Organizational Change Management Report: British Airways.

Organizational Change Management
Report: British Airways
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Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Identify the problems-the need for change..................................................................................................4
Discuss the cause/s of the problems............................................................................................................4
Determine the organization systems affected and why................................................................................6
Discuss alternatives.....................................................................................................................................7
Discuss how the company can create the climate for change and how to overcome resistance to change...8
Identify the external trends that will impact the organization in the future..................................................9
Make recommendations by outlining the plan, OD interventions used and implementation process for the
solution(s)..................................................................................................................................................10
Implementation Plan..............................................................................................................................10
OD intervention.....................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................12
References.................................................................................................................................................13
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Introduction
When considering the top five management challenges which the organizations in the modern
business environment is facing the organizational change management is one among them. The
business environment or the market in which the organization is operating is prone to the
continuous changes which makes the management to implement changes in the organization’s
strategy, operations etc. Implementing change is mandatory for the organization to be sustainable
in the business environment (Benn, Edwards and Williams, 2018). If the change is not
implemented and executed effectively it can impact the organization performance as a whole.
The change within the organization is associated with various internal and external challenges
like the employee resistance to change, inadequate supply o resources for the effective
implementation of the change etc (Stouten, Rousseau and Cremer, 2018).
The organization change management and strategies enables the organization to implement the
change effective and to make the organizational operations competitive. This report speaks about
the relevance of the organizational change management for the organization. The case of the
organization British Airways is taken in to consideration (Hayes, 2018). The impact of the
change “Swipe card” which the BA has implemented has been discussed through this report.
Some recommendations are given to the organization BA for the effective implementation of
changes. An implementation plan has been developed for a recommended alternative.
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Identify the problems-the need for change
British airways are a leading airlines organization which is operating in the travel and tourism
industry. This is reputed organization with a strong customer base. As a part of the restructuring
the organization the British airways has implemented a change within its organization which is
the Swipe card facility for the employees. As per the introduction of the changes the check in
timings will be recorded which can be further utilized for various processes like the performance
appraisal, etc (Petrou, Demerouti and Schaufeli, 2018). Some of the problems or the need for the
change which resulted in the introduction of the swipe cars in the British airways is listed below.
 The economic crisis which happens in the business environment of the BA is a reason for
the need for the change.
 The performance gaps can be a problem which initiates the need for the change when the
organizational performance and the organization goals doesn’t meet.
 The technological advancements and the standardizations in the workplace operations
prevailing in the competitive organizations can force the BA to make changes in its
operations (Hosking and Anderson, 2018).
 The organizational restructuring is needed to manage and maintain the internal and
external pressure.
 To enhance the employee commitment and responsibility towards the BA and hence to
enhance the performance of the organization and to be competitive.
Some of the problems which can be identified from the case of the BA due to the introduction of
the swipe card as a part of restructuring is mentioned below
 increased absenteeism
 Increased turn over (Krantz, 2018).
 The decrease in the commitment level of the employees.
 The employee dissatisfaction due to an unstable work life balance especially for the
women employees.
Discuss the cause/s of the problems
The need for the organization BA to implement the organizational restructuring has been
discussed above with the issues generated as a result of the implementation of the changes which
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is the introduction of the swipe cards. Now the causes for the problems, issues or the need for the
changes has been discussed here.
The organizational culture of the BA can be considered as the primary cause for the need for the
change. The lack of control over the staff operations, uneven management of the shift scheduling
has resulted in the lack o availability of the staff members (Wee and Taylor, 2018).
As per the economist the restructuring which the BA has introduced on the work place which is
the swipe card is to organize the operations of the staff members appropriately and to meet the
organizational goals. According to them the BA couldn’t meet its target objective in the last two
year primarily due to the insufficient staff members in the ground. The BA also couldn’t provide
expected customer satisfaction and assistance due to the employee shortage. The shortage of the
employees was the result of the unorganized shift exchange, ambiguity in the work place etc,
sickness. This has forced the BA to recruit additional staff members or temporary staff members
to manage the situation (Hussain et al, 2018).
Another reason for the change is the standardization requirement of the organization. To be
competitive in the market standardization in the business operation is mandatory. The
introduction of the swipe card will enable a better control over the operations and can ensure the
availability of the staff members. This could also provide better utilization of the human
resources and can lead the organization to achieve the goals. Hence this can be considered as a
cause for the need for the change.
Some of the causes of the problems which has been identified as a result of the implementation
of the swipe card has been discussed below
 The lack of commitment for the managers towards the employees. The case states that the
management doesn’t keep promises which have reduced the employee trust over the BA.
Hence even though the management addressed that the implementation of the change is
just for the organizational restructuring, the trade unions and the employees didn’t accept
it (Parladé, Celestine and McMillan, 2018.).
 The culture of the BA also highlights that it lacks recognition, respect, motivation etc
which are the primary factors to generate employee commitment and trust. Less
committed employees won’t take voluntary actions to accept changes.
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 Since the new change swipe card has resulted in loss of pay, hindered the shift exchange
etc the employees lost their work life balance. Hence it can be a cause for the problems
prevailing in the BA.
Determine the organization systems affected and why
The identified problems and issues related to the organizational changes have impacted the
systems of the organization BA in a negative manner. Some of those impacts have been
discussed here.
 Poor service delivery: The organizational culture of the organization BA permitted the
staff members to select their work shift based on their availability to work and also
facilitated the exchange of the work shifts. Since this facilitation has been provided
without proper monitoring and controlling, the ground operations of the BA hindered due
to the unavailability of the staff members. This made the organization more unstructured
which resulted in the gap in the achievement of objectives. The unavailability of the staff
members has generated pressure on the existing employees which affected their
performance (Amado and Amato, 2018).
 Loss of brand name and reputation: The issues which are discussed in the case of the
BA have resulted in the loss of the brand name and reputation of the organization.
Initially due to the insufficient staff members the BA couldn’t provide much attention to
the customers which has reduced the customer satisfactory level. The strike which the
employee held highlights the lack of commitment of the employees towards the
organization.
 Loss of employee commitment: The non competitive compensation provided by the
organization has reduced the commitment level of the employees to take up new and
challenging changes. The employees were coping with the BA as they could select the
shift based on their wish and can maintain a good work life balance. The introduction of
the swipe card has reduced their commitment level as the management also failed to
provide respect, recognition etc to the employee. The BA implemented these changes
without providing proper intimation to the employees and they didn’t get time get
prepared for the new changes. This affected the whole system of the organization BA
(Ocasio, Laamanen and Vaara, 2018).
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 Lack of competitiveness: The unstructured operations of the BA and lack of
standardization in the work place has reduced the effective utilization of the human
resources which has generated a gap in the performance level and the organizational
objectives. This in turn has impacted the competitiveness of the organization.
Discuss alternatives
From the case of the BA’s introduction of the swipe card system for implementing changes it can
be determined that the organization failed in the effective change management process. Many
problems has been identified which resulted due to the improper change management and culture
(Sarkar and Osiyevskyy, 2018). Some of the alternatives which can be recommended for the
organization BA for the better implementation of the changes are discussed below.
 Incremental adjustments: This is an effective manner of the organizational change
which the organization BA could adopt. Through this method the new change is
implemented in incremental stages which make the employees to take enough time to get
adapted to the changes. This method is a time taking change management process but
could enable the management to eliminate the issues related to the change management
like the conflicts, resistance of the employees to change etc. The incremental adjustments
can also reduce the ambiguity related to the new changes which motivates the employees
to take up the new challenge.
 Trial period: This is the change management approach through which the change has
been implemented for a specific period of time. During this period the employees can get
used with the new change which is the swipe card. This period can be considered as the
experimental stage, where the employees gets used with the change and the management
also could notice the positive and negative impacts. After the trial period the management
can provide the employees with an opportunity to communities the difficulties and the
benefits associated with the swipe card utilization. Then necessary changes can be made
and the new change can be implemented effectively. This method of change can reduce
ambiguity, enhance the outcome of the change, can meet the change objective effectively,
and reduces the employee resistance (Christensen, Skærbæk and Tryggestad, 2019).
 Prototyping: This is the approach of the change management through which the new
change has been implemented in a particular level of the organizational structure. In the
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case of the BA, the swipe card system can be implemented to the supervisor level of the
organizational structure that holds a responsible position in the BA. Through this type of
implementation of the change the other employees of the BA can get aware of these
changes and can get adapted to these changes effectively. Since the supervisors are more
responsible than the other employees the swipe cards can be implemented effectively.
 Communication: Next approach is the communication process through which the
changes are communicated to the employees prior itself formally and informally.
Notification period is given to the employees so that they can prepare themselves to get
adapted to the changes (Baillien et al, 2018).
Discuss how the company can create the climate for change and how to
overcome resistance to change
The business environment of the organizations like the British airways is prone to the changes. In
order to achieve competitive advantage the BA should implement changes in their operations and
should shape the organization behaviour accordingly. In order to implement changes effectively
and also to yield the desired results out of the change done it is essential that the management of
BA should create a climate for change and should focus on strategies in order to overcome the
resistance of change (Gibson and Groom, 2018).
In order to create a climate for change the organization should focus on the implementation of
the effective organization culture. An organization with the organizational culture which
practices respect, recognition, communication, integrity etc will possess loyal and motivated
employees. Such employees will stand with the organization during the implementation of the
changes and will be motivated to take the risk through considering it as a challenge and also way
for the personal development. An effective organization culture can also contribute to the
reduction of the employee resistance to change. Since the organization culture makes the
employees loyal they would do some sacrifice for the organization and will accept the changes in
a positive manner.
The climate for change can also be created through the provision of the training and development
to the employees about the new changes (Maheshwari and Vohra, 2018). For example in the case
of the BA before the introduction o the swipe card a training session cold have been given to the
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employees which enables them to understand the relevance o the process and also how this
facility can b utilized for balancing their work and life.
Another approach for reducing the employee resistance and to generate a climate for the change
is the implementation of effective communication. The information regarding the changes has to
be communicated prior to the employees and the feedback can be collected. Considering their
opinions will make them self responsible to take up the changes and hence can result in the
reduction of the resistance to the changes (Jackson and Burnes, 2019).
Identify the external trends that will impact the organization in the future
The external trends in the business environment of the organization BA which will impact the
organization in the future has been discussed here.
 Changes in the customer demands and expectations: Then customers across the world
are wide open to the world market and the people can access the product and service of
their choice. This facilitation has made the customer more demanding. The needs and
preferences of the customers can change as per the demographic and the social conditions
of the customers. This is an important factor which the organization like BA has to look
into. Since this aspect is continuously changing keeping an eye on it can benefit the
organization in being customer oriented, else it can ruin the competitive advantage and
sustainability of the BA (Hutchinson et al,2018).
 High degree of competition: The competition in the travel and tourism industry is very
higher. Since the BA is operating in the hospitality industry which is open to the
international competition it can be a major trend which can impact the organization in
future. This factor makes the changes mandatory in the organization BA so that it can
compete with its competitors. The competition in the airline industry is another trend
which can impact the operations of BA in the future.
 Changes in the technology: The technological paradigm is the other actor which can
impact the organizational performance in the future. The changes in the technology are
unpredictable and coping with this change is mandatory for the survival of the
organizations. For example the apps based booking is the new trend in the market which
has been adopted by BA for achieving the competitive advantage (Vargas et al, 2019).
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Make recommendations by outlining the plan, OD interventions used and
implementation process for the solution(s)
For the organization BA the alternative change implementation strategy that can recommend
includes the trial period method. According to this approach the swipe card system can be
implemented for a specific period of time. Later it can be made permanent through considering
the feedbacks and suggestions of the employees and the outcome during the trial period (Horrell
t al, 2018).
Implementation Plan
Organizational Change objectives: To establish a standardized restructuring of the organization
BA. The introduction of the swipe care is to make the effective utilization of the human
resources.
Scope of the change: the introduction of the change can make the workplace and workplace
practices more competitive which can in turn benefit the organization BA in achieving the
competitive advantage. This can enable effective administration and management of the
employee workplace scheduling (Osei and Chen, 2018).
Problem definition: The unstructured scheduling practices prevailing in the organization BA
has resulted in the lack of availability of the staff members, reduced customer satisfaction etc.
Strategy or action: The strategy or action which has been taken to implement the swipe card
approach effectively in BA, the trial period method can be opted. This method will reduce the
risk of ambiguity, employee resistance to change etc.
Implementation process: The proposed strategy can be communicated to the employees
through formal and informal meetings. This can provide the employee an opportunity to prepare
themselves for the changes and to take up a trial. The circulars can be mailed to each employee
for ensuring their understanding about the change. Specialist officers can be appointed to manage
the situation and to guide the employee to utilize the new change effectively (Buick, Blackman
and Johnson, 2018).
Enhancing the work force commitment:A meeting can be conducted in order to gather
feedback regarding the change communicating the relevance of such change; suggesting the
implementation options for the changes etc. This enhances the commitment level of the
employees and will make them self responsible to take up the changes.
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Establishing changes: The changes can be established through implementing the swipe card on
the work place.
Timeline: The duration for the trial period can be for 3 months. This period would be sufficient
for the employees to find the positive and negatives of this change, recommending relevant
changes etc.
Person responsible: The manager of each department can be responsible for monitoring and
controlling the behaviour of the employee is work place in relation to the swipe card installation.
Costs incurring: The cost incurring in the swipe card installation would include the installation
charge, machine charges, training and development charges etc (Eboreime et al, 2019).
OD intervention
The OD interventions include the intervention of the HRM in the effective implementation of the
implementation of the new change which is the swipe card. This includes the generation of the
awareness about the necessity of the swipe card for the organization and its benefits. The HRM
also involves in the employee relation handling, grievance handling, resolving the issues
associated with it etc. It also includes the training sessions for the employees or using the swipe
cards and managing their shift timings (Liao and Teo, 2019).
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Conclusion
The change is a vital part of the organizational operations. Since the external and the internal
environment of the organization is exposed to the changes it becomes mandatory for the
organizations like BA to implement change in their operations. Managing and implementing
change is the modern challenge which the current organizations are facing. The change is
associated with different issues like resistance of change. These reports discuss the case of the
BA which has introduced the change swipe card in their work place. The need for the change,
cause of the problem or the change has been discussed effectively. The alternative
recommendation for the implementation of the change for BA has been given along with an
implementation plan.
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