Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
One of the key components to Southwest’s strategy is empowering the worker, and the company does this via 2 HR practices: 1) treating employees well through incentives, and 2) hiring the right people for the job. This is a good strategy because it aligns with the concept of hiring “great people with great values,” and then supporting them so that they pass it on to the customer (Strategic Management, n.d., p. 113).
Treating employees well through incentives supports the idea of hiring great people, as it serves to attract qualified candidates for the job—people who know how to work well and want to compensated favorably for their skills and abilities. Southwest recognized that in order to attract quality workers it had to compensate them with quality packages and incentives.
Second, the company realized that hiring the right people for the job was critical to success. It did not matter if the candidate was an overall great person, if he or she lacked a particular skill required for a management role, that individual was not the right person for the job. Or, if a person had a high IQ, all the right degrees, and came from a great college, but lacked people skills and a positive attitude, that person would not be suited for a customer service role.
Southwest made these types of decisions throughout and that is why it was able to fulfill its vision. Customers had great experiences on board Southwest flights because employees of Southwest had such a good time serving them. The good spirit and culture that Southwest had cultivated through its dedication to its workers and to the vision was passed on to the customers who appreciated the good mood and attitude of the company’s front line personnel.
References
Strategic Management. (n.d.). Chapter 3, 112-127.
Southwest Airlines: We Love Bags Determine how Southwest Airlines' corporate culture differs from other airlines. Southwest Airlines was founded on the premise that an airline needs to put its customers and their needs at the center of all operations, and further create a customer experience that is highly differentiated, memorable and sought-after by passengers. Southwest has surpassed even its own initial expectations in these areas. The culture of Southwest galvanizes the employees,
Southwest Airlines The airline industry has been one that has consistently lost money during the last decade. Even before that, if an airline did not have a good business strategy, they were most likely doomed to failure. Many people do not remember Braniff, TWA or Pan American, but for a long time they were among the largest air carriers in the world. He present model, for airlines as well as other
And many have got successful too in earning the market share. The emerging competition by new companies is a growing threat for the company and it should be tackled properly to avoid any future disturbances. In order to further describe the competition Southwest Airlines is facing a Competitive Profile Matrix is designed. The following Competitive Profile Matrix tells about the tough competitors which are in a good position to have
There are many examples of this throughout the company's history, all pointing to the fact that employees who have a strong sense of ownership and wiliness to sacrifice for the greater good. Southwest's ability to translate cultural values into financial performance while embracing, even attacking change, in their industry is what fuels their profitability. Through the worst recession in 40 years, Southwest has been able to generate positive Return
Another issue is the legal/political power that Southwest has (or does not have, in relation to its rivals). Ultimately, the company has suffered as the result of the Wright Amendment, and it needs to leverage its current size to fight back against American Airlines over this legislation. Not only should Southwest fight for the amendment to be repealed in its entirety and immediately, but it should fight for punitive
Business Southwest Airlines (SWA) has been a strong growth company for the last 40 years mainly due to its focal point on cutting costs. Southwest Airlines (SWA) follows the Cost Leadership Strategy in terms of Porter's four generic strategies and is the epitome of Blue Ocean Strategy in its simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost (Kim & Mauborgne, 2009. That SWA is cost-focused is evident from Liang et al.'s (2009) analysis