Reference no: EM133156975
Versatility Airport Operations (VAO) has been running airports worldwide since the 1980's. they have a reputation in the travel industry for turning around financially troubled entities. In 2019 VAO was given a contract by the Government of Jamaica to run one of the island's existing airports. Previously the Airport was government-run. One of the terms of this contract was that VAO re-tool the Airport to support the growth of the Tourism Industry for the country. The Board and the Senior Executive Management Team developed a five-year strategic plan when they took over the management of the Airport.
It is 2022 and, the Board along with the Senior Executive Management, meet to determine the strategy and plan for the next 18 months:
The strategy should aim to;
- Move the Customer Service Ratings for the Airport from its current 57 % to 90% satisfaction.
- Achieve profitability, adaptability, and improve the management skills and focus of the young managers that VAO recruited in 2019; and
- Further, automate the Airport and outsource many of the operations currently delivered by the employees.
VAO has made many changes to the Airport since 2019, but those changes have primarily addressed developing the physical infrastructure and technology. In taking over the Airport, it had inherited the employees from the previous government-run institution. However, the Board of directors' view supported by data was that the senior and middle managers they inherited were too comfortable in their positions, rarely disagreeing in their decision making. Seemingly, they wanted no conflicts to spoil their "cosy" atmosphere. As a result, the Board's analysis was that the Airport was being run like a holiday camp rather than a high-performance business seeking to support the tourism industry's drive-up in Jamaica and achieve profitability.
The Board of VAO, at the inception of their contract, decided to bring in new blood and recruited some talented young managers whom they felt they could fast-track to be at the helm of the organisation in the medium term. Their intention was for these young managers would understand the business quickly and, more importantly, work together to benefit the organisation.
The CEO sits on the Board of Directors. His perspective was that the young managers needed to be trained to understand the aims of their areas and how to integrate this into the organisation's goals. He has repeatedly been heard to say, "I need managers capable of turning the Airport into an effective team-based organisation, and for VAO to be seen as a great place to work". No one was quite sure, which "managers" he was referring to.
The CEO has shared these views with his executive team and a select few of the older managers, thinking that these individuals would understand the needs of VAO for the young managers' development and the achievement of the organisation's strategic goals. However, this was not the case. Instead, the older managers decided that they had to protect their jobs and the jobs of their team. This has worked against achieving a collaborative work environment characterised by competition and conflicts across the Airport. Indeed, without intervention achieving the strategic objectives could be in jeopardy.
Junior employees are also now concerned, as rumours indicate that there will be job losses, and they will be the first to go. They have seen new faces walking around the Airport, and of course, they feel they are being watched and reported. To make matters worse, they now perceive that their managers have become less approachable and open to listening to their concerns. Managers now seem more concerned about. Retaining their positions and not the smooth operations of the team and delivery of improved customer service. Junior employees are now confused. They now fear getting blamed for problems they bring to their managers' attention. Issues are going unresolved. The result - Customer Service ratings had begun to slide again.
Questions:
- List the five main issues in the case and discuss in full any two and how these will hinder the organisation's planned 2-year change strategy.
- Propose an OD Change strategy that will provide an integrative approach to change for VAO. This approach must be comprehensive and reflect the theory taught in the Module.
The choosing of OD Interventions is crucial to manging a change programme; what three Interventions would you recommend to the CEO and the Board to bring the organisation back to effectiveness, providing justifications for your choices