Southwest Airlines embodies a distinct corporate philosophy, influenced by one of its founders Herb Kelleher. This airline company possesses a one-of-a-kind culture referred to as “goofiness,” which plays a crucial role in maintaining high employee morale (Smith, 2004). Southwest actively encourages the integration of fun, dedication, and hard work within its workforce. The company firmly believes that happy employees ultimately lead to happy customers and foster customer loyalty. Mr. Kelleher successfully incorporated this unique style, culture, and commitment to excellence into Southwest’s daily operations (Smith, 2004), and accomplished this feat without any external consulting assistance.
The Airline was founded in 1971 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King. In the 1980’s, nine years after Southwest was established, they adopted a mission statement (Smith, 2004): “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” (“Mission & Vision”, 2011). This mission statement also ties to their motto “We operate with a Warrior Spirit, a Servant’s Heart, and a Fun Luving Attitude” (“Mission & Vision”, 2011).
The company is dedicated to their employees, providing them with a stable work environment and equal opportunities for learning and personal growth. They encourage creativity and innovation for improving the effectiveness of the airlines. The organization ensures that employees are treated with concern, respect, and a caring attitude, which they are expected to extend to every customer. Southwest Airlines aligns their espoused values with their enacted values, which are derived from the leader’s values, beliefs, and assumptions about people and work. Mr. Kelleher, in top management, has established the organizational norms. Southwest Airlines values humor, altruism, and “luv”. They prioritize hiring individuals with positive attitudes who possess a sense of humor. Altruism is a core value that starts at the top and influences the entire organization. Southwest Airlines believes in caring for and giving to others.
Effective communication has been a driving force behind Southwest Airlines’ accomplishments and will continue to be in the future. This allows the company to establish guidelines for its employees. While most job descriptions outline responsibilities between employees and departments, Southwest emphasizes shared goals, knowledge, and respect. They expect every individual to assist their colleagues whenever necessary. The significance of good communication skills cannot be underestimated in ensuring a company’s success. Herb Kelleher, known for his effective communication skills, has earned the trust of his employees over the years.
Conflict is a valuable and beneficial aspect of communication, particularly in group dynamics. It is often misunderstood and viewed negatively as something to avoid. However, Southwest Airlines approaches conflict differently by promoting an open door policy and encouraging problem-solving through a “can do” and “let’s try” mentality (Bunz & Maes, 1998). The company actively urges employees to generate ideas and experiment with them. Conflict at Southwest Airlines acts as a tool for delving deeper into issues, promoting learning, and fostering a culture of change and innovation. The company also avoids blame by focusing on team metrics instead of individual department performance (Smith, 2004). This demonstrates how Southwest Airlines effectively transforms conflict into positive group communication.
Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher successfully combined humor, altruism, and love, creating a positive culture and recognizing the value of people as assets to the company. This approach made the organization and its employees more effective. The corporate culture he crafted is integral to Southwest’s unity (Smith, 2004), and Mr. Kelleher played a key role in shaping one of the United States’ most unique organizational cultures today (Quick,
1992). Southwest airline prioritizes treating their employees as they want their customers to be treated.
References
Bunz, U. K., & Maes, J. D. (1998). Managing Service Quality. Business And Economics–Production of Goods And Services, 8(3), p 163-169.
Quick, J. C. (1992, Autumn). “Crafting an Organization Culture: Herb’s Hand at Southwest Airlines.” Organizational Dynamics, 21(2), p 45-56.
The website “Masson & Vision” provides information on their mission and vision. The source can be accessed at http://www.southwestonereport.com/2011/#!/thirty-thousand-foot-view/mission-and-vision.
Smith, G. (2004), ‘An evaluation of the corporate culture of Southwest Airlines’, Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 26-33.
