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Selected CasesLarge Group Interventions at Airbus' Ict Organization*

Airbus, an EADS company, is one of the leading aircraft manufacturers in the world. Its customer focus, commercial know-how, technological leadership, and manufacturing efficiency have propelled it to the forefront of the industry. With revenues of over 38 billion in 2012 and an industry record backlog of 4,682 aircraft valued at over 523 billion, Airbus today consistently captures about half of all commercial airliner orders.

Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is a truly global enterprise of some 55,000 employees, with fully owned subsidiaries in the United States, China, Japan, and the Middle East; spare parts centers in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Washington, Beijing, Dubai, and Singapore; training centers in Toulouse, Miami, Hamburg, Bangalore, and Beijing; and more than 150 field service offices around the world round out its physical footprint. Airbus also relies on industrial cooperation and partnerships with major companies all over the world, and a network of some 1,600 suppliers in 30 countries.

This case describes the launch of a transformation process that has taken root in Airbus' Information and Communication Technology (ICT) function. ICT is a transnational group of around 1,300 information system professionals located wherever Airbus operates. ICT develops, maintains, and operates24 hours a day, 365 days a yearevery facet of the information systems that enable Airbus' core business processes.

The Change Challenge

Guus Dekkers joined Airbus as Chief Information Officer in June 2008. The organization he inherited had been split, integrated, and split again in a series of reorganizations over the previous seven years. Not surprisingly, he faced a change-fatigued and cynical ICT workforce. Moreover, the reorganizations had not produced the results that Airbus top management was expecting with respect to time, cost, and quality objectives in projects or improved productivity in service delivery.

At the same time, the continuing global financial and economic crisis along with the intense competition in the aircraft manufacturing industry resulted in increasing budget pressures, growing business demands, changing business models, and increasingly disenchanted internal customers. The performance of his function needed to improve significantly and fast.

In his first year, Dekkers formed a new executive team with a mix of experienced internal managers, newcomers from outside Airbus, and others from outside the aviation industry. He worked with his new team and a core group of middle managers to define ICT's new vision, mission, and customer-facing transnational organization (Figure 1). However, he knew that these changes were only the beginning. It could take months, or even years, to formulate and implement the necessary changes.

Figure1.The New ICT Organization (~2009)

CIO HR Procurement Change and Finance Communication Worldwide Infra- Fulfill and Sell and Manage and Governance Develop Services structure Source Support EnableSep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Dec-09 Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 Jun-10 Jul-10 Aug-10 Sep-10 Oct-10 Nov-10 Dec-10 Contracting Transform ICT Executive Team Summit Design Transform ICT Critical Mass Implement and Sustain ChangeLeadership Teams Event Teams Implementation Teams Executive sponsor: Event Design team; Throughout the change G Dekkers . Microcosm of event process, teams can be participants chartered for specific Executive/steering team: . Provide content expertise work products ICT executive team . Co-design detailed script . In the large group events, with consultants people often volunteer Core team: . Ensure that paradigm shift for tasks that interest * Recommend occurs in the event them, ranging from very transformation blueprint short efforts to longer to the executive team projects . Accountable for the Event Logistics team: Teams may be brought transformation . Support the flow and together for any . Include communication management of data necessary integration and measurement experts during the event Facilitation/Consulting Team . Facilitate the executive team, event design team, event logistics team, and the events . Guide, monitor, and evaluate the flow of the change processes . Knowledge transfer between external and internal consultants