Considering Kelleher's leadership of Southwest, I believe that he falls in the "team leader" quadrant for the simple reason that he emphasized the importance of both task and relationships, led by example and built an organizational culture, which encouraged people to realize their full potential.
4. Southwest believes that employees come first. However, unlike many other organizations, this is not merely a slogan at Southwest that the company pays lip service to. It lives, breathes and practices the philosophy through aligning its systems, structure, policies, and procedures so that employees know that they do truly come first. More important, the leaders at Southwest lead by example so that employees come to learn what the right thing is and that the company truly believes in encouraging its people to "do the right thing." Southwest also lets its people know that they come first through ensuring that they have all the information they need to understand their job and the company better; encouraging people to transcend the rules if their common sense tells them that by doing so, they would, in fact, have done the right thing; and by making living legends out of "service heroes." The central concepts in this chapter are not surprising because the success of any organization depends on motivated, committed people. This axiom is especially true of organizations like Southwest that are in the service business. Other business courses do seem to emphasize the importance of stakeholder groups such...
But this is short sighted since focusing on employees will, in any case, deliver shareholder value and ensure customer satisfaction.
5. The most valuable management lesson from Nuts is that building the right organizational culture is the key to achieving satisfaction among important stakeholder groups such as employees, customers, and shareholders. While one cannot ignore the role played by business models, strategy, operational planning, and quality management in determining an organization's success, the fact is that all these aspects depend on organizational culture for correct execution. Thus, although Southwest's success is often accredited to its low cost model, I believe that the company owes its success more to its culture.
6. I would highly recommend that all future management students read this book for several reasons. One, it highlights how organizational culture plays a vital role in executing a business model and strategy. Two, Nuts offers vital insights into leadership and people management skills. Three, the book is an inspirational case study on how an organization's culture can be effectively sustained and marketed both internally and externally. Four, Nuts illustrates the importance of employee motivation in an organization's success. And, last but not least, reading Nuts is like taking a fun, enjoyable flight with Southwest Airlines.
Works Cited
Freiberg, K. & Freiberg, J.…
