Introduction
All organizations are bound to change at some point during their lifetimes. As technology advances and customer preferences shift, it is important that a company make the necessary changes to keep up with demand and offer customers what they desire. Organizational change is crucial to the survival of a company. In this paper, organization change refers to the way an organization moves from one way of operation to another (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009). This change can occur through several different ways which include the way a company is structured, a modification of the overall business strategy, policies, and procedures; or a shift in the company culture or technology usage (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009). Ultimately, change is abandoning old methods and incorporating new ways to perform a duty (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009).
Forbes Article On Southwest Airlines
The Forbes article examines the world-renowned Southwest Airlines and identifies what strategies the company uses in order to keep employees performing at their highest and keep customers satisfied. This article discusses many of the small changes and initiatives the company pursued to motivate employees and increase customer service satisfaction. Southwest Airlines was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1967 as a small airline company and today has over 45,000 employees. It is considered one of the top three airline companies in the world. The recent shift in company culture is credited as the main factor that catapulted Southwest Airlines’ rise to prominence.
According to the article, Southwest revealed its new corporate vision and purpose in January 2013, with the intent to motivate employees (Gallo, 2014) which the airline company believes is the most important stakeholder in its business. Southwest’s new vision: “to become the world’s most loved, most flown, and most profitable airline” (Gallo, 2014). The company’s vision is accomplished through its purpose; with every employee doing his or her part to the best of their abilities and working together to a common purpose (Gallo, 2014). Southwest’s purpose and reason for existing: “to connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel” (Gallo, 2014). This serves as the foundation for how employees interact with customers and perform their jobs.
The article cites effective communication and storytelling throughout the company as the most effective ways to motivate employees and reinforce the company purpose. For example, each week company CEO Gary Kelly gives a “shout-out” to employees that have shown exceptional customer service; and the company magazine—Southwest Spirit—also includes a story of customers that have exceeded company expectations (Gallo, 2014). The company also features a variety of internal corporate videos highlighting employee stories that provide an example of what the company’s purpose “looks and feels like” (Gallo, 2014). Southwest employs a number of awards and recognition programs that the company incorporates to draws attention to employee positive behavior (Gallo, 2014).
Why Organizations Change
Organizations change for many reasons. The primary reason a company changes is because it is struggling or performing poorly (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009). This poor performance can be the result of changes in the industry environment that it operates in (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009). Change can be planned or can suddenly be forced on a company (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009). After the terrorist attacks on September 11 airline companies suffered a huge loss and had to quickly undergo a series of changes to regain customer loyalty and trust. In unfortunate cases like this, radical change is necessary; in other cases organizational change is implemented slowly in incremental steps and employees are guided throughout the process (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009).
Other Factors Motivating Organizational Change
Other factors that motivate organizational change are rapid technology developments (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009). New technology advancements are occurring every day, which means numerous changes for companies that rely heavily on technology to carry out business. The rise of technology has led to globalization and the ability to companies to interact and do business with companies and customers around the world. As a result, globalization has become a threat to organizations because the ability to produce goods and services at a lower price gives a competitive advantage and can drive organizations out of business if they fail to adapt (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009). The market in which a business operates may change which forces the organization to change in order to maintain, and those that struggle to adjust typically fail (Bauer & Erodogan, 2009).
References
Bauer, T. & Erodogan B. (2009). Why Do Organizations Change? Flat World Knowledge.
Retrieved from https://new.edu/resources/why-do-organizations-change
Gallo, C. (2014). Southwest Airlines Motivates Its Employees With A Purpose Bigger Than A
Paycheck. The Forbes.com. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2014/01/21/southwest-airlines-motivates-its-
employees-with-a-purpose-bigger-than-a-paycheck/
