An American Low Cost Airline

Growing up, the business world has always intrigued me, however I am far more curious and eager to develop knowledge about the operations of Business management and human resources. I have strong beliefs that the business world would not be successful without driven individuals who are respected and are developed in a positive working environment.

Gomez-Mejia, L., Balkin, D., & Cardy, R. (2012). Managing Human Resources (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

• Create an exciting and rewarding place to work. Donald C. Burr, founder and CEO, believed that this strategy would produce high quality employees who would perform at a level above their competitors. For example, the

pilots, and new next generation aircraft acquisitions to carry the airline proudly into the next 75

Southwest Airlines and United Airlines have been direct competitors in the airline business for a number of years. As time has passed, we have seen Southwest take a more Servant Leadership minded approach, while United decided upon a more traditional style of Leadership. From their mission statements, along with reviews from flyers and profitability, to the overall culture of the companies, we look to see how these two airlines compete, and which one comes out on top.

If I were appointed CEO of Southwest Airlines following Herb Kelleher’s resignation, I do not believe taking the assignment would be easy, however I do believe that the transition would be successful. The framework that Kelleher as set into place for his organization allows for a successful transition for his successor, because of the culture that set into place revolves around the employees and customers. Treating employees and customers great and focusing on employee engagement is vital to the success of any organization, Southwest and Kelleher have established found a promising method that has worked for over 40 years. Kevin Kruse (2012) defines employee engagement as the emotional commitment that an employee has to the organization and

People are biggest asset for every organization and, therefore, to draw, motivate, and preserve the most skilled employees and assign them to jobs for which they are exceptionally well suited is a responsible job for human resource. Therefore, human resources management is done in all type of organizations. Profound management of people is equally indispensable in success of organizations as the sound management of production, finance, and other operations. The human resource management field postulates the infinite diversity of people and their dynamics (McKenzie & Traynor, 2002). To get into this career field, one must have the required education degree by completing many different courses, and have the experience along with skills and

American Airlines is looking to expand its market to more wealthy consumers by offering an excusive line of aircraft consisting mostly of first class and business type seating. This new model will be labeled under the title “Elite” and would market routes to and from major city hubs during heavy business traveling hours. American Airlines will position this service as the, “Black Jet” since that would be the standout feature of the aircraft. American can take advantage of its existing market base along with its frequent fliers to sell the experience of a flight experience beyond maximizing passengers. The target motto would be a “flight redefined.” American Airlines Elite would target business, first class, and frequent flying travelers.

There are companies that are laid out in various parts of the word. The company that I had chosen the AMR Company, the industry it operates in is the Airlines. The AMR Company operates in the Airline industry and its home country/domestic environment is in the Fort Worth, Texas of the USA. AMR (parented of American Airlines) was founded back in the 1920’s by a young aviator named Charles A. Lindbergh who flew mail in DH-4 biplanes and eventually form into a modern-day American Airlines. In November of 2007 the AMR Corporation had planned to divestiture the American Eagle to its own regional carrier in 2008.

When on vacation, the first people you deal with are the airline companies, yes this is the dreaded trip to the airport. Way to often people have their happy vacations ruined by inconsistent and unreliable customer service, making them late for flights because of long lines, slow service, and unreliable technology that is difficult to use. However, Southwest airlines is one company that is standing out above all others. Known for their outstanding customer service and “Bags Fly Free” campaign, Southwest has held their ground against rising prices in airline travel and continued to expand its reaches while at the same time attracting many satisfied customers. Southwest Airlines was founded on June 18, 1971 by Rollen King and Herb Kellener. The very same year, Southwest began its flights servicing Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Southwest quickly climbed the ranks within airline the industry and became the fifth largest US air carrier by 1998, carrying an average of 50 million passengers a year across the United States. From then on, Southwest soared above the rest of the mid-range air carriers, and continues to do so to this day. Southwest quickly became known for its innovation when it comes to customer service and satisfaction, and it is still well known today for its simple and convenient customer service. Southwest has also been deeply involved when it comes to their social responsibilities, taking action to be ecofriendly whenever, and wherever possible. (Avstop)

Organizations need people for their energy, effort and talent. Individuals need organizations for the many rewards they offer. But the needs of the individual and the organization don’t always line up very well and when the fit between people and organizations is poor, one or both will suffer. Human resource frame evolved from early work of pioneers such as Mary Parker Follett (1918) and Elton Mayo (1933, 1945), who questioned a century old, deeply held assumption that workers had no rights beyond a paycheck. Their duty was to work hard and follow orders. Pioneers who laid the human resource frame’s foundation criticized this view on two grounds: it was unfair, and it was bad psychology. People's skills, attitudes, energy, and commitment are vital resources that can make or break an enterprise, they argued. One of the core assumptions of the human resource frame states that when the fit between individual and system is poor, one or both suffer. Individuals are exploited or exploit the organization or both become victims. The “fit” is a function of at least three different things: how well an organization responds to individual desires for useful work; how well jobs enable employees to express their skills and sense of self; and how well work fulfills individual financial and lifestyle needs (Cable and DeRue, 2002).

The goal of this paper is to explain the prominent success of Southwest Airline in the United States through a single case study analysis making use of the McKinsey’s 7-S framework. Developed in the early 1980s at the McKinsey & Company consulting firm by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, this framework looks at 7 internal factors (Structure, Strategy, Systems, Style, Staff, Skills, Super-ordinate goals) which, according to its authors, need to be aligned for an organization to be successful. In this paper, we will analyse each of its internal elements through the case study “Southwest Airlines in 2008, Culture, Values, and Operating Practices”.

With 1988 operating income of $801 million on a revenue of $8.55 billion, American Airlines, Inc. (American), principal subsidiary of Dallas/Fort Worth-based AMR Corporation, was the largest airline in the United States. At year-end 1988 American operated 468 aircraft on 2,200 flights daily to 151 destinations in the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, France, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela, and West Germany.

With today's workforce becoming increasingly diverse and organizations doing more to maximize the benefits of the differences in employees, organizations are relying on managers to get the people who get the job done. People have always been the central to organizations, but there strategic importance is growing in today's knowledge-based business world. An organization's success increasingly depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of its employees excluding there gender, age, ethnicity, and the differences in skill and abilities. When employees' talents are valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and organize, an organization can achieve an advantage. Having managers or human resource departments that are superb for

However some operators have reversed this, and are paid by local governments to land at some airports, as they expect to gain economic benefits from this.