Running head: ALASKA AIRLINES: IMPLEMENTATION OF KOTTER’S STEPS 1

Alaska Airlines: Implementation Of Kotter’s Steps

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Alaska Airlines: Implementation of Kotter’s Steps

Alaska Airlines, a previous giant, is trying to improve itself from the current pre-crisis status quo

that is eating into its reserves and reducing customer loyalty and goodwill (Avollo, Patterson &

Baker, 2017). In this respect, Kotter's steps of organizational change come in handy, and as the

first two steps of establishing a sense of urgency and creating a guiding team are implemented,

some deficiencies are noted. In the end, it is essential to maintain originality throughout the

change process.

Summary of Kotter’s First Two Steps

Step 1

The first two steps in Kotter’s process are focused on creating a basis on which the whole

organization effort is based. Step one is establishing a sense of urgency. This concept is rooted in

the notion that after a long time of doing things in the same way and working with only one form

of organizational culture, the members of the organization including employees and the

management are usually at rest and tend to be uncomfortable at the idea of change (Gupta, 2011).

By creating a sense of urgency, one is just trying to make the organization’s member to wake up

and realize that the current cultures and traditions are not working (Gupta, 2011). In this respect,

change is, therefore, necessary if the organization is to survive.

Step 2

The second step in Kotter’s change strategies is to create a guiding team. In Kotter’s story

about organization change, Fred informed the council about the impending danger of their

iceberg which was about to be destroyed. This is why the council which had five members

decided to pool in their thoughts to think of a way to save the colony (Kotter & Rathgeber,
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2006). With different perceptions and skills, a guiding team is mandated to come up with a plan

that will help save the situation (Gupta, 2011). In the end, the guiding team is a key determinant

as to whether the change efforts will be achieved or not.

How The First Two Steps Were Implemented In Alaska Airlines

Establishing A Sense of Urgency

According to Kotter the first step to achieving organization change is by building a sense

of urgency. The case study of Alaska Airlines begins by spelling out the red flags in the

organization. First is that although the company had recovered from an all-time operational low,

it was still on a pre-crisis status quo with 70-75 percent on-time flights and four mishandled bags

per a thousand (Avollo et al., 2017). Another urgent case was in Seattle, the airline's central hub,

which was also struggling with on-time flights and baggage mishandling (Avollo et al., 2017).

Creating The Guiding Team

Notably, Alaska Airlines started by creating a senior executive committee and a few other

persons who were the guiding team for the process. The committee consisted of Bill Ayer,

president and chief executive officer (CEO); Brad Tilden, executive vice-president (EVP) of

finance and chief financial officer; Glenn Johnson, EVP of airport service and maintenance &

engineering; the company's chief counsel among others (Avollo et al., 2017). Notably, the

members of the guiding team have to be drawn from different departments to bring out a broad

perception of the urgency of the matter at hand (Gupta, 2011). What is vital in this case is that the

senior executive committee was guided by the concern that the airline was steadily draining its

reserves and customer loyalty as well as goodwill.

Reflection on What Should Have Been Done in Alaska's Change Effort

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It is only right that I acknowledge that Alaska has worked well towards starting its

groundwork on the company's change efforts. However, it is important to note that even then,

there is more that should have been done. For instance, when implementing Kotter's first step of

establishing a sense of urgency, Alaska Airlines should have gone a notch higher and informed

all of its employees and other members about the impending danger. Only raising the importance

of the matter among the senior management is selfish. This concept is borrowed from the school

of thought that to ensure change in an organization, every member must be part of the team

however subordinate or senior they are (Gupta, 2011).

On Kotter’s second step of creating a guiding team, the senior executive committee is the

team that was mandated with executing the change effort. The team which draws from various

parts of the organization to a large extent conforms to Kotter’s advice on how a guiding team

should be formed. In the second step, another course is to develop prerequisite strategies to

achieve the vision. In this case, the strategy should not be focused on an outside entity but the

team's members to assure originality. Therefore, asking the committee’s members to embark on

the challenge by looking at the problem through Warren Buffet or a Carlyle group’s eye is only

detrimental and lacks originality.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Kotter’s first two steps of establishing an urgency and creating a guiding

team provide a basis for the change process which if not looked into can lead to challenges in the

future. The step of establishing a sense of urgency is seen in Alaska’s case as the company

sought to elevate itself from the pre-crisis status quo that was depleting its reserves and reducing

customer loyalty. On the other hand, the senior executive committee is meant to be the guiding
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team that will lead the change effort. In the end, it is important to note that originality is key in

Alaska’s change process.

References

Avollo, B. J., Patterson, C. & Baker, B. (2017). Alaska Airlines: Navigating change. Ontario:

Ivey Publishing.

Kotter, J. P. & Rathgeber, H. (2006). Our iceberg is melting. New York; Macmillan.

Gupta, P. (2011). Leading innovation change: The Kotter way. International Journal of

Innovation Science, 3(3), pp. 141-150.