Southwest Airlines Organizational Culture, Essay Example

Introduction

A look at the mission statement of Southwest Airlines, gives a strong indication of the powerful organizational culture that it leadership has inculcated in the company since 1971, and has maintained unto the present time. According to Friedberg and Friedberg (1996), Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness and Company Spirit.

Southwest Airlines, according to Smith (20050, has a unique culture that others called goofiness, but it keeps the morale of employees high, facilitate a high level of seriousness about keeping costs down, causes employees to never have to resort to strike, propelled the company to the top of the industry in terms of on-time performance and has driven the company to achieve a 29% increase per year in the preceding 10 years before 2002.

These results, according to Smith (2005), are as a result of a corporate culture that uniquely hold all the different functional departments within the organization together, like a very strong glue and enable the  corporatelysuccess that has been achieved over the years.

The dimensions of Southwest Airlines Organizational Culture

According to O’Rielly, Chatman and Caldwell (1991), the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP), is a measure of the culture and values at the organizational level, and Jude &Cable (1997), Howard (1998), and Agle (&Caldwell (1999) reports that this model is one of the top ten culture instruments that is in use today.

In terms of the dimensions Southwest Airlines and its organizational culture as it relates to the OCP model, the company has establish a cultural model that elevated its employees as its first customers and passengers second, developed a system of shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respects to guide all it operations and has placed great emphasis on creativity for all high stress jobs. The combinations of these dimensions of its culture created the synergy the Southwest Airlines needed, and it has used it to significantly outperform its rivals in a very competitive industry.

The Cultural Responsibility for Southwest Airlines Success

It could be argued that Herb Kelleher and his leadership team was responsible for creating the unique organizational culture at Southwest Airlines, in that they took time out to ensue an easy going corporate style of leadership;much like the popular participative leadership brand, and this provided employees with extensive operational independence they needed to accomplish their different tasks, according to Smith (1995).

Additionally, the leadership of the company constantly inculcated in its employees whom it regards as its most valuable assets, the need to provide each customer with a unique and fun experience, using all the established quality paradigms developed using inputs from all operating levels within the organization.

Cultural Maintenance

The culture is maintained within the company as a result of employees being given high levels of autonomy in decision making, as well as the attitude of the leadership in terms of showing the same concern for all employees in terms of respect and care, as well as the business model that was developed.  In this model according to Smith (1995), Southwest Airlines strategically identifies which set of customers in specific market segment it desire to serve, and then design a low cost provider model to achieve the set goals and objectives that will ensure profitability.

Southwest Airlines by this approach created satisfied customers internally and externally at the same time, and in this highly motivated and profitable atmosphere, the culture of the company will become well established for future challenges.

It could also be argued that the culture is maintained through the use of the quality paradigms instituted by the leadership of the company, in addition to the motivational strategies implemented. According to Smith (1995), Southwest Airliners staff its operating departments with more supervisors than regular employees, and uses them to implement quality paradigms like effective communications, information systems, teamwork, no layoff policy, minimization of aircraft turnaround time and an informal hierarchical system, to ensure the company maintains its competitiveness while delivering the service itscustomers’ needs.

Southwest Airlines success and cultural relationship

The relationship between Southwest Airlines success to date and its culture seems extremely strong to the point of being inseparable, base on the bonds that have developed since 1971 between employees, leaders and the systems that have been implemented.

The management of the company has strategically used Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, especially the now lay off policy which perpetuate job security, and the treatment of employees as the greatest asset in the company to make them feel belong, loved and needed.

With this motivational strategy in place, the company has generated 29% increase in profitability every year for 10 successive years before 2001, while other companies are forced to downsize, close operations, and join with other organizations in order to remain competitive.

The success gained therefore could definitely be attributed to the unique culture developed by the leadership of the company, and since this achievement separates Southwest Airlines from other airlines, especially in terms of its treatment of its employees, the easy-going corporate style of leadership, the security provided for employees, the level of decision making autonomy granted to employees, the general sharing of goals and knowledge, mutual respects accorded, the quality paradigms, as well as the current business model, there should be no doubt that the partnership will be maintained and strongly supported in future years.

Reference

Agle, B.R., Caldwell, C.B., (1999), “Understanding Research on Values in Business”  Business and Society 38 (3) pp.287-326

Friedberg, K., &Friedberg, J., (1996), Nuts! Southwest Airlines Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success Broadway, N  Y

Howard, G., (1998).Validating the competing value models as representation of organizational Cultures International Journal of Organizational Analysis 6 (3) pp.231-250

Judge, J.A., Cable, D.M., (1997), “Applicant Personality Organizational Culture and Organizational Attraction” Psychology 50 (20) pp. 359-394

O’Rielly, C.A., Chatman, J.,& Caldwell, D.F., (1991),” People and Organizational Culture: A profile comparisons approach to assessing person-organization fit” Academy of Management Journal34(3) pp.487-516

Smith, G. (1995). Culture is the Key at Southwest Airlines Emerald for Managers Emerald Group Publishing Company Limited www.managers.emerald.insight.com/quality/articles/pdf/southwest.pdf , 10/13/12