BA has also faced a share of challenges during thechange process. The main challenges of the process came after 2000 when thecompany decided to replace about 5000 existing employees with new ones who aremore skilled. This move made the employees react negatively with the matterbeing made worse when the company decided to outsource as a way of reducing theoperational costs.
The employees instead of working with the management to sortout the issue decided to go on a strike which greatly affected the operationsof the company. The challenges that BA was facing was thekey reason why it decided to have a change in its operations. In other words,external pressure and in particular market changes forced BA to come up with anew strategy which would ensure that it competed effectively in the freightindustry despite the changing market forces.There have been challenges and successes in theprocess of BA making changes in its operations to ensure that its competitiveadvantage is enhanced.
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The process of change that BA has adapted is termed tobe participative in that it sought to ensure the views of the concernedstakeholders were addressed. There are two main models which can be used toensure effective organizational change namely; People, Service and Profits(PSP) model and People, Power, Politics and Practicalities (4Ps) model. Thesemodels are very essential in that they ensure the change being sought afterconcurs with the strategic objectives of the organization (Kreitner, 2009).After the initial set of changes, BA was privatized and within no time it beganmaking profits. The profits were because of improved customer services andimproved work relation between the employees and the management. British Airways popularly known as BA, is one of theworlds renown companies in the freight industry. Just like any other form ofbusiness, BA experience tremendous challenges during its growth forcing itsmanagement to find ways and means which will ensure the company grows despitethe challenges. One of the major challenges that BA faced was loss of marketdue to political conflicts in countries where it operated.
Other factors thataffected the performance of the freight industry include passenger safety andespecially after the September 11, 2001 attack of a passenger plane byterrorist. This means that passengers feared for their safety and thereforeopted for other means of transport such as rail, making the freight industryexperience some drastic drops in their revenues (British Airways, n.d). Thechange process in BA began in the early 1980s when the then management decidedto restructure the company with an aim of making it more profitable byprivatization.
This was done by reducing the number of employees and byappointing a new leadership that would ensure the change process was undertakeneffectively (Yeoman, Sparrow and McGunnigle, 2000). BA used Lewin’s model of change by integrating thethree stages of unfreezing, changing and refreezing in ensuring that therelevant stakeholders in the commercial organization are sensitized onpertinent current issues in the organization, as well as the need for theorganizational change process (Hannagan, 2002). Similarly, BA used the 7 modelof change process by ensuring that all parties in the organization work inharmony. These models show that the change management process requires themanager to utilize the organizational structures, networks and procedures inthe establishment of new and resourceful values, norms, behaviors and attitudes(Yeoman, Sparrow and McGunnigle, 2000).With the increasing competition in the world ofbusiness, firms must find means and ways of enhancing their competitiveadvantage. This includes changing the way the organization engages in business,policy making, implementation and human resource management. The challenge thatfirms have always experienced is how to manage that transition (Mullins, 2004).The challenge lies because; the employees will only implement the policies anddirectives initiated by the management.
According to Hannagan (2002), change management will therefore involveenlightening employees on accepting new modes of operations that will ensurethe firm enhances its competitive advantage. Introduction: To keep up with the volatility and unpredictable nature of thetwenty first century commercial arena, business organizations are constantlyengaged in change processes aimed at enhancing business operations. Thisresearch seeks to evaluate the change management process in British Airways(BA) with focus on the successes and failures.
The study is guided by Lewin’sModels of Change and McKinsey 7s Model in understanding the principles ofchange management, strategies that impact of change management and approachesto change management. Data for thisstudy was obtained from secondary sources. This was descriptive contained innotes form. Guided by the objectives of the study, the data was arrangedaccording to conceptual themes. The findings showed that There have beenchallenges and successes in the process of BA making changes in its operations toensure that its competitive advantage is enhanced. The study concluded that Itis only through effective change management that organizations can ensure itssurvival and success in the highly volatile and competitive commercial realmsof the modern day.