Many companies go through changes along the years whether its building up a workforce or downsizing, companies must have systems in place to deal with the many changes. In taking a look into British Airways (BA) and what occurred from the start of the strike to introduction of the new swipe cards system BA failed to provide answers to employees before implementing the new system. BA reasoning for the new system should have been discussed before implantation to get feedback from the employee and restrictions might occur with the new system. Leaving employees to questions some of BA manger antics such manipulating employee time or swap shifts without asking the employee. BA change caused a domino effect against the employees leading to this strike that would cost BA to lose over 100,000 customers due to negligent of employee/ employer communication.
When implementing any change you must understand employee needs. When employees understand the process and internalize the transition employees are likely to adapt to change. As stated by Moore (2014) “Managing change requires understanding the risks; estimating the resources necessary; and planning contingencies and what must happen before the change can be implemented.” BA force change of the card swipe did not give the employees enough background to help employees understand exactly what the system entailed leaving the employee to consider the move unfair. Leaving employees in the dark can stir up many conclusions as a consultant I would advise BA to map out the change explain the actual details of the system implementation, allowing employees to understand what the change will bring to their day to day routine. Allowing employees the opportunity into change will cause less confusion...
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...changes versus the risks and benefits of stay the same if they’re not yet ready to implement the change Show other people how change will be helpful before expecting them to behave differently.” BA must always plan ahead to avoid any operational delays in future this will not only benefit the company but employees will have trust in their employer as well.
Works Cited
Moore, E. (2014).What Are Change Management Techniques? Retrieved http://www.ehow.com/list_6596790_change-management-techniques_.html
Morin, A. (2014). Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight: It Happens In These Five Stages. Retrieved http://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/03/17/change-doesnt-happen-overnight-it-happens-in-these-five-stages/
Thompson, R. (2014). Kotter's 8-Step Change Model Implementing Change Powerfully and Successfully. Retrieved http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_82.htm
Which necessitated Qantas’ negotiating of workplace agreements, grievance procedures and tribunals to resolve employee demands. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) was pursuing for ground staff, a 10% wage rise over the next 2 years (increase in remuneration), for third party labour providers be controlled and restricted (job security) and to be internally retrained to expand employees’ skills (employment conditions) [1]. Negotiations for this failed immediately as both parties couldn’t agree on a balance between worker satisfaction and business objectives. As Qantas only offered a 3% wage increase over the next year, and a 2% increase for the next 2 years [4]. This resulted in the TWU flagging a nationwide strike for 2 hours, as they deemed their demands a necessity to cope with the every changing domestic economic conditions. “We 're not here to piss people off, we 're here to keep the people on side but they need to understand our plight- Qantas are stonewalling us” stated TWU spokesman Mick Piere [4] as ground staff at Qantas demanded for : greater maintenance of employment i.e. salaries and on-costs, work within the business and for non-dismissal of human resources. Which workers need in order
The PATCO strike began on August 3, 1981 with over 13,000 people walking out. This "illegal" act was met with a quick response from President Ronald Reagan (Sconberger p 1). Reagan told the strikers, "Either return to work within 48 hours or be fired from government service for breaking the 'oath of office' not to strike (Sconberger, special report, p. 12). While roughly 1,200 workers returned to work, another 12,000 remained on strike and were promptly fired (Sconberger p 1). This caused a serious safety problem for the airlines, inconveniences for many Americans, and lost profits for many businesses. Controllers needed to be replaced and it needed to be done fast. As a result, their were many questions on the safety of airlines. In order to understand the effects of the strike on the safety of airlines, an understanding of the PATCO movement is necessary.
The three stages of the change theory model are unfreezing, change and refreezing (Petiprin, 2015). The unfreezing process is letting go of old information and introducing change. The method to achieve unfreezing “is to increase the driving forces that direct behavior away from the existing situation or status quo. Second, decrease the restraining forces that negatively
Change had always been a value at Winning Ways, but how change is managed is as important as the substance of the ideas. The implementation of new ideas as well as the mobility of the employees within the company became areas of concern. There was a great deal of confusion regarding company decisions and the purpose of certain initiatives. Although there was a commitment to seeking new management approaches, employees felt as though many ideas were pushed off to the side without ever being considered. Others were implemented, such as teams, but the actual structures were not sustained, creating confusion and tension as employees tried to work within a framework that did not always make sense. Although constant change was once embraced as a vehicle for innovation and increased success, it became increasingly difficult for the employees to follow large shifts. While change can create progress, it can also reflect a lack of focus and/or signify a lack of clear interest in a strategy or approach. In order for changes to be effective, they have to be clear and be implemented in a way that allows for their evaluation. Furthermore, as the company continued to hire from the outside, current employees found themselves isolated with no opportunity for upward mobility. New hires often had higher levels of education as compared to older workers who provided experience, were committed to the company, and had a strong interest in learning. Because people often feel out of the loop, it would be wise for Winning Ways to introduce employee involvement programs. For example, participative management allows for joint decision making in which subordinates share decision-making power with their supervisors (Robbins & Judge, 2012). As a result, employees would feel as though their voice can be heard and have a better
It is important that if you are ever running a business, you change before the change comes to you. Change can have either a positive or negative effect on a business and it is extremely important to strive to make it a positive
“Some innovations require changes that are gradual and subtle; others require changes that are drastic and dramatic (Marzano, et.
The 7 Levels of Change provides a different way of thinking to enhance behaviors and processes. The author demonstrates throughout the book a seven process of change that builds upon the next. He believes that by thinking differently, being creative and stepping out of the norm is the catalyst to solutions and results beyond one’s expectations. Although the author uses the analogy of a new work environment to expound on the level of changes, the fundamentals can be used in both your personal and professional life.
Elite Engineering has been unable to successfully implement change because they haven’t been able to get the employees to see the need for the change and to believe in the change. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.” (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) Change is often met with resistance. When it comes down to it many people fear change. At Elite Engineering, the engineers were happy with the way things were being run. They enjoyed the billable work they were doing and did not want to take the time to collaborate with others, as it would take away time from their billable work. The engineers saw the billable work they were doing as a way to ensure they received their bonus at the end of the year. However, they were failing to see that the litigation business was going to begin to shrink and in order for them to remain competitive, changes needed to be made. Kotter and Schlesinger state that there are for common reasons that people resist change. The four reasons are the desire not to lose something of value, a misunderstanding of the change and its implications, a belief that the change does not make sense for the organization, and a low tolerance for change. (Kotter & Schlesinger, 2008) At Elite Engineering, I think upper management was unsuccessful at implementing change because the employees didn’t want to lose their bonuses (something of value to them), they misunderstood the change, and they didn’t feel that the change made sense for the organization.
This kind of uncertainty always puts employees at risk. Their knowledge and skills might be out of date; their valued work space, or social relationships might be removed and disrupted. Therefore, people resist change out of worry that they cannot adjust to the new work requirements or they will produce unknown costs. Issues such as “fear of the unknown” and “the inability to see the need for change” are common in resistance to change research (Hickins, 1998; Wienbach, 1994). For instance, if change had been poorly implemented during the past and employees have been subject to broken agreements, unfair treatment and poor management decision making, it is unlikely that trust damaged by such actions will be easily restored (Dent and Goldberg, 1999; Ford et al., 2008; Piderit, 2000). Ultimately, employees also would feel bad towards
Hazel, M. "Change is crucial in a person’s life." N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2008. .
In business, when we approach change, whether it is about cost reduction, merger or supporting a new technology we need to treat it as a seriously disruptive and stressful activity for all involved especially those leading the change.
Hayes (2014), encourages change managers to keep an open line of communication with employees. Although these ones may not agree or support the upcoming change, they value the information being given to them at the onset and may eventually tolerate or accept the change. Therefore, it is important for change managers to not only communicate with employees, but provide relevant information, as the quality of the communication is of the utmost importance.
One of the first scholars to describe the process of organizational change was Lewin (1974). He described change as a three-stage process that consists of unfreezing, moving and freezing stage. During the unfreezing stage the organizations become motivated to change by some event or objective. The moving stage is like implementation when the organization actually makes the necessary change. Furthermore the freezing stage is reached when the change becomes permanent. Organizational change has also...
According to Quiros (2014), leaders must take a holistic approach when implementing change; this includes transitioning people from the past to allow a new beginning. Quiros statement is true, specifically in British Airways’ wildcat strike. Management has failed to look at the organization holistically, rather focus on implementation because it is a great idea. Taking a step back to look at the organization may have prevented the 40 million pound loss. The organization decreased 1,300 of their employees during the course of two years, leaving a low morale in the organization. Current employees will question the future of their imminent employment termination. Absenteeism will soon follow as the employee morale goes down. Absenteeism caused the delayed flights which should have been known by senior leadership, and may have led to delayed process implementation. Finally, management’s oversight also included timing where the implementation will take place five days from management’s announcement. The busy summer season should have been a factor in their execution
In any organizations management would have to contend with any unavoidable changes that might take place. New machines, equipment, unstable business environment etc. can bring these changes. Successful implementation of the product therefore depends on the ability of the management to deal with the changes and resolve any emerging conflicts there from.