Six Thinking Hats Approach: Overview of the Event Including a Problem Statement - Paper Example

A man was forcibly removed from United Airlines on April 9, 2017, for allegedly refusing to relinquish his sit for a cabin crew member. Footage of the man being roughed up by a security officer of the airline and later removed him from his seat can be accessed on social media. As a matter of fact, the footage shot by one of the passengers has gone viral on social media. The passenger was dragged down the aisle of the plane by the security officer. People on social media have come out to condemn the incident. Based on the incident, there are individuals who have vowed to boycott United Airlines services. Immediately after the incident, United Airlines CEO, Oscar Munoz released an official statement where he described the incident as part of the airlines effort to re-accommodate passengers. The CEO went ahead to describe the passenger as having been belligerent. The airlines share prices have plummeted since the incident. About $1 billion has been wiped off from United Airlines holding company after the incident. United Continental Holdings, the airlines holding company has seen the value of its shares plummet by over 4%. United Airlines CEO has come out and issued a second public apology. In the second apology, the CEO said that the incident was truly horrific and no one deserves being treated the same way that the passenger was treated (Selk & Aratani, 2017). How will United Airlines regain its reputation so that the value of its shares does not plummet further? How will United Airlines ensure that it remains to be a leading player in the aviation industry despite all the criticism it continues to receive following the incident?

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Summary of six thinking hats approach

Six thinking hats is a parallel thinking process that was designed by Edward de Bono. Six thinking hats approach has for many years been used by business managers to make decisions about events that affect their businesses. The parallel thinking process gives managers an opportunity to think in a more cohesive and effective manner to come up with solutions for an issue that plagues a company/business/organization. The six hats approach has helped individuals to be more focused, productive and mindfully involved when it comes to making decisions. The underlying principle for the six thinking hats approach is that the human brain thinks distinctively, in a manner that can be challenged and therefore, planned in a way that will ensure that appropriate tactics are developed to deal with issues at hand. Once the six approach hats approach is fully learned, it can be effectively applied to deal with a wide range of management issues. The six hats approach can effectively be used to make thinking more clearly, and it can also be used to apply greater creativity when it comes to making business decisions (Seth, 2012).

The six thinking hats approach does not represent a natural way of thinking but a compelled mode of thinking. A management team can separate thinking into six distinct ways that represent six clear roles and functions. Each thinking approach is often represented by a symbolic colo. By a management team member mentally wearing a hat of a certain color, he or she can concentrate his or her thoughts towards a specific line of thinking.

Symbolic hats that are used in the six thinking hats approach are the white hat, the yellow hat, the black hat, the red hat, the green hat and the blue hat. When wearing the white hat, individuals are expected to think in line with facts and only facts presented in the information about the event/issue at hand. When wearing the yellow hat, a person is expected to explore positive issues with regard to the event and make a probe about values and benefits of the positives. The yellow hat is symbolic of optimism and brightness. When wearing the black hat, a person is expected to be judgmental and play the devils advocate. The black hat is expected to compel a person to think why things may turn out negatively, where difficulties may occur and where dangers may be experienced in addressing the issue at hand. Wearing a black hat could be a powerful line of thinking, but if overused it could lead to devastating problems. The red hat is used to signify feelings and intuitions that are supposed to be taken into cognizance when making management decisions. When wearing a red hat, a person is expected to factor emotions, feelings, likes and hates in the thinking process. When wearing the green hat, a person is expected to focus his thoughts on creativity, new ideas, alternatives, and possibilities. The green hat gives individuals an opportunity to be expressive of new concepts and perceptions. The blue hat is used as a control of the general thinking process so that the six thinking hats approach can be observed to the latter (De, 2008).

Six thinking hats approach in overcoming stated problems or concerns

The White Hat

United Airlines management should not try to justify what happened during the incident by stating that the passenger was belligerent. The management should instead own up to the airlines mistakes and analyze facts that are associated with the incident. It is a fact that the airlines security officer treated the passenger in an unprofessional manner. It is also a fact the security officer could have treated the passenger in a better way. It is also a fact that the value of the airlines holding companys shares are plummeting and appropriate measures should be taken in ensuring that the value of the shares is restored to normalcy.

The Yellow Hat

There is hope that if United Airlines management deals with the incident in a more professional way, the airlines reputation will be restored (Hiltzik, 2017).

The airline should synergize its recent efforts on improving customer services.

The airline should upscale its efforts in offering in-flight amenities. Improving its in-flight amenities may endear the company to new customers. Winning over new customers will balance the equation, in case the airline loses some of its customers courtesy of the incident.

United Airlines management should come out and offer a public apology that appears more genuine and honest than the one offered by the CEO. The apology should acknowledge that the passenger was poorly treated and it should also make the airlines customers believe that they are respected and valued by the airline.

The management should assure the public that it is going to do everything within its means to ensure that such an incident does not happen again in the future.

I am confident that the incident is a local matter that United Airlines can appropriately and rationally deal without the involvement of the Federal government and security agencies such as CIA.

The Black Hat

United Airlines may fail to regain the public trust that it once enjoyed. Any logical thinking person can clearly see that the incident would have been handled in a better way given the airlines security officer was dealing with a human being, not an animal.

The airline may lose a substantial base of its loyal customers.

Individuals of Chinese descent may cease using United Airlines services given that the passenger involved in the incident was Chinese and he has claimed that he was profiled by the airlines security team for being Chinese. As a matter of fact, the footage has gone viral in China, causing a large magnitude of outrage. There are individuals who claim that the passenger would have been treated differently if he was white (Caucasian).

Share values of the airlines holding company may plummet further. Given that people of Chinese descent are investors in the airlines holding company and the passenger involved in the incident is of Chinese descent, Chinese investors may pull out of the holding company by claiming that the United States is not according Chinese people the respect that they deserve.

Human rights activists may compound the airlines woes by initiating a public campaign, asking individuals to boycott United Airlines services.

The airlines holding company may end up being bankrupt.

The Red Hat

I feel that share prices of United Airlines holding company may plummet further if the airlines management does not take decisive actions to address issues associated with the incident. It will be unfortunate to see investors pull out in droves from United Airlines holding company because of a single incident (Wieczner, 2017).

I feel that United Airlines competitors may fabricate malicious lies about the company so the companys reputation may decline further. Given that United Airlines has been a relatively successful company, its competitors may see this as an ideal time to destroy the companys reputation in totality by peddling falsehoods.

The company should ensure that it treads this dangerous path with utmost care so that it does not lose its loyal customers who have supported the company for many years.

I feel that the company should reassure its loyal customers that the company is committed to enhancing the safety of its passengers.

The Green Hat

United Airlines should come up with innovative ways of dealing with passengers who refuse to relinquish their seats for cabin crew members.

The airline should overhaul its policies that deal with seeking volunteer passengers to relinquish their seats for cabin crew members.

The company should overhaul its procedures of dealing with situations akin to the incident. Given that United Airlines CEO earlier defended the airlines employees stating that they followed the airlines procedures in dealing with such situations yet it is clear that the passenger was treated in an inhumane manner, the airline should change its procedures.

The company should come up with new policies to deal with flights that have been oversold. The incident happened because the flight was oversold and as a result, cabin crew members had nowhere to seat.

The airline should initiate a partnership with law enforcement authorities in dealing with unruly passengers. Had the airline been in partnership with law enforcement authorities, the incident would probably never have happened. Law enforcement authorities are professional in their conduct, highly trained and know how best to deal with even the most challenging cases; such s the one under discussion where the passenger appeared to be unruly.

The airline should engage with its customers through forums such as town hall sessions where customers are asked to give their opinions on what they believe should be done to ensure that such incidents do not occur again in the future.

The airline should come up with a policy that ensures that employees of the airline interact with customers in a friendlier manner. By ensuring that employees interact with customers in a friendlier manner, trust will slowly be re-established between the airlines employees and its customers.

The airline should provide its employees with incentives that will ensure the employees become friendlier to the airlines customers. Incentives, in this case, could involve giving awards to employees who exhibit high levels of customer service.

The airline should initiate programs that are emphatic on the importance of top-notch customer services in the aviation industry. Employees should be urged to deal with customers in a logical manner. Employees should be urged to tolerate misbehavior exhibited by customers as long as it ensures that the company retains a solid financial standing.

The airline should engage with its employees and ask for ideas from the employees on how to fix situations akin to the once involving the passenger who was dragged from his seat.

The company could decide to offer free flights to handicapped individuals for one month as a way of seeking public sympathy a...