Creating Change at Alaska Airlines

Introduction 

Organizational change refers to changing policies, structures, and organizational cultures, among other organizational elements, for the better. Lewis (2019) outlines the importance of organizational change, especially at a time when a business organization is on the decline. The case of Alaska Airlines describes a series of events at the one-time giant airline, which led to a fall. Activities at Alaska Airlines, as outlined by Avolio, Patterson & Baker (2015), are worth looking at and making changes. This change plan analyzes the historical events in Alaska and suggests a change plan in the organization. The change plan takes current processes and ways of doing things at the airline company. The strategy also considers the input of the employees to support the change and improves the airline for the better.  

What Happened at Alaska Airlines? 

The period preceding 2007 had seen Alaska Airlines struggle with multiple operational problems that saw the organization suffer greatly. A whopping forty percent of all flights did not leave for their destinations in time, and seven out of one thousand passenger luggage were reported by the Department of Transport to have been mishandled. The airline implemented a couple of changes, and the errors were substantially reduced. Only twenty-five percent of taking offs delayed while only four passenger bags were now reported as mishandled.  

Avolio, Patterson & Baker (2015) report the outlining of a sense of urgency in 2007. The executives acted to prevent any further damage to the Airline, which had lost loyalty to most of their customers. The executives set up an agenda to fix operations at the Airline within twelve months and not to accept any failure. The executives engaged in a series of brainstorming; different groups were set to talk about the problem I various dimensions in a series of meetings, which bore three recommendations for the urgency plan. All three suggestions focused on the need to urgently fix the Seattle hub before finding a solution for the system at large.  

The immediate action done by the executives was the appointment of a staff Vice President in charge of the Seattle hub, an improvement since an individual manager was previously in charge of the Seattle hub. What followed during 2008 was a series of changes and positive results at Alaska Airlines. Alaska achieved online departures and end in luggage mishandling within the year. The airline was ranked at number one by the J.D power rankings for customer satisfaction (Avolio, Patterson & Baker, 2015). Every move, every implementation, and every step in the change bore fruits, and there was hope that the airline was finally moving to its rightful place.  

My Change Plan 

It is of great importance to involve every leader at Alaska Airlines of the state of the issues facing the airline company. Saving the business depends so much on engaging the members because they are the ones who drive implementations of all strategies at all times. Subsequently, it is imperative to involve all other stakeholders in making a difference at the airline. My urgency plan consists of getting the employees and the members of the community to have a say at the things that occur at the company. Fundamental among those issues is the proposed changes and how they ought to be changed.  

The problem of late departures and mishandling of luggage directly affects the customers. This directly translates to customer satisfaction ratings, which reduce due to the low ratings from the customers. In the long run, this issue brings to reduced customer loyalty, which directly translates to the company profits. Therefore, it is important to solve the problem with the utmost urgency. Seeking the opinions of the customers is key in such a case because it allows the company to get to know the actual problem as is viewed by customers and the most preferred change by as the customers wished.  

It is also vital to involve employees and all organizational members at Alaska Airlines. The members take care of every step of change implementation. Their opinion is equally important. My urgency plan would seek the views of the employees to save the change plan from any form of sabotage that may arise from employees due to dissatisfaction. It would also be necessary for the company to take care of any losses suffered by customers whose luggage was mishandled. This could include any breakages and spoilage caused by the poor handling of luggage. This is important in ensuring a good relationship with the existing customers.  

Existing Processes at Alaska Airlines 

So far, the company has made a couple of steps in initiating urgency at the company. Identifying the issues was such an important step and a potential route to change in the organization. The organization recognized the need to fix the Seattle Hub ahead of any other hub of the airline. The executive team also appointed a Vice President to take charge at the Seattle Hub in a move believed to be key in fixing the hub. This particular move by the company conforms with my proposed urgency plan. The idea to compensate customers who run losses after their luggage was mishandled can start from the Seattle hub.  

In the quest to balance priorities, the executives at the airline gave priority to improving the timelines of flight departures as well as reducing the cases of luggage losses and mishandling. The airline company has also made a number of steps in promoting customer relationships. They have strived to achieve consistency in standardized service delivery, engaging employees, and set up an infrastructure for customer information. These steps also conform to my change plan for the company.  

Strategy for Getting Employee Support 

Employees are regarded as one of the most important stakeholders of an organization and one whose support is necessary to drive change in an organization (Hayes, 2018). All these change plans at the airline company would only become successful with the help of employees. Employees are responsible for implementing every step of the change pan; having them to support a change initiative is key because it all happens at their watch. One key tool to get to win the heart of employees is communication. An effective communication refers to communicating information when it is available. This way, employees will feel involved in the change and gladly support it.  

  Guiding Coalition 

The best way to have a workable coalition is to set up a team in charge of customer service. While Kotter & Rathgerber (2005) suggest a group consisting of fifty-fifty composition of both leaders and managers, other scholars go for a mix of thirty-three percent leaders, thirty-three percent managers, and thirty-three percent informal leaders.  

As I have stated earlier, customers are key to this coalition because it ensures maximum customer satisfaction. The organization gets to know what customers want. In the coalition team, goals must be set for each party represented. Additionally, it is important to improve the relationship among members by organizing unity events like workshops to bring them together.  

Conclusion 

In summary, the mix of having thirty-three percent for managers, leaders, and informal leaders is the most appropriate coalition that would help implement the proposed changes at Alaska Airlines. Moreover, this must be consolidated by building a perfect relationship among the team leaders. It can be done through communication, training, and organizing workshops necessary for educating the members and promoting the change agenda.  

References  

Lewis, L. (2019). Organizational change: Creating change through strategic communication . John Wiley & Sons. 

Hayes, J. (2018). The theory and practice of change management . Palgrave. 

Kotter, J. & Rathgerber, H. 2005. Our Iceberg is Melting. New York City: Penguin Random House. 

Avolio, B. J., Patterson, C., Baker, B. (2015). Alaska Airlines: Navigating Change. Harvard Business School Publishing.