Specifics of Organizational Change in Qantas Airways - Case Study Example

Organizational Change Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Name Date of Submission Organizational Change Theories and Definition The business environment is dynamic and keeps changing. As such, the only way for a company to remain competitive in a changing business environment is to ensure that the changes are responded to effectively. For instance, in the recent times, the rapid advancements in technology and globalization have resulted in significant change in the business environment (Lunenburg 2010). As such, businesses are forced to respond to these changes in order to survive. Because organizational change entails a number of issues, different perspectives have emerged that attempt to explain organizational change and why organizations change. Stage theory by Kurt Lewin is one of the most applied theories of organizational change. According to the stage theory, an organization usually goes through different stages as they change. In other words, Lewin’s theory holds that an organization does not just change overnight at once, but has to undergo a series of stages one after the other as they change (Dawson, 2010). Basically, Lewin identified three critical stages that an organization goes through as it changes. These include unfreezing, changing and finally refreezing. Unfreezing is the first stage of organizational change, according to Lewin’s stage theory. The stage is concerned with motivating people in an organization to accept change (Anderson, 2011). At this stage, employees and managers are persuaded to accept change by replacing old ways of doing things with new and desired attitudes and behaviors. The second stage of organizational change, according to Lewin’s theory is called the changing. This stage involves the employer proving workers with the new information and behavioral models that they might need to enable them learn new concepts and way of doing things (Lunenburg 2010). The change can be facilitated using a barrage of strategies, including benchmarking with other organizations, use of experts, mentors, role models and training among others. Refreezing is the third and last stage of organizational change. At this stage, the change introduced in the organization is stabilized by assisting workers in integrating the behavioral and attitude change and adopting the new ways of doing things (Dawson, 2010). Some of the strategies that might be used to reinforce the change include modeling and coaching. Organizational development is the other widely applied theory of organizational change. This theory focuses on human processes as the driver of change in an organization. In this respect, organizational development theory postulates that having a successful change in an organization depends on the agreement between the organizational objectives and individuals (Schabracq, 2009). This implies that, for a change to be implemented successfully in an organization there must be a matching of the individual and organizational goals, otherwise the change might not succeed. Based on the theories discussed above, it can be concluded that organizational change is a process that involves an organization changing its structure, organizational culture, strategies, technologies and methods of operation in response to the changes in the business environment so as to ensure competitiveness and survival. Organizational Change Case Study: Qantas Airways Company Background Qantas is undisputedly the best and leading airline company in Australia. The airline was founded in 1920 immediately after the development of Australia’s civil aviation (Broadbridge and Education, 2015). Since then, Qantas has grown to become a dominant airline both in Australia and internationally. Currently, the airline flies millions of passengers in Australia and in many other destinations around the world (Wilder, 2014). The airline that started by offering only the airmail services are currently offer a variety of products and services, including flight, defense services, tour & travel, flight catering and engineering and maintenance services among others. During the first half of 2015, Qantas reported a pre-tax profit of $367 million, which marked a significant improvement compared to the $300 million pretax profits it posted at the end of 2014 financial year (Broadbridge and Education, 2015). The airline has consistently posted good performance despite the stiff competition it faces from other major airlines, such as Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and Singapore airline. The airline attributes its success largely to effective management, innovation and marketing strategies that the company has employed over the years. Changes being implemented at Qantas Qantas is amongst the companies that operate in a very competitive environment. Some of Qantas major competitors include the Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airline. Therefore, the company understands that, the best way to stay ahead of its competitors is to ensure that change is implemented as and when needed. Accordingly, Qantas is implanting a number of organizational changes in a bid to gain a competitive advantage over its rivals (Broadbridge and Education, 2015). The first and most important organizational change that Qantas made recently was to change its organizational culture. As part of its Broad Differentiation strategy, Qantas decided to change its organizational culture by introducing a new work culture that is more customer-focused that emphasizes on the provision of high quality services to customers at all times. The CEO of the airline, Geoff Dixon communicated the vision to all the staff members through internal marketing and organizing road shows in various parts of the country to reinforce the importance of providing customers with greater travel experience to ensure satisfaction (Wilder, 2014). Qantas has used a variety of strategies to institutionalize the organizational culture change, including forming work teams, training employees as well as through sharing ownership scheme. The other organizational change that Qantas introduced recently has to do with restructuring. Recently, the airline changed its management structure by introducing new classifications to suit it new corporate strategy. The restructuring of the business saw the airline create eight business units that are classified into three categories, including flying services, flying businesses and associated business (Broadbridge and Education, 2015). Technological advancements have impacted hugely on the airline industry. Qantas is among the airlines that have been impacted hugely by the recent technological advancements. Therefore, to remain relevant, Qantas has been forced to respond to technological advancements by changing the way customers buy their travel tickets (Wilder, 2014). Initially, travelers had to get tickets right at the physical offices operated by the airline agents. However, this is no longer the case as Qantas has introduced online ticketing services that allow customers to buy tickets and book airlines online at the comfort of their homes. Other notable organizational changes that Qantas introduced include centralizing its logistic business to help enhance efficiency and minimize costs. Additionally, Qantas changed the structure of the organization by vertically integrating the profitable business segments within the value change to give it a competitive edge over rivals at low cost (Broadbridge and Education, 2015). The organizational changes happening at Qantas satisfies the definition for organizational change in the sense that the changes at Qantas involve organizational culture change, change in structure of the business, technologies and the operations methods. The organizational changes at Qantas are, therefore, in line with what the definition of organization change gives. Qantas Airways SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong brand recognition Strong support from Australian govt. The largest airline in Australia Flies in more than 20 international & domestic destinations Dominance in Australian market Weaknesses Too many disputes High employee turnover High concentration on Australian market Opportunities Growing Australian airline market Expanding into international markets, such as Asia Partnering with major Airline, such as emirates Threats Stiff competition from low-cost airlines Rising prices of fuel Highly regulated airline industry Rising cost of labor Before implementing change in an organization, it is always very important for a business like Qantas Airways to conduct a SWOT analysis. SWOT analysis has been shown to have many benefits when used to determine the need for change in an organization. The first benefit of using SWOT analysis in determining the need for change is the fact that the tool helps a company identify the weaknesses that needs to be minimized to ensure competitiveness (Böhm, 2009). For instance, in the above table, it can be seen that, by conducting a SWOT analysis, Qantas is able to identify the weaknesses that it needs to address by bring the right changes in the organization to ensure success. For instance, one of the weaknesses of Qantas, according to the SWOT above is high employee turnover. Therefore, using this information, Qantas can implement the needed changes in the organization to address the high employee turnover problem. Secondly, SWOT analysis is a useful tool in determining the need for change since it highlights the threats that a company faces that needs to be addressed to ensure competitiveness (Böhm, 2009). For instance, the SWOT above shows that stiff competition from low-cost airlines is a major threat to the survival of Qantas Airways. Therefore, using this information from SWOT analysis, Qantas can implement the needed changes to help it minimize the threat that emanates from low-cost airlines. The changes that the airline might consider introducing to counter the threat posed by low-cost airlines including changing its pricing strategy and enhancing the quality of its product portfolio. Thirdly, SWOT analysis is a useful tool for identifying whether or not an organization needs change because it helps in identifying the opportunities that are available for a company for exploitation (Böhm, 2009). Most organizations tend to implement change whenever there is an opportunity in the market. Fortunately, the best way for a company to identify the opportunities available for that the necessary changes can be introduced to exploit the opportunities is to conduct a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis above, for instance, helped Qantas identify a number of opportunities that it needs to exploit, including expanding into the Asia market. Therefore, using this information, Qantas is able to implement the needed changes to enable it take advantage of the available opportunities in the market. Additionally, SWOT analysis is beneficial for use in determining the need for change in an organization since it helps a company identify its strengths (Böhm, 2009). It is normally not easy for a company to implement a change if it does not understand its strengths. This is because it is when a company understands its strengths that it can be able to utilize the strengths to capitalize on the opportunities. Therefore, because SWOT analysis enables an organization like Qantas identify its strengths, it can be able to use the strengths it has to bring about the needed change in an organization. Despite the many benefits associated with the use of SWOT analysis in determining the need for change, managers need to understand that SWOT analysis has limitations. Firstly, as much as SWOT analysis can identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, it does not provide the right solution, such as the right change that needs to be implemented. Additionally, SWOT analysis has a limitation in the sense that it does not prioritize issues, which makes determining the needed; change difficult (Böhm, 2009). The Role of the Change Agent in the Organization All organizations change regardless of how small or big an organization is. However, for the desired change to be achieved there is a need for a change agent. A change agent is any individual or groups of people that initiate and manage change in an organization (Anderson, 2011). Change agents can be internal or external depending on the choice of an organization. Internal change agents can be managers or employees that are chosen by an organization to manage the change process. In large and innovating firms, employees and managers are sometimes trained to enable them develop the skills and expertise needed for them to be able to manage the change process (Hillman, 2011). External change agents are also common in most organization. External change agents are the experts or consultants that are hired by an organization to oversee change in an organization (Dawson, 2010). Most organizations hire external change agents because they have no stake in the organization and as such as more independent in leading change in an organization. Change agents play a number of critical roles in an organization. Firstly, change agents being skilled in overseeing changes in an organization act as consultants. In this respect, regardless of whether a change agent is from internal or external, a change agent normally acts as a consultant on issues to do with change in an organization (Storey and Salaman, 2010). In this respect, they are responsible for evaluating the position of a company in an industry to determine the areas that might need change. Once they have identified the areas that need change in an organization, they advice the management accordingly and initiate the change. As consultants, change agents assist employees find solutions to problems through data analysis. Secondly, change agents also play a critical role of training employees in an organization. Because they are skilled in managing change processes, change agents is responsible for training the members of staff of an organization how to use data to implement change (Storey and Salaman, 2010). Additionally, change agent is also responsible for training the members of an organization so that they can acquire the skills that are necessary for effecting change, such as data retrieval, translation and usage skills. It has been noted that the majority of firms hire outside consultants to provide training to organizational members how to enhance the overall performance of their company. Change agents are also assuming the role of a researcher (Hillman, 2011). Before an organization can initiate change, it is very important for a company to conduct thorough research, such as conduct a SWOT analysis of the company to identify the need for change. Such roles require a professional with research knowledge. Here is where change agents usually come in by assuming the role of a researcher. As a researcher, they investigate the business trend and the areas that might require change and advice the management accordingly (Schabracq, 2009). At the same time, after conducting research, they help an organization come up with the best changes that needs to be effected to ensure the future success of the organization. Problem-Centric and Dialogic Approaches to Change Problem-centric and dialogic models are some of the approaches used by organizations in managing change. Although the two approaches aim at ensuring that change is effected in the best way possible in an organization, the models have different perspectives about how change should be managed. Problem-centric model is a change management approach that operate on assumption that something in wrong in an organization, thus needs fixing (Jabri, 2012). In fact, it is noted that most organizations prefer their organizational change to be problem-centric rather than solution-centric. The wide adoption of problem-centric approach to change by most organizations is attributed to a number of benefits that are associated with is approach. Firstly, adopting a problem-centric approach is advantageous in managing change because it enables an organization and the employees to recognize the problems in an organization (Burke, 2011). This is very critical for an organization, because not unless an organization recognizes that there is something wrong that needs fixing, it might relax assuming that everything is right but only to realize later when a company is under the threat of being forced out of business. A case in point is Kodak that was once a dominant firm in the film and photography industry. It is noted that, in the 1970s through to mid 1990s, Kodak controlled the largest market share in the film and photography industry. However, because Kodak assumed that everything was going right, it failed to initiate change. As a result, emerging companies Samsung came up with new technologies by adopting digital cameras, which made them grab the market share that Kodak once controlled. Therefore, were it that Kodak had viewed change as problem-centric, the company could have identified the signs of the problem that was coming and initiated change by adopting new technologies to give them a competitive edge over companies like Samsung. Accordingly, problem-centric approach to change is beneficial as it enables an organization to recognize a problem that needs to be fixed on time and appropriate change initiated to prevent the problem from occurring. Additionally, problem-centric model of change is a good approach in managing change because it helps in identifying any disruptions that might exist in an organization (Jabri, 2012). Accordingly, this enables the managers and change agents to initiate change at the right time, thereby preventing such disruptions from occurring, thereby ensuring the smooth running of business. Despite the benefits that a company might gain by adopting a problem-centric approach to change, it is critical to note that the approach has a number of shortcomings that make it unsuitable change management model. The main shortcoming of this model is that the fact that it assumes that something is wrong and require fixing makes the employees become wary of the change agents and consultants (Burke, 2011). As a result, it becomes difficult for an organization to effect the needed changes due to resistance to change by organizational members. Generally, for a change to be effected successfully in an organization, the members of an organization must be well-informed and made to accept changes. However, making employees embrace change in an organization where that adopts a problem-centric approach to change is difficult because of the bad relations created between the change agents and the members of an organization as this result in resistance to change. As a result, organizational members might only pursue self interest instead of the common good, which might prove detrimental to an organization. Dialogic model of organizational change, on the other hand, holds that change is a continuous process that happens in all human collectives. In this respect, dialogic model views an organization from the perspective of a narrative system that provides meaning to the way staff co-construct the change around them (Carnall, 2008). Accordingly, the model considers the process as being more important than entities. Therefore, according to dialogic model, the role of change agents in an organization has to do with understanding the issues that that are preventing systems from achieving capacity by eliminating the barricades in the system openness and feedback. Dialogic model is increasing being adopted by organizations as a change management model because of a variety of reasons. Firstly, dialogic model is beneficial for use in managing change because it ensures that all the stakeholders are involved in initiating change (Jabri, 2012). One of the major reasons organizations find it difficult effecting change is resistance from organizational members. This mainly results if change is introduced without involving members of an organization in the change process. Fortunately, dialogic model ensures that any organizational members are involving in initiating change, which is beneficial as it minimizes resistance to change. Additionally, dialogic model is beneficial since it enables ensures that change agents understands and eliminate any barriers that are likely to prevent the introduction of change in an organization (Carnall, 2008). In this respect, before any change can be introduced, change agents are required to ensure that any issues that are likely to have a negative impact on the change being introduced is identified and resolved so as to ensure smooth implementation of change in an organization. References Anderson, L. A. (2011). The change leader’s roadmap: How to navigate your organization’s transformation. New York, NY: Routledge. Böhm, A. (2009). The SWOT analysis. Berlin: GRIN Verlag. Broadbridge, D., & Education, G. S. (2015). Qantas: HSC business Case study, volume 15. New York, NY: Get Smart Education Pty. Limited. Burke, W. W. (2011). Organizational change: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Carnall, C. (2008). Managing change in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Dawson, P. M. B. (2010). Managing change, creativity and innovation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Hillman, O. (2011). Change agent: Engaging your passion to be the one who makes a difference. New York, NY: Charisma Media. Jabri, M. (2012). Managing organizational change: Process, social construction and dialogue. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Lunenburg, F. C 2010, Managing change: The role of the change agent. International Journal of Management, Business, and Administration, 13(1), 1-6. Schabracq, M. J. (2009). Changing organizational culture: The change agent's guidebook. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Storey, J., & Salaman, G. (2010). Managerial dilemmas: Exploiting paradox for strategic leadership. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Wilder, J. (2014). QANTAS 109 success secrets - 109 most asked questions on QANTAS - What you need to know. Sydney: History Ink Books. Read More