Assessing Corporate Cultures of Southwest Airlines
Team A has chosen to evaluate and assess the cultural atmosphere generated within Southwest Airlines (SWA). The airline started its operation in 1971 by the co-founders, Rollin King and Herb Kelleher, in the humble city of Houston, Texas. SWA was to be an airline that provided shuttle service between the cities of Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas, Texas. Southwest Airlines began with one simple notion: "If you get your passengers to their destinations when they want to get there, on time, at the lowest possible fares, and make darn sure they have a good time doing it, people will fly your airline" (www.SWA.com). Today, SWA flies more than 65 million passengers a year to 59 great cities all across the country, and they do it more than 2,800 times a day (www.southwest.com).
The company now had a mission on their hands. This mission is, "dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit" (www.SWA.com). The initial president of SWA, Lamar Muse, stated, "He wanted a company committed to the employees and for them to have a stable working environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth." He also wanted the employees above all, "to be provided with the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer" (www.southwest.com). These have been the core ethics established within the company that has made it what it is today.
The current president of SWA, Colleen Barrett, recently dedicated a Southwest plane to "The Spirit of Hope," in memory of the many volunteers that are part of the Ronald McDonald Houses across ...