Questions
1. What has sustained Southwests culture?
2. Do you think upstart airlines can successfully duplicate this culture?
3. No longer the underdog,what can Southwests management do to retain its high productivity culture.
4. What does this case imply about sustaining cultures in a changing environment
Q.1 What has sustained southwest's culture?
Ans-The way you treat and reward employees is only one part of your company's culture. Culture is the company's way of life. It is how the business functions, operates, handles stress and reinforces its staff. It is the company's general attitude toward the world.
In the airline industry Southwest Airlines has differentiated itself with its strong culture. This company has built an emphasis on keeping a good relationship with its employees. Southwest's primary goal is to keep its employees happy and have a positive attitude towards customers. During the interview process, they make sure that the applicants smile and have a good sense of humor. Employees are chosen to work at Southwest for life.
Using an airline can be a stressful experience, with the flight delays, lost luggage, weather problems and security issues. This can lead to a very unsatisfied customer. However, with Southwest's culture, employees are trained to be friendly and can handle negative situations that leave the customer very happy. Also, the management is trained to resolve problems on the spot.
Southwest is the only company that did not lay off employees after the September 11th tragedy and it constantly receives high ratings for customer satisfaction. On the day of the attack all the planes were brought down and the Southwest passengers were provided with a room at a local hotel. When the managers at Southwest called to check on the passengers, no one was there because the pilot has taken everyone out to the movies. "There's no manual from which to learn that," said Hardage. "At Southwest,...