Culture Within Organizations: Southwest Airlines
A culture is a set of values that are adopted by people who co-habit any place. It consists of shared traits and lifestyles. Within an organization, culture refers to values and norms that are prevalent throughout the workplace and amongst the employees. This includes their mannerisms, attitudes, and work ethic. Culture within an organization exerts control over the behavior of people. Growth and success of a company depends largely on the type of culture which is prevalent within an organization.
Many different types of culture exist in businesses today. Certain cultures encourage employees to work and grow together as a family—thereby creating unity. Others may place emphasis on higher ranking employees, which leaves those at the bottom of the hierarchy bitter or resentful, creating a workplace which may not be friendly or comfortable. Some companies may opt to stick to what they know, thereby stifling creativity and growth by eliminating experimentation. On the other hand, a company may be overly innovative and always looking for new ideas and taking new risks. Although this sounds good in theory, it may lead to an unstable work environment. Culture can either make or break an organization.
Culture is not a tangible object. It is the result of management’s beliefs and values and employees’ implementation of those beliefs and values. It exists within all organizations and can be determined, for example, by looking at the dress code within the workplace. It can also be seen by observing employee interaction and behavior. One can also get an idea of an organization’s culture by taking note of its dealings with those outside of the company (i.e. customer service).
Culture makes up the personality of an organization. It is crucial that a positive organizational culture is created, taught and adhered to. It can be used to improve the efficiency and work ethic of employees in an organization. It also has a powerful influence over the behavior of
Many different types of culture exist in businesses today. Certain cultures encourage employees to work and grow together as a family—thereby creating unity. Others may place emphasis on higher ranking employees, which leaves those at the bottom of the hierarchy bitter or resentful, creating a workplace which may not be friendly or comfortable. Some companies may opt to stick to what they know, thereby stifling creativity and growth by eliminating experimentation. On the other hand, a company may be overly innovative and always looking for new ideas and taking new risks. Although this sounds good in theory, it may lead to an unstable work environment. Culture can either make or break an organization.
Culture is not a tangible object. It is the result of management’s beliefs and values and employees’ implementation of those beliefs and values. It exists within all organizations and can be determined, for example, by looking at the dress code within the workplace. It can also be seen by observing employee interaction and behavior. One can also get an idea of an organization’s culture by taking note of its dealings with those outside of the company (i.e. customer service).
Culture makes up the personality of an organization. It is crucial that a positive organizational culture is created, taught and adhered to. It can be used to improve the efficiency and work ethic of employees in an organization. It also has a powerful influence over the behavior of
Cited: AvStop Aviation News and Resource Online Magazine. “History of Southwest Airlines” http://avstop.com/history/historyofairlines/southwest.html) Bailey, Jeff (2008) “Southwest. Way Southwest” The New York Times Freiberg, K. & Freiberg, J. (1996) Nuts! Southwest Airlines ' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success. New York: Broadway Marhoffer, Amy. (2011) “Southwest Airlines “Gets It” With Our Culture” http://www.blogsouthwest.com/blog/southwest-airlines-“gets-it”-our-culture Pederson, Jay P. (2005) International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 71. St. James Press Southwest Airlines Co. (2013) ”Southwest Airlines” http://www.southwest.com/