Southwest Airlines Company Background

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is an American low-cost airline. Southwest is the largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried per year (as of 2009). Southwest maintains the third-largest passenger fleet of aircraft among all of the world's commercial airlines.[4] As of May 3, 2009, Southwest operates approximately 3,510 flights daily. Southwest has its headquarters on the grounds of Love Field in Dallas, Texas. Southwest Airlines has carried more customers than any other U.S. airline since August 2006 for combined domestic and international passengers according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Southwest Airlines is one of the worlds most profitable airlines, posting a profit for the 37th consecutive year in January 2010. Southwest's successful business model involves flying multiple short, quick trips into the secondary (more efficient and less costly) airports of major markets, and using only one aircraft type, the Boeing 737. Southwest Airlines was originally incorporated to serve three cities in Texas as Air Southwest on March 15, 1967, by Rollin King and Herb Kelleher. According to frequently-cited story, King described the concept to Kelleher over dinner by drawing on a paper napkin a triangle symbolizing the routes (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio).The original aircraft proposed for the service was the Lockheed Electra turboprop. Some of the incumbent airlines of the time (Braniff, Aloha Airlines, United Airlines, TransTexas, and Continental Airlines) initiated legal action, and thus began a three-year legal battle to keep Air Southwest on the ground. Air Southwest eventually prevailed in the Texas Supreme Court, which ultimately upheld Air Southwests right to fly in Texas. The decision became final on December 7, 1970, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case without comment. The story of Southwests legal fight was turned into a childrens book, Gumwrappers and Goggles by Winifred Barnum in 1983. In the story, TJ Love, a small jet, is taken to court by two larger jets to keep him from their hangar, and then to try and stop him from flying at all. Taken to court, TJ Loves right to fly is upheld after an impassioned plea from The Lawyer. While no company names are mentioned in the book, TJ Loves colors are those of Southwest Airlines, and the two other jets are colored in Braniff and Continentals colors. The Lawyer is designed to resemble Herb Kelleher. The book was adapted into a stage musical, Show Your Spirit, sponsored by Southwest Airlines, and played only in towns serviced by the airline.

Southwest Airlines founder Herb Kelleher studied California-based Pacific Southwest Airlines extensively and used many of the airlines ideas to form the corporate culture at Southwest, and even on early flights used the same "Long Legs And Short Nights" theme for stewardesses on board typical Southwest Airlines flights. The original flight attendants that worked for Southwest Airlines were chosen by a committee of individuals that included the same person who had selected hostess for Hugh Hefners Playboy jet. The selection resulted in a group of female flight attendants that were described as long-legged dancers, majorettes, and cheerleaders with "unique personalities". Southwest Airlines and Herb Kelleher proceeded to dress these individuals in hot pants and go-go boots. The airline adopted the first profit-sharing plan in the U.S. airline industry in 1971. Through this plan and others, employees own about 10 percent of the company stock. The airline is about 87 percent unionized. The pilots are represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, a union separate from the much larger Air Line Pilots Association.

Case studies learning excellence: Southwest Airlinesapproach

Ulla K. Bunz and Jeanne D. Maes

In an era in which adapting to change means survival, it is important to study what successful organizations have done. While the airline industry in the USA has not made thriving financial headlines, one small company has beenable to satisfy its customers completely and achieve a place among the Fortune 500 in a relatively short period of time. In three steps, this article examines what Southwest Airlines has done to reach this level of achievement and maintain its excellent employee and customer relations. First, the company is defined as excellent according to the criteria established by Peters and Waterman. Second, management-employee relations, organizational training and strong leadership are identified as the sources of employee motivation. Third, loss of strong leadership and organizational structure are discussed as possible future problems influencing motivation and service. The article closes by pointing to Southwest Airlines concept of service as the true source of motivation and excellence.

Southwest the excellent company In Peters and Watermans In Search of Excellence (1982), the authors summarize the results of their study of excellent companies. Forty-three US companies, taken from the Fortune 500 list had to be of above-aver-age growth and financial return over a 20-year period, plus have a reputation in their busi-ness sector for continuous innovation in response to changing markets (Pugh andHickson, 1997, p. 99). The authors then applied the McKinsey 7-s framework to the selected companies. The 7-s framework describes the seven variables that any intelligent approach to organizing had to encompass (Peters and Waterman, 1982, pp. 9-10):

Excellent companies are motivating As the preceding discussion shows, Southwest fulfills all eight attributes of an excellentcompany as defined by Peters and Waterman. Most excellent companies also have astrong leader. In Southwests case, this is Herb Kelleher. Therefore, Southwest Airlines can be classified as an excellent company. Being employed by Southwest alone is motivating. Southwest Airlines.puts a high priority on selecting motivated people to begin with (McNerney, 1996, p. 4). Yet, there are other factors especially motivating at Southwest. Three of these factors will be discussed here: management-employee relations, training at the University for People,and Kelleher as a strong leader.

Management-employee relations First, Southwests organizational culture is characterized by good employee-management relations. The old-fashioned bond of loyalty between employees and company may have vanished elsewhere in corporate America, but it is stronger than ever at Southwest. Southwest employees on all levels think of the company as a family. They feel personally involved, responsible, and motivated. David Ridley, director of marketing and sales at Southwest, commented that he had come to appreciate a place where kindness and human spirit are nurtured. Alan Boyd, retired chairman of Airbus North America, observed, At other places, managers say that people are their most important resource, but nobody acts on it. At Southwest, they have never lost sight of the fact (Labich, 1994, p. 50). Almost 30 years ago Herzberg already concluded that the only way to motivate the employee is to give him challenging work in which he can assume responsibility.

Training at the University for People A second means that Southwest uses to motivate employees is the companys University of the People.Theairlines corporate university trains 25,000 people per year (Bruce, 1997,p. 11). Every new employee undergoes a standardized training session. In addition,every year supervisors, managers and executives have to undergo a two-day training at the companys headquarters in Dallas. This training curriculum includes the Frontline Leadership program for all employees in supervisory positions. The Leading with Integrity Program trains first-time managers; the Customer-Care Training Program instructs flight attendants, pilots and others as to the companys most current performance standards (Sunoo, 1995). Southwest uses training as an important motivation tool. Employees are re-familiarized with the companys culture, mission statement, and corporate identity. Regular training prevents mistakes on the job, and new contacts are made. Because employees perceive that they are respected, valued, and informed at all times, they tend to be more involved in the company and are more highly motivated. This, in turn, usually leads to higher performance. Additionally, regular training for all employees tends to decrease hierarchical thinking. Consequently, when space shuttle pilot Gibson transferred to Southwest Air-lines, he took Southwests sixweek pilot course and may [have ended] up doing the scut work that low-cost-airline pilots occasionally must, such as loading bags and cleaning out cabins (Graham, 1996, p. 8)

Strong leader Kelleher A third motivator at Southwest is CEO Kelleher himself. He is respected by his employees and knows several thousand of them by name. In addition, Kellehers direct involvement has resulted in many of the companys successes.None of the airlines achievements would be possible without its unusually good labor management relations, a direct result of Kellehers hands-on efforts (Labich, 1994, p.47). Humor comes naturally to Kelleher, and he is responsible for bringing it into the workplace at Southwest (Chakravarty, 1991). Occasionally, he dresses up in costumes and serves peanuts with the flight-attendants. He encourages fun because he believes that it stimulates productivity. Kelleher denies that his existence is a vital part of Southwest Airlines. Others disagree. Nobody inside the company, or outside for that matter, could likely fill the many roles he plays for his employees inspirational leader, kindly uncle, cheerleader, clown. (Labich,1994, p. 52). In conclusion, while no single theory adequately explains all human motivation (McNerney, 1996, p. 1), the factors used by Southwest Airlines discussed above certainly heighten the chances of having motivated employees. Instead of demanding that they do something for the company, Southwest Airlines seems to be concerned with what the company can do for them and for its customers. With Southwest, it is almost as if the mission statement reads, Ask not what your employees can do for you, but what you can do for your employees.

Question 1
1: Cognitive component: It refers that's part of attitude which is related in general know how of a person, for example, Herzberg already concluded that the only way to motivate the employee is to give him challenging work in which he can assume responsibility. Such type of idea of a person is called cognitive component of attitude.

2: Effective component: This part of attitude is related to the statement which affects another person. For example, in an organization a personal report is given to the general manager. In report he point out that the sale staff is not performing their due responsibilities. The general manager forwards a written notice to the marketing manager to negotiate with the sale staff.

3: Behavioral Component: The behavioral component refers to that part of attitude which reflects the intension of a person in short run or in long run.

Question 2
There are several measures of job satisfaction that managers can use to determine job satisfaction level. A manager who discovers that most employees are dissatisfied with the same few job facets and that overall levels of job satisfaction are low as a result can be use this information to determine where to make changes in the work situation. Most of these measures to learn about the causes and the consequences of job satisfaction. Most of these measures ask employees to respond to a series of questions or statements of their jobs. Among the most popular scales are the Single global rating and Summation score.

Question 3
The causes of the job statisfaction that can be found in case study above is they used a special training to increase their employee perfomance which is their employee feel like more motivate and their job statisfaction will increase. For example, every new employee undergoes a standardized training session. In addition,every year supervisors, managers and executives have to undergo a two-day training at the companys headquarters in Dallas. Southwest uses training as an important motivation tool. Besides that a good employeemanagement relations. The old-fashioned bond of loyalty between employees and company may have vanished elsewhere in corporate America, but it is stronger than ever at Southwest. Southwest employees on all levels think of the company as a family. They feel personally involved, responsible, and motivated. Others factor that can increase job statisfaction is their employer is a very good employer. This will effects the employee to be more satisfied with their job and will be more loyal to the company.

Royal Brunei Company Background

Royal Brunei Airlines was established on 18 November 1974 with two Boeing 737s.The airline's first flight was on 14 April 1975 from the new Brunei International Airport to Singapore. Flights to the then British colony of Hong Kong and the city of Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo) started the same day. Early route expansion included services to Manila, Philippines in 1976, and Bangkok, Thailand in 1977. Royal Brunei acquired a third Boeing 737 in 1980, allowing the airline to reach Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1981 and Darwin, Australia, in 1983. After the independence of Brunei from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984, services commenced to Jakarta, Indonesia, on 3 January, thus linking all the other five capital cities of ASEAN to Brunei. Three Boeing 757 aircraft were purchased in the mid 1980s to enable the airline to expand to Taipei in 1986, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 1988. In 1990, Royal Brunei began their first flight to Europe when they started services to Frankfurt am Main, Germany, via Bangkok and Dubai. Services to London Gatwick Airport commenced in 1990 via Singapore and Dubai, and changed to London Heathrow Airport in 1991. Also in 1991 routes opened to Perth, Western Australia, and to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, via Dubai. With the airline's rapid expansion the 737s were sold and Boeing 767 aircraft bought. The delivery of the first Boeing 767 broke a world record when it flew 17 hours and 54 minutes non stop from the Boeing company in Seattle to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, Kenya, on its way to Brunei. Seven more 767s were delivered, taking the fleet to eight 767s and two Boeing 757s (One of the 757s were sold off to fund the purchase of the new 767s). In March 1993, Abu Dhabi was added to the route network and flights to Frankfurt and Jeddah were routed through Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai. Bali was the second Indonesian city to be added to the network in May of the same year. Flights to the third destination in Europe, Zrich, commenced in August 1993 via Kuala Lumpur and another new destination Bahrain. Before the end of the year, services to Beijing, China (October), and Cairo, Egypt (November), via Kuala Lumpur and Bahrain, were inaugurated. Royal Brunei sold its last Boeing 737-200s to Aloha Airlines of Hawaii in 1993. The growth of the network continued in 1994. The delivery of two Fokker 50 aircraft were used to start services to Miri and Labuan in East Malaysia of the same year. Flights to Brisbane, Australia, and Osaka, Japan, commenced the same year in June and December

respectively (the Brisbane service was initially routed via Darwin but later upgraded to a nonstop flight). The desire to link all the major Oil and Gas cities on Borneo saw the addition of Balikpapan to the route network in December.

Case Study: What makes a Royal Brunei unique

Royal Brunei began operating in 1974 much of Royal Brunei success is due to the willingness of its leadership to be innovative. Royal Brunei primary operating philosophy is low fares and lots of flights. Royal Brunei management has created a culture where employees are treated as the company's number one asset.The benefits it gives it employees, include: profit-sharing and empowering employees to make decisions. Royal Brunei mixes in New Age management techniques, such as celebrating different milestones, and letting love play a part in running the airlines. Decision making is by

worker/management committees. Employees are encouraged to be responsible and are given authority to make decisions. Employee input into all policies and procedures. All decisions are weighed against Royal Brunei commitment to honesty and integrity. Golden Rule Behaviors/Focus on the family. Royal Brunei most distinctive organizational competency is its ability to build and sustain relationships characterized by shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect. Focus on relationships is the fundamental driver of leadership, culture, strategy, and coordination at Royal Brunei. Encourages all employees to value the contributions of their colleagues. Encourages all employees to consider the impact of their actions on others. Reinforces the tendency to act in the best interests of the overall work process. At Royal Brunei, credibility and caring are the two critical ingredients of effective leadership. Credibility and caring are the ability to inspire trust and the ability to inspire in employees the belief that their leaders care deeply about their well-being. Royal Brunei top management team have gained the complete trust of managers in the field, and of frontline employees, by being forthright and consistent in their messages to employees. The primary lesson is that though relationships are relatively soft organizational factors and therefore tempting to neglect under challenging conditions, strong working relationships allow organizations to move beyond the traditional trade-offs between efficiency and quality and to achieve higher levels of both, simultaneously. Relationships are not just a nice addition to the hard factors, but are powerful drivers of organizational performance, if they are consistently integrated into organizational practices over the long term.

Question 1
1: Cognitive component: It refers that's part of attitude which is related in general know how of a person, for example, . Such type of idea of a person is called cognitive component of attitude.

2: Effective component: This part of attitude is related to the statement which affects another person. The general manager forwards a written notice to the marketing manager to negotiate with the sale staff.

3: Behavioral Component: The behavioral component refers to that part of attitude which reflects the intension of a person in short run or in long run. Relationships are not just a nice addition to the hard factors, but are powerful drivers of organizational performance, if they are consistently integrated into organizational practices over the long term.

Question 2
There are several measures of job satisfaction that managers can use to determine job satisfaction level. A manager who discovers that most employees are dissatisfied with the same few job facets and that overall levels of job satisfaction are low as a result can be use this information to determine where to make changes in the work situation. Most of these measures to learn about the causes and the consequences of job satisfaction. Most of these measures ask employees to respond to a series of questions or statements of their jobs. Among the most popular scales are the Single global rating and Summation score.

Question 3 The causes of the job statisfaction that can be found in case study above is they used a special training to increase their employee perfomance which is their employee feel like more motivate and their job statisfaction will increase. For example focus on relationships is the fundamental driver of leadership, culture, strategy, and coordination at Royal Brunei. Encourages all employees to value the contributions of their colleagues. Encourages all employees to consider the impact of their actions on others. Credibility and caring are the two critical ingredients of effective leadership. Credibility and caring are the ability to inspire trust and the ability to inspire in employees the belief that their leaders care deeply about their well-being.