The Original Southwest Airlines

March 2, 2013

Introduction Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future. – Albert Camus. Southwest Airline is known for its unique corporate culture and way to stand out. To lead a stand out company you will need no one other than a stand out guy to run it. This paper will discuss the corporate culture of this “one-of-a-kind” airline company, its core competencies and its CEO Gary Kelly.
Abstract
Southwest Airlines corporate culture is based and prioritized on attitude. They strive for nothing but the best attitude from their employees; keep the customers happy and the employees even happier. To keep a light mood among the employees, Southwest tries to keep a happy atmosphere by building a sense of community. To ensure this they hold several teamwork exercises for new hires and hold fun social events like Halloween, deck and spirit parties. Elisabeth Pedrick Sartair, a current employee, says, “We feel this fun atmosphere builds a strong sense of community. It also counter balances the stress of work and competition.” They also send their new hires on scavenger hunts and do exercises to demonstrate creativity though teamwork. They also have the SWA supervisors, managers and executives attend a two day Frontline Leadership Training program at the University of People once a year. Here they do activities that instill an important corporate value such as teamwork, trust harmony or diversity. Not only is it a refresher, it is also a way that they can get a look at possibilities for new leadership. Keeping the company like a big family is important to them because they believe that it keeps the employees happy and enjoying their job. Gary Kelly is your average every day guy that where’s just a pair of jeans and