Introduction
As the head of the information technology department of the Emirates Airline, there is a need to introduce varying degrees of change within each section of the unit to inject efficiency in the entire operations. As such, the changes will focus on customer booking and seat reservations to improve customer care and uplift the overall image of the department. The change is of low urgency because it is a long-term endeavor that will gradually ensure quality services to the entire clientele. Further, it is proactive and has been informed by the deliberations within the Department, aiming to introduce sustainable long-term quality customer care measures. With the introduction of the change, the customers will receive better and quality services while the cargo handling services will greatly improve to ensure that the customers get value for their money.
The change involves the introduction of efficient technologies at all areas related to customers care and cargo handling. The ticketing portals will be accessed directly by the customers, which will enable them to decide on the suitable payment option as a measure to save time. The system will enable the customers to make payments and indicate their locations in the respective countries so that they can access the company's shuttle services to the airport. The change is aimed at introducing a unique customer service that will create an extensive customer base and increase the levels of customer loyalty. The change will further ensure timely check-ins to minimize lateness which has been a source of inefficiency in the past causing a loss of business in the company.
The change is about going the extra mile to ensure that the customers and the cargo arrive at the airports in time for the scheduled departures. The measure will involve developing an application for the mobile phone to ensure that customers consistently communicate with the customer services department in anticipation of travel. The anticipated change will involve a realignment of the customer care executives with the new technologies to improve the level of interactions with the customers. The access to the department's range of services will be readily available to the clients who will increase confidence with the operations of the department to enhance the image of the entire organization (Lussier & Achua, 2015). Despite the fact that the Emirates Airline has a reputation for efficiency, the change will improve the image in line with the need to confront the competition experienced in the air transport at the moment.
Barriers to change implementation
In the implementation of change, one of the greatest obstacles is convincing the team members in the department that change is necessary. The barrier is based on the fact that members will have fears that changes may be more demanding than the application of the technologies they are conversant with, currently. Therefore, the level of resistance will be quite high as the team members are unsure whether the anticipated changes could lead to retrenchment of the workforce. The teams may also be anxious about compensation in that they may not be sure whether reward system offered by the department will be commensurate with the additional responsibilities if at all they will be there (Vecchio, Justin & Pearce, 2008). The team members will be concerned that the new technologies will be difficult to learn, hence lowering their levels of productivity which could sour the relations with the managements.
The team members might be concerned that they lack the capacity to handle the anticipated change in the department as they may consider themselves as lacking the necessary skills to deal with changes of the expected magnitude. Communication is a significant barrier in the implementation of a change process. Even when emails and memo are applied to communicate to the team members of the department, there is a likelihood of creating misunderstanding and misinterpretation (Cummings & Worley, 2014). The use of emails may not adequately convey all the details about the possible change. The communication may be manipulated by the team members due to their personal prejudices.
The unwillingness to adopt new technologies could further be a major obstacle in the implementation of change. The team members might be anxious about the impending change concerned how they will cope with the changes when they are finally introduced in the department. The team members will have no idea how the likely change will affect the operations of the organization (Seibert, Wang & Courtright, 2011). The group members will have how the shifts in the IT department will affect the culture in the organization. The members will be concerned how the impending change will influence the administrative structure of the department. According to the workforce in the department, the shifts in the organizational fabric may occasion a shift in the work area obligations and the job responsibilities including the supervision procedures (Dennis, Wixom, & Tegarden, 2015). The team may feel that their feelings and intuitions will not be considered in the implementation of the change process.
Techniques/Strategies to Overcome the Barriers
The introduction of the change in the IT department will only succeed if the employees are involved from the beginning. The concept will ensure that the team members are involved in the change process to make them feel part of the change (Cameron & Green, 2015). The change will incorporate the opinions of the employees. The involvement of the workforce in the department will assure them that the change is for the common good of all in the department and the entire organization. The strategy will involve incorporating the skills of the existing workforce in the desired change in the department (Shields, et al.2015). The provision of the necessary resources to reassure them that they are well positioned for the change in the administration will be required. Such a measure will prepare the team members and make them comfortable with the impending change within the department. The idea is to involve the employees so that they understand the need for change in the department.
The application of effective communication to all the team members will ensure that they are not only informed about the changes but the details related to change. The team members will be notified how the changes will affect them and also how they will be expected to adapt to the changes. Effective communication on all the details related to the change such as the compensation and reward mechanisms will also be communicated (Clarke, 2013). As such, there is a need to communicate how the changes will affect the work environment and the administrative structure of the IT department. The emails must be explicit to ensure that the messages forwarded to the team members so that the full information related to the change is captured. According to Doppelt (2012) effective leaders implement change in an organization effectively only when they adopt a sustainable approach that transforms the peoples thinking and behavior. For this reason, the team members will be informed about any planned retraining on the skills necessary for the introduction of the technologies in the department. Every aspect of the anticipated changes will be communicated to the team members so that they understand the long-term objectives related to the shifts in the IT department.
Before the introduction of the change in the IT department, there will be a need to understand the existing blueprint of the company fully. The blueprint is necessary to enable the planning and to transition to the future state of the company (Van Dam, Oreg & Schyns, 2008). The rationale is to ensure that the change in the IT department addresses the long-term objectives of the organization. A contradict between the organizational blueprint and objectives of the change will adverse effect affect the implementation of the change process (Nahavandi, 2016). Therefore, the current state of IT department at the Emirates Airline will be interrogated to accommodate the desired change.
How Change Will Be Implemented
Creating a Climate for Change
The change will be implemented using the Kotter's eight step model to ensure that the appropriate change achieves the required objectives in the IT department at the Emirates Airline. In that regard the urgency for the introduction of the transformative changes in the department. The concept will form and lay the background for the right climate for the change in the IT department. Cohen, (2013) proposed the need for a change to be supported by a rational business model that identifies the gaps that exists between the desired performances in an organization. As such, the proposed changes in the organization are aimed at improving the performance of the organization, which will enhance its performance and profitability.
With the application of Kotter's model, there will be the formation of a powerful the coalition to effect the desired changes in the IT department. There will be a thorough consultation such that there is exhaustive information to address for every aspect of the desired changes in the IT department at the airline (Van der Voet, 2014). The members of the entire department will be involved to ensure that they are members of the larger team responsible for the introduction of the changes in the department. Such an approach will ensure that there is cooperation of the entire team during the implementation of the change process. Bridges will be created to ensure that the network is tangible enough to support the changes in the department.
With the application of the model, there will be a need to create a vision for the change. It would be critical to communicate the aspect of the organizational vision that the changes will endeavor to achieve. Such communication is necessary to make the team members understand how the changes in the department will address the long-term vision of the Emirates Airline. Moser & Dilling (2007) argues that effective communication increases the support through behavior change and collective action of the involved parties. Further, effective communication enables persuasion and expression of issues concerning the proposed changes.
Engaging and Enabling the IT Department
It will be important to communicate the vision of the IT department to the entire stakeholders. Such a communicating will be necessary to solicit the support of all in the introduction of the change in the office. The communication will ensure that the team members, the entire organization, and external stakeholders understand what the changes desire to achieve in the long-term (Hmieleski, Cole, & Baron, 2012). In the communication, the stakeholders will be informed of the need to improve efficiency in the IT department to enhance the services to the clients. The changes will be related to the vision of the company for an easier understanding by all.
It will be critical to empower the team members responsible for the change in the department. As such there will BE the mobilization of the necessary skills to ensure that the department is well prepared for the anticipated change (Ganz, 2010). There will be coordination with the human resources department to mobilize the available skills with the Activities to inform the request changes in the IT department. The necessary technologies will be availed to ensure that the team members familiarize themselves before the change process begins. Through the application of transformation leadership, the members of the team will be motivated to provide innovation and creativity in the implementation of the change process.
It will be crucial to get the support of all by ensuring that the benefits of the project are clarified. The measure is significant to engage the stakeholders and prove that the changes in the IT department will be beneficial and will make positive contributions to the entire organization. The initial steps of the change are necessary to gather the momentum necessary for the desired outcomes in the IT department.
Implementing and Sustaining the Change
The building on the change will entail efficient monitoring process by leveraging on the positive aspects of the change. The successful change dynamics such as effective technologies will be encouraged as reassessment measures are employed to ensure ineffective procedures are halted. The skills that occasion positive changes will be employed while those that do not respond to the change objectives are discouraged (Short, et al.2007). The stage is necessary to evaluate the processes and measures that respond positively to the change process.
After identifying the processes, procedures and the skills that work, it would be important to observe the aspects of the change implementation that yield most desired results in the change process. The stage of the implementing process will employ the systems and skills that appear to achieve the highest levels of success in the introduction of the change. The capitalization on the strong areas of the change process and other dynamics will be crucial to maintaining the momentum and bring about the necessary customer care and cargo handling procedures.
How to Communicate About the Change
It is critical to point out that effective communication is essential in the change process. The effective communication ensures that the entire group of the stakeholders for the department is involved in enhancing cooperation which is crucial to accelerating the change outcomes. To gather the necessary support from all the members, it will be significant to communicate the consequences that the changes will have on the department (Jones, Jimmieson, & Griffiths, 2005). In that regard, the communication on how the changes will influence the employees will be crucial.
In the communication, it will be critical to anticipate negative reactions from the employees in the department as well as from the special implementing teams. Some of the reactions will be informed by the fear of change, while other negative reactions will be genuine (Anderson & Anderson, 2010). It will be important to ensure that the communication assures the employees that all their concerns will be addressed as the change measures are adopted. Effective communication will cater for all the reactions to accommodate the divergent views and take all on board to change to form the correct perspectives about the anticipated change.
The communications will also involve documenting the positive outcomes of the change for the employees, the department, and the entire organization. The communications of the positive outcomes will ensure that the team members remain optimistic in the implementation of the change process. It will also ensure that the team members are cooperative in the change process and improve the levels of confidence in the management of the process. The documentation of a summary of the changes in the department will be necessary. The document in the form of a report will offer the reasons why the change is taking place, which areas will be impacted, and how and when the desired changes will be employed. The document will provide the background to address the negative and the positive consequences of the changes.
The communications about training to position the employees in the department for the anticipated changes will be important. Details on the compensation for the changes will also be important. The motivation and the rewarding procedures will be explicitly spelled (Jones, Jimmieson, & Griffiths, 2005). The measures will be communicated through interactive sessions so that the employees have the opportunities to ask questions as a measure to ensure that all their questions are addressed. The move ensures that the changes receive the support of the entire implementing team. The communication will also ensure continuous communication of the progress reports so that the implementing team is updated on the changes in the It department. There will be constant communication as the changes continue as a way to manage the goals and expectations of the entire team.
Conclusion
As a conclusion, the changes in the IT department will involve putting the members of the implementing team first. Consequently, the employees of the department will be included in each level of the process. Such a move will ensure that the support of all is achieved which is crucial in the implementation of the change. Effective communication will be necessary so that everyone understands the details related to the change process. An inventory of the skills and the resources required to effect the desired changes is crucial and monitoring procedures will ensure that the team does not deviate from the goals of the process.
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