The objective of this assignment is to take an organization and describe its culture and the impact of its culture on its performance. After choosing your organization, use the following questions to guide your analysis of the culture. Organizations can be chosen from media sources such as
newspapers, magazines, videos and blogs. You also can choose an organization
where you work or have worked in the past. Make sure you choose an organization
where you have enough information to draw conclusions.
Cite all references used in your research.
- Describe the organization’s culture through its values, rituals, beliefs,
language, architecture, stories, heroes and artifacts. - Discuss the leadership of the organization and its relationship to the culture.
- How does the culture of the organization reflect the industry and
environment in which that company conducts business? - How would you advise a new employee to behave and in this culture?
Your paper should be a maximum of three (3) pages, double-spaced in a Microsoft
Word document. The page count suggested is the maximum, but answers can be
shorter if they are well written, concise and include a depth of content.
Organizational culture: Southwest Airlines
Organizational culture captures the mission, vision and values of an organization. It is reflected in the organizational goals, interaction and communication of the organization’s stakeholders on a daily basis (Kotter, 2011). .
According to Jeanne Urich and David Hofferberth there are four types of organizational culture: competitive, controlled, creative and collaborative (Hofferberth and Urich, 2012). A company that ascribes to the collaborative organizational culture is Southwest Airlines.
Started in 1971 with four planes, Southwest Airlines is now America’s biggest flyer of domestic passengers. It has been profitable for 44 consecutive years, and now employs over 52,000 people. The major strength of the company is its organizational culture. Its core values are “warrior spirit, servant’s heart and fun-LUVing attitude” (Indeed, 2016). Apart from hard work and perseverance, the employees are encouraged to embody proactive customer care and lighthearted fun in all their activities.
The strong corporate culture at Southwest Airlines can be traced to its founder, Herb Kelleher who believed that happy employees lead to happy customers that in turn lead to strong financial performance of a company. This attitude has been carried forward to present-day company leaders who have been cited as informative, supportive and fair: “They don’t take themselves too seriously which makes for a great corporate culture” notes a former employee (Indeed, 2018).
Southwest Airlines hires primarily based on attitude of the prospective employee rather than their skills as noted by Julie Webber, the Vice President People, “We’re not going to hire a pilot who has a great attitude but can’t fly a plane! But, if it comes down to two equally qualified candidates, the one with Southwest values will receive the offer. And, more importantly, when we’re faced with a qualified candidate who doesn’t have the right values, we won’t make an offer – no matter how long the job has gone unfilled” (Indeed, 2016).
Consequently, new Southwest employees would be advised to have a great attitude in addition to the requisite skills. It is also important that they be committed to service and having fun in the process.
To ensure the organization maintains happy employees and happy customers, Southwest has embraced appreciation, recognition, and celebration. It has culture committees that are committed to appreciating each of their employees. In addition to encouraging informal recognition among the employees, the company also formally recognizes the employees through awards, career development programs and benefits. The awards include the Winning Spirit Award and the President’s Award while there are training programs for the company’s employees. The employees also receive various benefits that include food services and free flights. There are celebrations that include anniversaries to mark service milestones and life events for its employees. There are also annual companywide celebrations ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
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