Southwest Airlines: Culture, Values, and Operating PracticesEssay title: Southwest Airlines: Culture, Values, and Operating PracticesSouthwest Airlines: Culture, Values, and Operating PracticesEvaluation of the company’s position and strategy:Southwest Airlines is one of the air-travel industry’s great success stories. For most companies, such rapid growth will cause problems: legions of frontline employees taking up the mantle of decision making from core executives and, inevitably, stumbling. A clear and precise strategic principle can help counteract this shortage of experience. In Southwest’s case, employees have consistently made trade-offs in keeping with the company’s strategic principle.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS AND CUT THE RULES!
The purpose of this article is strictly to discuss all areas of aviation. Although the “best” rules on airlines will be discussed in the next paragraphs, we want to offer a new direction. This is not to defend, condemn, insult or attack any law or approach that may be applied or applied incorrectly. If anyone is offended by a new rule, please file a complaint with the Airline Protection Office. To reach the “public comment section” here, please go to the Airline Protection Office website, or email [email protected].
The U.S. Constitution is an amazing document, it would be a shame to miss this if we didn’t have our own new government. The U.S. Constitution has been so wonderful that to keep with its tradition of individual liberty, the people should not have to rely on it to protect the very things they own. And, of course, it’s the Federal government that has a responsibility to act on this matter.
Let the air show speak for itself. Let us hope it does, so that you feel as though you or the rest of you would benefit from a free and open debate concerning a new and improved aviation style which will change today’s travel experience and allow us to take action to restore this great nation.
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS AND CUT THE RULES!
The purpose of this article is strictly to discuss all areas of aviation. Although the “best” rules on airlines will be discussed in the next paragraphs, we want to offer a new direction. This is not to defend, condemn, insult or attack any law or approach that may be applied or applied incorrectly. If anyone is offended by a new rule, please file a complaint with the Airline Protection Office. To reach the “public comment section” here, please go to the Airline Protection Office website, or email [email protected].
The U.S. Constitution is an amazing document, it would be a shame to miss this if we didn’t have our own new government. The U.S. Constitution has been so wonderful that to keep with its tradition of individual liberty, the people should not have to rely on it to protect the very things they own. And, of course, it’s the Federal government that has a responsibility to act on this matter.
Let the air show speak for itself. Let us hope it does, so that you feel as though you or the rest of you would benefit from a free and open debate concerning a new and improved aviation style which will change today’s travel experience and allow us to take action to restore this great nation.
There is nothing the competitors do not know. They certainly understand the technology, cost structures, and route planning of Southwest. They even have the same equipment, locations, and marketing muscle. Yet, Southwest’s competitors have been unable to imitate its success.
Building Strategic Principle & Business StrategySouthwest has distilled its strategy into a phrase and have used it to drive consistent strategic action throughout its organizations, “Meet customers’ short-haul travel needs at fares competitive with the cost of automobile travel”. A strategic principle, as the distillation of a company’s strategy, has guided Southwest’s allocation of scarce resources-capital, time, management’s attention, labor, and brand-in order to build sustainable competitive advantages.
The strategic principle’s power is its ability to help companies maintain strategic focus while fostering the flexibility among employees that permits innovation and a rapid response to opportunities. From the beginning to the present, Southwest has maintained the same strategy and operating style. It concentrates on flying to airports that are underutilized and close to a metropolitan area.
Southwest began by identifying a specific niche; travelers who, looking to minimize their costs on short trips, might otherwise drive or take a bus. To meet the needs of this market, Southwest developed a unique value proposition: low-cost, no-frills service combined with the convenience of avoiding congested hub airports
By avoiding a hub-and-spoke system, the company is able to avoid the systemwide delays often associated with connecting flights through hub airports that experience bad weather. This makes short-haul trips more attractive to travelers who might otherwise consider driving. It also pays off in shorter turnaround times and higher equipment utilization.
Organization StructureAt Southwest, as a flat organization, employees can focus on the work itself and on their customers rather than on the chain of command. Coordination among front-line employees helps Southwest achieves high performance outcomes. Southwest counters certain problems with cross-functional accountability. By instituting the concept, it increases cooperation and learning across functional boundaries, while narrow spans of control allow supervisors to engage actively in supporting coordination through coaching and feedback.
At Southwest, the role of headquarter appears to be supportive rather than punitive. The relationship between offices and headquarter is characterized by a two-way flow of information and a focus on learning.
Employees: Investing in RelationshipsSouthwest’s success has been attributed to its intense focus on operations, customers, and frontline employees. Investing in relationships, not only with its frontline employees but also with its unions and supervisors, may be more important to Southwest’s success than the operational focus for which it is so well known.
Although the reasons for Southwest’s success are many, one highly visible competitive advantage is its cost structure. Part of this cost advantage comes from the remarkable productivity of its workforce. Southwest works because people pull together to do what they need to do to get a plane turned around. That is a part of the Southwest culture. Rapid turnaround of aircraft and use of less congested airports means that planes are in the air more, actually earning revenue.
Southwest is not just a low-fare, low-cost carriers. It also emphasizes in customer service. The flight departure process is one of the most complex processes that an airline performs on a daily basis. Its success or failure can make or break an airline’s reputation for convenience and reliability. To achieve Southwest’s performance goals, a multitude of tasks must be performed by groups with distinct skills under changing conditions in a limited period of time. Given high levels of uncertainty, interdependence, and time constraints, coordination is critical.