Southwest Airlines - a High Performance Organization

Southwest Airlines

A High Performance Organization

American companies, even the most successful ones, are facing challenges that require fundamental rethinking of the workplace. For the leaders of this change, whether a CEO, mid-level manager, or team leader, these challenges also call for a redefinition of their roles. The global marketplace has changed the rules of the game forever. Southwest Airline strives to create an organization that is flexible, adaptable and highly productive. Recognizing that competitive firms can no longer compete on the basis of price alone, Southwest Airline is focusing its organizational strategies on customer service and quality to gain a competitive advantage. To realize the full potential of their workers, Southwest Airline leaders are redesigning workplaces and work practices to enhance the skill, autonomy, and responsibility of their workers. Implementing such change will require a style of leadership that goes far beyond anything they have experienced in the past.

What is high performance organization? High performance organizations must be designed to flexible, very flat to minimize bureaucracy, highly productive and able to transform themselves overnight to meet any unexpected turbulence (Putnam, Howard). They must be nimble and quick just like SWAT teams. It is no longer possible to provide every service that every citizen asks for. Southwest Airlines focus on simplicity, high productivity of people, of facilities and aircraft, shorten process times and be the lowest cost operator in the industry. Southwest Airlines also hired attitudes and taught them skills to fit their businesses. Its culture supported the business and vision and outstanding customer service and profitability were the results. The entire organization and all employees, shared in the recognition and profitability. That is a powerful motivator in high performance organizations, and government must innovate concepts in that arena as well. The model has worked for Southwest Airlines for years and they have been profitable every year. They have thrived through every down cycle due to their low costs, high performing organization and value proposition that consumers understands and eagerly purchase. One of the key responsibilities of a leader is to drive the vision home to all constituents and take complexity out of the decision making process. Performance results when people believe and belong. However, an article leader to leader by Jeffrey Pfeffer stated that leaders of successful organizations, such as Whole Food products, Men's Warehouse, and AES Corporation see its role as systems architects, engaged in the critical task of building values, cultures, and a set of management practices that enable the recruitment, retention, development, and motivation of outstanding people. They also engage in the important work of building work practices that ensure that ides of all people become known and used.

High performance workplaces integrate workplace and workforce practices with broad business strategies. They encourage worker input in all aspects of the company and invest in training and opportunities for continuous learning. Southwest Airlines is a high performance organization and the five components of HPO will discuss separately throughout the paper.

When observing a high performance organization, two of the five major components are total quality management and organizational learning. When worked with the other components, employee involvement, self-directing work teams, and integrated technology; a high performance organization is conceived. Total quality management is the commitment to quality results, striving to improve the organization, and meeting the consumer's needs. In order to fulfill the needs of total quality management an organization must provide organizational learning. Organizational learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills and applying them to the overall objective of the organization. Examples of organizational learning are continuous education, staff meetings, and forms of personal growth. These components of a high performance organization are not only the foundation, but the key to a successful business.

With today's steady economic growth, a high performance organizations (HPO) not only needs the five key components, but also needs a leading upper hand in their business competition. Southwest airlines (SWA) has taken the initiative to provide total quality management to their employees and customers. They are committed to quality results, quality customer service, and quality organizational performance. SWA has shown this performance through their high standard reputation and through their clearly spelled out mission statements. In order to fully understand a high performance organization, you must first start with their mission statement. This allows for a clear understanding of the company's foundation and value system.

Southwest Airlines mission statements to their customers is as followed:

"The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit."

Southwest Airline's mission statement to their employees is as followed:

"We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer."

Established in 1971 by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher Southwest Airlines set their foundation with simply idea of getting their passengers to where they wanted to go, in a timely and low cost manner. Now serving over 60 airports across country, Southwest airlines is one of the largest and most respected airlines in the market. SWA has shown that their small ideas can get them far in today's economy. Ideas are only the start of a high performance organization. In order to apply the ideas of a company you must first have a solid foundation. Southwest Airlines has built their foundations from their employees up. The employees at Southwest airlines are respected with a no frills, no hassle work environment. An example of this environment is in the application process. Future employees are asked if they have a "sense of humor". They ask this strictly because they encourage their employees