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Leaders must exist on every level for an organization to thrive, says Parker. "Frontline leadership, which is in many ways the most important level of leadership, is the area where a lot of companies fall apart. When they think about leadership training, what they're usually thinking about are executives who might be a vice-president or CEO someday. They don't put as much effort into training those frontline leaders, which is where a company most directly touches its customers and its employees" (Holstein 2007, p.2).
Leadership by example must be shown at every level a well. Parker took pride at being one of the poorest CEOs in corporate America, noting that this was especially important during the cash-strapped days after 9/11 for an airline company. When sacrifices are called for, everyone must make sacrifices. Also, as a low-cost airline, keeping to a tight bottom line had to become...
But everyone profited when things were going well: "While I was CEO, we gave stock options to every employee at every level, contract or noncontract, from the CEO to the guys who cleaned the bathrooms," said Parker (Holstein 2007, p.2). There must be a unified ownership mentality, and pilots must not see themselves as pilots, but as Southwest employees, just as CEOs must not see themselves as individuals, or as management, but as members of the Southwest organization.
Leadership training is about seeing every member of the organization as a potential leader, in his or her capacity. Also, it is about unity just as it is as much about individualism and rewarding top performers with leadership positions. Given that the 'real work' of an organization often begins at the bottom, much can be learned from Southwest's integrated and continuing leadership training program.
Leaders must exist on every level for an organization to thrive, says Parker. "Frontline leadership, which is in many ways the most important level of leadership, is the area where a lot of companies fall apart. When they think about leadership training, what they're usually thinking about are executives who might be a vice-president or CEO someday. They don't put as much effort into training those frontline leaders, which is where a company most directly touches its customers and its employees" (Holstein 2007, p.2).
Leadership by example must be shown at every level a well. Parker took pride at being one of the poorest CEOs in corporate America, noting that this was especially important during the cash-strapped days after 9/11 for an airline company. When sacrifices are called for, everyone must make sacrifices. Also, as a low-cost airline, keeping to a tight bottom line had to become part of the culture at Southwest. But everyone profited when things were going well: "While I was CEO, we gave stock options to every employee at every level, contract or noncontract, from the CEO to the guys who cleaned the bathrooms," said Parker (Holstein 2007, p.2). There must be a unified ownership mentality, and pilots must not see themselves as pilots, but as Southwest employees, just as CEOs must not see themselves as individuals, or as management, but as members of the Southwest organization.
Leadership training is about seeing every member of the organization as a potential leader, in his or her capacity. Also, it is about unity just as it is as much about individualism and rewarding top performers with leadership positions. Given that the 'real work' of an organization often begins at the bottom, much can be learned from Southwest's integrated and continuing leadership training program.
Southwest Airlines: The corporate culture of the LUV airline Southwest Airlines is known for a unique corporate culture that is particularly distinctive, in contrast to its competitors. Southwest Airlines has "a raucous corporate culture that is the exception in the grim airline industry" (Bailey 2008). From the Airline's inception, its founder and chairman, Herbert D. Kelleher ensured that there was "a startling amount of office hugging and kissing in lieu of
Southwest Airlines Effectiveness of Southwest Leadership Southwest management has defined a clear and simple business purpose. The management has also chosen the right business model that supports the business purpose. The management consistently demonstrates the core values and behaviors derived from the key business purpose (Emerald, 2005). The quality of the airline customer service is synonymous with warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit. This has kept the staff morale high. The
Southwest Airlines originally began operation in 1967, but as Air Southwest Co. In 1971 its name was changed to Southwest Air Co. The purpose behind its foundation was to provide passengers with a cheap means of air travel within Texas. Today they have a fleet of 550 Boeing 737s and 37000 employees. Although it's a relatively small, domestic airline, taking passengers to 73 American cities, but it provides remarkable customer
Southwest Airlines The deregulation of the United States domestic civil aviation industry in 1978 saw airlines begin to compete freely. However, the capital-intensive nature of the business, along with undifferentiated products and services, has led to 120 airline bankruptcies since then. In the light of this context, Southwest's ability to compete is particularly interesting as it has not only continued to expand, but has been the only one to earn a
Southwest Airlines Case Analysis Southwest Airlines is a company that has grown from a small regional carrier in Texas and surrounding states to the largest U.S.-based airline. The primary strategy of the company is to be the low-cost, no frills option for people wanting to travel within the United States. Recently, Southwest acquired another carrier so they will soon begin international flights to the Caribbean and Mexico. This paper discusses the
Southwest Airlines Value chain and resource-based view of the firm Southwest Airlines has a famously unique business model for an airline, one which has enabled it to sustain a profit even during times when the rest of the airline industry's fortunes were flagging. Southwest is a budget airline that offers relatively limited flights to a fixed number of destinations, in comparison to its competitors. However, it strives to offer superior service, thanks