Organizational Behavior: Southwest Airlines

Organizational Behavior: Southwest Airlines
Student’s Name
University
Abstract
Southwest airlines encourage people to work hard, be courageous and become the best. It encourages its workers to respect each other and to enjoy themselves while working in the company. The basic assumption is that the company has a unique culture that cannot be replicated by any other competing firms. According to the case, the company believes that even if its employees were taken by a rival firm, it could not succeed the same way as Southwest airlines. The company employs the human relations model in the competing values framework. The company employed the strategy of creating a strong foundation in regards to its culture and continues to support its foundation as a method of for changing organizational culture. The company has a strong culture which was properly crafted and continues to guide its people in the present and expected to do so in the future. It has a clear performance priorities and values.

Question 1
What observable artifacts, espoused values, and basic assumptions are displayed in the case?
Observable artifacts represent the physical expression of the company.Observable artifact is the company’s list of values that are published. They include a Warrior spirit, a Fun-LUVing attitude, and a Servants Heart. According to the case study, the company’s culture is considered to be its DNA, its past, present, and future. The use of the word Fun-LUVing is an observable artifact that intends to attract employees.

It is a way to say that the company encourages freedom and a conducive in the workplace. The company believes to possess a secret sauce that no one has the ability to copy. Espoused values are the values and norms that every employee need to portray in their behavior. The company encourages people to work hard, passionate about their work, be courageous and become the best. It encourages its workers to respect each other and to enjoy themselves while working in the company.
The basic assumption is that the company has a unique culture that cannot be replicated by any other competing firms. The company believes that its culture is what drives the organization. According to the case, the company believes that even if its employees were taken by a rival firm, it could not succeed the same way as Southwest Airlines (Voigt et al., 2017).
Question 2
How would you categorize southwest airlines culture on the competing values framework?
The competing values framework that best suits Southwest airlines is the clan culture. The company has a Culture Committee that was established to preserve the company’s culture. It also serves to maintain culture by being role models to its employees. It can also be categorized in the human relations model in the competing values framework. It is a model that pays much attention to flexibility and internal focus. It also stresses on unity, morale and human development as standards for success. The company’s culture is more about employees. The company is extremely confident about its people, and it believes that other companies cannot excel by copying its business plan. According to the case study, is that the company values cohesion. It took thirty years to agree with its people regarding some definitions of its culture. It encourages its employees to be hard working, courage, and desire to be the best. It encourages human relations in the workplace by encouraging to respect among employees.
Question 3
Which of the 11 methods or techniques for changing organizational culture were used by Southwest Airlines?
Creation of a strong organizational culture and values
The company and its employees collaborated to come up with the company’s culture which everyone agreed to. The company has established values that guide employee behavior. The company started out by creating a strong foundation. It did that by involving its people in defining the values and principles. The company has a strong culture which was properly crafted and continues to guide its people in the present and expected to do so in the future.
The company hires its employees based on their attitude and personality which allows it to train them so that they can adapt to the company’s culture. It has a clear performance priorities and values (Voigt et al., 2017).
The company has written vision and mission statements which guide its people
References
Voigt, K. I., Buliga, O., & Michl, K. (2017). Pioneer in the Skies: The Case of Southwest Airlines. In Business Model Pioneers (pp. 171-184). Springer International Publishing.