...Southwest Airlines: Culture of Communication Kevin Miner COM 530 December 9, 2013 Patrick Thornton Abstract This paper will discuss the culture of communication at Southwest Airlines. Founded in 1971 the company’s culture is based on mutual respect where forward thinking is encouraged and rewarded. All levels of employees have the authority to act for the customer’s best interest without continuously getting approval from above. Employees’ perception of an open minded and supportive workplace is validated by the success the company has enjoyed over the 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...
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...Titulillo: SOUTHWEST AIRLINES IN 2008: CULTURE, VALUES, AND OPERATING PRACTICES Southwest Airlines, Caso de Estudio Indice Introducción: 3 Comienzos de Southwest Airlines: 3 Mercado:. 4 Análisis de la Industria:. 5 Modelo de competencia de 5 fuerzas:. 5 Evaluación de Fortalezas Competitivas y Satisfacción de los Empleados:. 5 Estrategias de Southwest Airlines: 6 Estrategia de tarifas bajas de Southwest Airlines:. 7 Prácticas y Cultura de Southwest Airlines:. 8 Estilo de administración de Southwest Airlines:. 8 Productividad de los empleados de Southwest Airlines:. 8 Situación Operativa de Southwest Airlines: 9 Estados Financieros de Southwest Airlines: 9 Definición del problema:. 10 Análisis FODA: 10 Descripción de las alternativas: 11 Selección de alternativas: 12 Implemtanción: 12 Conclusiones: 12 Introducción En el 2008, Southwest Airlines es la aerolínea que más gente utiliza en los Estados Unidos, además de ser la única de las principales aerolíneas de ese país en consistentemente reportar utilidades. La industria de la aviación había perdido dinero en 14 de los 28 años comprendidos entre 1980 y 2007, mientras en julio del 2008, Southwest Airlines reportó ingresos record en un cuatrimestre, y ya suma 69 cuatrimestres consecutivos en reportar utilidades. La compañía ha reportado utilidades desde 1973. Entre 1990 y 1994, la industria tuvo cinco años consecutivos de pérdidas y despidió a 120,000 empleados, en cambio...
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...Southwest Airlines: The Melding of Values, Communication, and Culture Southwest Airlines: The Melding of Values, Communication, and Culture Southwest Airlines states their mission as, “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 Airlines, “Mission”, 2012, para.1). Along with a work environment that is stable with ongoing learning for employees, the company's values espouse to provide the same treatment to their employees as they expect their employees to provide for their customers (Southwest Airlines, “Mission”, 2012, para.1). Apparently a significant part of the airline's continued success that differentiates them from other U.S. airlines is the effort they put into making sure their enacted values align with their espoused values where one of the most important aspects is the communication they continually encourage from top tier managers to the representatives at the front lines (Kelley, 2001, para.1). Because the airline exists in a business sector that is constantly challenged with change across many categories from new regulations to new technologies, the company must maintain a high level of communication to ensure the success of new implementations for the coordinating across functional areas (Kelley, 2001, para.3). Accomplishing the level of communication necessary to keep costs low, and thereby...
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...1. Discuss the layers of culture that are evident in this case Information systems development: AirTran uses Navitaire as reservations system vendor while Southwest uses Sabre to better accommodates international flights. Also, AirTran uses online travel agencies for ticket distribution while Southwest sells its tickets via telephone and its website. Management and strategy: Southwest airlines have a different approach in managing and training its employees. Also Southwest culture focuses on employees and customers having a good time while flying. AirTran believes in lower- fare to attract customers and sells its tickets on various distribution agencies. 2.What are the similarities and dissimilarities between the cultures, values and beliefs of the Southwest and AirTran airlines? Southwest cultural values are “ A warrior Spirit, A Servant’s Heart, A Fun- Luving Attitude” (Pearlson, pg.97). Southwest Corporate culture focuses on employees and customers having a good time while flying. Also, Southwest uses a ticker LUV symbol and use different ways to show they “LUV” their customers. On the other hand, AirTran culture before the merger is “ loyal crew members keep AirTran airways customers soaring” and its values is total commitment to safety, technical excellence, continuous learning, fun and profit (Pearlson, pg.97). The similarities are that both airlines believe in making profit while making customers happy when boarded. However, Southwest wants everyone onboard including...
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...1. Is there anything that you find particularly impressive about Southwest Airlines? There are several things that I like about Southwest Airlines The first is its large fleet of 527 aircraft, all of which are Boeing 737. In addition, I like the implementation of the strategy of the low cost airlines. The company has been able to understand the cost structure in the Airlines industry, has been able to understand customer needs, and has been able to deliver a remarkable value based product to its customers. I have been impressed by the manner in which the Airlines has been able to implement the low cost model of airlines. Southwest Airlines has also shown flexibility in addressing the needs of its customers. It has now decided to go in for 737-800 because they would improve scheduling. Southwest Airlines has been successful because it has eliminated services that were not valued by the customers and instead provided customers with a relatively lower cost option. 2. What grade would you give Southwest management for the job it has done in crafting the company's strategy? What is it that you like or dislike about the strategy? Does Southwest have a winning strategy? Southwest Airlines management deserves to be given an A grade for developing a winning strategy. Southwest Airlines strategy begins with its HR strategy of recruiting personnel that are high quality, are trained well and their performance is well managed. In addition, the strategy focuses on improving high level of employee...
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...Diversification Strategies “The Secret of Southwest Airlines’ Success” BUS 508, Contemporary Business Determine how Southwest Airlines’ corporate culture differs from other airlines: From the time Herb Kelleher co-founded Southwest Airlines in 1971 his goal was to establish a company that cared about its employees, who would in turn care about and service the needs of their customers with pride. Southwest has created a fun-loving work environment that rewards and appreciates unique personalities and how they can enhance the customer service experience of their patrons. This is refreshing in today’s market and the main difference between Southwest and other airlines. The mission of Southwest Airlines is to ensure satisfaction of their internal as well as their external customers. The external, of course, being the traveler and the employee is viewed as an internal customer. Externally, Southwest focuses on customer service, delivered with “a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit.” Customer service is number one (#1) for this airline. It is displayed in their every movement. The airline’s president, Collen Barrett is quoted as saying, “Southwest likes to think of itself as a customer service organization that happens to fly airplanes.”(Smith, 2004) The airline is dedicated to their customers. When other airlines felt the economy crunch and decided to start charging customers to check bags, Southwest refused to add a charge to their customers...
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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...
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...the question: “What business are we in”? Why has it been so successful so long? In short, Southwest pursued a customer - driven strategy. However, this strategy is composed of many different components. By definition a customer – driven strategy is created to cater to the customers’ needs. With this approach Southwest aimed to not only gain customers from their competitors, but to also continue to grow by continuously delivering greater value. Their operational strategy also includes keeping their customer’s fares low, maintaining low business operating costs, and offering fewer flight routes, yet very frequent flight times. All together this strategy proved to be a great choice for Southwest Airlines. This strategy initially differentiated Southwest by placing them in previously untouched niche market. Southwest Airlines was able to benefit from the first mover advantage, by being the pioneers of this innovative approach. However, as others in the industry became aware of Southwest’s success they wanted to attempt to duplicate this successful strategy. Specifically, United, USAir, and Continental Airlines are three larger carriers that are making attempts to replicate the success of Southwest Airlines. The question, “What business are we in?” is meant to imply what is the actual value that consumers get from a company’s product or service. In the case of Southwest Airlines, they are technically in the airline business but in reality they are actually in...
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...Southwest Airlines’ Motivational Profile PSY/320 Southwest Airlines’ Motivational Profile According to Merriam-Webster (2011), the definition of motivation is “a motivating force, stimulus, or influence” (p. 1). Based on Johmarshall Reeve’s Understanding Motivation and Emotion, this definition is widely customary by many psychologists, but what psychologists cannot agree on is what causes motivation. In fact, this topic has been on a rollercoaster ride over many decades by gaining and losing popularity of psychologists. Keeping of this in mind, some of today’s top companies keep motivation near and dear to everything that they do. The chosen organization for this research is Southwest Airlines, and the following paragraphs will take a close look at the history of the organization, corporate culture, management, and the motivational strategies used. The History of Southwest Airlines When many people today think of flying in aircrafts, they do not realize that this mode of transportation started only 107 years ago with Wilbur and Orville Wright. Only 64 years later in 1967 Southwest Airlines, known as Air Southwest incorporated, and applied for license to fly (Southwest Airlines, 2011, p.1). 1971 Through 1981 Numerous legal battles with Continental Airlines and two other airlines at the time occurred in the Texas State Court and Texas Supreme Court from February 21, 1968 to June 17, 1971. The next day, June 18, 1971, marked the first day...
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...Southwest Airlines People Management People Strategy 26 Aug 2012 Abstract Southwest Airlines has been the most profitable airline in the United States for decades. It leads in customer satisfaction and for years led the rankings in on time performance. Many have identified the successful business practices that have allowed such remarkable success but Southwest's corporate culture has been identified as the secret sauce. This paper will discuss the company's overall people strategy, employee reward and motivation, company culture, employee hiring and sustainment, and ways to continue success. Southwest Airlines History Southwest Airlines was the largest provider of scheduled domestic passenger air travel in the United States in 2011 according to a Standard & Poor’s stock report dated 18 August 2011. Its ranking for total revenue places it in fourth place among airlines in the US. “The company specializes in low-fare, point to point, short-haul, high-frequency service” and they claim to have harmonious relations with its labor force, even though 80% of the work force is unionized. According to her book, "The Southwest Airlines Way, Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance", Jody Gittell identifies three key components to the companies' success. Lying at the heart of the Southwest success story are these three elements: It fosters 10 organizational practices which build relationships between...
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...Southwest Airlines COM/530 Communications for Accountants March 24, 2014 Abstract Southwest Airlines is the most respected airline in the United States for their philosophy, mission, vision, and values. More than 38 years ago Rollin King and Herb Kelleher started in 1971 as a small 3 airplane carries operating with in Texas. Southwest has dedicated themselves with providing the highest quality of customer service, provides safe reliable air transportation service at a cost effective pricing. “Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and has acquired AirTran Airways, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Airlines Co. Southwest serves 73 cities in 38 states and remains one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet.” (PR Newswire, 2012) SOUTHWEST AIRLINES This paper will discuss the culture of Southwest Airlines philosophy, mission, vision and value statements. The mission of Southwest Airlines is its ongoing dedication to provide the highest quality level of customer service. “Air Transports World’s selection for Airline of the Year for 1991 is Southwest Airlines of Dallas. Created in 1967 by Herbert D. Kelleher and Rollin King, the airline started up in 1971 as a small, 3-airplane carrier operating entirely with Texas. Southwest has dedicated itself to providing safe, highly reliable and frequent air transportation...
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...The Culture of Southwest Airlines Ashley Foster Leadership and Organizational Behavior Dr. Jelena Vucetic August 22, 2014 What does organizational culture mean? Organizational culture is the system of shared actions, values, and beliefs that develops within an organization and guides the behavior of its members.(Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien, and Hunt, 2012) So, between the choices of picking an organization, I chose Southwest Airlines. In this paper, I will discuss Southwest Airlines, what they are trying to accomplish for their company, and what their culture means to the company. So the question is who is Southwest Airlines and why does the culture there make them from other airlines around the United States? Who is Southwest Airlines? Southwest Airlines was created in the 1971 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King. Kelleher is legendary in the airline industry for doing things differently than the competition. Before he found himself Southwest's pitchman, Kelleher was a lawyer retained by the airline to get it off the ground - a fight that took him all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. It seemed the last thing Southwest's competitors wanted to see was a low-cost upstart doing nothing but flying around Texas in and out of Dallas Love Field.(CBS News, 2007) CEO James Parker feels that it is all about the people and it starts with finding and hiring the right people. We at Southwest put a lot of effort into our selection process. We received over 100,000 applications...
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...Integrating Culture and Diversity in Decision Making: The CEO and Organizational Culture Profile xxxxxxxx yyyyyyyyyyy BUS 520 – Leadership and Organizational Behavior January 27, 2014 Provide a brief (one [1] paragraph) description of the organization you chose to research. Southwest Airlines was founded in 1971 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King to provide frequent, low cost airline service in busy markets less than 500 miles apart. “Southwest Airlines is now America’s largest low-fare carrier, serving more Customers domestically than any other airline with a unique combination of low fares, no annoying fees, friendly Customer Service delivered by outstanding People, safe and reliable operation, and an extraordinary corporate Culture that extends to the communities it serves” (Southwest Corporate Fact Sheet, 2013, pg.1). The company has been in operation for 42 years and has returned a profit every year except for the first year (Southwest Corporate Fact Sheet, 2013). Even after September 11th, 2001, the company made a profit without layoffs or furloughs (Reingold, 2013). Examine the culture of the selected organization. As stated in Southwest Airline 2009 Corporate Report, “Our unique airline Culture enables our Family of Employees to provide the highest quality Customer Service. Our valued Customers return to Southwest Airlines because of our People. Our People listen to the Customer’ suggestions create innovative programs that make their lives easier, and...
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...Running head: Corporate Culture/Leadership Actions for Strategy Implementation Corporate Culture/Leadership Actions for Strategy Implementation Assignment #5 Southwest Airlines Strayer University BUS599016VA016-1116-001 Strategic Management September 4, 2011 Abstract This paper examines the corporate culture at Southwest Airlines. The paper will also evaluate the company’s financial performance. Strategic decisions Southwest management should take in order to sustain their cultural strength will also be discussed. Corporate Culture/Leadership Actions for Strategy Implementation Assignment #5 Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines is a major domestic airline. They provide short-haul, high-frequency, point-to-point, and low-fare service. Southwest has one of the best overall customer service records and they are among the lowest cost structures in the domestic airline industry. Discuss the corporate culture at Southwest Airlines and how it leverages its culture to achieve a competitive advantage. Corporate culture is defined as being created by corporate vision, values, principles, and rules (p. 92). The corporate culture at Southwest Airlines believes their employees are the company’s greatest asset. Most companies say customers come first, but at Southwest Airlines their operative principle is , “employees come first and customers come second.” They believe happy employees will keep customers happy (C-419). Southwest employees come first and...
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...1) Before describing Southwest Airline’s organizational culture, it is important to know what is meant by this term. Organizational culture refers to the norms and values of an organization, including the vision shared by its members. At Southwest, their culture was lived first and foremost through their employees who they valued dearly. Southwest renamed human resources “The People Department” because they understood that their people are their competitive advantage and most important resource. Their family spirit could be seen in many ways; for example, there is the catastrophe fund in which voluntary contributions are made for Southwest employees who need help. Their culture promotes informal teamwork and employees routinely help each other out. In order to ensure they have the right people to preserve this culture, Southwest places great importance on recruiting the right people. As Ann Rhoades (the Vice President of People) noted, “If they say ‘I’ too much in the interview, they don’t get hired.” This displays how much of a critical role, teamwork plays at Southwest. In addition, Southwest looks for people who are creative as they value those that will constantly be innovators. For instance, as part of the interview process, applicants are given crayons to draw a picture that tells a story of their life; Southwest wants people who think outside the box. Furthermore, Southwest’s relaxed management style ensures that work is always a fun place to be. Kelleher believes that...
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