Southwest Airlines Case Study

Gary Kelly and the Success of Southwest Airlines:

A Case Study in Personality and Cultural Mastery

Abstract:

This following study will attempt to convey to its reader the successful and often innovative manner in which Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly leads his team. He is a man often seen by “outsiders” as being eccentric, to say in the least. The case study seeks to illustrate the importance of acknowledging, redefining and encouraging true cultural growth within an organization. Moreover, it will demonstrate how this “mastery” of personality traits and cultural development can- and does- bring about undeniably high levels of job satisfaction in a firm’s “family…” and enormous profit margins in its inherent business scope.

The story of Mr. Kelly and Southwest was new to this researcher. Much like would be the case for a fully vetted and screened juror with no prior knowledge of- say, a high profile crime case- the assigned research here was conducted with no pre-conceived notions or judgments. This open-ended approach to the case study of Gary Kelly and Southwest Airlines revealed the fascinating story of a man who led a commercial airliner to the top with a highly energetic, fluid and innovative style of leadership. Under the leadership of Gary Kelly, Southwest Airlines grew to phenomenal levels of success, while fostering a genuine environment among its employees of cultural commitment and a resulting demonstrable overall success for the company.

Before analyzing the Southwest Airlines data, it is important that some basic terms are explored and defined. For example, what exactly is culture in a corporation? It can be best explained as the perceptions of employees and how they affect the overall view of those working for a firm. As explained in the text, Organizational Behavior and Management, these perceptions have “worked well enough to be considered valid and,...