Strategic Management Report: Arik Air's Change Implementation Plan

This report examines the challenges faced by Arik Air and recommends a change process to improve business operations. It includes a force field analysis to identify positive and negative factors influencing change implementation. The report also details the change agents, timeline, and structure for implementation, emphasizing the importance of technological advancements for mitigating identified challenges. Key aspects covered are organizational analysis, identification of change agents, a resourced implementation plan, key success indicators, and potential risks. The analysis suggests that initiating technological changes will significantly enhance Arik Air's efficiency and competitiveness within the airline industry.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
‘
Strategic management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Executive summary
The aim of this report is to discuss about the challenges being faced by Arik air in their business
operations. On the basis of these challenges, a change process is being recommended for them.
Force field analysis is being done to identify the relevant positive and negative factors in
implementing the change. In addition, the change agents, timeline and structure for the
implementation of the change are also being discussed in this report. It is concluded that
initiation of the technological change will help Arik air to mitigate the identified challenges in
their business.

2STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Identification of change cause.........................................................................................................4
Force field analysis..........................................................................................................................4
Identification of the forces for change.........................................................................................4
Identification of the forces against change..................................................................................5
Scoring of the factors...................................................................................................................6
Organizational analysis of Arik Air.................................................................................................7
Identification of the change agents..................................................................................................8
Identification of the structure for change implementation..............................................................8
Resourced implementation plan....................................................................................................10
Identification of the key success indicators...................................................................................11
Identification of the potential risks................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference.......................................................................................................................................13

3STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Introduction
Initiation of the change management process for the contemporary business organizations
in the current business scenario is important in order to stay competitive and relevant. This is due
to the reason that external market and business factors are changing rapidly and entities coping
up with these changes will only be able to survive in the market. One of the major threats for the
contemporary business organizations is the intense competition and each of the players operating
in different business sectors are competing for market leadership status (Cameron and Green
2015). Thus, change process helps the business organizations in changing the existing policies
and practices in accordance to the business situations. However, it should also be noted that prior
to the initiation of the change process, the motivating and resisting forces should be initiated.
This is due to the reason that in any change management process, there will always be instigating
and resisting factors, which should be effectively managed (Kuipers et al. 2014).
Arik air is the leading airliner from Nigeria with having their presence across the country
as well as a few international destinations. They are also having one of the extensive route
networks in the entire African region. However, the major challenge that they are facing is lack
of efficiency in their process and causing more cost of operation and lower profitability
(Geraldine 2013). Thus, change in the forms of technology and employee management is
important for Arik Air. However, it is also important for them to review the entire process of
change implementation in order to prevent the potential risks.
This report will discuss perform a force field analysis of Arik Air in identifying the
positive and negative factors for the change along with identification of the change cause. In

4STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
addition, this report will also discuss about change agents and the suitable structure for the
implementation of the plan along with discussing the potential risks in the process.
Identification of change cause
The major challenge that is being faced by Arik Air in their business operation is the
efficiency. This is due to the reason that Arik Air is not as technologically advanced as some of
their global competitors and this is affecting their cost of operation. The average cost of
operation for Arik Air is much higher than of their contemporaries and it is affecting their
profitability (Adeola and Adebiyi 2014). In addition, another major challenge for them is the
limited market presence majorly within the African region, which is also restricting their
potentiality in the long term. Hence, it can be concluded that Arik Air is having the need for
technological changes as well as change in the business strategy.
Force field analysis
According to the force field analysis, there will be number of relevant forces for and
against the change in the organization. Thus it is important for first identify this forces and
scoring their importance accordingly.
Identification of the forces for change
One of the major forces for change in Arik Air is lack of advanced technology in their
operation. Moreover, majority of the customer services operations are being done in manual
basis where their contemporaries have replaced with technologies. This is providing more
conveniences for the customers and service delivery quality is affected for Arik Air. Thus, more
advanced technologies should be implemented in the process and existing manual based jobs

5STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
should be replaced (Mitchell 2013). Another major force for change is reduction in customer
service quality, which can be further enhanced with the implementation of the technologies in
place. In the above section, it is already discussed that profitability of Arik Air is getting affected
due to their lower sets of efficiency. In this case, initiation of the technological change in the
organization will ensure that efficiency will get increased in the organization and this will
contribute in their profitability. On the other, initiation of the strategic alliance concept by
merging or partnering with any global airliner will help to increase the market coverage and
revenue (Burnes and Cooke 2013). The challenge of limited market presence of Arik Air can be
mitigated by initiating strategic alliance with any global airliners. Hence, it can be concluded that
these are the major forces for change in Arik Air.
Identification of the forces against change
Apart from the positive forces, Arik Air will face a few negative forces in implementing
the said changes with one of the major negative factors will be fears of uncertainties. This is due
to the reason that irrespective of the extensive planning being done prior to the implementation
change, uncertainties will be there. In case of implementing the technological change in Arik
Air, there will be no assurance for having positive outcome and thus uncertainties will be faced
by the change agents in the organization. In addition, the resistances of the employees will also
be another major negative factor (Johnston and Marshall 2013). This is due to the reason that
with the replacement of the manual process with technologies, employees will have the fear for
job loss and thus they will likely to resist to the change. Moreover, with the focus on increasing
the internal efficiencies of the organization, employees will be given more training and
development programs in order to increase their individual performance. This may also not get
down well with the employees as they will face more pressure in their workplace. It should also

6STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
be noted that if the strategic alliance through mergers and partnerships are being initiated, then
also the chances for resistance from the employees will be more. This is due to the reason that
employees will have the fear for job loss in case of getting merged with another firm. Moreover,
the organizational culture of both the organization may not get matched and this will cause
challenge for all the involved stakeholders (Jacobs, Van Witteloostujin and Christe-Zeyse 2013).
Scoring of the factors
Post the identification of the all the positive and negative factors, it is important to score
each of the identified factors in order to determine the dominant force over another. The further
organizational approach will be on the basis of this dominant factor. The following section will
discuss about the scoring of the identified factors.
Identified positive factors
(Lowest=0, highest=5)
Identified negative factors
(Lowest=0, highest=5)
Increasing customer
conveniences
(4)
Employee resistance
(3)
Increasing service efficiency
(4)
Unskilled employees
(4)
Reducing cost of operation
(3)
Different organizational
cultures
(3)
Catering to larger market area
(4)
Future uncertainties
(4)

7STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
15 14
Thus, from the above scoring table, it is identified that the forces for change are dominant
and hence it is concluded that change should be initiated by Arik Air in their internal
management.
Organizational analysis of Arik Air
It is important for Arik Air to have modified the mission, vision and objectives in line to
the proposed changes. This is due to the reason that their existing approaches will not be
effective enough in aligning with the recommended changes. The new vision of Arik Air will be
to achieve the market leadership status in the entire African region in terms of market share
along with the becoming the leading preferred airliner by the customers (Rajasekar 2013). This
vision statement of them is conveying their focus towards increasing the market share as well as
customer conveniences and satisfaction. On the other hand, the recommended mission statement
of Arik Air will be to provide the best in the industry customer service and offering extensive
network across the continent. This is also conveying their focus more on the customer affairs. In
the current era of customer centric business affairs, the recommended mission and vision
statement of Arik Air will help to position in the market differently.
Currently, the objectives of Arik Air are to maintain their market position in Nigeria
along with the providing a few international route to the passengers. However, the recommended
business objectives will be on the basis of the cost leadership and differentiation. This is due to
the reason that focusing on the efficiency will enable Arik Air to regulate their cost of operation
and this will help them in offering services in cost competitive manner. Initiation of the cost

8STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
leadership will ensure that Arik Air is catering to larger customer section (Williams, Morrell and
Mullane 2014). On the other hand, initiation of the differentiation strategy should also be
initiated in meeting their business objectives. This is due to the reason that differentiation
strategy will help Arik Air to provide distinctive services to the customers and thus the intensity
of the competition can be fending off. Thus, the market potentiality for them can be increased.
Identification of the change agents
It is recommended that change agents in the case of Arik Air should be both from internal
and external sources. Internal change agents will include the human resource managers and
operation head. This is due to the reason that human resource managers will have the idea about
the skills lacked with the employees and what should be done in enhancing their productivity.
Moreover, they will be effective in managing the probable resistances from the side of the
employees. In addition, involvement of the operation head will help to manage the organizational
structure in accordance to the recommended changes (Cummings and Worley 2014). However,
on the other hand, the external change agents should also be hired in order to gain the expertise
knowledge in the change process. It should be noted that internal agents are not having expertise
in change management process as the external experts. These external experts will have more
effectiveness in dealing with the negative factors (Volberda, Van Den Bosch and Mihalache
2014). Hence, it is recommended that external change agents should be included in the
implementation process along with the inputs from the internal agents. This strategy will ensure
the maximum outcome from the change process.
Identification of the structure for change implementation

9STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Structuring the change implementation process is important to ensuring their success. In
this case of change process in Arik Air, it is recommended that Kewin’s change model should be
used. This is one of the most popular models being used by the change agents. According to this
model, the first step is unfreezing of the existing organizational processes. In his step, the change
agents of Arik Air will first review the potential areas of implementation of the change and
communicate with the internal stakeholders especially the employees (Imran et al. 2016). This is
due to the reason that employees should be communicated in the change process from the very
first stage in preventing the probability of resistances from their side. Moreover, in this step, the
change agents should also communicate the employees about the advantages to be gained from
the change process. This will ensure the lack of fear among the employees and they will be more
involved in the process (Guiette and Vandenbempt 2013).
The next step is the implementation of the change. It is recommended that the change
agents of Arik Air should implement the change in phased manner in order to have lower set of
risks. This is due to the reason that phased implementation will help to implement the new
process in specific area in the workplace and change agents can identify the shortcomings and
issues getting emerged. Accordingly, they can work further and implement the rectified form in
holistic basis (Haffar, Al-Karaghouli and Ghoneim 2013). The last step will involve the
refreezing the changed organizational processes. This is will involve stabilizing the
organizational processes where the change process is implemented by making the involved
stakeholders accustomed with it. Moreover, it is also recommended that the change agents
should gather the feedback from the involved stakeholders in order to evaluate the effectiveness
of the implemented process. This will help to identify the potential gaps and initiating preventive
measures accordingly (Fixsen et al. 2013).

10STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Resourced implementation plan
Main activities/ stages 1st-2nd
Month
3rd- 4th
Month
5th- 6th
Month
7th-8th
Month
9th- 10th
Month
11th- 12th
Month
Identification of the gap areas
Analysis of the impact of the
gap
Communicating with the
involved stakeholders
Allocation of the required
funding
Designing the change process
Identification of the positive
and negative forces for change
Identification of the training
needs for the human resources
Implementation of the change
Monitoring and evaluating the
implemented change process
Identification of the limitations
Implementation of modified
change process

11STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
The major resource identified for the proposed change process is the financial and human
resources. Financial resources are important hiring the external change agents, initiate training
programs for the involved stakeholders and sourcing the technologies to be implemented. On the
other hand, human resources will be required in managing the changes. In addition, the
effectiveness of the human resources will determine the success probability of the entire change
process.
Identification of the key success indicators
One of the major success indicators will be the increase in the market share within 1 year.
This is due to the reason that one of the objectives of this recommended change process is to
increase the market share within the African region in the initial stage and global stage in the
further stage. Thus, measuring the increase in the market share within the first year of
implementation of the change process will help to identify the performance of the plan (Suris and
Akre 2015). Increase in the market share will denote the success of the change plan and decrease
will denote the opposite. Furthermore, retention rate of the customers will be another success
indicator due to the reason that the more will be the effectiveness and efficiency of the service
delivery process Arik Air, the more will be the customer conveniences and higher retention ratio
(Parmenter 2015). Thus, implementation of the technology based customer service delivery
process should improve the retention rate for Arik Air.
Identification of the potential risks
One of the major risks of the implementation of the proposed change is financial risk.
This is due to the reason that Arik Air can face loss if the change process cannot get positive
results. This will cause financial loss for them in the long term. In addition, risks in relation to

12STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
the human resources are also evident due to the reason that resistances from the side of the
employees can get emerged and their productivity can also get hampered. This will also cause
loss for Arik Air (Lee and Baby 2013). The risk will be technological due to the reason that if the
implemented technology cannot get acceptances among the target customer segments, then it
will pose loss for Arik Air. Moreover, the cost involved in up-gradation of the implemented
technology periodically will also prove risky for the business.
Conclusion
This report concludes that Arik Air is having number of challenges in their current
business operations. It is recommended that Arik Air should initiate technological change
management process to mitigate the identified challenges. Force filed analysis has identified that
positive factors are more dominant over the negative factors and thus they should go ahead with
the change plan. A few change agents are also identified in this report along with the discussion
on the suitable structure for implementation. The timeline is also being provided for the
implementation of the plan along with discussion of the key success indicators. It is concluded
that this recommended change program will help Arik Air to mitigate the identified challenges of
them.

13STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Reference
Adeola, M.M. and Adebiyi, S.O., 2014. Service quality, perceived value and customer
satisfaction as determinant of airline choice in Nigeria. International Letters of Social and
Humanistic Sciences, 20, pp.66-80.
Burnes, B. and Cooke, B., 2013. K urt L ewin's Field Theory: A Review and Re‐
evaluation. International journal of management reviews, 15(4), pp.408-425.
Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage
learning.
Fixsen, D., Blase, K., Metz, A. and Van Dyke, M., 2013. Statewide implementation of evidence-
based programs. Exceptional Children, 79(2), pp.213-230.
Geraldine, O., 2013. Effects of airline service quality on airline image and passengers loyalty:
Findings from Arik Air Nigeria passengers. Journal of Hospitality Management and
Tourism, 4(2), pp.19-28.
Guiette, A. and Vandenbempt, K., 2013. Exploring team mental model dynamics during strategic
change implementation in professional service organizations. A sensemaking
perspective. European Management Journal, 31(6), pp.728-744.
Haffar, M., Al-Karaghouli, W. and Ghoneim, A., 2013. The mediating effect of individual
readiness for change in the relationship between organisational culture and TQM
implementation. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 24(5-6), pp.693-706.

14STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
I. Williams Jr, R., L. Morrell, D. and V. Mullane, J., 2014. Reinvigorating the mission statement
through top management commitment. Management Decision, 52(3), pp.446-459.
Imran, M.K., Rehman, C.A., Aslam, U. and Bilal, A.R., 2016. What’s organization knowledge
management strategy for successful change implementation?. Journal of Organizational Change
Management, 29(7), pp.1097-1117.
Jacobs, G., Van Witteloostuijn, A. and Christe-Zeyse, J., 2013. A theoretical framework of
organizational change. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 26(5), pp.772-792.
Johnston, M.W. and Marshall, G.W., 2013. Sales force management: Leadership, innovation,
technology. Routledge.
Kuipers, B.S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J. and Van der Voet, J., 2014. The
management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public administration, 92(1),
pp.1-20.
Lee, O.K. and Baby, D.V., 2013. Managing dynamic risks in global it projects: Agile risk-
management using the principles of service-oriented architecture. International Journal of
Information Technology & Decision Making, 12(06), pp.1121-1150.
Mitchell, G., 2013. Selecting the best theory to implement planned change. Nursing
Management, 20(1).
Parmenter, D., 2015. Key performance indicators: developing, implementing, and using winning
KPIs. John Wiley & Sons.
Rajasekar, J., 2013. A comparative analysis of mission statement content and
readability. Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 14(6), pp.131-147.

15STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Suris, J.C. and Akre, C., 2015. Key elements for, and indicators of, a successful transition: an
international Delphi study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(6), pp.612-618.
Volberda, H.W., Van Den Bosch, F.A. and Mihalache, O.R., 2014. Advancing management
innovation: Synthesizing processes, levels of analysis, and change agents. Organization
Studies, 35(9), pp.1245-1264.