Organizational_Behavior_and_Communication

Southwest Airlines Organizational Behavior and Communication Justina Kabanuk University of Phoenix COM/530 Communications for Accountants Gina Owens-Ricks July 26, 2010 Southwest Airlines Organizational Behavior and Communication Within recent years the economy of the United States has been unstable and in many was harmful to many organizations. For an organization to excel in a poor economic environment, it must separate itself from the competition and find ways to appeal to its customers. One particular company that excelled and remained profitable even during an economic depression is Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines has excelled regardless of the poor economy. Southwest Airlines values, culture, communication within the company, and approach to handling conflict has helped the company remain profitable even during the hardest economic times. Southwest Airlines Mission and Values Southwest Airlines’ mission statement acknowledges the customer and how the customer will be treated. “The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit,” (The mission statement of Southwest Airlines, 2010) The company has many espoused values that have been passed down from upper management to all employees. Southwest Airlines former chairman, Herb Kelleher, led by example and he treated his employees as family and expected the employees to treat each other and their customers as family as well. This philosophy has been carried on by Colleen Barrett, president emeritus of Southwest Airlines. Barrett attributes Southwest Airlines success to its happy workplace culture and employee’s devotion, customer satisfaction and profitability, even in recent years of skyrocketing fuel costs (Wilkerson, 2010). The employees at Southwest Airlines are treated well and are shown appreciation from upper management, which in turn creates happy and motivated employees. In turn, the employees strive to create the work environment and level of customer service management desires. Southwest Airlines’ success can be contributed to its espoused values being aligned with its enacted values. The open, friendly, and family oriented culture creates a comfortable and open work environment for all employees. How an Organizations Communication Affects Perception and Organizational Culture The type of culture that an organization has can directly affect the quality of communication within the organization. Creating a positive and open work environment leads to honest and effective communication between all employees regardless of their position within the organization. Not only does a company’s culture directly affect communication within an organization, but also communication can affect the type of culture an organization has as well as employee and customer perception of the organization. Southwest Airlines makes it clear to all employees from the date that they are hired that they are in the customer service business and that proactive customer service is expected from all employees. Employees from the start perceive the company as customer-oriented and are immersed in the culture immediately upon hire (D’Aurizio, 2008). Customers in turn perceive Southwest Airlines as a friendly, enthusiastic, and customer-oriented service provider, which helps Southwest Airlines to retain customers. How Might Southwest Airlines use Conflict to Improve Communication' Conflict in a group can be either healthy or detrimental to a group’s progress and success. When conflict is handled appropriately and compromises can be made, it can help an organization excel with new ideas and better relationships between employees of all levels. It is clear that the upper management of Southwest Airlines has a strong influence on the organizations culture and employees. Southwest Airlines management practices a positive and open environment and encourages learning and advancement (D’Aurizio, 2008). Having an open environment gives employees of all levels the ability to voice conflict and solutions openly to management and fellow employees. Southwest Airlines has excelled in hiring employees who are positive and willing to help and in turn gives their employees a healthy environment in which employees can learn and express themselves among one another. Conclusion The dedicated culture and mission to serve customers has put Southwest Airlines in a strong position in the airline industry. Southwest Airlines extravagant customer service has made the organization the third ranking airline in the United States and during the tough times after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 captured 11.7% percent of all domestic passengers (Kuby, 2008). Southwest Airlines has achieved the lowest customer complaints of any major airline for 18 years in a row, has been profitable for 31 consecutive years, and has a low employee turnover rate of only 10% (D’Aurizio, 2008). Open communication and proper conflict management has opened the gates to success for Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines has proved to be a successful organization due in part to its friendly and positive attitude toward customer and fellow employees. References D’Aurizio, Patricia. (2008). Southwest Airlines: lessons in loyalty. Human Resource Solutions. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Library EBSCOhost on July 24, 2010. Kuby, M., & Tierney, S. (2008, February). Airline and airport choice by passengers in multi-airport regions: the effect of Southwest Airlines. Professional Geographer, 60(1), 15-32. The mission of Southwest Airlines. (2010). Southwest.com. Retrieved from http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/mission.html on July 23, 2010. Wilkerson, A. (2010, May 14). Southwest Airlines president emeritus reflects on success. Journal Record. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Library EBSCOhost on July 23, 2010.