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Question 1.1
Describe the PEST factors affecting BA between the years 1995 2000?
Political
The political environment in which British Airways (BA) operates and has a significant influence
on how BA is regulated.
In 1996 a virtual merger between BA and American Airlines (AA) was blocked by the
European Competition Commission, as it adjudged BA too powerful an entity. The reasons given
was that BA operated primarily out of the popular London airport and that the United Kingdom
had the second largest airline market after the United States. This obstruction reduced BAs
potential competitive power, as enjoyed by the members of the rival Star Alliance.
The European Competition Commission, under the European Union, of which the United
Kingdom is a member state, addresses competitive practices. Although mergers can expand
markets and bring benefits to the economy some mergers are deemed to reduce competition and
the mandate of the European Union is to stimulate growth and raise the standards of living
amongst the member states. As in the case of BA and AA, the merger was deemed to reduce
competition in the market whilst creating and strengthening BA as a dominant player.
(http://ec.europa.eu/competition/index_en.html)
BA achieved its objective for growth with alliances with a number of airlines in 1988. This was
done without regulatory clearance and by April 2000, the new CEO Eddington leveraged
immunity from antitrust legislation, furthered the affiliation between BA and AA.
Antitrust legislation is a law intended to promote free political competition by outlawing
monopolies. (http://ec.europa.eu/competition/antitrust/overview_en.html) Immunity from this
legislation enabled BA to form the alliance with AA.
Economic
The state of the trading economy during the periods 1995 2000 shaped how BA operated as an
airline. In the years prior to 1995, the economy was fraught by recession however in this climate

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BA was the most profitable western airline in an industry. Even though the economy was
sluggish a 2% fall in average yield for the industry by 1995, BAs yield remained stable and
traffic grew by 7%.
A stronger pound in the first half of 1997 reduced BAs profit by 128m. The strong pound
directly impacted on BAs industry in that it was more costly for people to travel to the UK. This
would have reduced BAs sales. Additionally exports would have been affected, i.e. UK goods
would have been more expensive. This would have affected BA in that air transport of goods
would have decreased.
Added economic factors include increased competition from low cost operators and increased
fuel prices. Increased competition meant more unsold seats and increased fuel costs translated
into greater operating costs, which resulted in job losses, pay freezes, outsourcing of work and
changes in staff working conditions.
The economic crisis in Asia in 1999 had a direct economic impact on BA. The economic crisis in
Asia meant decreased traffic in the region which then caused BAs opposition to focus on other
routes, namely BAs profitable transatlantic route.
With the pound being strong also meant that foreign investment would have cut back as it would
have been too costly to invest in the UK.
Social
The social and cultural influences on a business vary from country to country. Social influences
forms the identity of an organisation, in the country in which it operates. (www.project2061.org)
In 1997, BA understanding it had distanced itself from its consumers embarked on an overhaul
to become the worlds leading airline. This was to be achieved by, improving and focusing on
customer service, innovation, business and first class and financial performance.
With thoughts of wanting to be open, friendly and cosmopolitan under Ayling, BA removed the
union jack off its aircraft tail fins and replaced it with various world images. This gesture
although received favorably by BAs foreign travelers who represented 80% of BAs customer
base, British citizens and BA shareholders were unenthuasitic. An advertising campaign termed

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Back to British, in 1999 was introduced to offset Aylings decision and the Union Jack was
reintroduced. Further social interventions by BA, by using the likes of UK author P.J. O Rourke
and music, I vow to Thee My Country, elevated BA to be more socially acceptable as a
national carrier.
In 1996 and 1997, threats of strikes and strikes brought on by restructuring of employee pay
packages, outsourcing of catering services and closing the union representatives office at
Heathrow airport affected BA. So much so that in July 1997 70% of flights were cancelled
during a 3 day strike, costing BA 125m.
Technological
In 1996, Alying was newly appointed and he attempted to cut operating costs by 1 billion by
2000. Ayling proposed to achieve this primarily by molding BA into a virtual airline. Making it
convenient, easier and cheaper for BAs customers to book tickets online as well as gather flight
information such as routes, seats and departure and arrival times.
BA opted for the smaller and more efficient Boeing 777s in May 1999. These aircraft was
introduced to cut costs and maximize the proportion of club and first class passengers inline with
BAs strategy and improving passenger yields.
Technology is vital for competitive advantage and is a principle driver of globalization and
technological advancements of the late 1990s allowed BA to employing technology and
introduce effective and efficient systems.

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Question 1.2.
As a change consultant, what change interventions would you have implemented to mitigate
against the effects of the economic factors?
As a change consultant, the change interventions I would have implemented to mitigate against
the effects of the economic factors would be based on the knowledge that BAs competitive
success in a constantly changing market pivots on BAs ability to experiment, adapt, reinvent and
regenerate as the market and competitive environment shifts. (www.media.wiley.com)
BA in the years prior to 1995 was the most profitable western airline, and in 1995 BAs yield was
stable and traffic grew by 7%. BA was doing something right and its reactions to PEST factors
were correct.
However in 1997 when the strong pound reduced BAs profit, anticipating the change in
economy would have aided BAs and helped mitigate against its effect. I would have
implemented plans and procedures to deal with expected changes and instruct BA to follow the
plan as changes occur.
Anticipating calls for BA to predict and evaluate what will possibly occur and then make
provision and create an environment for the future. Analyzing buyer behavior buyer needs and
buyer expectations, BA would have had insight into how the market would change. This would
have given BA insight that competition from low cost operators would increase based on buyer
trends.
Anticipating change opens new opportunities and thus is a quality way to manage change rather
than just reacting to change. By anticipating the reaction of its competitors to the economic crisis
in Asia in 1999, BA would have been better prepared for its competitors focus on BAs
profitable transatlantic route.
The increase in fuel prices is somewhat out of the control of BA. Fuel pricing has a direct impact
on BAs operating costs. Better understanding the oil industry would have given BA valuable
information as to the trends in the oil industry, and rather than introducing the smaller and more

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fuel efficient Boeing 777s in May 1999, BA could have introduced these aircraft sooner to have
helped mitigate against the effect of the increased fuel costs.

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Question 2.1.
The vision of Robert Ayling is an example of a vision gone wrong. Drawing from the theory on
characteristics of a vision, provide possible reasons why this vision was not successful?
The reason why Aylings vision was a vision that went wrong is that his vision failed in
establishing objectives which were needed to answer BAs unmet needs whilst taking into
account the long and short term view of BA. The characteristics of Aylings vision was that it
was unclear and his arrogant management of staff made him uninspiring.
Under Robert Ayling BAs mission was to become the worlds leading airline. This was to be
achieved by focusing and improving on customer service, innovation, business and first class
travel and financial performance. A noteworthy 6B was set aside to improve and enhance BAs
corporate image, new services, routes, aircraft, facilities and training.
However the lack of communication of Aylings vision to members of staff led to staff
disillusionment. The development and implementation of a companys vision is achieved with
the involvement of staff. To an extent there was not much wrong with Aylings vision, as this was
supported by Chairman Marshall, who announced on Aylings resignation that the companys
strategy would remain the same, only with the right man to execute it.
Thompson, Strickland and Gamble (2005, p20) state that the characteristics of an effective vision
should be;
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Graphic: a painted picture of the kind a company that management is trying to create and
the market position the company is striving to stake out.

Directional: the vision should say something about the companys journey or destination
and signals the kinds of business and strategic changes that will be forthcoming.

Focused: Vision should be specific enough to provide managers with guidance in making
decisions and allocating resources.

Flexible: Vision may need to change as events unfold and circumstances change

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Feasible: the vision is in the realm of what the company can reasonably expect to achieve
in due time.

Desirable: the vision needs to appeal to the long term interests of stakeholders.

Easy to communicate: a vision must be easy to explain and be memorable.

Adapted from Thompson, Stickland and Gamble (2005, p20)

Aylings arrogance and lack of understanding of the industry was further shown and another
reason why his vision was unsuccessful when Ayling, replaced the traditional Union Jack, a
symbol of the UK. Being a national carrier, Ayling should have understood the importance of
national pride. Ayling favored world images as part of his vision and move to make BA a more
recognizable organisation. The 60m exercise was not only costly but was unpopular. Ayling
should have tested his idea first before re-branding BA. Ayling blantly failed in understanding
the sentiments and pride of the British people and shareholders. Not having the support of the
British people and shareholders was another reason for Aylings vision being unsuccessful.
Another reason why Aylings vision failed was that Ayling did not have a through understanding
of the environment in which BA operated and the human resource aspects of the business. Ayling
sacrificed BAs market and staff moral in favor of cost cutting.
Aylings vision is an example of a vision gone wrong. The vision itself was not poorly conceived,
it was poorly executed as reasons listed above. Ayling was not the right man to execute the
strategy of BA and this was confirmed by BAs Chairman.

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Question 2.2
Can you design your own vision for BA for the period in question, which is different from
Robert Ayling? Justify your answer.
Aylings vision is an example of a vision gone wrong. The vision itself was not entirely poorly
conceived, it was poorly executed. Ayling was not the right man to execute the strategy of BA
and this was confirmed by BAs Chairman. Hence in designing a vision, it would be difficult to
design a vision for BA which was that much different to that of Ayling. However in trying to
design a vision which improves that of Ayling the vision should be, complete, clear, stimulating,
distinctive and specific.
Adapted from South African Airways (www.flysaa.com)
Our Vision
British Airways Vision Information
British Airways Mission
To deliver continued profits and develop our market share through world-class service to
our customers both international and domestic.
British Airways Vision
A European airline with global reach
British Airways Core Business
The air transport of people and goods.
British Airways Corporate Values
Customer Focused
Be prepared and endeavor to acknowledge the individual needs of our customers
(international and domestic) by adapting our interactions to their specific needs
Accountability
Shoulder responsibility for individual and team actions, decisions and results by instituting
clear plans and goals and measuring our progress against them, while discerning a deeper
purpose in one's everyday job.
Integrity
Implement the highest standards of ethical behavior in all our lines of work and maintaining
credibility by making certain that our actions always match our words consistently.

Safety
Adopting a zero defect mentality and striving for zero accidents through proper training,
work practices, risk management and adherence to safety regulations at all times
Excellence in Performance
Setting goals beyond the best and reinforcing high quality performance standards and
achieving excellence through implementing best practices
Valuing our People
Committing to satisfaction, development and well-being through treating them with
respect, dignity and fairness

Reference: www.flysaa.com
The above adaptation from South African Airways is a vision, which is complete, clear,
stimulating, distinctive and specific. The vision above is a road map showing the route BA
intends to take in developing and strengthening its business. It paints a picture of BAs
destination and provides a rationale for going there. BAs values are the beliefs, business
principles and practices that guide the conduct of its business, the pursuit of its strategic vision
and the behavior of its employees.

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Question 3.1.
Robert Ayling introduced a raft of changes that were extremely unpopular with staff. Analyze the
causes of staff resistance to his initiatives?
There are several factors which cause staff resistance. BAs staff resistance to Robert Aylings
initiatives lies in Aylings abrasive approach to management compounded by his lack of staff
considerations and his indifference to customer care. His indifferent approach to customer care
sent the wrong signals to staff, causing further staff resistance.
Being unclearly and unable to convincingly detail the outcome of change expected created a
sense of fear amongst BAs staff. Fear of change is contagious. When people are afraid of
change, the fear is transferred and contagiously affecting other members of staff. This is evident
in

the

pilots

solidarity

when

they

threatened

strike

action

in

1996.

(www.searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com)
Emphasis on cost cutting rather than productivity and staff satisfaction at BA was another cause
of staff resistance. Soon after his appointment as CEO, Ayling attempted to cut operating costs
by 1billion by the year 2000, by shedding overhead and loss making business. Aylings aim was
to slim BA into a virtual airline dealing with ticket sales and flight handling only. And as BAs
58000 employees accounted for 30% of the companys costs, it was evident to staff that Ayling
was going to trim staff to achieve his goal.
Aylings decision to outsource catering i.e. a change in service was deemed by staff to result in
job losses. This was another cause of staff resistance as staff regarded this approach as being a
reason to cut back staff rather than viewing it as streamlining of BAs business process and
concentrating on it core business of providing flights rather than meals on flights.
In April 1999 the employee opinion survey found that only 40% of BAs staff believed that BA
would take appropriate action to address the problems identified by employees. BA staff did not
feel valued in the late 1990s and even felt reluctant to deliver the best customer service as
expected from BAs Putting People First Again campaign, which was run in 1999. The cause of
resistance here, is that the staff could have felt that although the initiative was good there was no

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real effort by Ayling to address the major problem which beset BA. Ayling persisted with his
vision without much regard for the opinion of BA staff. Further cementing an opinion that Ayling
did not care about the staffs opinion another source of resistance to change.
Ayling did not make it clear and detail how he intended to implement his vision and how that
vision was going to work for BA. This gap in the implementation was another cause of staff
resistance as staff did not know exactly how they were going to realize Aylings vision.
Most employees will be resistant to change and will resist change either consciously or
subconsciously. Even though the fear of change is unfounded. The pace of change is ever
increasing, especially in light of the internet, new development in technologies and social
networking as in how employees react to change. Ayling may have been unfortunate in that his
appointment as CEO was done under harsh economic conditions, but as CEO and the head of BA
it was his duty to get his staff believing in him and his vision to make resistance to change least
resistant as possible.

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Question 3.2.
Describe the steps you would have taken in introducing the same changes in order to obtain
minimal resistance from staff?
British Airways is a large organisation. In 1999 it ran a customer care training day for all 64000
employees. Being such a large organisation BA faces internal and external pressures hence BA
needs to adapt to improve its performance and is done by continually adapting its corporate
culture, its values, beliefs, mission and vision. This change impacts on the organisation. And to
in order offset and facilitate any resistance to change organizational policy is vital. The
guidelines set out by the organisational policy will be the steps that would be followed to obtain
minimal resistance from staff.
(Adapted from John Kotter: 8 Step Process for Leading Change:
www.kotterinternational.com/kotterprinciples/changesteps)
Step 1
Create a sense of urgency and connect with staff. Urgency is necessary to get the cooperation
required to drive the change. Creating urgency would lead staff out of their comfort zone.
Connecting with staff in a way that connects to their values hence inspiring them rather than
discourage them which would result in resistance. Connecting with staff will make the change
come alive with human experience, engage the senses and create the message that the change
is essential.
Step 2
Form a team, and empower them to lead the change. No matter how competent, it is impossible
for one person to single handedly develop the right vision, communicate the vision to 64000
employees, whilst being faced with obstacles of change. Forming the right team of people to lead
the change initiative is vital to its success. The change team will have the right composition, a
significant level of trust as well as a shared objective. The change team will include, individuals
of power, experts, leaders to drive the change and managers who will control the change process.

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Step 3
Develop a change vision, this will clarify how the future will be different from the past. A clear
vision simplifies elaborate decisions. It will also motivate staff to take action even if they do not
agree with the change initially. A clear change vision will help coordinate the actions of different
members of staff in a fast and efficient way. The vision will be strategically feasible. To be
effective the vision will take into account the macro and micro environment. The vision will be a
guide, it will be focused, flexible and easy to communicate.
Step 4
Communicate the change for buy-in, ensuring that as many people as possible understand and
accept the change. BA is a complex organisation, hence getting an understanding and
commitment to change is daunting task. Under communicating is a source of resistance. Further
communication by consistent behavior by senior management sends a powerful message to the
organisation which increases motivation, inspires confidence and will decrease cynicism to
change.
Step 5
Empower staff and remove barriers so that staff can work to their potential. By empowering staff
allows to participate in the change. Staff are then committed to implementing the change due to
their contribution.
Step 6
Create short term wins to keep staff motivated, the wins will be clearly related to the change.
Short term wins are evidence that efforts made for the change has value. Further this will
increase the sense of urgency creates a positiveness for the change, build momentum, turns
neutrals in supporters and reluctant supporters into active members in the change process.

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Step 7
Consolidate and continue to lead the change. By consolidating change it gives an opportunity if
necessary to revaluate the change. Leadership here is important as succeeding in a rapidly
changing environment is challenging.
Step 8
Cement new approaches to BAs culture. The change must be cemented in BAs culture. Because
tradition is a powerful force, the change must be reinforced with new norms and values with
incentives and rewards. Further this will cement that the change is for the better.
Reference: www.kotterinternational.com
The 8 steps describe the steps to take to introduce change in order to obtain minimal resistance
from staff. However it still takes the majority of the organisation sincerely embracing the change
for there to be minimal resistance and long term success of the change.

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Question 4.1.
Why is it important for a manager to understand his/her organizations environment?
The role of a manager is to steer the organization towards its objectives. The environment in
which the organisation operates directly affects the organisation. The environment encompasses
internal and external factors that impact on the organisation both direct and indirectly. The
environment includes the economic system, current economic conditions, political system,
natural resources and the demographics of the population in which the organisation operate.
Further, cultural forces and value systems which shape the points of view and the decisions made
by managers.
Porters 5 forces model is a framework for industry analysis and business strategy which assists a
manager in steering his/her organisation towards its objectives. Understanding these forces
which influence the organisations micro-environment help the manager maintain the
organisations potential for profit.
-

Supplier Power: is the power of suppliers to increase the price of inputs. Understanding
this force enables the manager to decide whether to source a different input or look at
another supplier.

Buyer Power: is the power of customers to drive down prices. Understanding this force
enables the manager to decide whether the current market for his/her product will
produce the profit desired. With this information the manager can choose to target a
lesser influential market.

Competitive Rivalry: is the strength of competition in the industry. Understanding this

force enables the manager to understand his/her competitors and the competitive
advantages he/she needs to employ to make competitors irrelevant.

The Threat of Substitutes: is the extent to which different products and services can be
used to replace that of the organisations. Understanding this force enables the manager to
better adapt and continually research and redesign his/her product to meet the needs of
buyers.

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The Threat of New Entrants: is the ease at which new competitors can enter the market if
they see an organisation making a profit. This is an important force because a manager
does not want his/her organisation to operate in a perfect competition environment. Reinventing his/her organisation will offset the threat of new entrants.

Reference: www.businessballs.com
The macro or general environment is the external environment which affect the organisation.
Managers cannot control factors in the macro-environment. Hence a greater understanding of
theses factors which affect the organisation aides the manager in achieving his/her goals for the
organisation. Hofstedes 5 cultural dimensions show the value for the manager to understand
his/her macro-environment, as the values of people of different cultures have consequences for
how people in different cultures behave and how they react in the work environment. Further the
strategic framework for an organisation is based on the values of the organisation and people will
remain a vital part of every organisation.
-

Power Distance: is the degree to which less powerful members are influenced.
Understanding this factor is vital for a manager as he/she will know to what extent he/she
will be able to influence his/her staff and if management style should be democratic or
autocratic.

Uncertainty Avoidance: is the extent to which members of a culture feel threatened by

risky or unknown situations. Understanding this factor aides managers understand
reliance on expert opinion, intolerant and deviant behavior which is costly. Further
managers will be able to mould freethinking and innovation in a low uncertainty
environment. This gives the organisation a competitive advantage if managed correctly.

Individualism: is the degree to which society expects people to take care of themselves
and their immediate family and the degree to which individuals believe they control their
destiny. For the manager this is important as employees in high individualism culture are
less likely to remain with an organisation so managers create a culture where employee
remain as replacing and training new employees is costly.

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Gender Orientation: extent to which society reinforces traditional norms of masculinity

versus femininity, The role of managers here to understand this factor is important as a
female manager in a high gender orientation society might not be well accepted, both
female and male subordinates might work counter productively to a female manager.

Long-Term Orientation: is the extent to which a culture stresses that its members accept
delayed gratification of material, social and emotional needs. The importance for the
manager to understand this factor is how the manager translates work into reward. Should
the manager reward work, either good or bad work immediately or delay reward. This is
important as organisations invest resources into projects which tend to have long term
rewards, and a mangers ability to convey this to staff is important.

Solcum, Jackson, Hellriegel, 2008.

As listed above it is important for a manager to understand his/her environment as the
environment influences what the organisation does. Hence the manager needs to be aware of
the relevance of the organisation in the environment.

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Question 4.2.
Refer to the sub-heading Strategy in the case study and analyze BAs strategy under the
dimensions: domain sought, strategic thrusts, differential advantages and the results expected.
BAs mission to become a global force was not an unsubstantiated one. The mission was based
on historical information of the late 1980s. BAs strategy consisted of the competitive steps and
business strategy, that Ayling put into practice to grow the business, woo and please customers,
compete successfully, conduct operations all whilst trying to achieve targeted levels of
organizational performance.
Domain Sought
BAs mission was to be the worlds leading airline by focusing amongst others on business and
first class passengers. Yavitz and Newman (1982) state that the starting point in clarifying ones
strategy is to define the market scope or domain for ones product or services. This is precisely
what Ayling did. Ayling favored developing and focusing on the high profit market segments of
the market. Rather than competing against the low cost and no frills budget airlines which were
competing for the European market, Ayling sought the high end market and intercontinental
routes as a niche market for BA. As Yavitz et al state, the key issue is to identify a niche market
in the industry.
Strategic Thrust
Yavitz et al, take the position that a strategic thrust is a move of where a business is now to
where it wants to be. This is where Ayling failed. As Yavitz et al, reason that a strategic thrust
must be made clear and what sort of actions must be undertaken by the organisation to achieve
the thrust. BA was determined to be a global force in air passenger travel this was based on
predictions that the aviation industry would have been dominated by a few large airlines.
Aylings action to maximize profit by increasing passenger yield and cutting costs. Passenger
yields, is the measure of the average fare paid per mile, per passenger, Aylings thrust here was
an attempt to offset the impact of loss in profitability of economy seats which were threatened by
the budget airline competitors.

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Differential Advantage
Arguably this is where BA failed. Replacing the European economy class and introducing an
improved World Traveler program was an attempt to differentiate BA from its competitors. In
concentrating the business and first class and intercontinental routes BA failed to seek an
advantage over its competitors who were already competing in this space. There was nothing
different from BAs offering to that of the other airlines already flying these routes. Further in an
effort to maximize profits Ayling opted to increase passenger yields, i.e. BA was unable to reduce
prices to flyers but rather opted to maximize profits from flyers. This would have not given BA
any differential advantage over its competitors but would have rather have made BA less
competitive.
Target Results Expected
Yavitz et al, state that an organisations strategy must include a statement of anticipated results
and what financial or other criteria will the organisation use to measure its success and what
levels of achievements are expected. BAs strategy was compliant here. BA wanted to maximize
profits by increasing passenger yields, cut costs and develop and focus on the high profit
segments of the intercontinental routes and premium passengers. However using passenger yield
as a financial measure is not useful for comparisons across markets and airlines as yields can
vary by stage length and does not consider aircraft load factor. (www.aviationglossary.com)
The four parts of the business strategy listed above are interdependent. Each are instrumental in
determining a clear strategy for the organisation. An analysis of BAs strategy shows that BAs
mission to become a global force was not unwarranted. BAs under Ayling had a clear defined
strategy as to were BA was positioned, what it made BA different from its competitors and where
BA wanted to be. Unfortunately missing was the touch points of the person who was leading the
organisation, as under Ayling the strategy was not executed and this was reiterated by BAs
Chairman Marshall who announced BAs strategy would remain unchanged, with only the right
man to execute it.

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