Kotter Case Study Essay

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Introduction
a. State what actually occurred in the case study of Alaska Airlines regarding Kotter’s steps 5 and 6 of empowering employees for broad-based action and generating short-term wins.
After recognizing for their long-term survival, Alaska Airlines implemented two modifications, appointed a vice-president of operations of their Seattle hub, Ben Minicucci, and created a structure where each employee reported to their manager and Minicucci to support his initiatives (Avolio, Patterson, & Baker, 2015). This structure utilized Kotter’s fifth step of empowering others to act. At the same time, Alaska Airlines did an excellent job focusing on creating a short-term win, which is part of Kotter’s sixth step. For instance, three examples stand out: improving the relationships with the various unions, implementing performance metrics to enhance performance, and saving resources through the lean process (Avolio, Patterson, & Baker, 2015). In fact, these steps shifted the airlines paradigm from a struggling carrier to one that is …show more content…

One of the vital achievements is it silences the skeptics and detractors. A recent study revealed companies that experience significant short-term wins by fourteen and twenty-six months after the change initiative begins are much more likely to complete the transformation (8-Step Process for Leading Change, n.d.). It can boost the morale of those implementing the change because modifications come with an inordinate degree of risk. Additionally, it validates the scarifies of those in command of leading the efforts. These triumphs reward the early adopts who sacrificed and received ridicule for their support during the change. The wins serve the practical purpose of helping to fine-tune the vision and the strategies. Finally, short-term wins have a way of building momentum that turns neutral people into supporters, and reluctant supporters into active

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