Paper

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN CAPITAL: EXAMPLES DRAWN FROM THE AIRLINES INDUSTRY

ABSTRACT

Strategic knowledge management can be viewed as a conceptually complex, evolving, broad umbrella of issues and viewpoints. Traditionally, organizational knowledge needs to become a stable resource if it is to be used as a source of sustainable competitive advantage. There is a growing rate of turnover of managers and knowledge workers who accumulate organization-specific knowledge. Knowledge needs to be captured, interpreted and transferred in such a manner that the knowledge will continue to serve the organization regardless of the individuals collecting the information. The case of JetBlue underlines the successful application of leadership in an IT and knowledge intensive environment as a low-fare/low-cost passenger airline, which provides high-quality customer service. JetBlue’s strategy of reducing toxic worry through the practices of selectivity, information sharing, employment security, and employee/customer support systems, coupled with outstanding leadership, has provided JetBlue tremendous success in a very mature industry.

KEY WORDS: customer service, employee incentives, JetBlue, strategic knowledge management, toxic worry.

INTRODUCTION

JetBlue as an Emergent Play in the Airline Industry

JetBlue Airlines (www.jetblue.com) is basically a low-fare/low-cost passenger airline, which provides high-quality customer service. For example, essentially all JetBlue aircraft have all-leather seats each equipped with free live satellite television, offering up to 24 channels of DIRECTV(R) Programming at virtually every seat. JetBlue a premier low-fare airline has traditional put virtually every nonstop route, plus some connecting service on a low-cost strategy, and been quite successful. JetBlue won the highly prestigious Air Transport World magazine's 2002 Market Development Award, for its first two years of service. In addition, JetBlue...