Organizational Behaviour And Hr Management At Southwest Airlines

A Report on: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR AND HR MANAGEMENT AT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES Prepared By: Instructor: Institution: Date: Introduction The aviation industry has experienced tremendous growth over the past two to three decades. There have been various inventions as well as innovations, in both machinery as well as the way things are done. It is one of those industries whose success greatly depends on a collective effort of virtually everyone. At Southwest Airlines, this isn’t any different. Every employee is mandated to carry out specific tasks and responsibilities, but there is always the need to do more, based on the organizational behavior and culture. The Human Resource department therefore, constitutes an essential bit of all the operations within the organization. Management of the human resource revolves around every aspect that affects the employess, from the culture to organizational behavior. Problem Statement With the increased competitiveness of the industry, the company has therefore decided to come up with various ways in which to also remain as competitive. The first way to go about it has been through the review of its human resource policies, as well as examining various OB and Human Resources related functions in the organization. Organizational Structure Southwest has a functional organizational structure. It has 3 layers of management. Handling planning and strategy include: CEO, COO, CFO and senior Vice presidents. The directors, vice presidents and senior managers handle analytical and organizational processes. Managers, Supervisors and team leaders assign work, control and evaluate performance of the employees. Basically, the organization’s structure is hinged upon the creation of a highly efficient and reliable human resource network. The structure is hierarchical, where most of the decisions are usually made from the higher levels of management. Instructions and orders drop down this hierarchy, unless in a few instances where the opposite can also happen, such as in meetings or emergencies. As a result of this structure, there is an almost total control of the company’s operations by the top echelons of management. This paves the way for a clear path of not only communication but also progression. According to Aquinas (2010), such a structure is an almost complete guarantee for stability within the organization, as there is a procedural way of doing things. For such a big organization, it also allows for some flexibility due to the economies of scale. The only drawback from this can perhaps be the risk of timely and accurate communication from the top to the bottom (Lauer, 2010). Such a drawback is what the organization has managed to go around, successfully, through a number of targeted as well as indirect human resource policies. According to Okumus, Altinay and Chathoth (2010), the organization has combined the organizational structure with a great team of highly professional employees who have in turn ensured a healthy organizational culture. Southwest Airlines is known as a low-cost carrier due to its eccentric business model. This model includes flying one airship type, that is, the Boeing 737, on routes throughout the United States. Its "low-cost" business model is also expounded by the...