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British Airways
Before the Crash
In the early 1980’s British Airways went from losing over $240 million to reaching
record profits by the end of the decade. What leads to the significant drop in profits in the early
’80s? It all stems back to the end of World War II, with the end of the war there was a huge
increase in the number of veterans now looking for roles in Britain. Many of the Royal Air
Forces’ Fighter Pilots were looking for roles and the natural transition would be to become pilots
for commercial airlines. This ultimately led to the company culture of British Airways becoming
very much like the military. This shift into a militarized culture is what led to the downfall within
the company.
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A Successful Transformation
The company needed to make a complete change to make company profitable once again.
Company culture plays a huge role in how successful a company is. After British Airways'
extreme profit loss between 1980 and 1981, a new chairman was appointed in February of 1981.
Lord John King the new chairmen for British Airways brought a vastly successful history of
business ventures and strong ties to both the government and business communities (Liberty
University Custom: Heinz, 2020, p. 491-009). Having a great balance between the public
business world and the government bodies was extremely important for the company at this time
in its history. At that time a Survival plan was put into place. This plan involved company
downsizing, leadership change, customer relations, and company culture. The company first
needed to change their management; Lord John King brought on multiply people that specialize
in areas of the company that needed the most help. From accounting to marketing and Chief
Executive Officer. A new marketing firm was brought on to help completely change the
company’s overall image. The new management team also brought the importance of customer
service to the company. The team completely changed how the company interacts with clients,
and why they need to put them first. During the mid-1980s, the company also brought on a
Danish firm to work through their Putting People First campaign to all of their workers. With all
of the adjustments made by the leadership team at British Airways, the company was able to
switch from one losing $240 million to becoming one of the world’s most respected airlines.
Personal Analysis
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After looking and reading the massive change that British Airways went under it is clear
how important company culture is to the profitability and success of a company. One area that I
might have expanded on is what management traits lead to the downfall of the old British
Airways. Being able to understand what specific aspects lead to the change in the company,
allows the management team to be always looking and analyzing their department to make sure a
similar change does not happen. I would also put large pressure on the department heads to build
relationships with every member of their department. Employees are people and should be
treated as such, showing that you care for everyone who works for you is massive and largely
affects the success of the company. Having open communication is if not the most important
aspect of creating a successful business, and building a great relationship. Ephesians 4:29 – “Let
no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the
occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (English Standard Version).
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References
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Liberty University Custom: Heinz, A. (2020). Leading Organizational Change. McGraw-
Hill/Create.
Rao, J., & Weintraub, J. (2013). How Innovative Is Your Companys Culture? MIT Sloan
Management Review, 54(3), 29–37.
Kucharska, W., & Kowalczyk, R. (2018). How to achieve sustainability?-Employee's point of
view on company's culture and CSR practice. Corporate Social Responsibility and
Environmental Management, 26(2), 453–467. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1696
Crossway Bibles. (2001). Holy Bible: English Standard Version.
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