Alitalia CAI Employee Satisfaction Survey Results

1
Alitalia CAI Employee Satisfaction Survey
Results
Based on The Boomerang Effect Careless
Downsizing and Survivors Mismanagement Keep
Alitalia Grounded A Term Paper for the Degree
of Master of Public AdministrationBowie State
Universityin cooperation withItalian Pilots
Association
Date15 Aug 2011
2
Theoretical Framework

• Research on the effects of downsizing on
  financial performance shows negative results due
  to issues related to
• the way downsizing is implemented, and
• survivors management.
• HR activities affect organizational performance
  (HR Outcomes employee satisfaction, motivation,
  social climate between worker and management,
  employee trust/ commitment etc.) which in turn
  affects financial performance.
• Literacy reviewed for this paper includes studies
  on
• Downsizing Implementation
• Survivors Management
• Impact of HR activities on HR outcomes and
  financial performance
• Airline pilots job

• Research Questions
• Was Alitalia downsizing implemented effectively?
  Has the new management way of leading and
  managing change influenced the airline
  performance?

• Sampling Method Non-probability sampling

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Sample Population Selection

• Alitalia CAI Survivor pilots were selected as the
  sample population.
• Why pilots?
• Pilots play a central role in airline operations
• Airline pilots job peculiarities
• Pilots management has safety implications(1)
• Successful airlines manage their aircrews
  effectively

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Sample Population Description

• A total of 76 valid questionnaires were
  received.
• The majority of pilots who replied were between
  40 and 50 years old and have 8-25 years seniority
  with the airline.
• EXPERIENCE
• 50 Captains 7500-15.000 hours
• 38 First Officers 4500-13000 hours
• 12 did not provide this information
• 38 prior military experience.
• Only 10 have been relocated after downsizing.
• As far as their family status is concerned, the
  great majority are married or co-habiting. Most
  of their wives/partners are employed (70),
  either fulltime or part-time (only 20 of them
  are airline employees), while a small percentage
  (30) are housewives. Of all married or
  co-habiting pilots, half of them are fathers of
  one or more children.

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Survey Themes

• Downsizing Implementation
• Perception of Process
• Emotional Physical Reactions
• Impact on Commitment
• Employees/Unions Management Relations
• Leadership Communication of Goals Strategies
• Work Environment

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Change Management at Alitalia
The lost pride 91 to 18 (2)
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DOWNSIZING IMPLEMENTATION(PART I)
() Expand option
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DOWNSIZING IMPLEMENTATION(PART II)
() Expand option
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DOWNSIZING IMPLEMENTATION(PART III)
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EMPLOYEES/UNIONS MANAGEMENT RELATIONS (PART I)
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EMPLOYEES/UNIONS MANAGEMENT RELATIONS (PART II)
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COMMUNICATION OF GOALS STRATEGIES
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WORK ENVIRONMENT (PART I)
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WORK ENVIRONMENT (PART II)
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Notes (Results Analysis)

• An airline pilot primary task is to fly the
  aircraft under his command from the departure
  airport to destination safely. Factors affecting
  a pilots ability to perform his primary task,
  the quality of pilots employed, the commitment of
  pilots to exercise good airmanship, the active
  support received by airline management to operate
  their aircraft in a professional (safe) manner
  (i.e. aircrew training, safe operating
  procedures, and pilots operational decision
  making process) but most of all that pilots are
  able to exercise their professional skills free
  of commercial pressure (Paterson, 2008)
• Alitalia CAI maintained the old Alitalia LAI
  logo, uniforms, and symbols, so this result may
  look worse if one consider that current employees
  sense of attachment may stem from the airlines
  glorious past rather than its present identity.
• A recently published wikileaks cable from
  Ambassador Spogli, US Ambassador for Italy back
  in 2008, confirms pilots perceptions about their
  airline privatization process. Ambassador Spogli
  states The Alitalia saga is a sad reminder of
  how things work in Italy and of PM Berlusconi's
  rather weak adherence to some of the core
  principles of free-market capitalism. Berlusconi
  had the chance to let this be handled as a
  business matter, but he chose to politicize it.
  Under the guise of a rather quaint (and
  distinctly un-EU) desire to maintain the
  Italian-ness of the company, a group of wealthy
  Berlusconi cronies was enticed into taking over
  the healthy portions of Alitalia, leaving its
  debts to the Italian taxpayers. The rules of
  bankruptcy were changed in the middle of the game
  to meet the government's needs. Berlusconi pulled
  this one off, but his involvement probably cost
  the Italian taxpayers a lot of money. The way in
  which this deal was done -- cronies, political
  interference, preference for Italian buyers,
  custom-made laws -- provided the world with a
  clear reminder of Italy's investment climate
  shortcomings. (http//espresso.repubblica.it/dett
  aglio/alitalia-ecco-la-truffa-di-b/2154169)
• Government designed social measures to protect
  laid off employees did not take into account
  pilots peculiarities. Thus those measures only
  delayed laid off pilots professional death and
  inability to sustain their families. These
  shortcomings certainly have affected survivor
  pilots feelings of guilt, morale and motivation.
• Mr Yap Kim Wah, Vice President of Singapore
  Airline, of one of the world leading airlines,
  lists among the most important factors
  contributing to his airline success his people
  We have talented and good people, good
  industrial relations, good HR management, and we
  look after our staff well (Wirtz Johnston,
  2001). The books Up In The Air How Airlines Can
  Improve Performance by Engaging Their Employees
  and The Southwest Airlines Way Using the Power
  of Relationships to Achieve High Performance
  explain how employees, if properly managed, can
  make the difference, in terms of firms financial
  performance (Gittel, 2003, 2009)
• During the emergency in Japan last March,
  aircrews Unions had to intervene several times to
  ask Alitalia CAI Management to implement measures
  to protect its pilots and flight assistants from
  radiation exposure. http//www.protezionecivile.go
  v.it/resources/cms/documents/rass_03_04_11_03.pdf
• The effects on morale and motivation of the
  unprecedented denigration media campaign against
  pilots and flight assistants, Union busting, and
  the merger with the private airline AirOne, have
  not been considered for this study.