Managing Change in Uncertain Times: A Case Study

Change management, defined as the methods and processes by which a company effects and adapts to change, has long been vital to the functioning of successful organizations. As John C. Maxwell said, “change is inevitable, growth is optional.” All organizations undergo changes during their lifespans, but not all organizations are able to effectively respond to change or harness it for success. 

This fact was made painfully apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. After businesses were forced to shut down in-person operations, many suffered catastrophic losses. The airline industry, travel and leisure industry, oil and gas industry, and restaurant industry were among the hardest hit. Thousands of businesses were forced to close for good, and thousands more suffered through significant profit loss, layoffs and downsizing. Still, some businesses made vital adaptations that carried them through the worst of the pandemic. Many restaurants, for example, shifted from traditional, in-person service and poured resources into curbside, takeout and delivery services, using technology to communicate with their customers and remain up and running. These adaptations built on services that the restaurants already offered, making the changes easier to implement and accept.

A Case Study in Change: Delta Airlines

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

Purdue Prepares Project Managers to Master ChangeAccording to the Harvard Business Review, Delta began by interviewing past clients and identifying why its customers were reluctant to fly. Delta had implemented a number of new sanitation and safety features that could protect passengers against COVID-19, including improving airflow in the cabins and requiring face masks. However, customers were still shying away from air travel. From its client interviews, Delta determined that clients were afraid of being seated next to strangers, even if those strangers were wearing face masks. Though it cost in the short term, Delta made the decision to stop selling tickets for middle seats so that there would always be space between passengers. As a result, Delta had 9% fewer seats to sell than their competitors, but, even so, Delta’s revenue was “12% higher than the average of American, United and Southwest combined.”

Delta structured changes to its operations around what would make customers more comfortable and ultimately found that customers were willing to pay for some extra peace of mind. Implementing the change was made easier by quick and effective communication across all levels of operation. Flight attendants, gate staffers and corporate communications professionals were given the tools they needed to communicate the company’s safety plan to prospective passengers and execute the new seating rules. As the immediate changes took effect and began yielding results, Delta worked on making the changes more efficient and seamless, refining its process every step of the way.

The Science of Change Management

Delta’s quick and effective response to a major change in business operations helped usher it through the worst of the pandemic without suffering bigger losses. Innovative research on best practices in change management is poised to help other businesses do the same. According to the Change Management Review, using technological and organizational tools to manage “the human side of change” is particularly important. Consider, many businesses were forced to move their operations online after the start of COVID-19, and this change affected employees most of all. The businesses who fared best after moving online were the ones who assisted their employees in adapting to the change by providing opportunities for virtual team building, socialization, and mental wellness checkups, for instance. By considering the effects of change on their employees, these businesses took a proactive approach to getting their teams through a daunting and sudden transition. 

David Michels and Kevin Murphy, two industry experts who research change management, have helped quantify what exactly makes some organizations excel at handling change. According to their study, there are nine organizational elements that contribute to an organization’s ability to manage change:

  • Purpose and direction – the qualities that help organizations lead change.
  • Connection, capacity, and choreography – the qualities that help organizations accelerate change.
  • And scaling, development, action, and flexibility – the qualities that help organizations organize change.

Michels and Murphy also developed categories identifying the challenges many organizations face when dealing with change. They determined that organizations struggling with change were either:

  • In search of focus, meaning they struggle to lead change, identify ambitions and map agendas.
  • Stuck and skeptical, meaning they struggle to move beyond small-level changes and avoid big decision making.
  • Aligned but constrained, meaning they struggle with change because of organizational barriers.
  • And struggling to keep up, meaning they struggle with organizational fatigue and burnout. 

This kind of change management research gives organizations the opportunity to critically evaluate their responses to change and map effective plans for dealing with change in the future. Even without the pandemic factor, being able to change and grow is of primary importance in a world of fast-paced technological advancement and global communication. Change management specialists are in high demand in every industry, with 12% projected job growth (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics) and a median salary of $128,992 (Salary.com). 

Purdue Prepares Project Managers to Master Change

Purdue University’s 100% online Master of Science in IT Project Management prepares students for project management careers in the fast-growing information technology field. Students develop mastery of project management processes and procedures using program materials included in the Body of Knowledge developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI®). Courses are taught by industry experts in high-demand specialization areas such as change management,  risk management and security management.

Since the program is entirely online, working professionals can arrange their plan of study around their busy schedules and take classes from anywhere. The program is specifically tailored to industry-experienced go-getters who want to break into the IT field or advance their careers by developing project management expertise.

Professionals who want to grow their expertise without committing to a master’s degree can choose to complete a four-course graduate certificate in Managing Information Technology Projects. The credits from the graduate certificate can be applied towards the master’s degree if a student chooses to pursue the master’s after completing the certificate.

Learn more about the program and graduate certificate on the course’s website.

About The Author

Rachel (RM) Barton's picture
Rachel (RM) Barton is a technical content writer for Purdue Online. She graduated with her BA in Literature from Roanoke College in 2016, and earned her MA in Communication Studies from Purdue University in 2020. She writes marketing content, essays, poetry, and sometimes jokes.