BTEC Edexcel Level 7 Extended Diploma in Strategic Management & Leadership

Case Study/Assignment Activity

Unit/Learning Outcome Unit 2: Strategic Change Management LO A-C

Group/Individual Activity Individual Activity Issue Date 11-10-2022

Assessor Name Dr. Samrat Ray Hand in Date 28-10-2022

Learning Outcome

LO A- Understand the concept of strategic change managementin an organisational context

LO B – Understand differentperspectives on change

LO C- Prepare change management strategy in a givenorganisational context

Case Study / Scenario and the Tasks Involved in respect to the Case Study / Scenario

A Case Study in Change: Delta Airlines

Unlike restaurants, airlines did not have much existing infrastructure to carry them through a global pandemic.
Airlines profit based on the tickets they book, and if nobody is willing to fly, airlines can’t just pivot to a “take-out”
travel option. After the pandemic hit, airlines were faced with a crucial ultimatum: find an innovative solution or
suffer catastrophic losses. Delta Airlines, one of the oldest and largest airlines in the country, decided to tackle the
change head-on and immediately started working on a change management plan.

According to budgetary release data of 2022 December, the airline also shows a drastic drop in return on
customers affiliations. Such concerns needed in-depth analysis of external and internal environments and how they
can be counterproductive.
According to the Harvard Business Review, Delta began by interviewing past clients and identifying why its
customers were reluctant to fly. Delta had implemented a number of new sanitation and safety features that could
protect passengers against COVID-19, including improving airflow in the cabins and requiring face masks. However,
customers were still shying away from air travel. From its client interviews, Delta determined that clients were
afraid of being seated next to strangers, even if those strangers were wearing face masks. Though it cost in the
short term, Delta made the decision to stop selling tickets for middle seats so that there would always be space
between passengers. As a result, Delta had 9% fewer seats to sell than their competitors, but, even so,
Delta’s revenue was “12% higher than the average of American, United and Southwest combined.”
Delta structured changes to its operations around what would make customers more comfortable and ultimately
found that customers were willing to pay for some extra peace of mind. Implementing the change was made easier
by quick and effective communication across all levels of operation. Flight attendants, gate staffers and corporate
communications professionals were given the tools they needed to communicate the company’s safety plan to
prospective passengers and execute the new seating rules. As the immediate changes took effect and began
yielding results, Delta worked on making the changes more efficient and seamless, refining its process every step of
the way.

The Science of Change Management

Delta’s quick and effective response to a major change in business operations helped usher it through the worst of
the pandemic without suffering bigger losses. Innovative research on best practices in change management is
poised to help other businesses do the same. According to the Change Management Review, using technological
and organizational tools to manage “the human side of change” is particularly important. Consider, many
businesses were forced to move their operations online after the start of COVID-19, and this change affected
employees most of all. The businesses who fared best after moving online were the ones who assisted their
employees in adapting to the change by providing opportunities for virtual team building, socialization, and mental
wellness checkups, for instance. By considering the effects of change on their employees, these businesses took a
proactive approach to getting their teams through a daunting and sudden transition.
David Michels and Kevin Murphy, two industry experts who research change management, have helped quantify
what exactly makes some organizations excel at handling change. According to their study, there are nine
organizational elements that contribute to an organization’s ability to manage change:
 Purpose and direction – the qualities that help organizations lead change.
 Connection, capacity, and choreography – the qualities that help organizations accelerate change.
 And scaling, development, action, and flexibility – the qualities that help organizations organize change.
Michels and Murphy also developed categories identifying the challenges many organizations face when
dealing with change. They determined that organizations struggling with change were either:
 In search of focus, meaning they struggle to lead change, identify ambitions and map agendas.
 Stuck and sceptical, meaning they struggle to move beyond small-level changes and avoid big decision
making.
 Aligned but constrained, meaning they struggle with change because of organizational barriers.
 And struggling to keep up, meaning they struggle with organizational fatigue and burnout.
This kind of change management research gives organizations the opportunity to critically evaluate their responses
to change and map effective plans for dealing with change in the future. Even without the pandemic factor, being
able to change and grow is of primary importance in a world of fast-paced technological advancement and global
communication. Change management specialists are in high demand in every industry, with 12% projected job
growth (U.S Bureau of Labour Statistics) and a median salary of $128,992 (Salary.com).

Task 1. Critically examine the various models which are in alignment to the case study described above. Discuss
how the change curve affect the strategic business management process? [AC A.1]
Task 2. Critically examine the role of change agents in the change management process. [ACA.2]
Task 3. Analyze types and styles of organisational change mechanism with proper diagram [ACA.3]
Task 4. Critically discuss the triggers of change context which influence the choices of change [ACA.4]
Task 5. Discuss how organisational culture influences change management [ACB.1]
Task 6. Discuss how power and politics dictate change management [ACB.2]
Task 7. Discuss how change management can be illustrated by organisational learning [ACB.3]
Task 8. Analyze the internal and external forces illustrated in the case study of Delta Airlines which aided the
change management process [AC C1]
Task 9 Discuss the change management strategy by Delta Airlines management leaders [AC C2]
Task 10. Critically evaluate how and why with respect to firm environment the management of Delta Airlines
devised the change management policy [AC C3]
Task 11. Evaluate employee engagement as a trigger to the change management process of Delta Airlines [AC C4]
Important Instructions

Word Process the assignment using font 'Calibri', size '11 points' and convert the same to PDF document before
submission.
An Essay of approx. 4000 words. The reference list is not included in the word count
Provide proper referencing and all referenced material should be appropriately quoted.
Use the Harvard Referencing System for referencing and provide complete bibliography.
Complete the title page and sign the statement of authenticity in your work submission.

At any cost, plagiarism should not cross more than 5%.

Your answers or evaluations must be based on the fact mentioned in the case.