Overview of the Company – “Qatar Airways”
Qatar Airways is one of the youngest but dynamically developing companies serving six continents (Al Baker, no date, para. 1). Today, the firm is a leader in its industry, having many well-deserved awards, outstanding achievements, and, indeed, global brand recognition not only within Qatar but also in the international arena (Fetais et al., 2020, p. 319). Moreover, Qatar Airways is the “number 1” in terms of the safety and health of passengers, following the high standards, norms, and rules of service onboard airplanes (Al Baker, no date, para. 2). Nevertheless, as the fastest-growing airline globally, the company has had to contend with the ever-evolving market forces that characterize the aviation industry. It is a highly competitive sector, and to survive, one must be prepared and willing to adapt to changes (Perera, 2017). Organizational changes have allowed Qatar Airways to transition from a preferred regional airline to a global business entity that many people admire.
Organizational Changes and Their Drivers
Primarily, it must be noted that change does not come in a vacuum, and in many cases, it must be triggered by an event or a set of events. Drivers of change are circumstances (mainly external forces) that require an organization to readjust its operational routines to fit new realities. In the airline industry, such drivers include rising fuel costs, airline infrastructure, global congestion at the airports, technological advancement, terrorism, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizations will always be forced to change some aspects of their operations to align themselves with the new realities of time. For instance, with the rapid advancement of technology, crucial aspects of an organization might need to be changed. This will definitely require the adoption of a new set of rules and culture to fit in. However, in many instances, organizational changes are not smooth transitions as they are riddled with various challenges, such as resistance from key stakeholders.
Driver for Change #1: COVID-19 Pandemic Consequences
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the way businesses operate in recent times. The airline industry was one of the most affected ones, especially during the height of the pandemic in 2020, due to travel restrictions imposed by most governments to contain the spread of the deadly virus. However, when other companies were struggling with difficulties, Qatar Airways accepted “the global challenge” and turned the challenge into a benefit (Mariano, 2015, para. 1). In addition, Qatar Airways has recently been expanding in terms of destinations and customer numbers, a factor that has necessitated a need to upgrade its infrastructure.
Driver for Change #2: Fuel Efficiency
The shortage of jet fuel, fluctuations in oil prices, and rising prices are important and urgent problems. In particular, this trend is growing almost every day against the background of the war between Russia and Ukraine (Kundu, 2022, para. 1-21).
Driver for Change #3: Airline Infrastructure and Technological Advancements
Progress does not stand still, forcing many companies to keep up with the times and constantly enhance, update, and improve. Airlines are rapidly adapting to new technologies; some of these technologies involve complex software installations that require heavy financial investments. Most aircraft are operated through complex software whose installation and maintenance need rich financial assets and highly trained personnel. Various technologies and innovations can improve the overall quality of service and encourage customers to use services more often (Ibrahim, 2018, para. 1-3). Moreover, technologies allow optimizing and automating a number of processes, simplifying work and reducing the amount of load.
Driver for Change #4: Global Congestion
Unlike before, when air travel was only a preserve of the rich, today, airports are full of people traveling from one destination to the other. The huge number of travelers that are recently being witnessed across major airports in the world are massively contributing to increased traffic delays and saturations of planes in the skies (Wyman, 2019, para. 2). This is a good driver for Qatar Airlines to reconsider its operational strategies.
Driver for Change #5: Terrorism
Unfortunately, terrorism remains a severe threat in the aviation industry. The threat of terrorism forces airlines to apply strict security measures, requiring significant financial investments, efforts, time, and additional resources.
Driver for Change #6: Climate Change
The issue of climate change has recently gained traction and has become an essential consideration for many businesses. Government entities and many consumers are becoming conscious of climate change, a factor that hugely impacts how companies operate. The airline industry has been identified as a significant contributor to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (Burnes et al., 2017). Advocacy groups have put a lot of pressure on businesses to take drastic measures to control the number of emissions into the atmosphere. This has a direct impact on the way Qatar Airways run its affairs.
Lewin’s Change Model
In the face of all these drivers, the organizational change route adopted by Qatari Airways can be informed by Lewin’s Change model. Lewin fashioned his model into three change processes; unfreezing, movement, and freezing. The management at the airline must first prepare their employees and other stakeholders for the need to change before executing the intended change. Measures must be put in place to ensure that the managed change will last long and accomplish all the business’s goals.
Lewin’s change model begins at the unfreezing phase. Here, the leadership and management at Qatari Airways deliberately take actions that are intended to make their employees unlearn some of their current behaviors and attitudes, which are not in conformity with the changing organizational culture (Elsmore, 2017). Some of these behaviors include complacency, self-righteousness, and prejudice. Unfreezing involves getting rid of such attitudes from the people. In their places, new attitudes that will enable the organization to attain its mission and vision are introduced in the movement phase.
During the movement phase, employees are introduced to new ways of doing things. The management takes deliberate measures to give new directions that it thinks will take the organization to greater heights. However, it must be noted that the execution of the movement phrase is prone to meet a myriad of challenges, the key among them being resistance from employees (Odor, 2018). This is why the freezing phase exists to provide the necessary support needed to adapt to the new behaviors.
Lewin’s Theory and its Relation to Qatar Airways
Since Qatar Airways was founded, it has experienced turbulent times ever since. Some of its challenges include fewer airplanes, staff scarcity, limited destinations, and shorter routes. There was a need to perform an organizational change within the company to overcome these challenges. This explains why the airline took drastic measures to revamp itself (Rizescu & Tileaga, 2017, p. 45). One essential step was to relook its organizational structure and perhaps change it. Employees were encouraged to have the interest of their passengers above their own.
Part of the airline’s challenges was frail relationships among its staff members. The disputes were attributed to a lack of trust among the employees and between the employees and the management. Furthermore, there were no structured dispute-resolution mechanisms (Islam, 2017). To overturn this, the airline embarked on a mission to revamp its employment practices and procedures to have a composition of employees who treat each other with respect and friendship. The firm also motivated the managers to facilitate them towards achieving their goals.
The change management also included following strict guidelines and policies, such as considering an applicant’s qualifications, skills, and experiences before recruitment (Tsangas et al., 2019). The movement phase advanced by Lewin is indeed in conformity with these actions. Indeed, a new work environment was created by these changes (Benzaghta et al., 2021). The employees were now operating in a completely different culture. The results were indeed overwhelming, given the increase in the international flights recorded by the organization.
Kotter’s Model
According to the model, Qatar Airways should be prepared for changes and strive to implement them while maximizing the efficiency and productivity of a wide range of different internal elements. Moreover, it is essential to realize that changes are inevitable, and each employee should know about any innovations. Based on this, Qatar Airways is also recommended to develop a concept (program) of transformations that could be easy to understand and comprehend. Moreover, to strengthen these visions, it is necessary to remove obstacles and consolidate “shifts” at the level of the corporate culture.
Reference List
Al Baker, A. (no date) About Qatar Airways.
Benzaghta , M. A., Elwalda, A. & Mousa , M. M., (2021) ‘SWOT analysis applications: An integr T analysis applications: An integrative liter e literature review.’ Journal of Global Business Insights, 6(1), pp. 55-73.
Burnes, B., Hughes, M. & By, R. T., (2017) ‘Reimagining organisational change leadership’ Leadership.
Casey, D. (2021) Analysis: Qatar Airways set to benefit from end of blockade.
Fetais, A. H. M., Al-Kwifi, O. S., Ahmed, Z. U., & Tran, D. K. (2020) ‘Qatar Airways: building a global brand’, Journal of Economic and Administrative Sciences, 37(3), pp. 319-336.
Ibrahim, S. (2018) What’s driving change in aviation? Web.
Kundu, R. (2022) Airlines in a fix as jet fuel costs soar amid pick-up in passenger traffic.
Mariano, K. (2021) 5 incredible ways how Qatar Airways weather the COVID-19 pandemic.
Odor, H. O., (2018) ‘Organisational change and development’, European Journal of Business and Management, 10(7), pp. 58-66
Perera, R. (2017) The PESTLE Analysis. New York: Nerdynaut.
Rizescu, A. and Tileaga, C., (2017) ‘Factors Influencing Continuous Organisational Change’ Journal of Defense Resources Management, pp. 139-144.
Theodore (no date) Lewin’s change theory (definition + examples).
Wyman, O. (2019) Airlines struggle to cope with rush-hour-style congestion.