Southwest Airlines Culture

Southwest Airlines has been known for is inexpensive flights and upbeat, jokester employees since 1971. In 1980, Southwest adopted its mission statement as, “A dedication of customer service delivered with ‘a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual price and company spirit”. (Anonymous, 2005, p. 16). In 1997, Southwest Airlines celebrated its 25th anniversary. “The celebration centered around ten philosophical principles, such as ‘under promise but over deliver’ and ‘take competition seriously but not ourselves’ to support the brand’s positioning as a fun, slightly offbeat airline…To drive the wackiness point further, the tagline ‘Still nuts after all these years’ was adopted’”. (Ebenkamp, 1997, p. 1). Behind the laughter, there is a culture
of highly dedicated employees in an environment that embraces strong communication, displays a level of high ethics internally as well as externally, practices the ability to overcome adversity through the utilization of its adopted values, and creates “a viable sense of pride in whipping the competition”. (Stancavage, 2013, p. 1).
Communication is a key ingredient in the culture at Southwest Airlines.
The Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications, Ginger Hardage, spoke about communication within the company stating, “Remaining a ‘high-touch’ organization that is true to its values and connected to both employees and customers are all top priorities at Southwest Airlines”. She goes on to describe the culture as “living the Southwest way” where the company looks to hire people with “a servant’s heart because we’re in the service business” and “a warrior’s spirit because we have the desire to be the best and work really hard. And we have a fun loving attitude and don’t believe in taking ourselves too seriously”. (Hardage, 2006, p.
2).
Southwest’s internal communication is handled through a “mix of channels” that Hardage explains to include daily Internet newsletters, e-mail, and bulletin boards, a monthly publication and an onsite annual visit from the CEO (Hardage, 2006, p. 2). Employees are active in offering feedback though surveys to maintain a cross flow of communication. Hardage explains the importance of relaying information in the workplace by stating, “We make sure employees have the ability to think and act like business owners because they have a share in our profits”. (Hardage, 2006, p. 2).
Internal and external perceptions are important goals within Southwest’s organizational culture. The external perceptions are key in maintaining the positive reputation Southwest has traditionally portrayed. “Southwest management values ‘one asset above all others…their culture.’ Southwest considers the customer an intricate part of the culture. Bob Carpenter, a Southwest Training Supervisor explains (to trainees), when customers are stressed from the hassles of getting through the airport, ‘use your personality’…’If you’re nice, how can somebody be mean to you”? (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1).
The internal perceptions of employees and the ongoing development of open communication are equally important goals in maintaining the culture at Southwest. Bob Rapp, Southwest’s Vice President of systems speaks frequently with employees in relaxed departmental luncheon settings, where employees laugh and exchange ideas on how to streamline systems to provide better customer service. Rapp is known for his personal communication style and often gets in the trenches with employees to “Take the vision and determine the best way to implement it”. “The leadership Rapp and other company executives provide is a service in the organization, as opposed to egotistical”. (Malloy, 1996, p. 1).
Misalignment between adopted values and those enacted can affect perceptions in any organization. “Southwest flight attendants and other employees have long been known for joking around with passengers between safety briefings and snack handouts….in contrast to the most businesslike approach of many rivals”. (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1). “Patty Wooten, a nurse-humorist and owner of Jest for the Health of It, a Santa Cruz, California consulting company says ‘Humor serves as a release for tension…It pulls a group together and creates solidarity’…But she understands how some companies caution against joking on the job; Humor is a high risk behavior”. (Payne, 1998, p. 1). Southwest’s spokesperson, Linda Rutherford admits that “Occasionally, the company will get a complaint from a customer who ‘didn’t understand the use of the humor because of the serious subject matter’. Southwest lets the passenger know that it values the opinion but that the airline isn’t going to change”. In addition, “What we’ve found overwhelmingly is that the customer appreciates this approach”. (Payne, 1998, p. 1).
Southwest Airlines is not an organization exempt from group conflict. Although most conflict is identifiable as simple conflict in which goals or ideas are mutually exclusive or incompatible. (Beebe, Masterson, 2009, p. 2). Humor has been traditionally the way to handle conflict. “Southwest’s colorful co-founder Herb Kelleher, once resolved a trademark dispute with an arm wrestling match”. (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1). However, arm wrestling, and good humor is not always a solution in airline merger situations. “In 2011, Southwest blended eight thousand employees with AirTran, which was the biggest merger in Southwest’s history”. (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1). “David Ridley, Southwest’s Chief Marketing Officer, admitted that there were some acquired employees that did not fit into Southwest’s culture”. (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1). Ridley stated, “AirTran has wonderful people. Are all their people exactly as we would want at Southwest? No. But that’s also true of Southwest employees….My commitment is to try to maintain the culture”. (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1). Southwest faced struggles with the union and despite efforts to train and educate employees on communication and culture, some employees filed for litigation. (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1).
Communication is generally the eventual outcome of all conflicting situations. The damage of coming to a resolution is time, cost, and damages associated with perception that takes place both internally and externally. Southwest’s founding father had a wiser solution to conflict. Bob Mann, an airline consultant stated, “Southwest’s preferred approach to conflicts in most cases seems to be… as evidenced by Kelleher’s long ago arm wrestling settlement…’Let’s try to get this done consensually and have some fun with it’, as opposed to ‘Let’s go to the mat, get all dirty and end up with hard feelings over the outcome.’” (Yamanouchi, 2011, p. D-1).
In conclusion, Southwest airlines has remained one of the most recognized and admired places to work since 1971 because of its commitment to their mission statement.
Throughout the multiple challenges and mergers the airline industry has endured over the past decade, Southwest has been successful in maintaining a culture with dedicated employees. Communication has been a strong basis for the continued strength of this company, which proves that virtually all positive outcomes can be accomplished with the right attitude, humor, and a smile.

References

Anonymous. (2005). How corporate culture helped Southwest Airlines become the best. Strategic Direction , 16-18.
Beebe, S. &. (2009). Communicating in small groups: Principles and practices 9th Edition. Boston, MA.: Pearson.
Ebenkamp, B. (1997). Southwest Airlines . Brandweek, 1.
Hardage, G. (2006). Profile: Communicating the Southwest Way . Strategic Communication Management , 4.
Malloy, A. (1996). The 100 Best Places to Work . Computerworld , 1.
Payne, M. (1998). Fun workplace usually productive . Edmonton Journal , 1.
Stancavage, J. (2013, June 2). Culture of fun boosts bottom line. Tulsa World, p. 1.
Yamanouchi, K. (2011). Southwest - Airtran Merger: A challenge of cultural exhange: Combining companies will test Southwest 's fun loving nature. . The Atlanta Journal - Constitution ,
1.