Introduction

First of all organizations tend to undertake changes to IS as a simple addition or

modification to the organizations operational processes. This approach can be quite unfavorable.
Similar situation is found in the case of US Airways and America Wests merge and hence
necessitates inquiry. First, the purpose of this paper is to then consider what should have been
considered before the merger for proper IS integration. Second, what is recommended now that
the merger has gone off track.

Analysis
Considerations for the Merger
For any merger to be successful, organizational design and administrative functions need
to be considered. In these two paragraphs, considerations relevant to the organizational design
and IS integration would be looked at specifically considerations through which the current
scenario might have been avoided. All considerations would be related to the organizational
design variables specific to the managerial levers framework.
The issues that are out of control in the organization can be backtracked to a few essential
organizational and functional differences between the two companies. According to the case, the
management should have prioritized and addressed these issues during the merger process in
the earlier stage. For instance, America West is a relatively small organization that controls a
share of the west coast, whereas US Airways has a considerable share of both east and west coast
flights. This should be taken into account as the managerial staff of America West is not
experienced in running an organization of US Airways size. First thing should be taking into an
account is that both companies had different organizational structure and cultures. For example,
US Airways older workforce stood stark in contrast with America Wests younger workforce. As
this issue was not addressed, the merger was not completed without conflicts. The values of the
different organizational cultures should have been considered. Rather than merging these two
contrasting cultures, the management should have devised the type of culture that they preferred,
and instituted this culture through organizational change models. This change should have taken
into account organizational design variables as dictate by the managerial levers framework; such
as, decision rights, business processes, formal reporting relationships, cultural values, data and
planning. As a result, we are going to have more logical and conflict-free merged organization.
(Galliers et al., 1999; Pearlson & Saunders, 2010)
The second point is that it should be noted that the manner in which these organizations
handled IT operations essentially differed. First, US Airways took an outsourced approach on IT,
and the IT department only monitored the outsourced operations. On the other hand, America
West had its own IT department which handled all IT activities by its own. However, difference
between the two organizations was the difference in the ticketing and reservation system used. In
order to handle both differences, first, the management should have realized which reservation
system to be used and how to organize IT earlier and, the firm should have complete right to
decided the business processes on how much and what IT would be handled. With respect to
these issues, if the control variables from the managerial levers framework had been considered,
the merger would be successful. Specifically, considering variables such as planning and
evaluation would have allowed for a more integrated IS network, and also avoid problems in the
conflict labor of the country by illustrating a transparent performance-based evaluation method.
It would also have been appropriate if the organization variable of decision rights and business
processes would have been taken into account, as it would have clearly dictate how processes
should be done in the new firm and who reports to whom after the merger has taken place. It
would have enforced authority and order within the firm. Addressing these features of the
organizations might have allowed for a more logical and functional merger.

Recommendations for Current Situation
According to the recommendation for the current situation, it is important that the
management take into consideration first the fundamental aspects of organizational structure and
organizational culture. First of all, it should be appointed to whom the decision rights should
be given in the new organization. Decisions have been decided to be handled centrally in
consideration of the union-conflict of both the airlines. This is quite inappropriate if we consider
the vastness of the new US Airways operations and difficulties that would arise in management
by centralized decision-makers. Strictly centralized decision-making means that the center would
need to address decisions regarding all the various destinations and airports its flights exist in.
On the other hand, an on-site decision-making unit will allow for better perspective also result in
faster responses. In addition, The old US Airways can be realized to follow a more hierarchal
structure, and America West can be associated with a matrix structure. First, It might be helpful
to impose a new organizational structure that is more appropriate to the changing demands of the
industry. Also, considering that work groups are already existent, and the collaboration between
these work groups can be affective by appointing a networked organization. The networked
organization can be further facilitated by taking into consideration the existing unions. Making
the unions feel part of the decision making processes would only motivate them towards the
decisions being made and hence ensure faster organizational change. As a result, we will ensure
that the company rids itself of the organizational issues it is facing, which would subsequently
allow it to fasten its IT integration. (Galliers et al., 1999; Pearlson & Saunders, 2010)
However, despite how appropriate a networked structure might seem at the moment, it is
incompatible with the current situation at US Airways. The issue prominently lies in the fact that
networked structure requires an effective IS system in place. Considering this, the best option for
US Airways would be a hierarchal structure. This is because in a hierarchal structure, processes
have to be formalized. In case when two companies are merged, both might have been using
different processes for different functions. However, formalization would reinstate new
processes to use for given functions, and hence remove any confusion that might exist with this
regards. Moreover, it would put decision rights towards the center of the organization, and
middle managers would only be communicators relaying orders to subordinates and results to
executive management (Pearlson & Saunders, 2010). This is a desirable scenario as it would
avoid a scenario of conflicting interests dictated possible through union differences.
Furthermore, it would also result in a more unified organizational design (Pearlson & Saunders,
2010). It should be noted that a hierarchal structure would also make IS integration much easier
as formalization is achieved through process design, and process design also ensures easier IS
integration (Gallier et al., 1999).

Conclusion
IT Implementation or Integration is not a simple add-on to organizational functioning. It
is something that changes the very manner in which organizations operate. Even a seemingly
simple change, such as a change in the operating system used, can elevate productivity or create
bottlenecks. It is important that the new US Airways treats its IT Integration in a similar vein and
ensures that all conflicts causing the IT Integration to be delayed should be outright addressed.
The aforementioned recommendations address some of the issues that needs to be addressed that
I feel are hindering the IT Integration. It should be noted that delays in appropriate IT
functioning can result in eventual bankruptcy. The new US Airways would not find that
desirable.

References
Carlson, P. M. (2000). Exploiting the opportunities of collaborative decision making: A model
and efficient solution algorithm for airline use. Transportation Science, 34(4), 381-393.
Galliers, R., Leidner, D.E. & Baker, B.S.H. (1999). Strategic Information Management:
Challenges and Strategies in Managing Information Systems. Woburn, MA: Butterworth-
Heinemann.
Pearlson, K.E., & Saunders, C.S. (2010). Managing and Using Information Systems: A Strategic
Approach. New York: John Wiley & Sons.