Changing the Culture at British Airways
Changing the Culture at British Airways
1. Problems you identified from the case
Macro: The first problem changing the culture at British Airways was the merger of the BOAC and BEA. In 1971, the Civil Aviation Act became law and the board was to control policy over British Airways but both BOAC and BEA remained autonomous, each with its own chairman, board, and chief executive. This caused a split within British Airways throughout the 1970s and in the mid-1980. The second problem BA faced was the threat of privatization. In 1984 the government passed legislation that made BA a public limited company. The third was productivity was bad compared to other leading foreign airlines. The fourth was poor service. Poor customer service to the employees and customers led to reduced passenger numbers and high fuel costs. This created a reduction in profit (Jick & Peiperl, 2011, pp. 25-29).
Micro: The first problem BA had that is not obvious was the change in the organization and culture. There need to be a more institutionalize change. New culture fosters a strong commitment to service. Also, the lack of unity and loyalty caused the airline to not be focused. There was a lack of recognition. This caused a lack of unifying corporate culture. Also, training needs for managers were needed. Organizations need to change to adapt to the changes inside and outside the organizations (Jick & Peiperl, 2011, pp. 28-35)
2. Causes
BA will have these problems because they merge two companies with very different style of management, government regulations. They lost millions because of the mindset the management had which questioned why the need for change if we’re making a profit. The lost was great also because people were operating effectively and not efficiently. They believe that if you’re providing service at no cost to taxpayers then you’re doing well and the cost of paying a high price for advance technologies. There was not enough management time
1. Problems you identified from the case
Macro: The first problem changing the culture at British Airways was the merger of the BOAC and BEA. In 1971, the Civil Aviation Act became law and the board was to control policy over British Airways but both BOAC and BEA remained autonomous, each with its own chairman, board, and chief executive. This caused a split within British Airways throughout the 1970s and in the mid-1980. The second problem BA faced was the threat of privatization. In 1984 the government passed legislation that made BA a public limited company. The third was productivity was bad compared to other leading foreign airlines. The fourth was poor service. Poor customer service to the employees and customers led to reduced passenger numbers and high fuel costs. This created a reduction in profit (Jick & Peiperl, 2011, pp. 25-29).
Micro: The first problem BA had that is not obvious was the change in the organization and culture. There need to be a more institutionalize change. New culture fosters a strong commitment to service. Also, the lack of unity and loyalty caused the airline to not be focused. There was a lack of recognition. This caused a lack of unifying corporate culture. Also, training needs for managers were needed. Organizations need to change to adapt to the changes inside and outside the organizations (Jick & Peiperl, 2011, pp. 28-35)
2. Causes
BA will have these problems because they merge two companies with very different style of management, government regulations. They lost millions because of the mindset the management had which questioned why the need for change if we’re making a profit. The lost was great also because people were operating effectively and not efficiently. They believe that if you’re providing service at no cost to taxpayers then you’re doing well and the cost of paying a high price for advance technologies. There was not enough management time
References: Jick, T. D., & Peiperl, M. A. (2011). Managing Change: Cases and Concepts, Third Edition . New york: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc..