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Organizational Behavior And Communication Paper Essay Southwest Airlines Organizational Behavior Communication Paper Erica Sepulveda Communications for Accountants/Com 530 January 30, 2012 Southwest Airlines Organizational Behavior Communication Paper Airlines, such as Southwest Airlines, strive to provide the best customer service that they can offer to keep their customers happy. A prospective Southwest passenger may probably make their reservation by calling the customer service number, logging on to the company’s website, or booking at an airport with a Southwest Airlines agent. The employees that assist these prospective and actual passengers are considered the backbone of the company and do their best to represent Southwest in the finest way possible. One may question, what makes these employees happy? What kind of organization culture are they surrounded by on a daily basis? â€Å"A strong organizational culture provides stability to an organization† (Robbins Judge. , 2011, pg. 520). Culture of Southwest Airlines According to Southwest Airlines mission statement, â€Å"Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer† (Southwest Airlines, 2012). This definitely shows a positive sign that the majority of employees working for this corporation are happy. As an unemployed individual looking for employment, a position within Southwest is where they would want to be. It’s evident that this company values their employees and strives to keep them happy. Happy Employees = Happy Customers. Happy Customers keep Southwest flying† (Southwest Airline, 2012). Recently, Southwest Airlines was honored as one of the best companies to work for. â€Å"Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV)has been recognized as one of the top 50 Best Places to Work, a significant achievement, as nearly 150,000 companies are rated by their employees on Glassdoor† (PR Newswire, 2011). This p oint certainly proves that this organization’s espoused values align with its enacted values. Communication Roles within Southwest Airlines Company An organization’s culture plays a critical role in the way communication is done throughout the company. Southwest airlines, for example is a huge company with thousands of employees. One would guess that communication within this organization takes more of a virtual approach. However, just because they are a huge company, doesn’t mean that communication with others or the voices of management won’t be casual. As Kelleher, CEO of Southwest, said himself: â€Å"Theres a lot being said about the importance of communication, for instance. But it cant be rigid; it cant be formal. It has to proceed directly from the heart. It has to be spontaneous; it has to be between individuals seeing each other on the elevator† (Lee, 1994). This corresponds to the culture of the organization that Kelleher works very hard to maintain. As a CEO who values his employees, we see here that he’s not afraid to show how he is and how much he believes in making the environment a happy and comfortable one for his employees. Perceptions Within Southwest Airlines Let’s consider an employee of one of Southwest competitors wishing that they worked for this airline instead of their current employer. Hearing all the wonderful stories about working for this company and how happy everyone is leads this employee to think that he/she is working for the wrong company. The perception here is that an employee at Southwest is happier than an employee working for the competitor. Robbins ; Judge defines Perceptions as, â€Å"a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment† (Robbins ; Judge, 2011. g 168). Additionally, they mention that what we perceive may not be what the situation actually turns out to be. Reading information or listening to others rant about how wonderful the culture is within a company doesn’t necessarily mean its all good. While employees may be happier than miserable working for Southwest, I highly doubt that there aren’t challeng es that are faced at times in their positions. Research has shown that Southwest Airlines espoused values mirrors their enacted values. However, suppose it didn’t. What happens if the perceptions of their culture, communication and work environment is said to be â€Å"peachy†, however it really isn’t? Suppose employees were really unhappy and the mission statement of Southwest really wasn’t followed in the way they operate their organization. This leads to bad perceptions, along with potential employees ; customers assuming that this organization is voicing something that it’s not. This is an example of how misalignment between espoused values and enacted values would affect perceptions within Southwest Airlines organization. Conflict within Southwest Airlines Conflict is another important topic that should be considered in organizations like Southwest Airlines. â€Å"Conflict results from differences between group members differences in personality, perception, information, culture, and power or influence† (Beebe ; Masterson, 2009. , pg 152). Conflict is something that every company and individual deal with at some point in time. While some people may view conflicts as a bad thing, in actuality and depending on the situations involved, the conflict may be viewed as a great learning experience. Southwest Airlines view conflicts as a way to strengthen and build relationships (Gittel, 2003, Chapter 8). The individuals that are initially involved in the conflicts should first try to come to an agreement. It’s best to make sure that the conflict isn’t over a misunderstanding or something that’s not an issue. If an agreement or resolution can’t be agreed upon, it may be wise to get the other member of the team or group involved. â€Å"When conflicts arise at Southwest and are not resolved by the parties themselves, a conflict resolution process is used† (Gittel, 2003, Chapter 8). Getting others involved will likely help determine why there is a disagreement and somehow find the resolution that the parties couldn’t come to on their own. Southwest Airlines is one the most prosperous airlines in the US today. Many of the other Airlines try to use the methods that Southwest employs to keep their company, staff and employees in good standing. â€Å"The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit†.