Large group intervention at airbus- organizational development and change

1. LARGE GROUP
INTERVENTION
AT
AIRBUS' ICT
ORGANISATION

2. Introduction
Airbus: an aircraft designed to carry a large number of passengers economically, especially
over relatively short routes. Airbus, an EADS company, is one of the leading aircraft
manufacturers in the world. This case describes the launch of a transformation process that
has taken root in Airbus' Information and Communication Technology (ICT) function.

3. ICT, or information and
communications
technology, is the
infrastructure and
components that enable
modern computing.

4. 4

5. THE CHANGE CHALLENGE
Guus Dekkers joined Airbus as chief
Information Officer in June 2008.
The organisation has undergone several
reorganisation in the previous seven
years.
The ICT Department was not meeting
the productivity expectation of the top
management. (ICT- Information and
Communication Technology)
External Enviornment was affecting the
ICT functions.
Appointed Susan Donnan as his internal
change agent.
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6. THE CHANGE STRATEGY
Sussan Donnan joined Airbus in July 2009.
Believed that high performance can be achieved when
all parts of an organisation's design are aligned.
Introduced a process “Whole Systems
Transformation”(WST) in the organisation.
WST is designed to help leaders engage a large,
critical and representative segment of the organisation.
WST wil help in the alignment and transformation of
the executive team, then transform a critical mass of
the organisation and follows up with the effort to
sustain the transformation.

7. PHASE 1
 CONTRACTING WITH THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
 EMPHASIS ON TRANSFORMING THE EXECUTIVE TEAM INTO A GROUP
WITH “ONE BRAIN, ONE HEART”
INITIATING THE CHANGE
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CONTRACTING WITH THE LEADERSHIP TEAM

8. TIMELINE PLAN
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10. PHASE 2
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TRANSFORM THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
2.5 DAY LEADERSHIP RETREAT FOR
THE EXECUTIVE TEAM (NOV 2009)
FOCUS GROUPS AND EXECUTIVE TEAM
INTERVIEWS
DATA WERE SYNTHESIZED INTO
REPORTS AND SHARED WITH THE
TEAM.
VISION, MISSION AND STRATEGY WERE
VISUALIZED AND DESCRIBED BY
MEMBERS.
A 2.5 DAY ICT SUMMIT WAS
CONDUCTED IN FEB 2010.
TWO MEMBERS VOLUNTEERED TO BE
SPONSORS
AND 13 PARTICIPANTS WERE
CAREFULLY SELECTED REPRESENTING
CROSS-SECTION OF ICT WITH ALL SUB-
SECTIONS, ALL LOCATIONS AND
LEVELS INVOLVED.

11. PHASE 3
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TRANFORM A CRITICAL MASS
BETWEEN NOV 2009 AND FEB 2010
A 2.5 DAY SESSION WAS
ORGANIZED TO PLAN ABOUT THE
SUMMIT.
CONSULTANTS
HIGH PERFORMING TEAM

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13. PHASE 4
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IMPLEMENT AND SUSTAIN CHANGE
POST SUMMIT, 300 PARTICPANTS STARTED TO
ACT AS AMBASADORS FOR CHANGE.
THE IMPLEMENTATION WAS DONE IN
PROJECTS AS WELL-
harmonization and standardization of ICT
activities using industry best practices;
understanding these activities’ drivers and
costs and measuring their performance;
fighting bureaucracy and streamlining
processes; working with its business
partners to drive improvements on
demand management and prioritization;
and developing the competencies and
careers of ICT employees.

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QUESTIONS

15. WHAT IS YOUR EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE DESIGN OF THIS INTERVENTION?
WHAT LARGE GROUP INTERVENTION THEORIES AND MODELS WERE APPLIED ON THIS CASE?
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE INTERVENTIONS MADE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THE ORGANIZATION?
Employees from ICT choose to act as agents of change in
their respective parts.
downward and horizontally were improved and ICT
summit continues in the years to come.
 Engagement the results of the summit to all ICT
employees Large group interventions used are: open
systems methods, this can be seen from the participants
discussing the mission of ICT, ICT performance
conditions, the advantages and disadvantages of ICT.
Design from the summit where everyone is valued and
safe to openly argue
 Support from the executive team
Positive methods are used to help see various
organizational issues, the difference is how to see the
issue and how to see the advantages of the organization.

16. Summit agenda is the right thing to do. The objectives and outcomes
expected are displayed first so that everyone can understand why the
summit was held.
Every day is filled with collaborative activities, question feedback, and
personal communication.
 All these things are done with the aim of implementing ICT vision,
namely one mind and one voice.
Activities that are planned and implemented well help achieve the
objectives of the intervention.
Gathering employees from all levels shows that the organization
wants to work with everyone to carry out transformation commitments
and carry out changes.
Individual commitment and the opportunity to provide feedback
strengthen the bond between ICT employees and give them the right
tools to communicate the new vision to all members of the organization
through transformation and management of change.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SUMMIT’S AGENDA AND FLOW? DO YOU THINK THE RIGHT ACTIVITIES
WERE PLANNED AND EXECUTED GIVEN THE OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERVENTION?

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