Conflict Resolution
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Southwest Airlines
Conflict Resolution and Team Dynamics
Southwest Airlines has been in service since 1971, starting their company with flights between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Together Rollin King and Herb Kelleher created Southwest airlines, and believed people should be able to fly at a reasonable rate, on time schedule, and when they want to get there (www.southwest.com).
Southwest airlines have won many awards over their 35+ years in service. One of the awards that Southwest has won the coveted Triple Crown award over 30 times. This award is for the best on time record, best baggage handling and the fewest customer complaints (www.southwest.com). They have been the only airline to consistently profit every year since its inception! Currently Southwest airlines are one of the largest airlines in service. They have over 450 aircrafts, service over 63 cities in the United States and consistently fly over 3,300 flights in a single day (www.southwest.com).
Southwest is made up of many different types of employees. They have pilots, stewardesses, ticket counter agents, baggage handlers, customer service representatives, and upper management. I believe that southwest has won so many awards and will continue to be a profitable company because they take care of their employees. They have focus groups and committees to help them organize and manage the company. Southwest provides its employees with training and development to improve their skills and customer service.
Southwest has hired outside companies to come in and facilitate training and improvement projects over the years. Southwest does not hire internal personnel for these positions because they want a fair and unbiased opinion to help them correct any problems that they may have found.
Southwest Airlines has developed a program to help primarily fifth grade students across the nation with math, science, geography, history and creative writing. This program helps the students to explore these subjects by tracking a pilot with his journey through a curriculum that was created by the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space museum, the National Association of Teachers of Math and Science, and other educational specialists (www.southwest.com).
Students will have meaningful interaction with their assigned Pilot and use this information in each of the subjects listed above. The Pilot and teacher will have planned a course of action prior to introducing it to the students. Southwest airlines have created some guidelines for the Pilot to consider to make the program more effective for the students, such as – scheduling a variety of city pairs throughout the four-week program (Resource Book).
The students will be using their math skills to figure out the mileage the Pilot flies on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. The students will be using their geography skills in tracking where the pilot has been and learning the cities around the United States.
I believe that this program falls into the process model. Our web field trip told us that the process model is established on decisions that are made upon standard operating procedures, or pre-established guidelines within the organization. Where your actions and behaviors occur in accordance with these procedures or guidelines (Cheshire & Feroz, 1989; Allison, 1971).
Ms. Colleen Barrett is the President, Corporate Secretary, and on the Board of Directors of Southwest airlines. She emphasized Southwest’s five leadership expectations which include “living the Southwest way” by having a warrior spirit, servant’s heart, and a fun-LUVing attitude; developing people; building great Teams; thinking strategically; and getting excellent results. “I believe that Leadership can be learned. But there is an innate quality or вЂ?gene’ which makes you want to be a Leader,” she said (www.southwest.com). Ms. Barrett is a perfect example of a person who uses the behavioral theory. She believes that we can train people to be effective leaders.
I believe that Ms. Barrett is a charismatic leader. As she has stated, leadership can be learned — but most people have a gene hat makes you want to be a leader. According to our reading, a charismatic leader can be a born leader and can also be taught. Ms. Barrett has taken many personal risks to get where she is today. She spends so much time trying to find ways for Southwest to excel, that she hardly has time for a personal life.
In order for a leader to be effective they have to be trusted. Ms. Barrett spends nearly 80 of her time with her employees. She believes that Southwest’s most important customer is their employees. She believes that in order to be a profitable company the employees must be happy. Every time I have flown with Southwest, I only saw happy employees — who would go out of their way to make me feel comfortable.
Because Southwest’s employees are located all over the United States, I believe that online leadership could be helpful. Ms. Barrett could use online communications to send out new policy updates, customer service interaction guides, and other communications that do not necessarily need to be done face to face. In order for this to be effective, she would have to make sure it is written clearly so there is no room for reading between the lines or misinterpretation of her words. This should not be the only form of communication, but a way to fill in the gaps when employees are geographically separated.
Leadership requires direction and power does not have direction, therefore, without leadership power would be useless. Leaders use the five bases of power to achieve the influence over people, giving them the power over the direction of others. These five power bases are:
1. Coercive Power — Lead by Fear
2. Reward Power — Lead by rewarding
3. Legitimate Power — Formal authority
4. Expert personal power — knowledge
5. Referent Power — personal identity
In order for power to work, someone or something needs to be dependent on the other.
Southwest Airlines leans more towards the fourth power, and sometimes uses the second and fifth power as well.
Ms. Barrett has worked in many different positions with the company such as — Secretary, Vice