Introduction
South-West Airlines Organizational Behaviour
Various studies have been carried out to determine the importance of an organizational behaviour. Organizational Behaviour is an analysis that caters for various business applications including investigation of business acquaintance to determine how personal and organizational values affect employees’ job satisfaction.
The relationship between organizations and individuals takes various approaches, for instance behaviours of an individual, a group, the organization or a simple social system. The main aim of such an analysis is to build longer relationships by catering for individual demands, organizational and social objectives.
The analysis often fails to cater for individual values, but majority of today’s leaders acknowledge that considering the individual values is important for personal, professional and social satisfaction of the employees.
Values are unique abstractions that determine the desired behavioural aspects such as freedom of participation, equality, as well as respect for traditional practices, believing in individual as well as group loyalty, respect for friendship and openness.
Personal values characterize an individual but also describe a group, a work unit and the entire organization, due to the self-driven properties and other results. The values form part of personal concept of defining performance procedures and therefore describe the person’s attitude towards performance.
For this reason, the organizations and personal values of performance form a strong basis for determining employee’s job satisfaction. According to Buerki and Louis, “personal values determine individual’s attitude, personal norms, preferences/choice as well as behaviour (7)”.
At an organization’s level, the personal values determine the organization’s culture, which is a key factor in determining the employee’s job satisfaction. Various organizations have strict and competitively task-oriented cultures while others are flexible enough to cater for its loyalty to customers as well as employees and make provision for employee’s personal development.
The personal and organization’s values are thus important factors or determining behavioural norms and employee’s expectations, management prospects and formation of social identity. The values are generally the psychological aspects of determining formation of a work environment.
This study will focus on the social and organizational values of South-West Airlines, with a particular interest on the connection between employee’s values such as desires and other work-related experiences. The relationship between the organizational and personal values is often referred to as the value congruence that generates various organizational values and individual predilections to understand how well the individual match to the organization as an employee.
Company background
One of the main missions of South-Western Airlines is to provide a form of rewarding and enforce mutual understanding among the employees. This is strategy for enhancing growth of its client base. The airlines also provide a guarantee for employees’ safety through harmonizing operations.
The main reason the firm is in a position to offer competitive rages to its potential competitors is the capacity to ensure motivation of employees. The airline also ensures high ethical and professional standards for all the corporate activities by ensuring the staffs offers the best quality services through enthusiastic participation.
Considering the employees’ personal values during performance also ensures their participation in decision-making procedures (South-west Airlines, 1).
Decentralized form of governance assists in enhancement of employees’ performance since they contribute and participate in governance depending on their departments or work environments. The employees are also able to meet goals and set personal standards since empowerment promotes sharing and creates a sense of ownership.
Organization Chart
Definition of terms
Personal/Organizational values – Psychological aspects of determining formation of a Work Environment
Organizational Behaviour – Analysis of various business applications such as Personal and organizational values affecting employees’ job satisfaction.
Moral Parameters – Values that determine leadership styles, group dynamics and Communication
Autocracy – Dictatorship
Collegial – Partnership between the employees and management
Identification of Technical Facts
Evidently, there are various ethical implications at South-west Airlines that connect to employees’ moral dilemmas and satisfaction. Various accusations from employees and filed cases against the firm is a clear indication that personal values and consequently their level of satisfaction often compromise the reputation of the firm and cause mistrust among potential investors.
An indistinguishable organizational culture and lack of respect for individual values can cause apprehension among employees and thus ruins the reputation of a company. For instance, do companies act ethically when they fail to reveal all-important information such as employment or promotional terms and conditions?
Moral parameters
The performance of the firm depends solely on managerial decisions to implement certain guidance values. The values determine the organizations’ culture that is made of various formal, informal and social situations. The cultural values are therefore moral parameters that assist in determining the leadership styles, group dynamics and communication within the firm.
The workers therefore base their personal values on the organizational culture as long as it presents a form of quality that determines the employee’s degree of motivation. The final products of motivated or satisfied employees include better performance at personal professional level of growth and general development of the firm.
The combination is a model or organizational framework that is capable of modelling a good framework for operations of the firm. In relation to Buerki and Vottero (12), on identification of viable business ethical values and moral parameters, it is important to follow personal values and the reputation they cause to the firm. The analysis of values also depends on the extent at which the employees’ worth is affected.
Legal constrains
According to Buerki and Vottero, “another ethical issue represented in South-west Airlines’ study involves invoking the conscience clause in relation to the law (12)”. Good organizational values must provide employees and investors with appropriate information other than implement some scrupulous ways of capturing clients’ attention, such as influencing them of enhances sales. Employees often have different values than those of the organization, thus the common conflicts of interests.
Autocracy Model of Performance
South-west Airlines operates in under the framework that, since it has a powerful form of administrative orientation that aims in orienting employees into obedient and dependable business assets (South-west Airlines, 1). It is a way of conforming to employees’ demands with subsistence, through following a predetermined form of professional code of values or a well-known organizational culture.
Proper treatment of the employees is an assured measure of maximizing profits due to performance increase that often results from employees’ job satisfaction. Organization culture is often made of some in-house bureaucratic rules or directives that are meant for internal business gains and firm’s efficiency over its good relationship with the employees.
There are various ethical values that indirectly constrain employees, such as implementation of a constitution that assist in generation of higher profits for the firm, but exploits third parties. The basic employees’ needs might be met, but performance results are minimal.
Custodial Model of Performance
The firm bases its performance analysis on economic resources or ability to generate more profits. The managers are oriented to money, while the employees base their performance on security and such benefits that make them depend on the organization (South-west Airlines, 1). If the company meets the security needs, the performance results from passive cooperation due to lack of better options as opposed to job satisfaction.
Supportive Model of Performance
The leaders in this model do not base their administrative needs on monetary terms but rather maintain a managerial point of reference based on employees’ support. The employees are thus more motivated and oriented towards performance and greater participation in decision-making and profit progression plans.
The status and recognition of the employees is of grate benefit to the firm, due to performance result that depends on resolutions that awakens motivation.
Collegial Model of Performance
Collegial model is based on the partnership between the employees and management. The management is oriented towards team performance through enhanced group/team work activities. Such a managerial style depends extremely on liable performance measures and self-discipline.
Such a managerial style is able to meet employee’s self-actualization and enhance moderate enthusiasm. Enthusiastic employees are able to deliver better performance results. Although all these models of performance are different, the firm cannot use them separately since they are not separate but inclusive, thus the difficulties of exclusive operations.
Neither of the models is more predominant and thus overlaps the other rules. The current need for industrial growth at South-west Airlines is a clear indication that they need the autocratic model of performance.
This is an indication that there is no better management model since they depend with reason for implementation and the need to implement a new model. An ethical dilemma that most South-west Airlines managers faces before making their final decision is based on their need to find a better and ethical marketing strategy, which cannot compromise the moral principles particularly the business ethical values.
Social-Cultural Systems
The relationship among business managers and employees is a complex matter since the interaction is diverse. The social-cultural system is equally complex with people having differences of opinions within and outside the work setting. The cultural values of one member especially a person who is on a managerial level can have direct or indirect impact on other employees.
The social-cultural system lacks boundaries due to exchange of services or merchandise, interaction between culturally different ideas and environments.
Cultural differences between individuals and the employer determine the behavioural aspects such as performance since personal values emerges from these different practices, knowledge, customs, thoughts and believes.
Employees’ performance therefore depends on the cultural differences that offer personal understanding, stability, self-precautions and ability to face a given situation. People often fear change due to possible alteration of the cultural differences and thus adjustments of personal values.
Change of these personal values can easily cause instability, loss of security and failure to come to terms with the introduced system. Personal values can also cause individualism since the employees are in a position to push for change in the firm successfully and thus change the existing organizational culture.
The Common Effects of Personal Values
The diagram above indicates that isolation within a firm occurs due to low individualization and less socialization. Contrary, when social interaction is too low but people are very individualistic (have wide differences on personal values), the interaction often causes rebelliousness and disagreements.
High social interaction and low individualization causes employees’ conformity, while high individualization and socialization causes formation of a competitive environment. Employees who feel the responsibility to grow in a competitive market are always making the right decision.
Individualistic values favour rights of individuals since they break the tie of social networks to form admiration for personal values. On the other hand, social-cultural systems reward careers due to group harmony. The values in this case are meant to challenge the firms’ values through questioning and experimenting, but retain the cultural values that maintain social unity (Lycette and Herniman, 25).
Assessment of Current Job Satisfaction Techniques
South-west Airlines combines various techniques such as the need to assure inventive strategies and embrace dynamics of technology to enhance motivation. This is a long-term strategy that promotes employees’ job satisfaction and thus customer satisfaction due to positive and warm advice or services they receive from the staffs.
According to the company’s prospectors, South-west Airlines has unique strategies of enforcing collaboration with other leading airline and hospitality companies and thus are able to increase value for growth among its employees (1). The firm’s employees collaborate as chief information officers, each acting on personal capacity as the company’s ambassador.
Strategy to make obligatory measures that employees must act as per personal values towards growth of the industry empowers the employees who eventually perform better due to the motivation. Job satisfaction depends on personal ability to involve employees in various executive positions and capacities to oversee the firm’s performance.
When they are able to find ways of complying with various international stands besides basing decisions on personal values, the employees are able to satisfactory perform up to standards.
Job Motivational Strategies for South-west Airlines
South-West Airlines implements diverse strategies of motivating employees especially those at the customer-service levels. The firm empowers them through assignment of tasks that require personal creativity and full involvement such as restructuring and marketing of the firm’s deals or finding as well as attracting the potential clientele.
To motive the employees, the company involves them in various retraining courses especially those set by international standards. (Lycette and Herniman, 28). The training procedure creates a building block for guidance and promotion of personal values through diversification of activities.
The employees also enjoy various benefits during such programs such as allowances, more diversified learning and paid time-offs. Engaging employees in various managerial roles through a quality preliminary training program motivates them especially when they engage some critical analysis of these work-related form of learning (Maio and Haddock, 212),
South-West Airlines implements various employees’ motivation approaches such as constant improvement or changeover of personnel at its customer care department. The changes depend on the empowerment of the employees, performance analysis and the organization culture.
The positive culture of the firm depends on employees’ ability to interact and exchange ideas through enhanced rapport and incentive programs. The organization culture also has a basis on role the employees play in ensuring they follow values that put clients first.
Well-nurtured personnel are the main determinant of the form of nurturing the customer receives. According to the prospectus, South-West Airlines utilizes the job satisfaction assurance as a unique and outrageous strategy for enforcing better performance levels (1).
South-west Airlines Managerial Views
Fostered Performance Culture
South-West Airlines lays-down the company’s objectives in accordance with ability to meet employees’ expectation. The positive culture encouraged among the employees ensures respect for personal values, thus promoting individuals’ job satisfaction.
The South-West Airlines’ procedure for redesigning jobs provides a sense of value among employees who face diverse challenges. A performance culture provides them capacity to recognize achievements. The steady motivating procedures depend on differences of daily activities due to the dynamism and the ability to perfect performances.
The liberal aspects of behavioural changes assist in finding the difference between personal values and organization’s procedures that are culturally right and able to foster economic growth such as maximal delivery of services.
Redesigning of company values provides some unique styles of leadership that enhances employee motivation and freedom of forming better relationships among employees due to communication improvements with the top-level management.
Personal values of employees empower them to negotiate for better working strategies thus enhancing commitment for effective and proficient customer services. In line with Maio and Haddock, “Locke’s Theory of setting goals indicates that employees are more comfortable when they work in companies where they can enjoy and feel right (218).”
South-west Airlines Performance Evaluation
How does the company implement and utilize the decision-making policies?
Issues that relate to performance of the employees often encourage a performance culture. There are various methodologies utilized by the company to promote personal values, ability to question and debate on needs to change come from the organization’s guidance.
The departmental grouping and human resources have the mandate to question and change key decisions. This is a healthy means of correcting mistakes and avoiding possible business conflicts particularly between employees and the employer.
What are the elements of determining employees’ satisfaction and consequently performance?
Management styles depend mainly on the discipline of the employees and the administration. The employees’ satisfaction and performance evaluation are determined by leadership skills or strategies and the discipline of the leaders.
There are various systematic procedures that assisting to find employee’s duties and guidelines that determine performance. The employees have different thoughts, values, feelings and actions that require critical management.
This performance culture is guided through official processes perplexed or stymie by some bureaucratic processes and eventually conflict. “In accordance to Reactance Theory, people perform negatively in accordance with personal values, only as a protest against threats or compromises presented by the organization culture,” (Maio and Haddock, 218).
How does employees’ evaluation procedure promote their values?
During the decision-making procedures, employees are answerable to various performance expectations. This discipline requires commitment and a proactive measure to cater for possible work-related obstructions.
The firm’s strategy of rewarding employees depending on performance merit ensures that employees chose the best performance strategy depending on the personal and organizational values. The airlines redesign the performance procedures to cater for enhanced and clearly defined work boundaries, which put into effect performance flexibility.
Good interrelationship among employees translates to satisfaction for both the clients and management. Evaluation of employees’ performance is thus equitable to invention values that promote labour, intensity and satisfaction.
South-west Airlines Employees Rewarding system
South-west Airlines caters for employees’ differences especially the opinions they present. The human capital is the key asset and thus heavy investment on performance indicators such as bonuses and benefits offers are essential.
The customer care sector is the key standard for supporting business services. Employees are more satisfied when the remuneration packages are good enough. Extra remunerations such as profit sharing boost their morale to work more and implement better values to achieve the set goals.
Rewarding does not necessarily mean offering the monetary incentives; the firm can also utilize certificates of performance, trophies and general recognition through publicizing good performance. Ability to understand the intensity in the labour markets depends on products of worked hours and employment shares within the group.
Provision of flexible work schedules is also an excellent rewarding mechanism since it provides some freedom for gaining better satisfaction at relatively low managerial efforts.
Service department employees often require time-offs for better performance and enhanced trust among themselves. Satisfied employees have strong relationship with customers. Catering for employees’ unique needs and values is thus a rewarding mechanism as well and it works as a good motivation among the workers by offering them the required freedom to choose aspects that boost workplace morale.
The efforts to achieve various aspects depend on rewards for both good efforts as well as achievements. Employees’ minds and values often present good ideas, which eventually cause best business thoughts.
Conclusion
South-west Airlines utilizes various models in enhancing its performances especially on aspects concerning the core values that influence the employees’ motivation and thus fostering job satisfaction. Autocracy is a powerful form of administration that fosters employees’ conformity to traditional values, professional code of values or a well-known organizational culture.
Custodial measures ensure that the firm bases its performance analysis on economic resources or its ability to generate extra profits. The social cultural system ensures that there exists a strong interrelationship between employees and employer.
The managers therefore ensures support for employees without basing their administrative needs on monetary gains, but rather maintain a managerial point of reference based on employees’ support. Collegial managerial style ensures existence of partnership between the employees and management of South-west Airlines.
Works Cited
Buerki, Robert, and Louis Vottero. Ethical Responsibility in Pharmacy Practice. Chicago: Amer. Inst. History of Pharmacy Publisher. 2002. Print.
Lycette, Bill, and Herniman John. New Goal – Setting Theory. Journal of Industrial Management, 50(5), 25-30. Sep 2008.
Maio, Gregory, and Haddock Geoffrey. The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change. London: SAGE Publishers. 2010. Print.
South-west Airlines. “Company Prospectus”. South-west Airlines. 2010. Web.