...Southwest Airlines: Leadership Matters Latrice Alston University of Phoenix COM 530: Communication for Accountants Tonya Boddie September 12, 2012 Southwest Airlines: Leadership Matters Leadership styles affect the way organizations function and interact with employees, consumers, and business partners. Leaders develop a style of communicating based many times on experience. Southwest Airlines, a leader in the airline industry has enjoyed unparalleled success due to its business plan and dynamic leadership. For Southwest Airlines, senior management places great emphasis on employees realizing satisfied employees are pivotal to the success the organization has and will continue to experience. Effective leaders are critical to advancing the vision and mission of the organization. Southwest Airlines continues to make strides in the airline industry based the strategic vision of management. Southwest’s mission to provide excellent customer service delivered in with warmth, friendliness and pride is the mantra of the organization. Leadership comes with a price and those tasked with leading must be able to balance both the mission of the organization and the needs of employees. Unlike other organizations Southwest Airlines, due to the multi-faceted leadership style has a very low rate of negative attrition. Factors impacting attrition within organization can most time be attributed to the way organizations are managed. Having weathered...
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...Leadership Style: What Do People Do When They Are Leading? Chanel Diggs BUS520139VA041-1142-001 Dr. Laura Jones Strayer University 03/04/2014 Leadership Style: What Do People Do When They Are Leading? Leadership is not necessarily exemplified only by people in management. Schermerhorn (2012) defines leadership as the process of influencing others and the process of facilitating individual and collective efforts to accomplish shared objectives. Therefore, it does not take a “manager” to lead. Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines, has a set of values and a leadership style that helps Southwest Airlines stand out amongst any other airline in the industry. Background of the CEO Gary Kelly is a 28-year Southwest veteran who began his career at Southwest Airlines as a Controller. In addition to working for Southwest Airlines, Kelly sits in the board as Independent Director of several corporations and trade associations. Kelly was promoted to CEO and Vice Chairman of Southwest in 2004 after serving as the Chief Financial Officer and Vice President Finance, then Executive Vice President and CFO. Gary is a lifelong Texan, having received a B.B.A in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to joining Southwest Airlines in 1986, Gary was a Certified Public Accountant for Arthur Young & Company in Dallas and Controller for Systems Center, Inc. CEO’s Leadership Style and Philosophy Gary Kelly’s leadership style would be that of transformational...
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...outhwest Airlines: Leadership Matters Leadership styles affect the way organizations function and interact with employees, consumers, and business partners. Leaders develop a style of communicating based many times on experience. Southwest Airlines, a leader in the airline industry has enjoyed unparalleled success due to its business plan and dynamic leadership. For Southwest Airlines, senior management places great emphasis on employees realizing satisfied employees are pivotal to the success the organization has and will continue to experience. Effective leaders are critical to advancing the vision and mission of the organization. Southwest Airlines continues to make strides in the airline industry based the strategic vision of management. Southwest’s mission to provide excellent customer service delivered in with warmth, friendliness and pride is the mantra of the organization. Leadership comes with a price and those tasked with leading must be able to balance both the mission of the organization and the needs of employees. Unlike other organizations Southwest Airlines, due to the multi-faceted leadership style has a very low rate of negative attrition. Factors impacting attrition within organization can most time be attributed to the way organizations are managed. Having weathered the many ups and downs in the airline industry, Southwest Airlines has remained committed to employees and the core values of its visionary leadership Organizational...
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...Leadership Style: What Do People Do When They Are Leading? Sherman Boyd Dr. Christopher Leigh BUS 520 Leadership and Organizational Behavior September 3, 2014 Introduction Leadership is described as a method for social control that sees an individual getting the help and support of others on finishing a particular assignment (Adair, 2005). Thus, leadership is the ability to successfully exploit and incorporate the existing resources in an organization for the achievement of the objectives and targets of such organization (Northouse, 2004). Gary Kelly is the CEO of Southwest Airlines. He has a leadership style and a set of values that has helped Southwest Airlines emerge amongst all the other airlines in the business. This report analyzes the leadership style and philosophy of Gary Kelly and how his style of leadership aligns with the culture. This report also examines his personal and organizational values and evaluates his set of values that are likely to influence ethical behavior within the organization. Finally this report determines his greatest strengths and weaknesses and discusses the quality that I believe contributes most to this his success. Background of the CEO Gary C. Kelly is the CEO and chairman of Southwest Airlines. He started his career in 1986 as a controller at Southwest Airlines. In addition to working for this airline, Kelly sits in the board as Independent Director of several trade associations and corporations. In 1989, he was promoted and served as...
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...Starbucks Corporation: Case study in Motivation This case study concludes that motivation plays an important role at Starbucks Corporation, as it draws in consumers’ attention globally to change their mind about coffee. This has built up the company’s policy to a success level. The key factor to their success is motivation, but to motivate others we need to motivate ourselves. This is demonstrated in the company by building a good strong relationship between managers and employers resulting in a lower employee turnover rate and well as showing a high profit performance in their business. Howard Schultz who is the chief executive officer of Starbucks Corporation mentioned that the main reason behind the company’s success is not the quality of the coffee but the employees. He continues to say that the employees working there provide a friendly atmosphere which creates a warm loving surrounding for consumers to come in and relax. Moreover, the manager at Starbucks totally treat all the employees equally and fairly naming them ‘partners’, showing equal treatment. Starbucks is one of many top leading coffee companies where they know how to use the right strategy and to towards a successful path to win over their existing and non –existing consumers. Moreover, Starbucks has proven to show they have clear set goal needing to be achieved through the motivation of employers and manager. Motivation given by employers, for example are rewarded via employee recognition for their efforts/performance...
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...MBA 610 Case Study: Southwest Airlines Corporation 1. Southwest Airlines Corporation is an extremely popular and profitable company due to their strategy of being the nations’ low-fare, high customer satisfaction airline. Southwest is able to offer the nation’s lowest fares due in part to their low operating-cost structure, the lowest in the domestic airline industry. This low operating-cost structure (refer to Exhibit 1 for 5 year financial highlights and 2004 data) is the basis on which Southwest builds its competitive advantage, as it allows Southwest to sell low fare tickets while still enjoying a gross margin percentage of sales (29.2% of sales in 2004) much higher than United Airlines (22.7% of sales), American Airlines (1.9% of sales), and Delta Airlines (18.9% of sales). Southwest achieved this low cost operating structure through eschewing the traditional “hub-and-spoke” approach used by their competitors, and instead flying short haul, medium haul, and point-to-point flights, allowing for more frequent flights. As a result, about 80% of Southwest’s passengers fly non-stop and the overall passenger length is approximately 758 miles. Additionally, Southwest consistently seeks out ways to improve its efficiencies and low cost structure. For an example, at Southwest, turnaround time (from the time a plane lands until it is ready for takeoff) takes approximately 20-25 minutes and requires a ground crew of four plus two people at the gate. By comparison, turnaround times...
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...essential element in monitoring and analyzing trends that can affect an organization. A tool used as a part of environmental scanning is the SWOT analysis which pinpoints the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of an organization. This paper will present a SWOT analysis of three companies from three different industries, Starbucks Coffee, southwest Airlines and Wendy’s Old Fashion Hamburgers. In addition to the SWOT analysis there will be information regarding the company’s competitive advantage, strategies used, how value is created by each company along with the measurements guidelines used to verify strategic measurements SWOT Analysis: Starbucks Coffee, Southwest Airlines & Wendy’s Starbucks Coffee, Southwest Airlines, and Wendy’s operate in three different industries, something each company has in common is utilizing as a tool the internal and external environments based on the SWOT analysis. Starbucks Coffee began as a single store in Seattle; now, the number one coffee chain in the world located in over 62 countries with 18,000 stores. In order for Starbucks to have its current success and continued success a SWOT analysis breaks down the favorable and unfavorable factors to determine the appropriate strategy to stay on top in the premiere coffee industry. The Strengths of Starbucks Coffee to name a few are the experience the customers have with Starbucks, a brand widely recognized valued over $4 billion along with being the largest coffee chain globally...
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...Case Analysis – Southwest Airlines Corporation Jerry Pierce California Southern University Case Analysis – Southwest Airlines Corporation Introduction Southwest Airlines is America’s largest low-fare carrier, serving the most domestic customers than any other airline due to their unique combination of low fares, friendly customer service, record of safety, lack of fees, and “an extraordinary corporate Culture that extends into the communities (they) serve.” (Southwest, 2013) Incorporated on June 18, 1971 in Texas, Southwest airlines commenced, serving three Texas cities with three Boeing 737 aircrafts under the direction of its’ founders, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. Their philosophy was simple and consisted of an idea that getting passengers to their destinations when they wanted to get there, on time, at the lowest possible cost, “and make darn sure they have a good time doing it”, customers will show loyalty to the airline and ensure its success. (Southwest, 2013) Proof of the company’s success was confirmed in 1989 when it exceeded one billion dollars in revenue and established itself as the highest ranked in customer satisfaction among all major airlines. Analysis The mission statement of Southwest Airlines boasts a “dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.” (Southwest, 2013) Additionally, Southwest confirms a loyalty to its employees by creating a stable work...
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...compete in the domestic market and one in the global market. The organization that the author will use is Southwest Airlines and Lufthansa to compare and contrast. The author will also describe or diagram a process or procedure that is similar between the organizations, and explain the process from beginning to end. The author will also explain why the process or procedure produces a competitive product or service in the domestic and global markets. In conclusion the author will explain how quality management affects the position of the companies in the domestic and global market. Effects of Quality Management The two organizations that are being compare and contrast are similar to each other are Southwest Airlines and Lufthansa. Southwest Airlines competes in the domestic market which is the U.S nation leading low fare carrier which continues to stand above other airlines offering reliable product and services with exemplary customer service. Southwest Airlines is the most productive airline in sky and offers customers a comfortable traveling experience with premium leather seats and plenty of leg room. Southwest Airlines recently updated its gate areas and improved its boarding procedure to make Southwest Airlines to be more convenient and simple. Southwest Airlines currently serves 68 cities in 34 states and soon to add two more cities. Southwest Airlines currently operates more than 300 flights a day and has more than 35,000 employees system wide. (Anonymous,...
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...Southwest’s Success Commercial air travel is one of the most competitive industries in the world. From its onset, Southwest Airlines has made significant inroads in pursuit of low fares. The organization has been determined to be the lowest cost airline in the industry for the selected routes that it flies. Considering their position, the question arises as to how they consistently remain more successful than their competition. The answer is not one that sheds light on one specific area, but a series of factors that, when combined, allow Southwest Airlines to shine above their peers. The goals of Southwest’s management within Southwest include keeping operations simple and consistent, maximizing assets, managing customer expectations, and keeping costs to a minimum. Management has achieved these goals by incorporating the following: 1. Using a One plane fits all philosophy. The competition operates many different jets to meet their missions. Southwest saves millions in inventories, training, maintenance, and other problems associated to non-commonality. This is in addition to having the ability to swap planes from one route to another. 2. Flying from one point to another. Other airlines use the common “hub and spoke” system, unlike Southwest, which flies from one point to another, non-stop. This reduces ground time and delays, while assisting with on-time performance. 3. Implementing a “no frills, no fees” policy. To keep cost to a minimum, Southwest sells seats in three...
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...Introduction Southwest Airline is devoted to greater quality of the customer service provided with &friendliness, warmth sense, company strength and individual dignity. Structure In organizational structure of the Southwest Airlines, there is limited focus on formal structure of an organization. Leadership conferences are prerecorded and are shared with the workers. The environment of the organization combines comicality with accountability. The organization conducts conferences on the responsibilities of the workers. The organization have established team environment. In the organization, making of decisions is done by the management teams and workers. Workers are invigorated to be accountable and are permitted right of making decisions. The employees contribute into all procedures and policies. All the decisions that are made here are based on integrity and honesty (Freiberg, 1996). System The Southwest Airline practices cross functional means for performance measurements, which encourage workers to emphasize more on learning in spite of blaming whenever something goes erroneous which in turn strengthens connections of distributed objectives, shared wisdom and mutual admiration. This cross function methodology for measurement of performance is related with advanced stages of interpersonal coordination, which in turn promotes the enhanced performance of departure of flights, the faster dispatch time, greater productivity of the staff and less number of consumer...
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...Case Study: Southwest Airlines MGT 620X- Operations Strategy February 27, 2015 Executive Summary This case study will look at the various services that Southwest Airlines is looking to add to their current offerings. Whether or not satellite-based WiFi internet, extensive wine and/or coffee offerings, and the possibility of international alliances with other airline carriers are areas that should be explored to enhance services at Southwest. While each of the above mentioned services are all luxuries that many customers would enjoy having on a flight the airline the airline must establish if they are all luxuries that customers would also be willing to pay for. Southwest prides their business on being able to offer low-cost fares adding services would mean increasing rates. Southwest must determine if the risk is worth the reward. This case study will help Southwest make some of those determinations. Introduction: LUV Southwest Airlines is defined by their mission statement: “dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit” (Southwest, 2015). When making decisions on which path the...
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...Value Alignment, Southwest Airlines Integrated Business Topics, BUS 475 Abstract Origins of personal values start with family and community. As individuals grow, their values may change to incorporate new ideas learned from others. Workplace values start with the individual values and that individual integrates the organization’s values to accomplish their duties. In today’s business world, an organization’s values are an important part of the culture and success of that company. For values to be useful, they must remain consciously held and consistent. Having conflicting values prevents many people from acting with clearness and confidence. Everyone must live by their own values and be willing to live with the consequences of their actions. The values of the employee and the company’s values drive each decision made. Southwest Airlines (SWA) has been profitable for 38 consecutive years. This airline has a set of core values that every employee, from the president to the lowest level, lives by. The company’s core values are what make SWA’s so successful. Value Alignment, Southwest Airlines Origins of personal values start with family and community. As individuals grow, their values may change to incorporate new ideas learned from others. Workplace values start with the individual values and that individual integrates the organization’s values to accomplish their duties. In today’s business world, an organization’s values are an important part of the...
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...Outline I. Introduction II. Corporate Strategies a. Coca-Cola b. Southwest Airlines c. VF Corporation d. Xerox III. Discussion Summary IV. Conclusion Corporate Strategy Analysis Discussion Summary The complete single solution to absolute success in businesses remains unknown in this new day of age, even with the high-speed movement of the present world. Obviously, there are particular obstacles that corporations need to undertake in order to achieve success, while, in unison, there is no simple solution that leads to success either. Therefore, each corporation primarily needs to take a particular action that benefits the outcome of their company in order for it thrive. This step is a measure for attaining pinnacles that are universal with all corporations; it is to have a strategy. Coca-Cola, Southwest Airlines, VF Corporation, and Xerox are four companies that applied corporate strategies to their business and with success, turned their business around for the better. Corporate Strategies Coca-Cola Neville Isdell was asked to come back from retirement to Coca-Cola in June of 2004 as CEO. Isdell was tasked to assist Coca-Cola with diversification so that they could remain competitive with Pepsi. The company purchased Glaceau, maker of Vitaminwater and added new non-carbonated drinks such as Envigo and Blak to their product line up. Coca-Cola is one of the most organized companies when it comes to vertical integration...
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...------------------------------------------------- Southwest Airlines Thousands of people travel by air; Southwest Airlines provides low-fare air transportation service among 58 cities in the United States. Although the industry suffered a major blow from the terrorist attack of September 11th, the company is still holding strong; while other airline companies are in debt. The information was majority gathered and analyzed from the Internet; sources such as "News Week," and "Wall Street Journal." According to the acquired knowledge of Southwest, the company maintains steady sales. The major success to their continued success is due to their low-cost model and competitors are aware that they cannot match Southwest Airlines low prices therefore, by dropping the price even lower; Southwest Airlines can force a company to go bankrupt. Introduction In 1971, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher started an airline service 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." They were right about that. Southwest Airline is now a major airline, in fact, the fourth largest airliner in the United States that is trading under the Symbol LUV on NYSE. 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...
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