Another reason for success in this regard is the maintenance of certain rules and principles followed by everyone: the CEO, Vice-Presidents, pilots, flight attendants, and receptionists. For example, flight attendants do not necessarily wait until people from a specific department come in and clean up the plane seats; they do the task on their own if they have to. Pilots start carrying bags if they see there is a need for that. They do not as, a general rule, avoid responsibility, which allows different parts of HR systems work together. SW also ensures teamwork that avoids conflicts between different parts by encouraging cross-departmental collaboration and training. For example, pilots participate in the recruitment process, helping to hire other pilots. SW developed a dynamic training program to ensure smooth HR management across different systems. New flight attendants go through classes where they are introduced to company history, mission, values, and its strong emphasis on teamwork, team building, and good humor. There is a program called "The Climb" that allows different employees to live as a team, with no phone or cars or outside contact, and develop new work ethic that will be incorporated into the work setting. There is also a program called "The Front-Line Program" that lets experienced employees reflect on company goals and promises and see if there is anything that needs to be done. All these programs help the HR systems at SW function together. 4. One of the weaknesses at SW in managing its workforce is relative lack of talent management. Talent management is defined as "a set of integrated organizational processes designed to attract, manage, train, develop, motivate and retain key people" (PP, "Generic TM Definitions"). SW has a comparative advantage is recruiting and training the overall workforce, but it has not put in place organizational processes that attract key people. One of the major concerns within the company and among observers in the 1990s was that Kelleher would soon retire. The concern...

The innovativeness of people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were crucial to the success of Apple and Microsoft. SW needs to build programs that attract key people who can keep the company successful because the reliance on one sole leader is a major weakness to any company. Another weakness, which is more of a challenge than a real weakness, is the company's continuous enlargement. Initially, the company spirit in treating the workforce was developed with a small company in mind. The workforce has been growing and it is a challenge to continuously revise and improve existing HR systems to make sure that the company's key values that ensured success in the past is not compromised by the growing workforce.
5. In the Off-Site meeting, Ann should raise two main issues: how to main the existing comparative advantage SW possesses and what to do to ensure the company's steady success. For example, Ann may propose the means of reducing non-fuel (labor and maintenance) costs since growing number of airliners are challenging SW's main competitive advantage: low prices. The company may use positive management-employee relationship to discuss labor-related costs, by negotiating it with both employees and unions -- and do it very carefully lest company's positive relationship with employees and unions is compromised. Ann should also raise questions about the importance of maintaining positive management-employee and employee-customer relationships because of the growing workforce. The unique advantage of SW in dealing with employees should not be compromised. Ann should stress this point because SW needs to enlarge to become more competitive vis-a-vis its rivals and also due to company's successful performance. SW's rivals cannot change overnight and copy SW's strategies effectively for a long time. Meanwhile, Ann should propose strategies that would prevent the mistakes of SW's rivals in managing human workforce.