Reference no: EM131723051

Review the case study “Alaska Airlines: Navigating Change” and then complete the following: (a) State what actually occurred in the case regarding Kotter’s steps 5 and 6 of empowering employees for broad-based action and generating short-term wins, and (b) address each of the critical elements for Section II parts E and F in your change effort analysis. Make sure to include your recommendations for implementing Kotter’s steps 5 and 6. E. Enable Action by Removing Barriers Identify the forces, barriers, and hindrances to the organizational change effort, and describe each. How can resistance be recognized? How will you eliminate resistance or mitigate its impact on the implementation of the change plan? Describe actions that will enable and empower employees to help drive the change effort. F. Generate Short-Term Wins Determine how you will generate short-term wins. How will you reward these wins? What can be gained from short-term wins? Support your response. For additional details, please refer to the Milestone Three Guidelines and Rubric document in the Assignment Guidelines and Rubrics section of the course. Here is the case study for the assignment Alaska Airlines. Alaska airlines is a company that has a long history in serving people and this is traced back to 1932 when it was first introduced as McGee airlines. Since then, the company has experienced success in the large scale and this has meant that it increased the fleet as well as the destinations that it served. This was very important in making sure that the airline continued to growth. However with the growth, there have been many problems that have come up in recent times and this lead to many customers not being satisfied. There was however a good implementation of strategies that were meant to get the airline back on track and this was able to work effectively. The changes implemented were able to make sure that all the different parties involved in the day to day running of activities were able to feel more satisfied as they worked even more. In the process of implementing change, several steps were made. Following Kotter’s steps, it is notable that several things were done. First, in an effort to establish a sense of urgency, the airline made it clear that the top management were going to have meetings on a day to day basis. This was something that took place every morning and it made the managers to be able to feel that there was need to have speed in what they were doing. This also made them to be able to appreciate the different urgency that could be found in the different departments in the airline (Kotter and Cohen, 2012. The second step calls for the formation of a powerful coalition in an effort to make sure that they are able to lead the different changes that are needed to be implemented. In this part, the airline hired Ben Minicucci. This was already an employee of the company and was working in the management team. He was the vice president of the Seattle operations and this made him to be the best candidate for the job. He was also skilled and knew the people in the airline well. This made him to be able to assemble the best possible team to lead the change that the airline needed for it to continue to operate in the best manner possible. Creating Urgency In an effort to create a sense of urgency in the organization, the first major step would be to make sure that all the consequences of not implementing the change are made clear. This is something that could make sure that all the people in the company understand what is at stake if the changes are not made at the right time. Second, it would be very important to be able to make smart decisions as well as make sure that they are able to be acted on quickly (Kotter, 2008). This goes long way in making sure that the well being of all the different people involved is taken into consideration. The processes that currently exist to help with the implementation of this change is to make sure that all the different departments are involved. All the departments in the airline should be aware of the different changes that the airline may be in need of implementing. This is made in an effort to make sure that all the different issues are handles at the same time. Second, the process of communication needs to be updated in an effort to make sure that all the different communication processes are done in the most effective manner. This also makes sure that all the different changes are communicated effectively in the best manner possible. In an effort to get the employees support, I would make sure I involve them in the decision making process in an effort to enhance the support that they have in the process. By making sure that the employees play part in the decision making process, it is possible to make sure that they are able to support the decision made. This goes long way in making sure that the employees who are involved in the change feel like they are part of the whole decision making process and this enhances their participation in making sure the final change is implemented as it would be expected. Build a Guiding Coalition In the guiding coalition, my perfect mix of people that should be involved is 40% leaders, 40% managers and 20% informal leaders. To start with, the 40% of leaders is very important. These are the people that draw the strategy of change that needs to be implemented. They are people that know how best to listen to the masses as well as how to involve them and make sure that they are satisfied (Amabile and Kramer, 2011).