Introduction
Southwest Airlines is one of the largest air carriers not only in the United States but worldwide. Taking its first flight in 1971, the company reached a traffic volume of over 156 million, which equates to 18.3% of all US air traffic, by 2017 (Southwest Airlines, 2023; Wu et al., 2019). However, the scheduling crisis of 2022, caused by extreme weather, resulted in the company canceling 14,042 flights (Witman et al., 2023).
Although the cancellations were justifiable, unlike other airlines, the company failed to assist its customers in reaching their destinations by other means (Witman et al., 2023). This substantially undermined the public trust in the airline as well as exposed the problem it is currently facing. Specifically, as shown in Figure 1, frequent changes in Southwest Airlines’ top management led to a decline in organizational unity (Helmrich et al., 2023). In turn, the ability of the employees to work cohesively and efficiently to meet customers’ needs was damaged (Helmrich et al., 2023). This paper will present and discuss solutions to the problem the company is facing.
Potential Solutions to the Identified Problem
Technological Improvement of Network Management and Route Planning
The first solution for Southwest Airlines is to leverage technology to improve network management and route planning. Big data, predictive analytics, and network management tools can help the airline better cope with market demands driven by difficult-to-predict events, such as extreme weather. As illustrated in Figure 2, training employees to use new tools will enable them to access pertinent information more quickly and share it with relevant stakeholders, enabling better decision-making. In turn, issues such as scheduling will be improved, leading to customers, as crucial stakeholders, being satisfied with the airline’s services.
Strengthening Employee Collaboration
A second potential solution to the problem is to focus on fostering unity and collaboration among Southwest Airlines employees. This solution relies on ensuring stability at the top management level and recruitment of effective leaders capable of selecting and maintaining a consistent direction for the venture. Establishing effective communication channels is of utmost importance for any business venture, as clear communication between departments as well as within them translates into boosted performance and is beneficial to all involved stakeholders (Ali et al., 2021).
As depicted in Figure 3, team building, training, and development of employees should take place after the re-establishment of functional communication channels. Research suggests that team-building activities positively correlate with organizational performance and foster peer-to-peer learning (Ozigbo et al., 2020). They may enhance individual employee productivity, job satisfaction, as well as organizational commitment, and the quality of interpersonal relationships in the workplace (Ozigbo et al., 2020). Meanwhile, additional training and development can help workers improve or acquire the necessary hard and soft skills for their respective positions. Overall, these measures are expected to restore public trust in the company and increase customer satisfaction.
It should be noted that the reorganization and refinement of the company’s communication links and channels between departments and within them is a massive undertaking and requires an understanding of the existing system of communication. The BABOK Guide recommends that this process start with a comprehensive analysis of the communication requirements and prototyping of what information and how quickly it should be made available to whom (International Institute of Business Analysis, 2015). The knowledge area requirements should be the first to consider when improving communication within the company and between company representatives and customers (International Institute of Business Analysis, 2015). This step in the solution is the most crucial, as it enables employees to do their jobs in a timely and effective manner.
Conclusion
In summary, Southwest Airlines faces a significant challenge that requires a calculated, comprehensive approach to remain one of the largest airlines in the world. Both proposed solutions are valuable and can help the company address the identified issue. The second solution is more appropriate, as it addresses the heart of the problem and recommends that the changes be made by top management, recognized as the problem owner. Meanwhile, the first solution bypasses the problem owner but still provides practical solutions that employees can use. Overall, the most beneficial way forward would be to opt for the second solution while implementing some aspects of the first, mainly the implementation of new analytical tools.
References
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Ozigbo, A., Maryam, I., & Ngige, C. D. (2020). Team building and performance in organizations: An exploration of issues. International Journal of Management and Entrepreneurship, 2(1), 184–199.
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Wu, W., Zhang, H., Zhang, S., & Witlox, F. (2019). Community detection in airline networks: An empirical analysis of American vs. Southwest Airlines. Journal of Advanced Transportation, 2019, 1–11.