Motivation, Ethics, And Conflict Management

Motivation, Ethics, and Conflict Management

Southwest Airlines has come a long way since its start in 1971 with only about 30 employees. Southwest now employs over 30,000 employees. The company has put customers first from the very beginning and many believe that this is the reason for Southwest's great success.

To entice customer loyalty, Southwest was the first airline company to begin a frequent flyer program to reward customers for the amount of miles flown. Since starting this program, many other airlines have followed suit. In addition to the frequent flyer program, Southwest has also introduced several other unique programs for their customers. These programs include senior discounts, fun packs, fun fairs, and ticketless travel.

In addition to being known for excellent customer service, Southwest Airlines is also known for being a great employer. Southwest has a unique approach to motivating their employees. Because of this, Southwest was ranked second in Fortune's top 100 companies to work for and also Fortunes top 10 admired companies. The secret to Southwest's success is simply caring about the employees and treating them as though they matter, because they do.

One of the biggest perks to being an employee of Southwest airlines is free airfare. Southwest gives free airfare to employees, spouses, parents, and children of employees. It is a simple, yet effective benefit to employees. It allows for frequent reunions or getaways.

Another benefit to being a Southwest employee is the profit sharing plan. Southwest Airlines has maintained a profit for the last 32 years. Therefore, profit sharing is very valuable to employees. Profit sharing is a great motivator for the employees also, it allows them to be compensated for all of their hard work.

Southwest believes in communicating with its employees. "Southwest communicates with employees every day through news on their intranet, every week through a telephone news line, every month with a 32- page magazine, every quarter through the financial knowing the score message, and every year through a series of town hall meetings." (http://www.uschamber.com/bclc/profiles/southwest.htm) Communicators must nurture their corporate cultures so that employees understand how their behavior contributes to how their organizations are judged. In the monthly newsletter, employees nominated by their peers for winning spirit are showcased.

Even in the Southwest call center motivational principles are used. In the call center, management holds fun days and internal contests to motivate employees. "Southwest sets an example in this respect. Their call centers are well known for a fun working culture. They always end the week in style. Friday is always a fun day. This creates interest among executives and they look forward to coming to the office to begin their shift." (http://callcenterhelper.com/games/htm)

Beyond the perks and great communication, one of the ways Southwest keeps employees motivated is simply the way that they treat them. Southwest has one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry and receives thousands of resumes annually. The company believes in treating people with respect and honoring them for providing great service to its customers.

"In organizations where honesty and integrity rule, it is easy for employees to resist the many temptations today's business world offer" (Blank, D., et.al). The images of businesses have been tarnished because of the scandals that involved companies such as Enron Corp., Global Crossing, and many others. Many people in the community view businessmen as crooks. Businesses manage to do many good things for their communities but because of a few bad moves by public businesses the good things get overlooked.

Southwest Airlines holds honesty and ethics as the cornerstone of how they do business. They have "relied on company values - concern, respect, and caring for employees and customers - to define it" (www.uschamber.com). They "continue to reinforce to importance of the integrity message to employees, boards of directors, and top executives" (Blank, D., et.al). The top management must decide how they want business conducted then they ethical standards can be carried out. "Setting the tone has to start at the top" (Blank, D., et.al). How can management expect their employees to act and behave in a certain manner if they do not act and behave in that manner? According to Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest Airlines, "Ethical conduct is manifested in the way you deal with customers, with vendors, buyers, and ultimately the employees. If you don't have honesty and integrity, you won't be able to develop effective relationships with any of those stakeholders" (Blank, D., et.al).

Southwest Airlines doe not have pages after pages of manuals or formal rules and regulations. They take a much more relaxed approach to instilling the integrity factor to the employees. "We treat each other with common sense - that people would know how to be honest" says CEO Kelly (Blank, D., et.al). It really goes back to the old saying "do unto others as you would have done unto you". However just because a company has a strong ethics policy does not mean that some employees will not get greedy or take short cuts. When this type of misbehavior occurs it must be dealt with. Management must take whatever stops necessary to prevent future problems and to show the employees and the public that this misconduct is opposite of the ethics standards of the company. If this type of conduct is tolerated or not dealt with the reputation and credibility of the company is damaged.

The hiring and training process of Southwest Airlines is unique and one way they ensure their corporate culture. They hold group interviews to see how the applicants interact with other people. They fell this will show how future employee will interact with and treat coworkers and customers. They feel this is a way "to quickly spot talent that will positively add to the company's culture, reputation, and long-term success" (www.uschamber.com). Southwest Airlines gives managers and front-line staff the power to be "problem solvers" - making decisions that can save relationships with the customers. Seventy-six percent of Americans feel that the way companies treat their employees reflects on how they will treat their customers. Southwest Airlines make their employees priority, therefore making their customers #1 also. Corporate cultures such as Southwest Airlines take a high level of commitment from everyone starting with top management all the way to the front-line employees. They do not have "programs" or