Submitted by: Submitted by kd2005
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Category: Business and Industry
Date Submitted: 09/07/2014 03:08 PM
Southwest Airlines: Organizational Behavior & Communication
What makes a company successful? How is it that a company like Southwest Airlines, grew to “be the most consistently profitable airline in the United States” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, Chapter 16, p.14)? Southwest Airlines was founded in 1971 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King (Klein, 2012, p.35). Since its existence, the company’s main focus and goal is to take care of their employees and their customers. "Much credit to Southwest’s success has been given to its former Chairman, Herb Kelleher, who led by example and built a culture that is unique in today’s world" (D'Aurizio, 2008).
Organizational Culture & Organizational Communication
Organizational culture by definition "refers to a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations (Robbins & Judge, 2011, Chapter 16, p.2). Southwest Airlines has a strong culture. According to Southwest (2014), their mission states "dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company spirit." In addition, it states "above all, employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest customer" (Southwest, 2014). According to Southwest (2014), the four values that Southwest lives by is: (1) have a Warrior Spirit; (2) have a Servant's heart; (3) have a Fun LUVing Attitude; (4) work the Southwest way. Southwest's espoused values, align with their enacted values. Within the article, Creating cultures that lead to success, previous employees of Southwest and other researchers provided their own descriptions of Southwest's actual culture and core beliefs based on how the company operates. Based off the article, Southwest shows employees they are valued, they do what is right, they nurture the corporate family (customers, vendors, community...