Hofstede on Southwest Airlines Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Hofstede on Southwest Airlines - Assignment Example Rolling King and Herb Kelleher established Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) in 1967. Southwest started operating in 1971, serving intrastate Texas cities, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The company achieved break even in two years because of its low-cost model and organizational culture. For the past forty years, Southwest has remained profitable, while other airlines declared losses or bankruptcy. Southwest (2013) boasts that it â€Å"continues to differentiate itself from other carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by nearly 46,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually.† The company emphasizes on LUV as its primary motivation in serving its customers. On May 2, 2011, Southwest acquired AirTran Holdings, Inc., and it currently manages AirTran Airways as a wholly-owned subsidiary.Southwest has several notable achievements. It is America’s biggest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and, with AirTran added, it has the largest fleet of Boeing aircraft in the globe, as it serves a total of 97 routes in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and six nearby countries (Southwest, 2013). Southwest, furthermore, has â€Å"lower unit costs (adjusted for stage length), on average, than virtually all major domestic airlines and consistently has one of the best overall Customer Service records† (Southwest, 2013). The company is also consistently one of the most admired companies that employees want to work for.... 13) boasts that it â€Å"continues to differentiate itself from other carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by nearly 46,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually.† The company emphasises on LUV as its primary motivation in serving its customers. On May 2, 2011, Southwest acquired AirTran Holdings, Inc., and it currently manages AirTran Airways as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Southwest has several notable achievements. It is America’s biggest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded and, with AirTran added, it has the largest fleet of Boeing aircraft in the globe, as it serves a total of 97 routes in 41 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and six nearby countries (Southwest, 2013). Southwest, furthermore, has â€Å"lower unit costs (adjusted for stage length), on average, than virtually all major domestic airlines and consistently has one of the best overall Customer Service records† (So uthwest, 2013). The company is also consistently one of the most admired companies that employees want to work for. Moreover, Southwest is doing financially well, despite the lasting effects of the 2008 financial crisis. In 2012, Southwest gave $422 million to shareholders through buying back $400 million of common stock (around 46 million shares) and providing $22 million in dividends (Southwest, 2013). Southwest promotes corporate social responsibility. It is committed to â€Å"the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet† (Southwest, 2013). Because of its successful organisational culture and continued profitability, Southwest is one of the most studied organisations in the airline industry. Organisational Culture: Some Definitions Organisational culture has diverse definitions because of