external market forces which often reciprocated by strengths or weaknesses of the
organization. The responding strategy is often driven by the time limitation, situation and
possible impact of the problem. A strategy is a certain pattern that forms part of a stream of
various decisions taken for the organization.
According to Mintzberg and Waters, emergent strategies are developed as a result of unexpected
opportunities or negative situations that imposes a threat. An emergent strategy is a responsive
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