MGMT $601$

Final Exam, Winter $2024$

Dr$.$ H$$l$$ne Leone

Sage Business

Fast Crisis Response: An Aviation Company Manages COVID

Read the case study and answer the three $(3)$ following questions. You have two $(2)$ hours to complete this exam.

$1.$ What leadership practices helped make Murjan's crisis response and management of change a success? Why were they so effective?

$2.$ What elements of organizational culture contributed most to the success of Murjan's COVID$-19$

response strategy?

$3.$ What advice would you give Andy about learning from the pandemic experience to lead a post$-$COVID workplace even more effectively?

Introduction

"This COVID$-19,$ we thought it was far away! It's getting closer, dangerously so$.$ There's talk about an imminent lockdown now. Will that happen? Is this real? Should we fear for our safety? What will this mean for us$,$ for our families? What are we going to do at Murjan, how should we respond? What a tough situation!

All this uncertainty and fear is getting to us$.$ I can feel it and see it in everyone's face $..."$

These were just some of the thoughts running through Andy James's head as he shaved and prepared himself for the workday as General Manager of Murjan Aviation CY$.$ As he drove to the office, Andy kept wondering what this would mean for Murjan. Staff were looking to him for direction, but at this early point in the pandemic there was no direction to follow. Waiting seemed to be the order of the day. "How will I lead them through this?" he wondered.

Arriving at the office, Andy found a message from the CEO of their parent organization, Jet Stream Aviation. The CEO, Albert Lee, was visiting the next day! That had never happened before! Andy didn't know what it meant. To say the least, he was intrigued. Fear and apprehension clawed at his chest as multiple scenarios went through his head. Why was Lee coming himself when he had always led from afar?

The Company

Jet Stream Aviation is a private executive VVIP airline, operating under a U$.$S$.$ AOC $($Air Operator's Certificate$).$ It employs a total of $18$ multinational pilots, flight engineers, and cabin crew. Located in one of the GCC $($Gulf Cooperation Council$)$ states, Jet Stream decided to establish a child company with crew rest facilities in Cyprus in $2015.$ That child company, Murjan Aviation CY$,$ is the service provider for Jet Stream's operations. Both companies are led by CEO Albert Lee, to whom Andy reports. Lee provides direction on how to proceed on operational matters.

Murjan's $16$ multinational employees work in four departments: Operations, Maintenance, Administration, and Accounting. Each department is led by its own manager and is usually supported by one