MGT3OCD - Organizational Change and Development

Subject Description

This subject introduces you to the various concepts of Organisational Change and Development (OCD). Organisational change and development is concerned with the application of behavioural science knowledge and practice to help achieve greater organisational effectiveness. The focus of this subject is on enhancing the total organisational system within the content of the wider environment in order to enhance the organisation's capacity to achieve its goals. You will develop an understanding of the relevance of theories and principles that underlie the practice of organisational change and development in contemporary organisations.

Submission Details

One student per group should submit the assignment via the LMS, on behalf of their group. The file should be labeled in the following way: MGT3OCD_Submitter’sSurname_Submitter’sID.docx (for example, MGT3OCD_ Smith_1234567.docx). It is extremely important that only one group member submit the assignment, so please ensure that you plan accordingly. You must be present in class for week 7 and 8 to receive the mark for the presentation. Students who do not attend class, and without providing sufficient evidence for absence, will receive a zero for the presentation

Description of Task

This assessment task related to The British Airways (BA) Swipe Card Debacle case study. Please see case study below.
The aim of this task is to write a report to the CEO recommending the need for change. As OD practitioners, you are required to provide
recommendations to implement the change and development. You are required to provide the CEO with rationale and implementation plan
by supporting your claims and referencing to the body of knowledge you have learnt in this subject.
This assessment is in two parts:
• Report – 3000 words per group -20%
• Presentation – 15 minutes – 10%. All students must be present for marks to be granted.
Instructions: Form a group four students. Wherever possible, aim for your group to be diverse in terms of gender, cultural background and/or
business background. However, if you are one of the last in, then select a group that needs another member Prepare the group contract to
maximise your group’s success.
GROUP REPORT- 3000 words per group.
As a group, you are required to write your report addressing the following points:
• identify the problems-the need for change (both the micro eg individual/team and macro eg organisational/environmental)
• discuss the cause/s of the problems (both the micro and macro), also, look at the company culture.
• determine the organisation systems affected and why
• discuss alternatives (how it could be done differently)
• Discuss how the company can create the climate for change and how to overcome resistance to change
• identify the external trends that will impact the organisation in the future
• make recommendations by outlining the plan, OD interventions used and implementation process for the solution(s) (elaborate
on one of the alternatives as your recommendation, provide a detailed project plan which can be included in the appendix if
needed). The plan should include timelines, who is responsible, what action will take place when and the costs involved.
Students are required to use Harvard referencing style. You are required to use at least 10 academic references (beyond 2015).
Structure of the report.
1. Table of contents
2. Heading and subheading
3. Diagrams
4. In-text referencing
5. Reference list- at least 10 academic references (beyond 2014)
6. Appendices if required.
GROUP PRESENTATION- 15 MINUTES
The Group Presentations will require students to present the analysis of a case study as a team of Organisational Development Practitioners
in a Human Resource Management Consulting Firm. Your presentation may include but not limited to the following points:
1. identify the problems
2. discuss the cause/s of the problems
3. determine the organisation systems affected and why
4. discuss alternatives (how it could be done differently)
5. Final recommendations

Assessment Task 2: Case Study: The British Airways (BA) Swipe Card Debacle
The strike
On Friday, July 18, 2010, British Airways (BA) staff in Terminals 1 and 4 at London's busy Heathrow Airport held a 24-hour strike. The
strike was not officially sanctioned by the trade unions but was a spontaneous action by over 250 check-in staff who walked out at 4 p.m.
The strike occurred at the start of a peak holiday season weekend, which led to chaotic scenes at Heathrow. Some 60 departure flights
were grounded and over 10,000 passengers left stranded. The situation was heralded as the worst industrial situation BA had faced since
1997 when a strike was called by its cabin crew.
BA's response was to cancel its services from both terminals, apologises for the disruption, and ask those who were due to fly not to go
to the airport as they would be unable to service them. BA also set up a tent outside Heathrow to provide refreshments and police were
called in to manage the crowd. BA was criticized by many American visitors who were trying to fly back to the United States for not
providing them with sufficient information about what was going on.
Staff returned to work on Saturday evening, but the effects of the strike flowed on through the weekend. By Monday morning, July 21,
BA reported that Heathrow was still extremely busy: "There is still a large backlog of more than 1,000 passengers from services cancelled
over the weekend. We are doing everything we can to get these passengers away in the next couple of days."
As a result of the strike, BA lost around £40 million and its reputation was severely dented. The strike also came at a time when BA was
still recovering from other environmental jolts, such as 9/11, the Iraqi war, SARS, and inroads on its markets from budget airlines.
Afterwards, BA revealed that it lost over 100,000 customers as a result of the dispute.
The change issue: swipe cards
BA staff were protesting the introduction of a system for electronic clocking-in that would record when they started and finished work
for the day. Staff were concerned that the system would enable managers to manipulate their working patterns and shift hours. The
clocking-in system was one small part of a broader restructuring program in BA, titled the Future Size and Shape recovery program. Over
the previous two years, this had led to approximately 13,000, or almost one in four jobs, being cut within the airline. As The Economist
noted, the side effects of these cuts were emerging, with delayed departures resulting from a shortage of ground staff at Gatwick and "a
high rate of sickness causing the airline to hire sessional crew to fill gaps. Rising absenteeism is a sure sign of stress in an organisation."
For BA management introduction of the swipe card system was a way of modernising BA and "improving the efficient use of staff and
resources." As one BA official was quoted as saying: We needed to simplify things and bring in the best system to manage people. For
staff it was seen as a "prelude to a radical shake-up in working hours, which would lead to loss of pay and demands to work split shifts."
As one check-in worker was quoted as saying: This used to be a job which we loved but we are now at the end of our tether. What comes
next? They will probably force us to swap shifts without agreement and all this for less money than working at Tesco [a supermarket]."
One writer argued that the heart of the issue is that the workforce wants respect; it was not until the strike that CEO Rod Eddington was
even aware that "there was a respect deficit to be plugged." Specifically, staff were concerned that "BA will try to turn them into
automata, leaving Heathrow at quiet times of the day only to be brought back at busiest moments, while not paying any extra for the
disturbance. Women, in particular, want to preserve their carefully constructed capacity to balance the demands of work and home.
Although BA denied thatthe systemwould be used to make staff alter their working hours at little notice, staff did not accept this promise
– wondering why it was being introduced in the first place if that was not the intended use. As one union official was quoted: "We know
that BA breaks its agreements." Another worker said that the strike was meant to be a "short, sharp, shock" for BA: They would then be
able to bring us in any time they wanted, which is just not on, especially for those of us with families.

The change process for introducing the swipe card
Unions argued that the walkout was triggered by senior management at BA "abandoning talks over the introduction of smart cards and
announcing their forced imposition at just five day’s notice." It was this unilateral decision by BA to introduce the swipe card, and a lack
of adequate consultation with affected staff, that was cited as a key reason for the strike. Even in BA's pilots, who did not oppose at
check-in system, were said to be sympathetic "with the ... check-in staff over the way that the airline had mishandled the introduction of
the swipe cards."
One commentator labeled the change process as they "commercial disaster" serving as "an important warning about the dangers of
management by diktat, certainly, but, more profoundly, about an incipient revolt against the close control and monitoring of our lives
and movements that modern information technology enables."
The Economist argued that management is "big mistake was to introduce a new working practice at the start of the summer quarter
when the airline makes all its money." Similarly, the Times wrote that this was a major management blunder: "to pick July, the start of
the peak holiday season, to launch an unpopular new clock in system, is asking for trouble. To push through a scheme without realizing
the extent of the resistance by those involved suggests a management aloof from the mood of its employees. And to allow managers to
give contradictory statements on the use of the new cards seems guaranteed to ferment missed trust."
As argued, with 20,000 other BA workers using the swipe card system, "interposing them after months of inconclusive talks must have
seemed-especially given the pressure to contain costs, with the airline set to report its worst ever quarterly loss of £60 million this weeka risk worth taking will stop it was a massive miscalculation of the workforce is mood." This miscalculation was related to staff cynicism
and bitterness about the redundancy program that had been conducted, staff fears of lack of consultation, poor pay rates, and
dissatisfaction with management having enormous knowledge on which to act in the future.

Description of Task

The following companies face major challenges from their external environment and must undergo change if they are to evolve and survive.
1. Nokia
2. Coca Cola
3. Toyota
4. Amazon
5. Qantas
6. Kellogg’s
7. Santander Bank
8. Procter & Gamble
You are required to write a case study report on one of the companies provided. The purpose of the case study is to demonstrate your
understanding of the theory and research on organisational change and development and their application.
You are an ‘external change agent’ hired by the CEO to prepare a report that examines the change strategy and put forward your
recommendations for approval and implementation.
Your report should provide:
1. Background to the company/organisation problem-factors behind the organisational change
2. An in-depth and clear diagnosis of the problems and opportunities that are relevant to a change strategy. You are required to
utilise at least two (2) change management models/frameworks to support your analysis;
3. A justification for a change intervention that will address the problems and opportunities identified;
4. An analysis of the issues and barriers you may face in implementing your intervention and how you will address them (including
relevant aspects of resistance to change by various levels in the organisation);
5. An analysis of the ethical issues that your intervention may create and how they could be effectively addressed.
Structure of the report: Word count 1800-2000 words
1. Cover sheet
2. Executive Summary
3. Table of contents
4. Heading and subheading
5. Diagrams
6. In-text referencing
7. Reference list- at least 10 academic references (beyond 2015)
8. Appendices if required.
Students are required to use Harvard referencing style. You are required to use at least 10 academic references (beyond 2015).