NAME: MEHREEN SAGHEER

ROLL NO: 19102003-011

SECTION: BLUE

SUBJECT: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT IN AVIATION

SUBMITTED TO: MAAM ZARWAISH

 ASSIGNMENT 1
Analysis Of Emirates Airline Strategic Change Management Process.

Introduction
Strategic change management entails transformation of organizations, people or
groups from the present to a future desired state. Being an organizational process
aimed at improving employees’ attitudes in embracing and accepting total change
in their place of work and entire business environment, it involves employees and
their daily processes in an organization. Hence, change management basically
entails managing processes within an organization.

For instance, before any forms of changes are adopted in an organization, it must
first be approved by the relevant management teams. As a matter of fact, it takes
time and proper planning for any changes to be executed in an organization and
that is why it is referred to as a process. In most cases, change management is
primarily concerned with the human resource aspect.

The latter explains why all the changes introduced and approved in an organization
are usually done according to the challenges facing human resource as well as the
emerging needs as set out in organizational objectives .Therefore, domains
involved in successful management include educational programs to train or
improve skills of the human resources within an organization or improvement
efforts aimed at boosting production in an organization.

Another aspect normally taken into consideration when implementing change

management in the need of containing employee behavior which sometime entails
combating their resistance towards proposed changes with the view to aligning
them to a strategic and desired direction for the betterment of the organization.
Thirdly, there has always been need for effective communication when
implementing change in organizations. For example, all the stakeholders, including
employees should be part and parcel of change management process.

Therefore, they should be informed and also be made to take active roles in
implementing the very changes. In other words the rationale for change, associated
advantages and also all the likely limitations of change plus the associated
budgetary expenditures should be made clear to all stakeholders.

Vision and objectives of Emirates airline

The emirates airline is a passenger airline services flying to numerous destinations
globally. Its headquarters are located in the Middle East, specifically in the United
Arab Emirates. According to The Emirate Group , the Emirates Airline Company
has been made strong through its vision and objectives. Its vision is based on
building a strong and highly stable team that is keen in decision making with high
levels of ambition but with consideration of business ethics as a foundation of
success building. From past statistical evidence and levels of achievement, the
Emirates has continued to demonstrate great care for its employees and involved
stakeholders for their role in the growth of the company with emphasis on
immediate environments and the communities served by the fleet of its airlines.

This is one of its great objectives that have driven growth and encouraged
attraction of human resource. Another major objective is to maintain the past and
connect it to the future with a view to maintain great service and improve with time
signifying the best future in the airline industry. A supporting objective based on
future plans is aimed at making the airline one of the major global players by
earning itself a top or front position in making the capital of the Middle East one of
the top destination for visiting tourists every year. The latter has been found to be
an influential trading hub for business in the world.

Background to change
Organizational change can be described as the most effective way to enhance the
current state of the business process. There is no doubt that change initiatives can
decide the future of organization in the operating market. Change management
basically includes the implementation of systematic management interventions,
and allows individuals to adapt different situations and outcomes aligned with the
organizational strategy. Businesses in all over the world are facing crisis and issues
amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic. Due to this, airline industry has started its
business operations with significant decline in the number of passengers. In the
aviation industry, pandemic has caused airlines has caused airlines to temporarily
stop their operations and implement international travel restrictions. According to
travel website TripAdvisor and global market research Phocuswright has released
that travelers have tendencies to explore local destinations in this difficult time.
The market would take long time to shift from domestic to international phase. In
addition to this, the airline has lost $6.0 billion in 1 year which was huge loss for
the organization in thirty years. For increasing the number of passengers and
improving the profitability, airline is required to take some strategic decisions and
implement effective changes in the business operations.

Need for change

While talking about the need of strategic changes in an organization, there are
some factors that should be considered significantly. Those factors can include
change in the preferences of consumers towards specific services and strong
positions of competitors in the market may also be significant factors demanding
for need of change. Not only such basic factors, there can be some economic
factors like changes in GDP rates, inflation rate, and changes in the interest rates
affecting the position of an organization in the operating market. Changes in rules
and regulations, technology, budget restrictions are few other factors for change.

Taking about the need for strategic change in Emirates Airlines, the organization is
required to enhance customer’s trust and experience by offering different services.
Covid-19 created tough time for customers also i.e. they do not want to travel
outside of the country due to the fear of infection. The management of Emirates
Airlines needs to make some strategic changes in the organization in terms of
enhancing the consumer’s experiences by providing hygienic services in flights. In
this regards, company may implement changes to protect the workforce and
customers from this serious disease.

Factors driving change

There are various factors which drive the need for change within the organization.
Some of the factors driving change in Emirates Airlines are as follows:

 Less preferences by consumers-

In case of Emirates Airlines, the situation of covid-19 has affected the profitability
of the aviation companies in negative manner. Lack of competitive advantage and
trust among consumers has created the need for the change in the business
operations of Emirates Airlines. This situation of the airline made an impact on the
businesses with increasing cost of operations and lesser profit margins. On the
other hand, passengers are not giving preference to travel outside of the countries
due to fear of infection and disease and this is affecting on the revenue and profit
of the airline in negative manner.

 Restrictions of international flights

Basically, political and legal factors like restrictions on international flights and
safety rules and guidelines have created the situation for the airline to introduce
new changes in the business strategies. At the global level, demographic aspects
for aviation services varies much so, Emirates can take it as an opportunity and
increase its profitability in aviation industry (The Emirates Group, 2021).

 Digital revolution
n such pandemic situation, it is important for the airline to identify and implement
technology so that contactless services can be provided to the passengers. Airline is
required to identify such system in which passengers may not to come in the
contact of any staff member. In addition to this, new technology and system are
also required to monitor and scan the symptoms of virus among passengers so that
safety measures can be followed in flights.

 Resource implications
In the change management process, if the resources are not implemented in proper
manner then it would highly impact on the performance and business operations of
the organization. The resources are the significant part of change management
process including employees or staff of the organization, project teams,
departmental heads, and IT infrastructure etc. Resource implications for not
responding to these changes are discussed below:

1. If there would be improper information technology infrastructure system

within the organization, then it can create issues and challenges in
implementing new and innovative technologies. If the organization does not
have resources related to unique and new IT frameworks then this would
impact on the entire project of change in negative manner.
 2. Further, there can be issues or problems related to increased project time that
might affect the change management process in Emirates Airlines. In
addition to this, there can also be issues related to the lack of inactive
participation and cooperation from employees and various departments. If IT
department would not be able to meet to meet the deadline on the time of
requirements related to implementing new IT systems within the
organization then it would affect overall change process negatively.

Change management models

In order to implement the change process successfully, there are some change
management models which can be considered by the organization. In this manner,
ADKAR model is appropriate for the strategic changes in Emirates Airlines. The
explanations of these model is as follows:

 ADKAR model
Change management is important for Emirates Airlines to deal with the issues
raised due to pandemic. Change management is an important strategic process to
achieve organizational goals and objectives in significant manner. According to the
ADKAR model of change, there are five crucial steps that should be adopted by an
organization while implementing changes in the business operations. The steps
include awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement.
Awareness

The process of change management would be exceptionally successful when the

organization tries to implement the change process for customers and employees.
In case of Emirates Airlines, employees are key resources to implement changes
successfully. Basically, organization may seek support from staff and various
departments. Basically, employees always take active participation in the business
operations so the organization is accountable to create awareness about the change
process. Airline is required to make employees aware about the changes going to
take place in the business operations. Awareness of high-tech solutions and
policies related to safety and hygiene of individuals might be helpful for
organization in implementing changes easily.

Desire

By making employees and various departments aware, the airline is required to

create desire of changes among them. This part of the model advocates desire of
the change in the organization i.e. employees should take active participation in
following guidelines of hygiene and safety while passengers are traveling in the
flight. In addition to this, there should also be the desire to implement new and
high-tech IT systems and taking technological initiatives to manage the impact of
global health crisis. Basically, the desire to achieve change goals and objectives
can be created when employees are properly aware about the change project.

Knowledge

The knowledge phase in this change model can be considered as he understanding

of change which is going to take place in the business strategies of the
organization. In case of Emirates Airlines, knowledge related to high-tech
solutions i.e. facial and iris recognition system and new immigration policy should
be provided to the employees as well as customers so that they can be prepared to
adapt the changes in business operations. In order to build knowledge, some of the
tactics like training with effectiveness, offering work tools, coaching employees
individually, and developing training groups can be helpful for the airline.
Ability

This part of the change management model can be considered as the skills or talent
required to achieve the change goals and objectives in the organization. Basically,
this element of the model focuses on the importance of providing adequate
resources, manpower, and equipment on time for the implementation of changes in
proper manner. In case of Emirates Airlines, if manpower, resources, and
equipment are not available in adequate manner then whole change management
project may be compromised and each step of change may not be completed. In
this manner, the airline may support change by supervisor involvement on daily
basis, appraise performance of employees, involve employees and staff of various
department in training exercise, and provide expert advice in subject material.

Reinforcement

This is the last and extremely important element of change management model as
this phase is helpful in ensuring the sustainability of the change process for the
long term. Knowing the fact that changes may be failed sometimes, this model can
be helpful in providing proper planning to build sustainable change management
plan. Reinforcement might be helpful in measuring the impact of change process
on the business operations of the airline. Continuous management support and
essential positive feedback is important to sustain change process for long
duration. Managers in the organization must be aware about their roles in
successful change and their responsibility in implementing new systems for the
continuous growth and change in the business operations. In the reinforcement
phase, the organization may use audits, appraisals, metrics, personal feedbacks,
and recognitions for implementing continuous and effective changes in the
business operations.

Recommendations

There are some recommendations for Emirates Airlines to complete the change
management process in effective manner.

 For dealing with the issue of resistance, organization should generate

innovative ideas to implement change management plan in proper manner.
 Additionally, managers should also understand their ethical responsibilities
to manage resistance to change.
 In order to manage the change process in proper manner, airline should
make the stakeholders aware about overall project. Communication
strategies should be implemented by the organization to give them
significant information.
 Managers in the organization should focus on the ethical consideration for
implementing change management plan and motivate employees to adapt
changes in positive manner. Managers or leaders should implement
inspirational leadership approach to motivate and engage employees in the
change process.
 Coaching and training sessions should also be conducted by airline so that
staff can learn about using new and high-tech systems in proper manner.

-----------------------------------------