Southwest Airline Merger With AirTran Essay

In order to make up for increasing expenses Southwest needs to expand. My recommended strategy for Southwest to pursue, is to merge with Air-Tran and expand into areas where Air-Tran has a heavy presence and Southwest has none. With Southwest having a weak presence in the southeastern U.S., a key area to expand would be Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, which is the busiest airport in the U.S. There is obviously a need for the low air-fare company at this site. Southwest’s unique approach of no extra charge for luggage and extra friendly service should help Southwest. The merger is estimated to cost Southwest $1.4 billion dollars; Air-Trans income for 2010 was around $128 million, and along with the 138 new

Southwest Airlines corporate philosophy can be credited to one of the founders Herb Kelleher. It is an airline company with a unique culture “goofiness”, which keeps the morale of its employees high (Smith, 2004), and is a company that welcomes fun, dedication, and effort. Southwest believes that a happy employee will create a happy customer, and will create loyal customers. Mr. Kelleher effectively implemented its style, culture and emphasis on quality in the daily actives at Southwest (Smith, 2004), and he did so without the help of outside consultants.

At Southwest Airlines, the company’s business strategy has a positive effect on the training they provide to their employees. Southwest Airlines is a Texas based airline that started up in 1971 (Corporate Fact Sheet). Over the years the airline has been recognized for its outstanding customer service and its low airfare fees. Due to their excellent customer service, the company has been ranked number one in customer satisfaction in 2013 by the U.S Department of Transportation. In. 2015, Southwest airlines was recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in the Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award. The reason that Southwest airlines is recognized for all these great things is because they obtain a good organizational control over the airline.

Among many organizations there are few that seem to have what it takes to be deemed as a proper company. The organization to be discussed in this paper is Southwest Airlines, one that values customer satisfaction in a changing environment and manages its organizational culture so well that it is recognized as one of the best airlines in the world. Through analysis of Southwest Airlines, the goal of this paper is to address what makes this airline so different from its competitors in multiple key areas including its culture and environment, the mission and values it holds, the work setting employees have and how they are recognized, and the management of work and life all while being creative daily to ensure Southwest is the preferred airline among others.

Cleaning, maintenance, unloading, boarding, and fueling had to be completed in 10 minutes or less. The airline industry said it could not be done, however Southwest’s culture had already developed a ‘do what it takes’ culture and they were able to accomplish the impossible. The consistency of Herb Kelleher’s determination to not give up a fight and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Lamar Muse’s trial-and-error approach led Southwest Airlines to the beginning of what would be a highly successful airline.

Southwest Airlines: Company Culture Sean-Michael Kemp Florida Institute of Technology Professor Kathy Douglas BUS 4502: Organizational Behavior and Theory July 27, 2016 Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 3 Leadership 3 Employees 5 Effects of Culture 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 Abstract This research paper will examine the company culture at Southwest Airlines. The company culture at this company is renowned as one of the best in the United States. They have been placed on the Forbes best places to work list many times.

Southwest Airlines has multiple key traits that have enabled Southwest’s success over the years. Southwest Airlines is known around the world for their culture. Herb Kelleher, the airline’s former CEO stated in an article Something Special About Southwest Airlines, “You put your employees first and if you take care of them, then they will take good care of you, then your customers will come back, and your shareholders will like that, so it’s really a unity.” Southwest Airlines puts their employees’ happiness first above customer satisfaction, in which often translates to going the extra mile for their customers. Creating a workforce environment where employees enjoy where they work, who they work with and whom they work for motivates employees

Southwest Airlines represents a rather unique organizational force that has driven the company to success since its inception in 1971. One of the most unique features about the organizational structure is that it is largely decentralized and employees are openly welcomed to express their opinions on a wide range of organizational issues. However, despite the "hands off" management strategy, the company consistently ranks as one of the top airlines in regards to customer complaints; in 2008, for example, the company received 0.25 complaints on average for every one hundred thousand passengers who used the aviation services (Triangle Business Journal, 2009). This analysis will look at some of the organizational factors that have contributed to the success of Southwest Airlines over the course of the last few decades.

When Herb Kelleher and Rollin King founded Southwest Airlines in 1971, their mission stated the “dedication of the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit” (Smith, 2012). With that mission in mind, Herb Keller and Rollin King managed to make Southwest the only profitable airline in the United States (Smith, 2012). Southwest’s mission is not the only reason why the airline continues to grow. Without the way, Herb Kelleher former CEO of Southwest, had developed a particular leadership style, power base, and a set way the organization motivates its’ work force, the company would not be as successful as it is

The management style of Southwest airline is characterized by how greatly it takes care of its employees’ well-being. The management considers it as a mean to achieve higher customer satisfaction: “Keep employees happy, then they will keep customers happy”.

Through their personal behavior and company’s actions, Southwest’s leaders have shown that they practice what they preach and are serious about fostering a very particular environment. By valuing loyalty and doing everything to avoid layoffs, being a genuine price leader instead of merely claiming to have low rates, creating “culture committees” at times of fast growth and having a strong community outreach program Southwest has shown employees that the company truly believes in its principles. That has enabled Southwest to truly earn its employees’ trust and encouraged employees to genuinely embrace the company

Their first core value is keeping their employees happy. Because only employees with nice attitude can provide best service to customers and keep company benefit. According to this, Southwest Airlines’ practice is their operating structure. The organization of Southwest Airlines is more likely as an upside-down pyramid. The upper management is at the bottom and supports the front line employees. Front line employees are given great attention by the management and play a major role in the yearly business planning and operational budgeting. The company does not stress much on structure. Instead, employees are encouraged to think freely without constraints such as titles or official mandates. This whole structure is created by the co-founder Herb Kellehe and employees will feel respected and valued when management decisions are made by everyone in the organization, not just the head executives.

Southwest Airlines: Culture, Values and Operating Practices (in Thompson, A. A., Strickland. A. J. and Gamble, J. (2005) Crafting and Executing Strategy (Fourteenth Edition), McGraw-Hill, New York, pages C-636– C-664).

Upon review on a profile of a successful company we see Southwest Airlines as a prime example. Their ability to recognize weakness in their management system and adjust strategies has allowed them to emerge as a leader in the US airline industry. Southwest is the largest US low fare carrier with low fare rates, no additional fees and excellent customer service. Southwest Airlines currently has one of the most innovative management practices in the US to date. A review of the critical elements of Southwest Airlines proves to be effective and innovative.

Since being founded 43 years ago Southwest Airlines has prided itself on being different from other airlines and providing the best possible customer service. Southwest airlines employees 46,000 people and serves more than 100 million customers each year. Southwest is also the largest domestic carrier serving 93 destinations in 40 states as well as five international destinations. The company could not have become as big as it has without differentiating themselves from their competitors. Southwest uses a triple bottom line approach that takes into account “carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its people and the communities it serves, and its commitment to efficiency and the planet”