SilverTails: HR Plan, Downsizing Techniques, and Recommendations

This case study examines SilverTails Airline's HR plan in response to changes in the aviation industry. The airline, aiming to revamp its image, faces challenges with older employees who do not align with the desired brand. The report analyzes the problem, focusing on the impact of the age disparity between the target market and the existing cabin and ground crew. It assesses various indirect downsizing techniques, such as reducing crew hours, assigning ground duties, changing holiday schedules, and promoting younger employees, along with their implications. The study also includes an appreciative inquiry, offering recommendations, and proposes an HR plan incorporating the Lewin Change Model to manage the transition effectively. A Gantt chart is also provided for a timeline of the implementation.

Running head: SILVERTAILS HR PLAN
SILVERTAILS HR PLAN
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The given report throws light on the change and Human resource Plan of the Airline
Company as chosen named Silver Tail. The airlines company underwent a change and
revived it brand image. Hence, for this reason, it wants to change its older employees but
downsizing them would lead to legal and ethical problems. Hence, the different managers
decided to employ various downsizing and this report highlights the different techniques as
applied and their impact on the organization. The latter half of the report presents a
recruitment plan which would help the organization to achieve long term success with respect
to the employees.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the problem and impact...........................................................................................3
The implications.....................................................................................................................4
Evaluating downsizing techniques and implications.................................................................5
Impacts...................................................................................................................................7
Appreciative inquiry and Recommendations.............................................................................7
Recommendations................................................................................................................10
HR Plan including Lewin Change model.................................................................................11
The Lewin Change Model application to Silver Tails.........................................................20
Timeline: Gantt chart...............................................................................................................21
Conclusion................................................................................................................................22
References................................................................................................................................23

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Introduction
The Human Resource department is considered to be an effective part of the
organization and it is the duty of the department to ensure that the organization and the
human resource department work as strategic partners in order to achieve a competitive edge
for the long term of the organization (Noe et al. 2006). Very often the organization needs to
undergo a considerable change policy, following which the company needs to ensure that it
has adequate resources and the employees are able to abide by the change and adjust
considerably. However any organization who is planning to undergo change needs to ensure
that the employee resistant is dealt with comfortably and the organization is well prepared to
make the change work out well for it.
The problem lies wherein the older and more experienced employees in an
organization tend to show resistance to change. These employees have been associated with
the organization for a long period of time and for this reason they believe that they need to be
given utmost preference and the different operations need to take place accordingly.
However, this can always not be the case and there may arise various situations where the
business style needs to be changed and this can go a long way in helping the company but the
employees may not go well with the image of the new style and hence, it can cause issues.
The report will be discussing one such issue related to the Human Resource Aspect of
the organization Silver Tail which in order to ensure the continuity of the business changed
its image and now is facing difficulties due to the employees who are unable to match with
the image formed. Hence, as the organization plans to downsize the different employees,
instead of being direct and to avoid consequences, the company aims to adopt indirect
techniques. The problem being faced shall be analysed critically followed by the analysis of
this impact on the organization (Teh and Girardi 2015). This shall be followed by the
evaluation of the downsizing techniques and their implications on the organization. The latter
part of the report will be conducting an appreciative inquiry and provide recommendations
based on the same. An HR plan will also be presented to analyse the impacts and for the
evaluation of strategies further.
Analysis of the problem and impact
Till 1990, the government of Singapore had been following a two airline policy and
had considerable control over the different airline terminals and ensured that the arrangement

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between the airlines was fine. However later on the business dynamics changed considerably
and the governmental bodies decided to deregulate the given airline segment and involve
competition from the private players as well. In order to abide by the given change which was
being made, the company Silver tail Airlines decided to improve its image because the
company`s share prices fell immediately and the different changes needed to be made. Hence,
the company changed the dynamics and brought in a new board of directors who worked
effectively for the welfare of the organization (Alfes et al. 2013). The new board comprised
of advertisers, marketers, accountants and various experts who were brought down from
United States of America who were under the leadership of an open minded CEO. Lean
became the new mantra and a flat structure of the organization was adopted in place which
helps to remove the middle management and maintenance could be outsourced easily.
This helped in bringing about a new image of the airlines company and for this
reason, the Silver tail airline emerged with a new image and it promote itself as being
innovative and young. This worked well with the different customers who wanted to
experience the new services which were being provided by the organization to the different
customers and hence, the sales increased considerably (Marler and Fisher 2013). However,
there was a certain tint missing and although the different offers being made by the
organization were redundant in nature, the public face of the airlines which was the cabin
crew along with the ground crew, were not as per the image. This is because the employees
were very aged as compared to the image of the airlines.
The primary issue arising in the given scenario was that the target market as being
targeted by the organization was the younger crowd and due to this, they would not be able to
connect with the older crew which could be stated to be old enough to be their mother. For
this reason, the sales of the company might be affected and the company now wanted to
overcome the given problem by downsizing these older employees.
However, downsizing these older employees was not feasible, because the company
would be faced by various legal issues when it would be doing so and secondly it was the
moral responsibility of the business to serve these employees. Hence, the company is
planning to make the situation difficult for them which would then enable the different
employees to leave the organization themselves (Bratton and Gold 2017). The case study
further discussed the different downsizing techniques which can be used by the company.
The implications

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Poor image- If the brand image which the company wants to prepare for the different
members does not match with the employees, then it portrays a wrong image of the firm. It
reflects that the promises as made by the company made are fake in nature whereby the
company does not want to incorporate the strategy in reality.
Inefficient working- The older employees may not be able to work efficiently with limited
funds and resources. The work in airlines is quite difficult and hence, due to this reason, the
employees which are older cannot work efficiently due to the cost cutting and other
techniques.
Higher pays- The employees working since a long period of time will be required to be paid a
higher salary than that as compared to the new ones which will then act as a barrier for the
efficient functioning of the company (Briscoe, Tarique and Schuler 2012).
Not willing to work- The older employees have not been very enthusiastic about the new
business model and will not be willing to work in case a proper step is not taken seriously.
Evaluating downsizing techniques and implications
In order to ensure that the older crowd present in the chosen organization does not
work anymore and willingly opt to retire from the given position, the company directors were
reviewing a certain number of downsizing techniques which if applied in the organization
would compel the different members in the company to leave the job on their own without
any direct notification (Brewster, Chung and Sparrow 2016). Hence, given below are certain
downsizing techniques which were being discussed by the members and can be applied in the
firm along with additional technique. The implications of each of these strategies shall be
stated and discusses along.
1. Reducing the number of cabin crew hours
One of the most popular techniques of downsizing is reducing the number of Cabin
crew as present in the present airlines. This means that for instance if there were 10
crew members as present in every airline flight, the company would reduce it down to
5 which would then increase the work burden on the existing members and they
would automatically choose to leave the organization (Kshetri 2017).
2. Assigning ground duty to others
Apart from downsizing the members from the cabin crew the rest of the members can
also be sent to abide by the duties of the ground staff. The areas differ in nature and

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hence, the company can save additional ground staff costs in this manner. In a similar
manner, those employees who are not willing to take up the job of the ground staff
may opt to leave the organization.
3. Poor hospitality management
The cabin crew staff are provided with adequate facilities and they are allowed to
reside at luxurious hotels and their stay in a foreign country is well reimbursed by the
company (Cascio 2018). However, as stated by one of the members, at present the
crew members are allowed to stay in a 5 star hotel and hence, as a downsizing
technique these employees will be asked to stay in a 3 star hotel which will thereby
cause them more inconvenience.
4. Changing holiday schedules
The crew members in the organization are provided with different holiday rosters
during the lean seasons and other times when they ask for it. Hence, the airline
company is generally very comfortable in providing them these holidays but if the
company wants to follow an indirect downsizing technique then they can make them
stay in 3 star hotels (Taylor, Doherty and McGraw 2015). When the employees will
be made to live in lower facilities then they will be compelled to leave the
organization themselves.
5. Promoting younger employees
This is another technique which is generally followed by the different organizations
who tend to believe that the conflicts between the different age groups in any
organization can be used as a weapon in order to compel the older employees to leave
the organization. If the younger employees in an organization are given higher posts,
they will be compelled to leave the organization which will then make the task easier
for the employers.
6. Laying down qualifications
Various organizations often set up minimum targets for qualifications. This means
that in order to be eligible for promotion, the company demands that the employee
needs to have a rough idea about a second language or a post graduate degree.
Although this is easy for the new employees who are taken in only when they have
the stated qualifications, this us considerably difficult for the older employees to
possess such qualifications (Lazarova, Morley and Tyson 2014). Even when the

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company allows them to learn at their expense, they are unable to do so as they are
not provided with enough time frame.
7. Changing the competency as required.
The organization can also adopt the method of changing the internal competencies as
possible. This shall make it easier for the firm to let go of the employees who would
have otherwise refused to leave
Impacts
Although the techniques as stated above are very useful in downsizing the employees.
Downsizing comes in as a handy technique especially when the company is looking out to
see adopt a cost leadership strategy. In the case of the given company, the organization is
looking out to change the image of the organization and due to this reason, it believes that it
needs to apply the different indirect strategies as available for the firm. Hence, the company
believes that the strategies may compel the older employees to leave willingly, however, this
is not always possible (Brewster 2017). The chosen employees may be not having a financial
backup and may continue working in the organization for longer time periods. Moreover,
engaging in the stated downsizing techniques may also bring about a brand image for the
organization as the severe techniques applied by the firm may not be adopted positively.
However, Poor conditions in the workplace and excessive load often compel an employee to
resign and thus, the ultimate motive of the airline company might be successful.
Appreciative inquiry and Recommendations
The Appreciative Inquiry Framework can be described as a 4 D procedure which
tends to work on four different dimensions. These dimensions are collectively used to analyse
a given situation and to understand the different complications or barriers which may come in
the way of the business in its path to implement the strategic change as being incorporate in
the organization (Collings, Wood and Caligiuri 2014). The Appreciative Inquiry looks out
and analysis all the spheres of a situation and based on this analysis an action plan is
formulated. The four different dimensions of the 4D process are given as follows:
Discover
This aspect of the process tends to understand the aspect which is working best for the
organization. In this aspect, the procedure or process which is going the best is appreciated
and analysed (Fenton-O'Creevy, Gooderham and Nordhaug 2008).

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Dream
This aspect looks out for what is being envisioned about the organization. It states
down what the company might want in the future as a vision.
Design
The design can be described as the plan which the company forms in order to help
itself to reach the vision created. They decide how the idea needs to carried out for the long
term success of the firm (Pudelko, Reiche and Carr 2015).
Deliver
This determines the practical strategies or the projects which will be used to create
ideas and develop adequate strategies. This places emphasis on the encouragement on
empowering the people to take action and to utilise their own ideas.
The Appreciative Enquiry for the case study has been given as follows:
Appreciative Enquiry Applicability to the case
Discover In the given case study for Silver Tail, the
Human resource plan and strategy is being
analysed effectively. The organization has
gone through a considerable change and for
that reason it is planning to let go of the
senior employees because they are not
willing to let go of the different older ways
and are not aligning with the new business
regime. Hence, the employer would like to
apply strategies which would enable them to
leave the organization and thereby ensure
that the company as a new face of the cabin
crew which matches up to its image and also
aligns with the different customers and their
expectations (Dickmann, Brewster and
Sparrow 2016).
Dream The dream of the organization Silver tail
can be described as the vision of the

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organization. At present, the organization
aims to improve its image in the
organization and to align its image as being
an efficient organization who provides frill
free and quick services to the flyers. The
company wants to save costs and provide on
time and efficient services to the different
customers in order to combat against the
competition which exists in the given
market.
Design Hence, as the direct downsizing is not
possible in the given scenario, the company
wants to engage in indirect downsizing
(Kang and Shen 2014). This the company
wants to carry out by engaging in activities
which tend to force the senior employees
who do not want to go well with the new
change and do not align with the image to
leave the company on their own (Harris
2012).
Hence, the different strategies which have
been designed are as follows:
Reducing the Number of Cabin crew hours
Increasing the ground duties
Keeping qualifications for internal
competency (Furusawa and Brewster 2016)
Log working hours and reduced holidays
Promotion of younger crews in leadership
positions and others.
The organization wants to apply these
strategies over the time and hence, ensure
that through these it takes in the older
generation of employees compatible with

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the new norms or is able to let them go
willingly.
Deliver The plan will be delivered over a time frame
of 8 months (Aswathappa 2013). At first the
company will try to engage in activities like
the engagement of the different employees,
trying to make them consistent with the
needs of the audience and after that, the
different strategies like setting
qualifications, change in the cabin crew
hours and others shall be applied
appropriately (Haak-Saheem, Festing and
Darwish 2017).
After the given steps and procedures they
will be measuring the success of the
activities by seeing to it that the different
employees are able to adjust with the given
requirements and if not they will be asked to
leave as per the guidelines.
Recommendations
1. Asking the various employees for ideas
The employees can be asked to contribute towards the organizational needs and be
asked to give in their ideas which they deem to be suitable for the long term goal
achievement of the different organizational needs (Pournader, Tabassi and Baloh 2015). As
the different employees often work very closely with the organization, the need to be given
the freedom to give in their ideas and to check whether their ideas can be applied or not.
2. Considering virtual office
With the advent of technology, the creation of the virtual office becomes
comparatively easier and thus for this reason, they will be required to work virtually and fulfil

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other customer engaging needs of the employees. They can be asked to fulfil the
requirements in the comfort of their homes.
3. Cut wages
Instead of downsizing the employees completely, the different employees can be
provided with less wages which will then enable the firm to ensure that the different
employees are being able to continue their work
HR Plan including Lewin Change model
A Human Resource Plan tends to play a key role in detraining the success of the
company in the long run and any company who is engaging in bringing about a huge change
in this domain, needs to ensure that they have a designated HR plan in place which would
encourage them to ensure that the long term strategy of the organization is achieved. Hence
the different steps in the HR Plan is given as follows:
 Determining the needs
 Determining the recruitment strategy (Harvey and Moeller 2009).
 Selecting the employees
 Develop the training
 Determining compensation
 Appraising the performance
Sr. No Activity Contents Person
Responsible
Time frame
1 Determining
the needs
The first step
involves
checking out
the different
needs of the
organization
and
determining
where the
organization
The HR
Manager
Supervisor
Manager
4 weeks