OL 633

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Alaska Airlines: Navigating Change

Deyanira Diaz

OL 633

Southern New Hampshire University

September 11, 2022

What Actually Occurred in the Case Regarding Kotter's First Two Steps

Kotter’s first two steps are creating a sense of urgency and building a coalition. Kotter (1996) indicates that creating a sense of urgency includes examining potential threats in the market which may affect the company in the future. It also includes finding opportunities that can boost the status of the company. For Alaska airlines, none of these took place because the company had already declared itself the best customer service provider. It did not analyze threats such as competition nor did it find opportunities to strengthen its future. When it comes to building a coalition, Kotter believes it’s a stage of calling on a united group to work on the required change and have a powerful team that could facilitate the change. The team must be led by the company leaders and all stakeholders must develop a vision and effective strategies to realize the change. In the case of Alaska, employees were doubting their value to the company and it was difficult to involve them in building a coalition. The new CEO had not yet devised effective strategies of communicating with the stakeholders to guide them on the implementation of the change.

Change Effort Analysis

1. Create a Sense of Urgency

A plan to Create Urgency

The best way to create a sense of urgency is to communicate directly to the employees and ensure they understand where the organization is and where it should be. According to Rajan and Ganesan (2017), the leadership should have an honest discussion with employees about the issues affecting the company and involve them as partners in the journey to solve the problem. They should give a convincing reason for the change and persuade all stakeholders to stay committed in solving the issue. This will create a sense of urgency and develop a sense of responsibility among the stakeholders.

Current Processes for Implementing Change

The processes that currently exist for implementing change at Alaska is the quick-fix approach. The leadership of the organization identify a problem and make it upon itself to solve that problem. No employees are involved, no analysis is done, and there is no enough time given to solving the problem. According to Backer and O’Hara (1991), this quick-fix approach has led to the downfall of giant leaders in the world. The quick-fix approach has led to Alaska making impulsive decisions which affect the operations of the company later.

How Change Process Should Be Updated

There are times in business when fast change is required but the process involved should be thought out properly. Even though Alaska felt the pressure of the competition in the industry, leadership required a better approach other than the quick fix one. Implementing a strategy such as the quick reaction approach when situations call will help Alaska ensure its decisions and changes are effective. Competition is something that requires analyzing the market and the best change process for Alaska is to involve all stakeholders especially employees and customers to ensure they find a long lasting solution.

Strategy to Get Support from Employees

The first strategy to get support from employees is to get the support of the executives and ensure they act as examples in guiding employees towards the change. Once employees see that the executives are committed, they will commit too. Another strategy to get support from employees is clearly communicating the change, its vision, and the benefits to be achieved from the change. If employees understand that the change will increase productivity which in turn can lead to an increase in their salaries, this will motivate them to support the change. Lastly, engaging the employees is an important way of getting their support. They will feel their contribution is valued and this will motivate them to take on the change.

2. Building a Guiding Coalition

Who Should Be Involved in the Guiding Coalition

Everyone in the company must be an agent of change for it to be effective and that is why the guiding coalition will include all stakeholders. These stakeholders include the employees, shareholders, customers, and supervisors. Integrating all these stakeholders requires the 33% leaders, 33% managers, and 33% informal leaders. In Alaska’s situation, this approach will ensure all members of the company are well represented in the decisions regarding the change. Each part of the organization will provide their input and it will enhance decision-making.

Steps to ensure Commitment from Those Involved

To achieve commitment from those involved, it will be essential to assign roles and responsibilities to every team member. They will have a chance to decide which areas they think they will perform better and their opinions will be taken into consideration. Every member will have a responsibility to deliver high quality work on their part and this will drive them to commit. This will be followed by weekly meetings in which every member will present a report to the team to show their progress and their plans. This will ensure everyone is committed to meet the required standards and the set goals.

References

Backer, T. E., & O'Hara, K. B. (1991).  Organizational change and drug-free workplaces: Templates for success. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Kotter, John P. (1996).  Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press.

Rajan, R., & Ganesan, R. (2017). A critical analysis of John P. Kotter's change management framework.  Asian Journal of Research in Business Economics and Management,  7(7), 181-203.