Page 11 - Short Cases 1 United Airlines Teaching Note

Q & A

Some simple questions and answers may help to
illuminate the areas that will emerge when using the case

study.

Q1 Was United right to force a person to give up the

seat on the flight United had overbooked?

A1 The answer appears to be simple – NO! Dr Dao had

paid for his seat and even if the fine print of the

contract between him and United did allow for his

removal it did not legally, allow the level of violence

that occurred. Morally, United were in the wrong.

Q2 Is there a dichotomy between what United’s senior

management espouses and the actions of its

frontline staff and if so, what is the cause of it?

A2 Training of frontline staff would appear to be called

for at United. Communication also needs to go hand

in hand with it.

Q3 Social media may prove to be either a rod for
United’s back or a catalyst for change.

A3 Three major publicity disasters in one year is hard

for any company to bear. Social media is an

unforgiving media. It implicitly holds companies and

their actions to account and as such puts pressure

on company management to take on board its

influence and adjust their procedures, mechanisms,