CULTURE OVERHEADS
Over time, the southwest airline’s culture has proved to be one of the strongest of cultures in the airline industry with good management and strong backbone of discipline among the employees. To start with, the southwest airline has one of the best and colorful C.E.O, who changed the image of the company overtime. The southwest culture is one that values the need and efforts of each employee, starting from the top administration to the junior workers. In particular, the C.E.O, Kelly, changed his dressing styles to a more informal way, by dressing casually as a way of releasing tension in the working environment, especially when workers wear pink dresses. The southwest particularly values the culture related to Halloween day, this relates to the incident where Mr. Kelly fitted on woman attire in the wake of a good Halloween day. The founder of southwest company believes in a us-against-them attitude, that particularly makes it fun to work for the company, and encourages the employees to work hard, since they have the feeling of worthiness and belonging, especially when competing with other airline companies. This unique culture helped the company realize more profit over its rival airline in the country.
Some cultural artifacts that seem different from the rest in the company include the openness and transparency inside the management. For instance, Mr. Kelleher openly admitted to the public his love for cigarettes and drink, thus shaping the figure of southwest as a party image. In order to lighten the mood of the employees, Mr. Kelly fitted the mold of the company by allowing hugging and kissing in the company in place of handshakes, sharing some practical jokes, and quite often having a drink on the company’s headquarter only after 5 p.m.
Another cultural aspect that is unique to southwest according to the article was the abandonment of boarding policy, which saw business travelers board and picks seats first. This encouraged the C.E.O to come up with strategies that saw more passengers pack onto planes, and an increase in revenue through raising travel fares. This was a measure aimed at curbing the rise in fuel cost. Another cultural artifact brought by Mr. Kelly was his financial acumen, which saw the company saving a total of $3 billion, from his fuel-cost saving plan he introduced in 1999. The southwest company has a strong culture that has dominated over the last twenty years. In my opinion, I think its culture is strong, as it has helped shape the company’s image. Due to the easiness and flexibility of the company, there is a strong relationship among the employees and management; this has been encouraged by the fact that, Mr. Kelly introduced a cohesive environment for working, and uniting the employees. The culture adopted by southwest airlines saw it increase its revenue through better management of resources and discipline among its workers. Top managers at southwest have their offices in small rooms where there are small photographs of workers at the walls. This shows the unity and bond that is associated with the work place. Southwest has a culture that includes turning small details into positive working environment, since with fun, comes motivation. The company offers high wages for their employees, and the work rate is high in the company. Every worker is motivated to work hard and fast. In short, the overall culture at southwest airlines is strong and consistent, with top management and ambition throughout the company, the success of the company will definitely reach new heights.
