Integrated Management Project: Change Management Analysis of Oman Air

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of change management strategies for Oman Air, the national airline of Oman. It begins with an executive summary outlining the report's focus on implementing change management models, specifically Kotter's 8-step model and Lewin's Change Management Model, to address challenges and enhance profitability. The report provides an overview of Oman Air's organizational background, industry context, and identification of key problems, including challenges from low-cost carriers and maintaining consistent profitability. It details the application of analytical tools, the action plan, and recommendations for improvement. Furthermore, the report includes a critical review of the aviation industry in Oman, addressing general problems such as safety, sustainability, and financial stability, along with specific issues faced by Oman Air. The justification for selecting the change management models, their usefulness, and concluding recommendations are also thoroughly discussed, offering insights into strategic management within the aviation sector.

Running head: INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PROJECT
Integrated Management Project
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Executive Summary
The following report has been prepared to highlight the change management in Oman Airlines.
The report provides a detailed overview of the current state of the management of Oman Airlines
and the change management process that the organization plans to implement in the business.
The management of the organization has taken the help of the 8 step Model formulated by Kotter
and the Change management Model formulated by Lewin to necessitate changes in the
organization. The need for the change and the ways by which the change is implemented has
been described in the following project. Apart from the organizational background a critical
analysis and the justification for the selection of the specific change management models has
also been provided in the following assignment. The critical review of the literary articles has
helped to analyze the topic in a much better and efficient manner. Such a review has also helped
the organization to verify the change management processes through a different angle.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................5
Analysis...........................................................................................................................................7
Organization Background............................................................................................................7
Industry Context..........................................................................................................................9
Identification of Problems.........................................................................................................11
Tools for Analysis......................................................................................................................12
Utilization of Tools for Analysis...............................................................................................14
Action Plan................................................................................................................................15
Recommendations for Action Plan............................................................................................17
Evaluate and analyze the effectiveness of the Theory...............................................................17
Critical Review..............................................................................................................................18
Aviation Industry in Oman........................................................................................................18
General problems in Aviation Industry.....................................................................................20
Safety.........................................................................................................................................20
Sustainability.............................................................................................................................21
Environmental Sustainability.....................................................................................................21
Financial sustainability..............................................................................................................22
Problems in Oman Air...............................................................................................................22

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Models implemented to tackle the problems.............................................................................23
Justification for the choice of the Models..................................................................................24
Usefulness of the Models...........................................................................................................24
Conclusions....................................................................................................................................27
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................29
Reference List................................................................................................................................33
Bibliography List...........................................................................................................................37

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Introduction
The following project is based upon the management of the business in a proper and
efficient manner. The marketing management of an organization has been discussed in detail in
the following project. Project Integration Management is considered to be the knowledge area
that is exclusively for use by the managers of the project. The integration of the project will
include the main ways and the tasks needed for the identification, definition, combination,
unification and coordination of the different kinds of activities related to project management.
This includes characteristics of unification, consolidation, articulation and integrative actions. In
any specific organization there are specific people designated for the management of the
different kinds of projects. The business analysts in the company can be named as such a few of
them who have the tendency to consult with the managers and the supervisors and manage time
and other specific activities to ensure smooth flow of the business (Kotter and Schlesinger 1989).
The following report has discussed the managerial projects that are generally executed by the
management of the selected Company.
Oman Air is the selected company in this report. The report aims to find out the ways and
the processes that are used by the management of Oman Air to ensure maximum profitability for
the business. However, the main concern for the management of the mentioned Airlines is to
consolidate the gains and to ensure the presence of sustained profitability and continuous growth
in the future. The airline has faced numerous challenges especially from a large number of full
service as well as low cost Airline operators (omanair.com 2018). The latter especially has been
a throne in the success of the business as the low cost carriers offers huge subsidies to the
consumers and has made flying a very cheap affair. Such business strategies have led the

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company to move down the ladder in terms of occupancy rates and popularity. The absence of
any positive action by the management of Oman Airlines to improve the following case for the
coming days can thus lead to the failure of the organization.
The aim of the project is thus to ensure the different problems that are faced by the
organizations. The main problem that will be discussed in this particular project is the problem of
not being consistent with the profitability of the company (Kotter and Schlesinger 1989). The
company generally fails to keep up with the globalized market and thus suffers from not being
capable of being updated about the skills and strategies needed to be the best in the highly
competitive market of the globalized world. The report will achieve the aims by applying
different theories and frameworks that can be implemented by the organization to make Oman
Air one of the best Airline Organizations of the Middle East. The rise of the passenger traffic
with the passage of each and every financial year has led to the huge increase of a number of
different Airlines and other Airline related companies that have the aims to serve the growing
number of passengers.
The management of the company also has the aims to control and regulate the safety,
security and provide a proper environment in the aviation sector. It also has the responsibility to
deliver services related to Air Navigation and also ensure the presence of better air connectivity
that helps to better serve the general public and the civil aviation industry in a proper manner that
is effective enough to ensure cost savings (omanair.com 2018). A new trend of Low Cost
Carriers have taken off its wings which clearly focus on providing low cost and in some cases
even ultra low cost Airline travel fare to the passengers so that they can have both a fast as well
as an efficient journey. The rise of the low cost carriers and other modern Airlines has resulted in
a sharp decline in the number of passengers who travelled with the company. The report will

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cover the detailed analysis of the company along with a brief yet compact history. Apart from
this the critical review of the literature related to the topic of the project along with the
conclusion and the recommendation of the project has been presented in the report.
The methods of analysis include the implementation of Kotter’s 8 step model that will
highlight the importance of the organization and its business activities. As mentioned earlier, the
organization has the aim to be one of the best Airlines of the Middle East and serve the
customers in a better and efficient manner. The following report thus identifies the readers with
the different types of the processes and the theories that can be implemented to cope up with the
problems of the business and ensure future sustainability.
Analysis
Organization Background
The organization selected in this particular chapter is Middle Easter based Arabic
Airlines, “Oman Air”. The carrier is the National Airlines of the Arab sultanate and is based
upon Muscat International Airport located in Muscat City, the capital city of Oman
(omanair.com 2018). The company established in the year 1993 operates different types and
ranges of flights that include the likes of short hauled Air Taxis and chartered flights and
domestic as well as international air services. The company has been in the list of the Arab Air
Carriers Organization for quite some time now and is a famous and also a large Airline Carrier of
the Middle East countries (omanair.com 2018).
The history of the company acts as an important source of information that facilitates an
easy understanding for the readers about the business enterprise and its origins. The origins of
the company can be traced back to the year 1970 during the launch of the Oman International

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Services. The business organization started from a civil aircraft Carrier at Beit Al Falaj Airport.
The operations of the company were moved to the new terminal airport after the establishment of
Seeb International Airport in Muscat. The management of the company acquired the Light
Aircraft Division of Gulf Air in the year 1977 before the establishment of Aircraft Engineering
Division in the Airport in the same year (omanair.com 2018). The company was officially
established with the name of “Oman Air” in the year 1993 after leasing a number of different
aircrafts from different airline companies. The company slowly started operations to different
local and international destinations to facilitate the growth of the business enterprise in a proper
and efficient manner.
The management of the aircraft company had to face a number of hurdles and limitations
before a formal effort from the Omani Government which saw the recapitalization of the
organization (omanair.com 2018). The recapitalization was done by increasing the shareholding
capacity of the company from a mere 33% to 80%. The management of the company decided to
phase out all of the small aircrafts in its fleet and include wide body aircrafts to enhance its profit
capabilities. Therefore such an initiative made the intention of the company to be a large Global
Airline clear to most of the Aviation industry (Altamony et al. 2016). The organization maintains
a strict Islamic Diet in its flights. The company was the first Airline Company in the globe to
offer both mobile and wifi services on board. With a 50 strong fleet size, the company flies to
over 50 different global as well as domestic destinations in and out of Oman. The slogan of the
company “Modern Vision, Timeless Traditions” is the best example of the sustainability that the
company aims to achieve in the future (omanair.com 2018). The Management of the company
has thus been trying to keep a balance between both tradition and contemporary to ensure a
continuous success between the organizations.

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Industry Context
The international Aviation Industry provides service to virtually each and every corners
of the globe. The Aviation industry is one of the most important parts and plays a crucial role in
the buildup to the global economy. The industry itself is one of the major economic forces. This
is generally determined by means of the different roles it plays and the impacts on related
industries including aircraft manufacturing and tourism facilities. These two industries can get
the positive results of the organizations. There are a handful of industries that generate the
amount of intention and energy like that of Aviation Industry. The industry underwent a huge
technological change in the later part of the 20th century with the manufacturing of jumbo jets
along with the wide body jets that reduced the travel time and increased travel efficiency around
the globe. The increase in the efficiency helped the organizations related to the industry earn
more profits and establish themselves as global business giants. The revolution in the industry
was mainly bought by the administration of USA as the decision to deregulate the functioning of
the Airline Industry turned out to be a game changer (Altamony et al. 2016). The deregulation of
the Airline Industry answered many a questions that were not answered in a proper and effective
manner until now. The cost efficiency, operating profitability and competitive behavior of the
organizations have turned out to be the most dominant issues facing the airline management.
With the US leading the way the deregulation and liberalization has now spread to different parts
and different aviation markets of the world. Technological advances along with strict
Governmental policies also led to less profitability for the different global airlines throughout the
world. Therefore there has been an economic crisis for the industry during the period of
economic deregulation (Kotter and Schlesinger 1989).

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However, the most advanced change in the Aviation Sector is the introduction of LCC’s
or Low Cost Carriers. These carriers are also termed as budget carriers. The following carriers
are called as budget carriers as because most of the traditional services provided by the Airlines
company are not provided to the customers within the fare of the flight, thus resulting in the low
cost of the tickets and much lower comfort levels than the ones provided by the traditional airline
companies. Most of the low cost carriers charges extra for food, priority boarding and luggage
(omanair.com 2018). Such charges are put up by the organization to make up for the lost prices
of the organization. The term low cost carriers are often provided to airlines with a low operating
cost structure than its competitors in the market. There are most of the companies which claims
them to be operators of Low Cost Airlines and advertise themselves in such a manner. On the
other hand, these airlines maintain and operate products that are usually associated with the
traditional mainline carrier services. This in turn increases the operational complexity in the
aviation sector.
Like most of the Arab countries, Oman is turning away from an oil dependent economy
and strengthening itself by means of other sources of income to boost its economy. The major
boost to the economy is being provided by the tourism sector. The restructuring of the aviation
industry of Oman had led to the development of a number of comprehensive standards that
defines and controls the civil aviation sector of the company and governs the air transport
activities of the organization (Wensveen 2018). However, the aviation sector of the company is
still in a building phase and has been trying to restructure itself for ensuring a better and bright
future. Such a transformation can also help the aviation sector of the country to take advance
strides towards future development. The following chapter further discusses about the different
types of the elements within the industry which helps to identify the different problems within

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the management of Oman Air and the possible ways and techniques that are implemented to
tackle the problems in an efficient way.
Identification of Problems
Oman Air like all other Airline Companies has its own set of problems. The organization
faces some common difficulties in the form of organizational misconceptions, mismanagement
and many other similar such problems. As mentioned earlier, the traditional practices in the
aviation sector and the management of the company by traditional ways can have an adverse
effect on the organization. The problem of the company doubles up with the advent of
technology and their implementation by new age companies who are ready to offer the cheapest
price to the customers to capture the market of the Middle East skies. Some of the aviation
experts criticize the management of the company over their slogan of “Modern Vision, Timeless
Tradition”. They believe that the management does not implement and execute any such steps to
support their visionary slogan. Therefore execution and implementation of the so called slogan of
the company remains a distant dream which has made Oman Air look like an ordinary company.
The main problem of the management is the absence of a proper leadership which makes
the company thrives for a space in the global aviation industry. The mismanagement of the
company have pushed it to just a mere Airlines company of the Middle East and have failed to
make it one of the companies with the popularity like that of Etihad, Emirates or Qatar Airlines.
Another main problem with the flag carrier of the Sultanate of Oman is the effort needed by the
company to turn the loss into profitability. The main concern for the management of Oman Air is
to consolidate the gains of the organization in an effective manner and turn these gains into the
sources of sustained profitability and growth over a long term. As said earlier challenges from

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the existing and the emerging airlines company is a cause of great concern for the organization in
Oman.
The study of, Altamony et al. (2016) the company also needs to reposition itself in the
market where a large chunk of customer traffic is engulfed by Emirates and Ethiad. These two
Middle Eastern Carriers occupies a market share of almost 80% which makes the Airlines market
duopoly in nature (Wensveen 2018). The decision to carry on with the old and traditional
processes and the absence of a smart and strategic management of the company has led to the
decline in the organization in the market. In accordance with the repositioning of the
organization, the management of the company needs to overhaul itself totally and change its
structure to ensure that it can fight any type of challenges in the global aviation market.
Tools for Analysis
Change is an essential part for the survival of each and every business organization. The
absence of change within the organization will severely harm the reputation and the popularity of
the organization in the market. A Change in the organization can help in the development of the
organization as it opens up new and better opportunities for the management of the company to
visit new and better opportunities and implement them in the organization to display a much
better and improved performance of the management. The company implements the
characteristics of a number of Change Management Models. This includes;
1. Lewin’s Change Management Model- The Change Management Model of Lewin is one
of the most popular approaches of the organization. The change process of the
organization has been divided into three different stages in this particular Model. The
three stages are namely;