Is the LUV dissappearing

[wnbubbleboy]

I remember a few years back when Colleen sent out the book "Who moved the Cheese" there was going to be a change.

I have noticed we are becoming more "Legacy" less "LUV" in our management style. Does anyone else see this?

I am starting my 13th year (still referred to as Junior in Dallas)here and remember in orientation class along time a go that Southwest's management style was like an inverted pyramid Herb being at the bottom the frontline employee being at the top. I saw this enforced a few times during my time here. Now though I am seeing this practice less and less. Is this change good or bad?

The new Southwest is more aggressive, takes greater competitive risks, and is no longer quite the folksy underdog that built a reputation for charming partners and rivals alike.


http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/13835181.htm

 

[ELP_WN_Psgr]

I remember a few years back when Colleen sent out the book "Who moved the Cheese" there was going to be a change.

The new Southwest is more aggressive, takes greater competitive risks, and is no longer quite the folksy underdog that built a reputation for charming partners and rivals alike.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/13835181.htm

Relax. Take a big deep breath. Exhale.

Only one thing has been constant over Southwest's 35 history. That has been change.

For all you who think a 400+ plane airline is sooooo much bigger than the 56 airplane airline you hired on with, I can tell you there are those of us out here who thought the 56 plane airline was unimaginably big compared to the 3 airplane airline we were accustomed to.

With Gary Kelly in charge I think you are more likely to be working for an airline run pretty much the same way Southwest was originally, when Lamar Muse was in charge.

They are both finance guys, and those guys tend to think alike, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. All things considered, having a money guy in charge is usually a good thing.

I see it more as cultural evolution than a cultural revolution. One thing has to remain the same, though. And that is the overarching Southwest concept:

Feed the rich and grow poor. Feed the poor and grow rich.

In other words, keep making air travel available to the mass market.

 

[jimntx]

I wouldn't worry too much. It's the natural evolution of an organization. When I was in graduate school, I took several fascinating courses in Organizational Behavior and Management.

The larger an organization becomes, the more it needs a top-down type of management. It's one thing when you have a Mom-and-Pop store to keep your accounts in Big Chief tablet and the stockboy can extend credit to a new customer if he "feels right" about them. It's another thing entirely when that store becomes Nordstrom's.

Can you imagine the chaos if the inverted pyramid was truly being practiced today? Think about the "fat" lawsuit that's been filed. One of the issues is lack of consistency in enforcing the rules. In this day of political correctness and "if you make me unhappy I'll sue you", it's important for an organization to have standard policies and procedures.

Truth is that about 99% of the time in any organization, following the written rules works for any situation. The other 1% does require some "thinking on your feet", but that much "freedom" won't get anyone in trouble.

SWA has been doing it right for quite awhile now. They have changed their organization as needed, and will change again in the future when the situation warrants (which it will). If you observe changes in management style AND Southwest starts losing money, THEN you can start worrying.

 

[wnbubbleboy]

Thank you both for your responses they do give me a perspective that I have been missing.

I did read the book Colleen sent us and it truly has been helpful with understanding change. Although living with change is one of those things I have to get past.

bb

 

[ELP_WN_Psgr]

Thank you both for your responses they do give me a perspective that I have been missing.

I did read the book Colleen sent us and it truly has been helpful with understanding change. Although living with change is one of those things I have to get past.

bb

Do yourself a favor. Go read Lamar Muse's book "Southwest Passage." You can order it from Amazon, I think, if you can't find it in a local bookstore.

The truth quotient in that book is much, much higher than in anything else I've ever read about Southwest.

 

[KCFlyer]

The larger an organization becomes, the more it needs a top-down type of management.

The only problem that must be watched for is that in way too many cases, "top down managment" morphs into a "me first" management...where the thoughts and ideas of the line worker are discounted and the ideas of management, however misguided, are given top priority.

Heaven help Southwest if they ever start doing annual evaluations by trying to make employee job descriptions tie back, line for line, to the company's mission statement. IMHO, any company in the private sector has one mission - make money. Any other verbage is superfluous.

 

[markkus757]

The other issue that is being ignored is that the airline industry is going through rapid change that makes other times seem very slow. The market that they compete against is different that the "no brainer routes" are being swallowed up by other Low Fare Carriers. Southwest needs to evolve themselves to remain competitive. That is not necessarily a bad thing, as long the changes are about the product and not how much money it can bring. The customers are very loyal to Southwest. As long they still provide what the customers are looking for, they will remain successful. I predict that this year will bring some major changes in the structure as to how Southwest competes in the marketplace. If it makes sense, they will try it.

 

[pw2037]

So it going down hill

 

[corl737]

The new Southwest is more aggressive, takes greater competitive risks, and is no longer quite the folksy underdog that built a reputation for charming partners and rivals alike.

With 447 aircraft as of today (2/16/06) Southwest operates a fleet that numbers nearly the same size as United, (reported as 455 in March 2005). Add to the equation that 100% of SWA's aircraft are visible in the US (no international destinations or mega-long haul flights were the corporate name is invisible to the US public for long periods of time) and there is no way SWA can pretend to be a "small" airline.

An evolution of management styles is inevitable. The key will be the ability of SWA to maintain the culture in the face of shifting corporate strategy.