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An Analysis of “Southwest Airlines: We Love Your Bags”

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An Analysis of “Southwest Airlines: We Love Your Bags”

I visited the Southwest Airlines website and clicked on the “Our Culture “ tab. On this page, Southwest has culture defined as such:
Cul’ture: the development, improvement, and refinement of the originality, individuality, identity, and personality of a given people (“Culture”, 2012).
Southwest Airlines has stood out from the rest of the airlines even before I ever read a case study on the company and its business model. Although I have never flown on a Southwest Airline airplane, the difference can be seen just by walking through an airport that they service. The people look more relaxed, happier, and dedicated to their jobs. The company has capitalized by tailoring their culture to fit their customers and their employees versus tailoring their culture to adapt to the market/environment of the airline business. While they may not be the fanciest company in the airport, the friendly service is seen wherever you see their logo. It is an airline designed for the individuals looking for great value and dependability.
When you look at the mission statement for Southwest, it is evident that they are committed to its employees. In a Knowledge@Wharton article, Colleen Barrett was quoted as saying ”Our mission statement is posted every three feet, all over every location that we have, so if you are a customer, you’ve seen it”(Knowledge@Wharton, nd, para. 3). The mission statement states, “Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.”(Srinivasan, nd, para. 15) Mukund Srinivasan states that “The employees reciprocate the respect, loyalty and trust that Southwest demonstrates. Southwest employees are known for their loyalty, dedication, attitude and innovation. The

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