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Strategic management

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Table of contents

Executive summary......................................................................................................................... 5
Phase 1 Proposal ............................................................................................................................. 6
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 6
Overview of the company ..................................................................................................... 6
Project background .............................................................................................................. 7
Evidence .............................................................................................................................. 8
Increasing operational costs ............................................................................................ 8
Decreasing level of service quality ................................................................................. 8
Low level of employee motivation ................................................................................. 9
Parameters and scope for restructuring ............................................................................. 9
Proposed project plan .................................................................................................................. 9
Literature review ....................................................................................................................... 10
Brief introduction................................................................................................................ 10
Basic definition of organizational restructuring ............................................................... 11
Organizational restructuring for decreasing the level of operational costs ....................... 11
Organizational restructuring for improving the level of service quality by managing
employee motivation ......................................................................................................... 12
Business restructuring ............................................................................................................... 13
Business case for restructuring .......................................................................................... 13
Problem ............................................................................................................................. 13
Models used for restructuring ....................................................................................... 14
Opportunity ....................................................................................................................... 15
Situation ............................................................................................................................ 15
Using models for internal and external analysis of Air India ......................................... 15
Daft Dimensions for Organisational Design ..................................................................... 15
Porters five forces model ................................................................................................. 16
Analysis..................................................................................................................................... 17
Main objectives of Restructuring ...................................................................................... 17
Brief introduction .............................................................................................................. 17
Situation at Air India after restructuring ........................................................................... 18
Benefits achieved after restructuring ................................................................................ 19

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Changes in man power and number of people .................................................................. 19
Financial impact ................................................................................................................ 20
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 21
Task 2: Personal Development Plan ............................................................................................. 22
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 22
Fitting the Design ................................................................................................................ 23
Topics of Interest .............................................................................................................. 23
Critical Reflection ............................................................................................................... 25
Personal Action Plan ................................................................................................................. 26
Personal Analysis ................................................................................................................ 26
Action Plan .......................................................................................................................... 27
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 28
Annotated bibliography ................................................................................................................ 29
References ..................................................................................................................................... 30
Appendices 1 ................................................................................................................................. 33
Appendices 2 ................................................................................................................................. 36
Appendices 3 ................................................................................................................................. 36
Appendices 4 ................................................................................................................................. 37

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List of figures

Figure 1 Current hierarchy of Air India .......................................................................................... 7


Figure 2 Gant chart for restructuring project ................................................................................ 10
Figure 3 Improved hierarchical structure of the company ............................................................ 19
Figure 1: Appendix 1 .................................................................................................................... 33
Figure 2: Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................... 35

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Executive summary
The report has explored that Air India has remained successful in pursuing the expansion
opportunities but to support the expansion projects, there is a need to redesign the management
structure of the organisation. The necessity of restructuring at the company can be observed from
the need of restructuring for decreasing operational costs. Service quality is linked with the level
of employee motivation and engagement in the company. In the given situation of restructuring,
project manager has improved the level of systems used in the organization for managing
operational costs and improving the level of service quality. The company is Job responsibilities
are needed to be changed so that level of management efficiency can be obtained. In addition to
this restructuring of management further requires new experts and think tanks to be hired in order
to ensure the success of business expansion projects under consideration by Air India. Cost cutting
can only be done if productive efficiency is increased and to do so redesigning of management to
meet the dynamic needs of business expansion is inevitable. Other airlines operating in the industry
are offering customers with many low-cost options to travel that is putting pressure on Air India
to offer some differentiated features in the line of operations. Highly differentiated services can
only be explored if the business pays attention to the research and development department to
innovate more effective operational strategy.

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Phase 1 Proposal
Introduction
The researcher, in this document, has explored the relation between external/internal environments
with strategic management. During the experience of the researcher, as a senior executive in the
marketing department, it was understood that there are several environmental factors that influence
the performance of the company. The dynamics business world demands constant change in the
structure of the company to adapt effectively and efficiently to changing business demands.
Restructuring at Air India will be conducted in the Supply chain department using operational
restructuring.

Overview of the company

Air India runs the business of air travel in India and its business headquarters are located in New
Dehli. The business started its operations in the year 1946 and currently, the business is operating
about 1000 flights per week and some destinations are more than 86 in different regions of Middle
East, Asia, Europe and North America, in 26 countries of the world. 108 Airbuses and Boeing
Aircraft are possessed by Air India (Air India, 2016). The success of the business can be judged
from the fact that it has enjoyed about 22.3% increase in the passengers carried as compared to
2015. The business has 4th largest position in the airline businesses in India with as much as 18%
of the market shares. Air India not only deals in passenger travels but also provides Cargo and
Holidays services to the customers. Air India established an airline alliance in the year 2015 with
many other partners. All the participants are given a reasonable stake in Air Indi and the passenger
bookings are consolidated under a single network. As far as the organisational structure of the
organisation is concerned the company is governed by the Board of Directors under the chair of
A. K. Govil. There are three independent members of the board that are responsible for the
supervision to two executive committees namely Executive Committee and Audit Committee.
Each Committee has its own charter and chairman (Air India, 2016).

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supply chain
manager

Local customer
service Logistics
operations

suppliet
Customer
warehouse production manager
service
management customisation
representatives forecast
manager

(Figure 1 Current supply chain organogram of Air India (Self-made))

Project background

Air India follows a hierarchical structure where rigid rules and regulations are present. At present
Air India is facing issues like decreasing level of service quality, increasing operational costs and
low level of employee motivation. Using the strategy of restructuring Air India can introduce new
technologies for managing the operational costs, improving the level of service quality and
enhancement in employee motivation (Ome, 2011).

Method of restructuring that can be used by Air India is in the form of: operational restructuring
where changes in technology and product assortment take place.

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Evidence
Increasing operational costs

Operational costs at Air India are increasing with the passage of time because of debt issues.
Example: Air India has the largest share in the Indian Airlines but their total debt is piling up
because they are still sitting on the borrowings of Rs. 51,000 crore and this debt will ultimately
increase its operational costs (Bhattacharya, 2016). Operational expenses of staff account for 12%
because staff of Air India is not properly equipped with the tools required for providing effective
services. Officials of the company state that staff in the supply chain department has high level
expenses because of few reasons: fuel prices are high, corruption issues and debt concerns of
suppliers. Air India is facing issues coming from the side of their staff because they are not willing
to cut their annual expenses of travelling with their families. Recommendation to Air India with
the help of restructuring can be: reimbursables need to be reduced by 10% by introducing
technological tools and the use of expensive hotels by the staff members should be reduced for
managing operational costs (Air India, 2016).

Decreasing level of service quality

Air India has reduced their market share due to other private airlines brands operating in India.
Upon investigation customers commenting during a study that they are not offered with new
products and services. Air experience was better with airline brands and this is the reason why Air
India has lose its market share by 7% in India. Service quality has decreased because of various
issues like: seats are not comfortable, cuisine provided cannot be compared with other airline
brands because of quality and services offered by staff members (Archana and Subha, 2012).
Operational restructuring is required for resolving the issue of decreasing service quality so Air
India can improve their market share.

Another study revealed that service quality at Air India was decreasing rapidly because the
management was not catering customer complaints effectively. Example: customers faced issued
after they booked the tickets and flight timings get change due to low level of employee
productivity in maintenance department. Due to supply issue flights are late and no possible
explanation is given to the customer. Baggage counter at Air India is still working on manual

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functions where customers wait in lines for their lost baggage (Nongkynrih, Gupta, and Rizwan,
2013). In this situation Air India should introduce operational restructuring for improving the
service quality.

Low level of employee motivation

Air India is spending fifth of their revenue on the pay and additional benefits of their employees
but still the level of productivity is decreasing. Customer complaints are coming in the area of
decreasing service quality (Nongkynrih, Gupta, and Rizwan, 2013). Turnover ratio is high
according to recent statistics because employee needs are not fulfilled by the company. Study
showed that employee level of motivation is decreasing at Air India because they are pressurized
by their managers. Flexible working hours are not present at Air India. In the current situation
operational restructuring will be appropriate (Firstpost, 2015).

Parameters and scope for restructuring

In the present situation, Air India wants restructuring for managing their internal situation.
Parameter here in this situation can be: changing the operations, processes and departments for
integrating the profitability of the company. Scope of restructuring is limited in the present
situation because financial resources are limited. Restructuring will help in changing the structure
and culture of the company. Example: introducing soft approach of HRM will help in targeting the
esteem needs of employees (according to the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory). Operations in
the supply chain management area will be changed using the approach of restructuring. New
methods and processes will help in decreasing the level of operational costs (Ridzi, 2004).

Proposed project plan

Below is the project Gantt chart for explaining the workflow structure by the project manager in
the present situation. Restructuring will be conducted in Air India and steps required for bringing
restructuring are mentioned below:

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(Figure 2 Gant chart for restructuring project (Self-made))

Literature review

Brief introduction

Organizational restricting in airline companies is crucial because it impacts on the overall structure
and operational costs of the company. Lee & Teo, 2005 states that operational or organisational
restructuring might include the change in the hierarchal level, redesigning of job positions, or
change in the reporting relationships existing among employees at different levels. The purpose of
all these activities is either to cut costs and to pay off the debt obligations outstanding (Refer in
appendices 3). Whatever the reason for restructuring is the basic aim is to bring a sharp decline in
costs and to increase the competitive advantage that an organisation have about its counterparts
operating in the same industry (Refer in appendices 4). There are various factors that play their
role in determining the decision to restructure the organisation among those elevating costs,

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mergers, financial distress, bankruptcy, bad macroeconomic conditions and a very high level of
outstanding debt are common. In the view of study that has been undertaken by Useem (1990), it
is explored that restructuring is considered to be a process of transformation of ownership or
managerial control within the organisation. The role of manager discretion can, therefore, be not
ignored in shaping the transformed organisation.

Basic definition of organizational restructuring

Neill Marshall (1992) states that the firms having larger size remain successful in transmitting the
dynamics associated with contemporary restructuring. In addition to this, the study further explores
that the increase in market integration has contributed to increasing the pressure of restructuring
to a larger extent. Lazonick (2004) is the view that agency conflicts are one of the significant
reasons lying behind the decision to restructure the organisation. It can be said that differences
existing between interests of various stakeholders serve to increase the motivation lying behind
corporate restructuring (Refer in appendices 2).

Organizational restructuring for decreasing the level of operational costs

Various studies have discussed the importance of organizational restructuring at different levels.
Study conducted on McDonalds Asia revealed that the management was unable to maintain their
operational costs because their processes were not effective. Results of the study concluded that
McDonalds Asia had 25% higher operational costs than McDonalds operating in other parts of the
world. Reasons identified for increased level of operational costs were: McDonalds was not
applying the lean philosophy in supply chain area. Sales staff was present in different restaurants
of the company operating telephone calls manually. In the logistics and inventory management
department, storing of stock was not effective (burgers were going to waste). Overall operational
costs were increasing in the restaurants because stocks was refilled a week thrice (Roy, 2013).

Example: results of the study can be linked with the approach of organizational restructuring used
at Etihad airlines. Management of the company explored that supply chain and logistics
department was not managing the raw material and supplies properly. With the introduction of
CRM in the supply chain management system (Kwon, et al. 2007).

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Study above have suggested that lack of proper processes and methods increased the level of
operational costs. Along with this, another study by Erkama & Vaara, (2010) explores the impacts
of restructuring on the aggregate industry specialization and concluded that changes in the
ownership of assets act as a significant determinant of changes in aggregate industry specialization.
Restructuring through plant closure and plant addition is also a viable option for the sake of
restructuring. Top executives face the issue of subordinate buy-in after restructuring. It becomes
a very hard task for top management and executives to keep a balance after having chosen to
restructure the organisation (Daft, 2013).

Organizational restructuring for improving the level of service quality by managing employee
motivation

Employee motivation is linked with the overall structure and leadership styles adopted by the
company. In modern concepts of soft management approach of HRM is best suitable for the
companies dealing in the service sector of the world. According to Herzberg two factor theory
factors for increasing the level of motivation are linked with the organizational structure and
culture (Daft, 2013).

Example: Singapore airline is among the top airline brands of the world targeting almost 12% of
the total air traffic of the world. Upon investigation it was investigated that employees at the
company are not comfortable with technological tools (methods for managing and storing the
information). Restructuring was conducted in the operational department and overall structure of
managing the information was changed. Now the company has adopted information management
systems for managing the information using technological tools like Zendesk and Oracle 1
(Erkama and Vaara, 2010).

Hirsch & De Soucey, (2006) finds that restructuring do affect organisational performance but the
direction and magnitude of this impact are not clear because it varies from business to business
and scenario to scenario. In general, the business organisation that has a very proactive
management structure remains able to tackle the issues that arise after the process of restructuring.
Such a management structure remains successful in maintaining the employee motivation and
hence its performance is enhanced. On the other hand if motivation level of employees decreases
due to restructuring then it impacts the performance negatively. It is of prime importance to create

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consensus among employees that restructuring is inevitable not only for the betterment of an
organisation but also for the betterment of prospects of employees. Once the senses of appreciation
are created among employees regarding restructuring process it can be expected that it will have a
positive impact on the productivity of employees and hence the performance and profitability of
the organisation as a whole.

In the words of Balogun, (2007) states that restructuring has got more importance in the present
day business scenario and the major reason behind this is that of globalisation that is contributing
to shrinking down the differences existing in the different parts of the world. Due to globalization,
the competition is rising rapidly that in turn puts pressure on the businesses particularly dealing in
the field of air travel and tourism. Organisational structures are required to be changed so often
because there are dynamic changes occurring in the market. Along with the increase in the level
of competition, the ways to create competitive advantage are also becoming tough. Corporate
restructuring is needed to create competitive advantage and for that reason, close monitoring is
done by the organisations of strategies of other business organisations. A very specific tool to focus
on the competitive advantage is restructuring of an organisation that wants to create or enhance
the level of competitive advantage possessed by the organisation about the industry (Kvande,
2002).

Business restructuring

Business case for restructuring

Problem

Service quality of the company is decreasing because employees are not motivated with their jobs.
Hierarchical structure at the company is decreasing the level of employee involvement (Daft,
2013). Operational costs are increasing with the passage of time and Air India is expected to
increase their fair rates.

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Models used for restructuring

Models used for restructuring include Six Sigma, lean philosophy and total quality management.
TQM will be effective in managing the overall service quality of the company. Restructuring here
is taken in the context of changing the methods and procedures.

Recommendation for changing the structure of the company are explained under:

Method of Restructuring at Air India will consist of the following methods:

Employees are showing low level of involvement because of rigid hierarchical structure.
Organizational restructuring in this area can be designed around managing hierarchical and
flat organizational structure at the same time. Example: supply team will report to their
managers using the simple flow of communication. Managers will use the soft approach of
HRM for managing their employees. Managers will then report to their senior managers
using the basic hierarchical structure.
Methods and processes will be improved by the management as organizational
restructuring. Example: automated bookings, check-ins and check-outs of passengers will
be conducted using new systems like Zendesk, CRM and information management
systems.

The business has currently revealed that it is considering changing the management structure.
Restructuring is done to increase the level of facilitation of management and the key target areas
include cargo, loyalty, and airport services. The plan under discussion is aimed to formulate the
team of chief executive officers that would be responsible for reporting to the president Ashwani
Lohani. The team will oversee the day to day operations of Air India, the equity stakes, engineering
departments and travel and loyalty management associated with the business. Air India has not
remained a stand-alone business and a large number of employees of 27000 individuals are
working with Air India. The structural changes that are going to be initiated in the business are a
clear indication of the fact that business is following a unified approach with an aim to provide the
business with a wider strategic direction in order to ensure success.

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Opportunity

Air India has loyal customer profile which can be taken as an opportunity. Strong financial support
from the government can also help in enhancing the level of services by adopting restructuring.

Situation

At present the problem in Air India is the decreasing level of service quality because employees
are not motivated for managing the service quality. Maintenance costs are increasing due to low
employee involvement. Upon investigation it was investigated that employees are not happy with
the overall hierarchical structure in the organization which supports rigid rules and regulations.
Structure change is difficult in current situation but the management can improve methods and
processes in different departments (Air India, 2016).

Using models for internal and external analysis of Air India

Daft Dimensions for Organisational Design

Daft (2013) is of the view that there are two categories of organisational dimensions that are
namely structural dimensions and contextual dimensions. The structural dimensions associated
with the organisation include its internal characteristics like those of formalisation, specialisation,
hierarchy, centralization, professionalism, standardisation etc.

Air India comprises of a very complicated business structure and to manage such a complex
network of organisational structure the extent of formalisation is kept quite high. To manage the
employees in a way that necessary communication and interaction are ensured it is chosen to
formalise the organisational behaviour. A large number of employees working with the
organisation are kept on a single platform with the help of high degree of formalisation (Daft,
2013).

The specialisation level within the organisation is reasonable and needs to be improved further. To
increase specialisation redesigning of job positions, change in the reporting relationships and
hiring of new staff is required as a way to restructure the organisation. To deal with the increased
market pressure particularly that of low-cost airlines, the level of specialisation is needed to be
enhanced. More expert and specialised individuals are going to be hired under restructuring

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program and job duties are going to be changed keeping in view the area of specialisation of each
employee working with the organisation (Roy, 2013).

As far as the hierarchal dimension of the business is concerned it follows a bottom to down
approach that indicates a trend that decisions are taken at executive or management level and are
then communicated to the staff up to the bottom level. The hierarchal structure limits the pace of
innovation growth on the one hand and increases formalisation on the other. Centralization is there
for the case of Air India along with the fact that a centralised system is contributing a lot towards
uniting of organisational objectives (Stevenson, et al. 2003).

The cultural dimensions associated with the business involve the environment, technology,
business size, etc. The size of Air India is big enough to achieve economies of scale but due to a
big size, there is a need to redesign the job duties by the needs of departments particularly those
that are underperforming currently. Goals and strategy of Air India are all aligned and the business
model is based on rational performance targets. Employee oriented business strategy enables the
organisation to keep the productivity level high. Air India give prime importance to technological
advancements because in the field of air travel competitive advantage is based on the technological
capacities possessed by the organisation. The competitive advantage of the organisation is
therefore based on the technological support present in the organisation (Ridzi, 2004).

Porters five forces model

Porters five forces model takes into account different factors that may affect the performance of
organisation internally or externally. Bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of
customers, the threat of new entry, and availability of substitutes in the market are discussed in
Porters five forces model (Ome, 2011).

Various competitors of Air India are offering the services at low rates that are making the
bargaining power of customers strong enough as compared to Air India. Keeping in view strong
position of customers Air India it is hard for the business to keep the markup high. Bargaining
power of suppliers is quite strong because there are very few suppliers that are dealing with the
provision of products and services associated with the airline business in India. Aviation
regulations existing in India and relatively high cost of entry is making it tough for the new

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businesses to start operations in this industry that is keeping the threat of new entry at a very low
level for the case of Air India. Availability of substitutes is there that makes it inevitable to keep
the products and services offered more differentiated and unique so that new customers can be
attracted and old customers can be retained. Porters five forces model also indicates that high
rivalry is there regarding airplane services. Various options are available to the customers and the
businesses are therefore indulged in the competitive strategies (Ome, 2011).

Analysis

Main objectives of Restructuring

Brief introduction

The basic objective of the restructuring process is to maintain a sustainable growth of profitability.
The business has received a subsidy that is aimed to enable the airline stay healthy in the business
and make it a commercially viable option for the air travelers. Significant organisational
restructuring is needed to avoid the possibility of the business going out of profitable operations.
Air India is also planning to invest in many other international airlines for the support of
restructuring the major among those airlines are Alitalia and Air Berlin. Air India itself has now a
new board of directors as a result of government decree and five new director appointments are
made recently in order to support the up-scaling of the management team. As the business is faced
with continuous expansions in different parts of the word expansion of management team is
necessary with the view to supervise different business departments associated with the company
efficiently. The business has enjoyed a remarkable evolution in the past 18 months and to support
the business expansions number of members in management team have increased (Daft, 2013).

Another objective of this restructuring initiative is to bring a more diversified form of knowledge.
The preeminent group of new directors is about to bring more in-depth knowledge of aviation and
tourism. The expertise of newly hired staff will make it possible to strengthen the business and
help it to move forward. The think tank will then support the continued development of Air India
group hired to support business expansions. The strategic alliance is another restructuring initiative
that is needed to be pursued further by Air India and the company immediately needs to get
connected with the experienced partners in the target market. Sharing of costs of operations will
enable the company to reduce the risks associated with the business. The strategic alliance will

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also prove to be helpful in the case of facilitating the core competencies. The business has the plan
to employ more than 850 pilots, 3600 cabin crew and about 200 technicians and engineers.
Technical cooperation with the field of aviation safety, staff training and development is also
needed to be initiated (Daft, 2013).

The up-scaling of the management team is needed to monitor the review processes of sales and
capital closely. There are opportunities for market expansion for the case of Air India because
market penetration capacities still exists in the regions in which the business operates. The strategy
of up-scaling can be used to meet the organisational objectives of business expansion. Porters five
forces model provides a clear indication of the scenario that market competition has increased
putting a very high pressure on the business. The extent of market rivalry is very high as there are
numerous competitors in the travel industry. More hiring is needed to be done so that it may focus
on the business expansion. The think tank is immediately needed to focus on the research and
development with the view to create product differentiation. In a saturated market, it becomes
harder to focus on the competitive advantage because product differentiation becomes very hard
to pursue (Daft, 2013).

Situation at Air India after restructuring

Changes in the form of manpower, number of people and financial impacts will be observed.
Example: in the supply chain department, 20 members were working at the same time before
manually storing the information. Now with the introduction of technological tools, Air India has
lowered manpower in the department by introducing technological tools.

Example: another change conducted after restructuring is present in the form of increase in revenue
and decrease in costs. Employees surplus is not present now, technological tools have taken over
the process and methods. Organizational hierarchy has changed because managers are following a
soft approach of HRM.

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manager of
supply operations

logistics manager

division 1 division 2 division 3


manager manager manager

(Figure 3 Improved hierarchical structure of the company (Self-made))

Benefits achieved after restructuring

Changes in man power and number of people

After restricting task allocation has been improved because three divisional managers are present
now. In the logistic department three managers will be present catering the needs of their region.
Changes in man power will be conducted in the form of: logistics department will reduce their
teams because three managers are present now. Restructuring will help these managers in focusing
service issues regarding: seats are not comfortable, cuisine provided cannot be compared with
other airline brands because of quality and services offered by staff members. Detailed hierarchy
only in the supply chain department of the company will help in decreasing operational costs.

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Financial impact

In the short-run financial impact will be negative because management will be increased in terms
of managers of the company. Training will be introduced especially for new members of Air India
in the form of induction. Increase in revenue will take place with the passage of time. Example:
now, Air India has better hierarchy in the logistic department with three divisional managers. All
three managers can cater one core issue associated with service quality. Providing effective
training to teams; decreasing fuel utilization, introducing bio fuel at the company and decreasing
number of miles. Employee motivation can be increased with the introduction of need assessment
forms for exploring extrinsic and intrinsic needs of employees. Training programs can be designed
using these needs for improving the level of employee motivation.

The threat of new entry is quite weak for Air India as there are high costs of entry in the airline
industry are quite high. It is not an easy alternative to starting the business of air travel because
fixed costs are quite high. The analysis done keeping in view Porters five forces model further
exhibits that bargaining power of customers is relatively strong as compared to Air India and a
very sound reason for that is the existence of a large number of air travel services providers in the
market. The fares of competitors are also low because they are pursuing the strategy of price
competition. It is very viable option for those businesses to capture the market by decreasing costs.
Air India is also trying to focus on the field of price competition but for that reason, it has to create
differentiation in the services offered so that it may become possible to attract the new customers.
Bargaining power of suppliers is weak because there are very few options available to the
businesses for selling their products that make it very hard for them to bargain. Porter Five Forces
analysis hints towards the fact that there is the availability of substitutes that makes it very easy
for the customers to seek the best option and shift to a preferable one (Roy, 2013).

Daft Dimensions suggest that the structure of Air India is quite formal in nature and there is a
reasonable extent of specialisation existing in the professional attitude and capacities of the
employees. In order to increase the extent of communication among different departments and
employees of the company, there is a need to restructure the communication infrastructure too.
Mismanagement of business operations can only be eliminated if communication infrastructure is
redesigned to meet the needs old as well as new staff members. The number of employees in

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research and development department is needed to be increased in the restructuring plan so that
they may focus on the creation of sustainable competitive advantage to maintain the level of
profitability over a longer period of time (Ome, 2011).

Further specialisation and formalisation are required to be promoted as per the recommendations
of Daft Dimensions. In order to initiate the cost cuts and promote the differentiated services
specialisation is much needed and for that reason, specialists from different fields of air businesses
are attracted and are hired. Among the options available to the business, a very viable alternative
is that of increasing the size of the management team. The increase in the size of the management
team will enable the organisation to take advantage of their expertise and skills for the betterment
of the organisation (Daft, 2013).

Conclusion
The analysis of Air India regarding operational restructuring indicates that management
restructuring is the most viable option available to the business in order to increase its competitive
advantage. Technological advancements are necessary to be initiated because the survival of
airline businesses depends on technological excellence. For that reason, research and development
department of Air India is needed to report directly to the executives (Roy, 2013).Improvement in
efficiency of research and development department will ensure the success of the company over
the long run. Few new hiring will be needed to increase socialisation and redesigning of job duties
will also be required so that every individual working with the organisation may serve according
to the principles of division of labour and specialisation. The business will have to review the
capabilities and capacities of all the employees to match them with the revised business strategies
(Lazonick, 2004).

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Task 2: Personal Development Plan

Introduction

Self-assessment is a necessary tool to excel in both the educational and professional fields.
Performance targets are determined before making self-assessment. The factor that is needed to be
kept in view while making performance target is that those should be achievable and rational. Any
target that is not achievable not only limits the efficiency of self-assessment plan but also results
in decreased level of motivation in one. Performance targets can only be made rational if one tries
to keep the capacities possessed by him under observation. Personal capacities and capabilities are
needed to be recognised to the fullest because of the fact that any sort of over-estimation or under-
estimation will result in complete loss of effort regarding self-assessment. A time-driven approach
is therefore needed to manage all the activities properly and obtain desirable results from the tasks
that are performed. While making decisions about my professional and educational career I am
currently following a short-term approach because I feel that some reasonable level of flexibility
should be maintained in order to make the changes in accordance with the dynamic environment
existing in the industry. I have always had a very keen interest in management sciences that is the
reason I have opted for a degree of Masters in Business Administration and I have a strong faith
that my personal interest in the field will enable me to excel in the practical environment. My weak
points are under consideration and I always try to explore the areas in which my personality lags

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behind. I am quite weak in the field of teamwork and the major reason behind this is my weakness
in leadership skills. I always find it difficult to lead the team members because unfortunately during
my educational career I was not provided with an opportunity to take part in the extra-curricular
activities.

Fitting the Design

Tests are taken by me to have an idea about my strengths and weaknesses and the score in the test
provide a clear indication of the areas in which I need to invest my time and efforts. Evolution of
style test (See Appendix 1) was taken by me and the purpose of taking this test was to identify the
political skills and analytical abilities of mine. The score in the structure was 17, which suggests
that I am good with compliance of strategies that follow the vertical hierarchy. I can abide by
regulations, rules and decisions that are passed down to me effectively.

The score in Human Resource (11) tends to explore the interpersonal abilities in me, and the results
have shown that I am weak in listening to others point of view. In addition to this, I am quite short
tempered and this aspect of my personality can cost me a lot in my professional career. I find it
very hard to keep calm when I come across anything unjustified. I can never tolerate injustice but
there is a need to develop a temperament to speak at right time. Sometimes situation gets worsened
by speaking at a wrong time and its takes much efforts to resolve the issues later on.

My political score is 16, which reflects my good interpersonal skills. Communication skills
possessed by me are quite satisfactory and I always feel it comfortable to interact with the new
people that are strangers to me. I realise the fact that communication skills are of prime significance
in order to succeed in the present era of increased globalisation and economic integration. On the
whole the test results have depicted that I am good in communication, logical reasoning and
relationship making and teamwork, which is also reflected by the second test I took (see appendix
2), however, I will still have to focus on the leadership qualities and teamwork spirit so that good
professional relationships may be maintained.

Topics of Interest

After going through the course content and grasping it with high interest I find the topic of product
differentiation very interesting. Before going through this course I had a very little idea that
23
creation of difference is very necessary and firms invest many resources in creating differentiation
because it is a source to create competitive advantage. Another aspect associated with this concept
that I found interesting is that it is a source of restructuring too. A detailed analysis of corporate
restructuring has indicated that this process has got much importance in the dynamic business
environment induced by globalisation and widespread economic integration. To have an idea about
the practical implementation of the concept of restructuring a case study is also done by me and I
have chosen Air India to perform the analysis. Company analysis indicated that restructuring is
inevitable to be initiated in order to increase the operational efficiency of different units and to cut
the costs of business. The competition in aeroplane services has increased to a larger extent that
has increased pressure on Air India in the form of both the price and non-price competition. Price
can only be reduced if all the departments are achieving high-performance targets. To do so
restricting of management structure is must need and to implement it job responsibilities of
employees working with the organisation are going to be change. Change in job responsibilities
and design will be initiated after going through a thorough study regarding capacities and
capabilities of almost all the employees working with the organisation. Another core purpose of
restructuring is to change the reporting relationship existing among different employees and
hierarchal levels. The most significant change is needed in the research and development
department and for that reason, research and development department is going work under direct
reporting of CEO. Air India needs to increase the attention paid on innovations and this step is
considered to be important to achieve the desirable objective of differentiation.

The third topic that was found by me to be very interesting was that of Porters five forces model.
The model effectively analyses the internal and external environment of the business and hints
towards the best suitable business strategy. I learned about the nature of rivalry that exists among
businesses operating in the same industry and also came to know about the business strategies of
different organisations that are designed to tackle the rivalry. The case under discussion of Air
India is also analysed using these tools and the recommendations for restructuring are made
keeping in view the model presented by Porter. Daft Dimensions is also a topic I found to be very
practical as it highlights important cultural and structural dimensions of the businesses. Daft
dimensions helped me a lot in analysing the case study as it was indicated that Air India followed
a much formalised organisational structure that has many negative and positive aspects associated

24
with it. These aspects are needed to be taken into account while devising the restructuring plan
that is going to be implemented in the organisation. On the whole, the topics learned in this course
are very practical and have enhanced my understanding of real world business scenarios to a larger
extent. After doing this case study I feel really confident that I have become able to think well
about the processes of change management and organisational restructuring and all this is going
to prove very helpful in my future professional life as required by practical implications of the
degree I am pursuing.

Critical Reflection

I have concentrated on and learned amid my instructive vocation that for management it is
imperative to have great leadership qualities in light of the fact that without having critical
leadership abilities it gets to be unimaginable for the director to lead the group and get their
interests adjusted. Notwithstanding this frail leadership aptitudes dependably make
miscommunication among various individuals from the association. Leadership abilities and trust
improvement are the two essential parts of good management.

Before taking this course I was unconscious of the way that morals and spirit are essential in the
field of business management. I have discovered that there are intense moral obligations of the
organisations that must be satisfied with a specific end goal to stay fruitful generally long haul
achievement is unrealistic to be accomplished. In such manner, the idea of Corporate Social
Responsibility was very new for me since I have never caught wind of this thing. Corporate Social
Responsibility is moderately another region of business and this idea is from the perspective that
there are a couple of social obligations of the associations that are should have been satisfied by
them to keep them socially satisfactory (Krier, 2012). Social acknowledgment of the business must
be made if the business put resources into the field of community improvement in light of the fact
that in the present time it is viewed as that it is not by any means the only center target of
organisations to build the abundance of shareholders rather they should likewise focus towards the
undertakings of community advancement. In past, it was the main goal of the associations to

25
concentrate on the expanded gainfulness regardless of what sort of effects was made by their
exercises for the community (Lazonick, 2004).

Very near the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is that of natural manageability.
Organisations are not permitted to make negative effects on nature in which they work and such
exercises are checked by the administrative powers as well as are taken deliberately with respect
to society. There is an agreement that manageability has taken a vital part in the business
techniques of the association everywhere throughout the world in present time.

The down to earth significance of the above-examined ideas was suitably learned by me while I
was working in "du" as an internet. I was serving the branch of innovative work and from that
point, I came to think about different shortcomings of this division. Notwithstanding this, I found
out about different devices that are useful in outlining the exploration and leading it in a legitimate
way to meet the alluring goals. Another angle that was investigated by me while working with the
association was that of treatment of lower level staff as those representatives were not checked
while deciding. Basic leadership procedure was completely incorporated and because of this
reason individuals were feeling baffled.

Personal Action Plan

Personal Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

Good quantitative abilities Below average leadership qualities


Thinking based on logical reasoning Inability to take up numerous tasks
simultaneously.

Opportunities Threats

Good skills for business management Low-level teamwork abilities


Research skills Short temper

26
Action Plan

Goal: To obtain a good management position (long term)

Activity/ Performance Specific Approaches to Start Date Completion


Action Indicator Challenges overcome Date
Challenges

To get job High GPA Inability to To develop 17-09- 21-4-2017


opportunity in communicate leadership 2016
the field of and resolve skills
business issues
management

Extra- Achievement To manage To deal with 11-12- 19-17-2017


curricular in sports studies and co- the stress 2016
activities curricular

Goal:

Improvement in communication skills (medium term)

Activity/ Personal Specific Approaches to Start Completion


Action Performance Challenges overcome Date Date
Indicator Challenges

Leadership Getting Issue To take 11-11- 21-12-2016


skills under involved in resolution advantage of 2016
consideration teamwork communication
skills

To guide Team Personality To take lead 24-11- 29-05-2017


teams management development 2016

To have an To deal with Increase the To approach 28-11- 30-12-2016


idea about the the strangers level of mentors 2016

27
opportunities communication
available with colleagues
and friends

Goal:

Pass Masters with Flying Colors (short-term)

Activity/ Personal Specific Approaches to Start Completion


Action Performance Challenges overcome Date Date
Indicator Challenges

Take good At least 80% Understanding Take regular 1-4-2016 21-12-2016


grades in all of marks in the course classes and go
subjects each subject requirement through course
material
guidelines on
daily basis

Conclusion

The analysis that has been done in this section provides a clear indication of the fact that I have to
work on the leadership skills of mine in order to excel in the field of management sciences. In
addition to this, the communication skills and analytical abilities of mine are quite strong that
makes it possible to tackle the analytical issues well.

28
Annotated bibliography
Daft R.L. (2013). Organisation Theory & Design. Eleventh Edition. South-Western. Cengage
Learning. Pp.1-662.

In this article the author has explained the scope of organizational theory and design for the success
of an organization. Type of strategy and structure used in the organization is linked with the theory
and design of an organization. Culture is aligned with the structure of organization and strategies
are developed using the basic structure and culture.

Erkama, N., & Vaara, E. (2010). Struggles over legitimacy in global organisational restructuring:
A rhetorical perspective on legitimation strategies and dynamics in a shutdown case. Organisation
Studies, 31(7), 813-839.

Authors have explained the importance of restructuring using the examples of famous companies.
Strategies have been discussed which are integrated with the overall organizational structure and
culture of the organization. competition is intense and in ordre to maintain the legitimacy of the
organization

Kwon, D., Oh, W., & Jeon, S. (2007). Broken ties: the impact of organisational restructuring on
the stability of information-processing networks. Journal of Management Information
Systems, 24(1), 201-231.

The impact of organizational restructuring in the context of improvements in the service quality
are discussed in this article. Links between the information management systems and how they
can effect organizational restructuring are present in the discussion.

29
References
Air India (2016). Company Overview. Available at http://www.airindia.in/about-airindia.htm

Air India will not cut staff cost; to focus on increasing revenue | latest news & updates at daily
news & analysis (2016) Available at: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-air-india-focus-on-
higher-revenues-not-trimming-staff-costs-2205563 (Accessed: 22 December 2016).

Archana, R. and Subha, M.V. (2012) A study on service quality and passenger satisfaction on
indian airlines, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 2(2).

30
Bhattacharya, S. (2016) Air India posts profit first time in decade, but still not out of woods.
Available at: http://www.firstpost.com/business/air-india-posts-profit-first-time-in-decade-but-
still-not-out-of-woods-2764394.html (Accessed: 22 December 2016).

Balogun, J. (2007). The Practice of Organisational Restructuring: From Design to


Reality. European Management Journal, 25(2), 81-91.

Balogun, J., & Johnson, G. (2004). Organisational restructuring and middle manager
sensemaking. Academy of management journal, 47(4), 523-549.

Barkema, H. G., & Schijven, M. (2008). Toward unlocking the full potential of acquisitions: The
role of organisational restructuring. Academy of management journal, 51(4), 696-722.

Daft R.L. (2013). Organisation Theory & Design. Eleventh Edition. South-Western. Cengage
Learning. Pp.1-662.

Erkama, N., & Vaara, E. (2010). Struggles over legitimacy in global organisational restructuring:
A rhetorical perspective on legitimation strategies and dynamics in a shutdown case. Organisation
Studies, 31(7), 813-839.

Firstpost (2015) Air Indias new boss seeks to tackle employee issues to make airline better.
Available at: http://www.firstpost.com/business/air-indias-new-boss-seeks-to-tackle-employee-
issues-to-make-airline-better-2468412.html (Accessed: 22 December 2016).

Florin, J., Bradford, M., & Pagach, D. (2005). Information technology outsourcing and
organisational restructuring: An explanation of their effects on firm value. The Journal of High
Technology Management Research, 16(2), 241-253.

Hirsch, P. M., & De Soucey, M. (2006). Organisational restructuring and its consequences:
Rhetorical and structural. Annual Review of Sociology, 171-189.

Krier, D. (2012). Speculative management: Stock market power and corporate change. SUNY
Press.

31
Kvande, E. (2002). Doing masculinities in organisational restructuring.NORA: Nordic Journal of
Women's Studies, 10(1), 16-25.

Kwon, D., Oh, W., & Jeon, S. (2007). Broken ties: the impact of organisational restructuring on
the stability of information-processing networks. Journal of Management Information
Systems, 24(1), 201-231.

Lazonick, W. (2004). Corporate restructuring. Stephen Ackroyd, Rose Batt.


Lee, G., & Teo, A. (2005). Organisational restructuring: Impact on trust and work
satisfaction. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 22(1), 23-39.

McKinley, W., & Scherer, A. G. (2000). Some unanticipated consequences of organisational


restructuring. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 735-752.

Nongkynrih, B., Gupta, S. and Rizwan, S. (2013) Air pollution in Delhi: Its magnitude and effects
on health, Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 38(1), p. 4.

Ome, A.F. (2011) Porter Five forces analysis. Edited by Frederic P Miller, Agnes F Vandome,
and John McBrewster. Germany: Alphascript Publishing.

Probst, T. M. (2003). Exploring employee outcomes of organisational restructuring a Solomon


four-group study. Group & Organisation Management, 28(3), 416-439.

Ridzi, F. (2004). Making TANF work: Organisational restructuring, staff buy-in, and performance
monitoring in local implementation. J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare, 31, 27.

Roy, D. (2013) Strategic foresight and porters five forces: Towards a synthesis. Germany: Grin
Verlag.

Stevenson, W. B., Bartunek, J. M., & Borgatti, S. P. (2003). Front and backstage processes of an
organisational restructuring effort. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 39(3), 243-258.

32
Appendices 1

Figure 4: Appendix 1 (Daft, 2013)

The answers provided by me are as follows:

33
1. 4a, 3c, 2b, 1a

2. 4b, 3c, 2c, 1c

3. 4c, 3b, 2a, 1a

4. 4a, 3a, 2b, 1b

5. 4c, 3b, 2c, 1c

6. 4a, 3a, 2c, 1a

Overall scores for the four different aspects of the organisation are:

Structure: 4a+4a+2a+2a+2a+3a=17

Human Resource: 2b+3b+2b+3b+1b+1b=11

Political: 3c+2c+4c+1c+1c+4c=16

Symbolic: 2d+1d+1d+1d+2d+3d=13

34
Figure 5: Appendix 2 (Daft, 2013)

1. T, 2. T, 3.T, 4.T, 5.T, .F, 7.T, 8.F

Scoring: 4+5 = 9

35
Appendices 2

Appendices 3

36
Appendices 4

37

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