...| Southwest Airlines Co. | Organizational Commitment and Communication | | | | Southwest Airlines, Co is according to Fortune magazine one of the best places to work for. The Company’s mission statement is "The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit." (Southwest.com) Southwest believes that their mission statement has led the way to the best cumulative consumer satisfaction record, according to statistics published by the U.S. Department of Transportation. They have the fewest customer complaints, and they have the most satisfied employees, their turnover ratio is less than 10% (D’Aurizio, 2008). Communication and Leadership play a critical role in any organization and Southwest Airline is not the exception. These two factors are crucial to their success. In this paper, I will discuss the role of organizational commitment and communication within Southwest Airlines. Specifically, I will discuss how the various sources of power and leadership styles impact the organization as a whole. Also, I will discuss the motivational theory that I believe fits best with Southwest’s current culture and how the organization communicates the motivational theory to its employees. Finally, I will take a look at the commitment of the employee and how they respond to the organizations attempt to motive them. Organizational Commitment and Communication ...
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...Southwest Airlines Ednora Bridges BUS 520 Leadership and Organization Behavior May 1, 2013 Dr. Lila Jordan Southwest Airlines Introduction The intention of this paper is to analyze the effects of organizational culture on organizational development and change. To allow one to grasp the concept of organizational culture of Southwest Airlines, including the organization’s philosophy, mission, vision, values, and structure, an analysis of the relationship between the design and Southwest Airlines and its organizational culture, and the effects of organizational culture on Southwest Airlines workforce will be reviewed. Examine the culture of the selected organization Southwest Airlines is an airline that provides many services in different destinations around the United States. Southwest Airlines believes in being devoted to each of the communities that they serve by having their employees, customers, neighbors being a part of a loving family. Southwest philosophy is that happy employee’s equal happy customers and happy customers keep Southwest flying. They believe in providing a one of kind culture within their organization that means having fun-filled events like Halloween and spirit parties to keep their employees motivated and make it worthwhile to work hard for the company they love. Explain how you determined that the selected organization showed the signs of the culture that...
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...and how their organization pursued choices and different strategies to run the business by using superior performance employees that gave them a competitive advantage over their competitors. I will concentrate on the thirteen strategic staffing decisions that are critical for any organization to be successful. I will also emphasis the knowledge, skills, abilities, and others (KSAOs) relative to the staffing process and how the company teaches these skills to the employees. This paper will focus on the success of the employees of the organization through the eyes of its past CEO Herb Kelleher. “We want to show them they’re important to us as who they are, as people. And by the way, one ramp agent - I have not disclosed this - sent me a note one day which I’ve never publicized, and I think you’ll understand why.” He said, “Herb, I finally got it. Your making work fun, and home is work.” (Herb Kelleher 2013) SWA was formed in 1971, to serve the inner cities within Texas but by 1998, it had 24,000 employees and 2,500 flights per day. The business was growing fast and the company worked hard at developing and maintaining a culture that it still emphasizes and instills today; flexibility, family orientation, and fun. Southwest airlines philosophy is about the people. It has been consistently successful with great employees and less than strenuous union relations. The company’s success lies in the success of its employee culture and flexibility. Over 80 percent of its employees...
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...Southwest Airlines started from a simple concept. “Rollin King, a San Antonio entrepreneur who owned a small commuter air service, marched into Herb Kelleher’s law office with a plan to start a low-cost/low-fare airline that would shuttle passengers between San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston” (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble, 2010, pg C-401). “His business concept for the airline was simple: attract passengers by flying convenient schedules, get passengers to their destination on time, make sure they have a good experience, and charge fares competitive with travel by automobile” (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble, 2010, pg C-403). Although the concept was simple trying to commence operation was not as simple. There were several rival airlines in Texas that pulled every string possible to block Southwest. Corporate Culture at Southwest “A company’s corporate culture is mirrored in the character or “personality” of its work environment-the factors that underlie how the company tries to conduct its business and the behaviors that are held in high esteem” (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble, 2010, pg 386). “When Kelleher took on the role of Southwest’s CEO in 1981, he made a point of visiting with maintenance personnel to check on how well the planes were running and talking with the flight attendants” (Thompson, Strickland and Gamble, 2010, pg C-406). Kelleher was very hands on with everything that involved Southwest. He did not manage from the office much, he rather be out among the employees...
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...years. Conflicts within Southwest Airlines are resolved through concepts like self-policing, teamwork and mutual respect between managers and employees. Southwest Airlines: Culture of Communication Southwest Airlines emerged in 1971 as a low cost alternative to legacy airlines such as United, Delta, and American. When he started Southwest, Herb Kelleher established a culture for employees that encourages and rewards forward thinking. Southwest has excelled from the beginning earning profits in all but its first year (Smith, 2004). Any company, especially one operating throughout many different regions of the country needs to have efficient communication. Southwest Airlines has successfully created and fostered a communication model with clear goals, values and expectations of respect between its various employee groups ("Southwest airlines one," 2013). In his article, An Evaluation on the corporate culture of Southwest Airlines, Gene Smith describes a company culture that places a high value on “shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect between people and the various functions of an airline (Smith, 2004).” Herb Kelleher started his Southwest in 1971 as a low cost, low frills alternative to larger airlines. The goal was to give people economical transportation between relatively close cities,...
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...Laurie Baird Case Studies 10.1 - 10.2 - 10.3 AIS 4081 Leadership Theory and Practice April 7, 2013 Case 10.1 - Anonymous Servant Leaders Questions: 1) How do the donors' behavior fit into Liden, Wayne, , et al.'s (2008) seven characteristics of servant behavior? Conceptualizing - sifting through the problems of a down economy and a community that was failing and losing people...the donors knew they had to address the issue from early ages by targeting the kindergarteners for college thoughts and ideas Emotional Healing - the anonymity of the donors is difficult to connect with the emotional healing concept...however the monetary enormity...is what was needed first and foremost to get this community up and running. I believe it was just "known" that people cared or they would not have put their earnings forward for such a project. Putting Followers First - The defining characteristic of servant leadership! The donors cared enough to put the students first in their lives to create a project so large to benefit so many. Helping Followers Grow and Succeed - The donors gave a HUGE hand up with the monies raised for the scholarships for the students. Family that could not even think about college can now think and plan to afford the other costs associated with college. Behaving Ethically - by allowing all students to benefit - creates a sense of completeness for the community. There should be no child left without at least the opportunity to...
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...The foundations of strategies that drive Southwest’s competitive advantage rest with its employees and how they were managed. Successful human resource practices are a key essential for this to be accomplished. Southwest has encouraged its employees to recognize with others at the company to deliver exceptional customer service and to have fun at the workplace. One possible reason Southwest outperforms other airlines serving the same customers and market is their strategy of low costs, low fares, and frequent flights. Southwest also keeps its fares simple. Unlike other airlines that rely heavily on computers and artificial intelligence to maximize flight revenue, Southwest normally offers only two fares on a route, a regular coach fare and an off-peak fare. Overall, Southwest Airlines has been profitable in every one of the last 21 years from when the case study was written. The HR practices that served as sources of Southwest success start with hiring the right people into HR to begin with. Southwest transformed its Human Resource Department from “a police department” to a “People Department.” Southwest recognized that their people are the competitive advantage. They deliver the resources and services to prepare their people to be winners, to support the growth and profitability of the company, while preserving the values and special culture of Southwest Airlines. “The company is only as good as its people.” Southwest constantly reinforced that theme, which is why it has...
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...Southwest’s general business strategy? Why has it been successful for so long? Can it be replicated by a competitor? Southwest Airline (SWA) has several successful business strategies: high aircraft utilization, low fare carrier, leadership, great customer service, attractive frequent flyer program, innovative marketing strategy, and human resource management. Regarding operations strategies, by only focusing on fuel-efficient aircrafts, 737s, SWA is able to save on maintenance and training costs. Offering short-haul, point-to-point routes using less congested airports that are close to metropolitan area leads to SWA’s efficiency. Moreover, by shrinking turnaround time, SWA can maximize the high aircraft utilization. Regarding leadership, Herb Kelleher, one of the best all-time CEO, has great leadership style and relaxed management style. His leadership style contributes to people-oriented firm’s philosophy. In terms of great customer service, SWA offers on-time and low cost fares. By having no central hub and spoke system, SWA is able to avoid the delays associated with connection flights. SWA’s average flight time, 65 minutes attracts new customers who usually drive to the final destination. By offering two types of fares on a route, SWA can save on operating system costs. Besides, SWA has own frequent flyer club based on the number of trip flown not on the mileage. Hence, SWA can reduce operating costs due to no effort to keep track of mileage. Customers also can receive the...
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...Integrating Culture and Diversity in Decision Making: The CEO and Organizational Culture Profile John Daniels Bus 520 Dr. McGrath November 30, 2014 1. Provide a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization you chose to research. Southwest airlines is a North American airline that is head quartered at Loves Field in Dallas Texas that started flights in June 18, 1971. Since its inception it has been a low cost, customer focused airlines, that offers leather seating and full size cabins. Southwest have 46,000 employees that handle more the 3,600 flights daily, throughout 93 destinations in 40 states, the District of Columbia, the Common Wealth of Puerto Rico and five near-international countries. http://www.swamedia.com/channels/Corporate-Fact-Sheet/pages/corporate-fact-sheet. 2. Examine the culture of the selected organization. Southwest has three main values that motivate all of its employees. They are a warrior spirit, a servant heart, and a fun-luving attitude (the way Southwest spells “love”). A warrior spirit is in reference to an employee to “take the initiative” or “care about your customers” This spirit means being fearless in terms of delivering the product. The servant heart refers to the aspect of treating others with respect provide what the customer needs in a cost efficient manner. The fun-luving attitude is that the employee should not take themselves to seriously. These cultural values start from the interview and last throughout...
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...Southwest Airlines: Using Human Resources for Competitive Advantage 1. What are the key elements of Southwest Airline’s history? Why are these elements important to understanding Southwest? First of all, from its inception, Southwest has encouraged its employees to identify with others at the company, deliver great customer service, and have fun. Secondly, Southwest’s strategy was to pursue a low fare. So the company concentrated on flying to airports that are underutilized and close to a metropolitan area and also emphasized point-to-point routes, with no central hub and an average flight time of 65 minutes. This paid off in shorter turnaround times and higher equipment use. Thirdly, consistent with its strategy of low costs, low fares, and frequent flights, Southwest also kept its fares simple. The company typically offered only two fares on a route, a regular coach and an off-peak fare. Through looking at these key elements of Southwest Airline’s history, we got an idea of how Southwest Airlines ran its business and why this company has been profitable in every one of the last 21 years, a record achieved by no other major U.S. airline. The best way to understand the current situation of a company is to look back at important things that happened in this company in the past. 2. What is Southwest’s business/operational strategy? Southwest’s operational strategy is to fly just one aircraft type to cut down on training and maintenance costs, use smaller, less congested...
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...QUESTION 1: What is the strategy of Southwest Airlines? Southwest’s strategy has two overarching themes: 1) Operate as a leading low-fare carrier, and 2) their mantra, “Happy employees make for happy customers.” There are several components to each, which are described in detail below. 1) OPERATING AS A LEADING LOW-FARE CARRIER There are several factors to this strategy: Low fares: SWA had the lowest fares in the industry and endeavored to keep it that way. Low costs: Southwest had the ability to charge low fares in part due to low overhead. Lost cost measures included the following: * Identical fleet of airplanes: This minimized the number of parts required for upkeep and maintenance, and it reduced carrying costs. It allowed SWA to simplify and harmonize training and operating procedures. Finally, not only was inventory “interchangeable” across the organization, staff could have moved freely from one location to the next with little to no training time required. * No meals on flights: A savings of $40 per passenger. * No seat assignments: No staff resources were required to maintain or change seat assignments, and no electronic system capacity was required to track/record such transactions. Simplified approach: Southwest kept the fare structure simple. * Only two types of fares: Regular and off-peak fares (no business class, first class.) * Consistent “within state” fares: For instance, a passenger can fly anywhere within...
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...making financial records, how has it been possible for a small company such as Southwest Airlines to completely satisfy their customers since 1971? (Bovier, 1993). What lessons has the management of Southwest Airlines learned in such a relatively short time period? How have these lessons enabled the company to capture such a portion of the market? (Bovier, 1993; George and Jones, 1996) Southwest Airlines began its service in 1971. Since then the killer-whale painted planes have become familiar to their customers and to corporate America. Besides being profitable, expanding constantly and defending its high place on the Fortune 500 list, Southwest has a very special trait: attitude (Bovier, 1993). The Southwest perspective stems from CEO Herb Kelleher and Southwest’s employee motivation. The purpose of this article is to discover the sources of success of Southwest Airlines as a company with high employee motivation. Three factors will be addressed: (1) Southwest as an “excellent” company; (2) the source of employee motivation in this “excellent” company; and (3) whether lessons learned can adequately address potential future problems for Southwest. The authors Ulla K. Bunz and Jeanne D. Maes are based at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA. Abstract In an era in which adapting to change means survival, it is important to study what successful organizations have done. While the airline industry in the USA has not made thriving financial headlines, one small company has...
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...Southwest Airlines - Effective employee relations program/ Career development Southwest Airlines Southwest is a major player in the airline industry, which employs nearly 35,000 individuals. According to an article, (Hollis, 2003), Southwest Airlines has taken a different approach to building interactively relationships with the company, with employees, and with its customers to ensure the success of the business. As a result, Southwest has sustained an enhanced growth and profitability when most airlines struggle to avoid bankruptcy. Fritz Petree, Senior Manager Career Development Services, states, “Southwest philosophy is to hire for attitude and train for skill” (Hollis, 2003, p. 2). Southwest has successfully launched Virtual University at Southwest Airlines’ the University of People provides professional and personal development for the entire workforce. They offer leadership classes, software training, and career development workshops. Southwest has made the company’s vision and goals clear to all employees. Southwest established a Career Development Services group, which enhances employees’ personal development and professional growth. Riordan should take note of the accomplishment on behalf of the programs established by Southwest Airline. These programs will provide a positive and proven guideline in employee potential. This will give additional securities to the enhancement of HR and provide a traceable means of career development on behalf of Riordan employees by...
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..... The Mission of Southwest Airlines The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual “Our people are our single greatest strength and most enduring longterm competitive advantage.” Gary Kelly, CEO Southwest Airlines Time flies when you’re having fun! More than 38 years ago, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher got together and decided to start a different kind of airline. They began with one simple notion: If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline. And you know what? They were right. What began as a small Texas airline has grown to become one of the largest airlines in America. Today, Southwest Airlines flies over 100 million passengers a year to 66 great cities all across the country, and we do it more than 3,200 times a day. To illustrate our steadfast focus on a triple bottom line—our Performance, our People, and our Planet—we have highlighted these three elements of sustainability in a new format, our first annual One Report. This comprehensive document combines a report on our 2009 financial performance and updated content from our 2008 Southwest Cares report—our corporate responsibility and environmental report—while elevating our triple bottom line through adherence to the Global Reporting Initiative...
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...Background info of Southwest Southwest Airlines Report The Southwest’s Secret "What happens if you have mechanical irregularities?" said Herb Kelleher, chairman of the board of Southwest Airlines. "With only one model airplane in your fleet, you can substitute one for the other."(Boeing News, 2002) Due to its target of domestic flight and it is not necessary to own long-distance planes which more fuel storage needed, for it is not profitable for low-fare airlines. Therefore, single type of aircraft plays an important part in its success. (The Economist, 2012) Most importantly, according to Chris Wahlenmaier (2012), the vice president of ground operations of Southwest Airlines, he stated that all the on-board crews and ground crews are familiar with the replace situation even in the last minute because of the same shape and size of all the planes. Besides, training all the mechanics in one model of planes is one of the cost-efficient secret to make Southwest be the 40 consecutive years of profit operation (Yahoo finance, 2013). Overall, the secret derives from the training method of internal elements. Job security After the establishment of the Southwest Airline in 1971, there was a dilemma for Herb Kelleher whether to sell one of the four Boeings or lay off people. Instead, Mr. Kelleher chose another way to solve the problem, which is to shorten the turnaround time from 55 minutes to 15 minutes. (Donlon, 1999) Time saving rather than cutting people in...
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