The Role of Human Resources Management in Southwest Airlines and the Coca Cola Company - Case Study Example

Human resource management and organizational behavior contain a number of aspects that give a distinction to the operations at Southwest Airlines and the Coca Cola Company. Consequently, the corporate culture is one of these aspects. In Southwest Airlines, this corporate culture ensures that Airlines operates in a fun-loving manner. In the Coca Cola Company, seven core values constitute the Coca Cola’s corporate culture. These core values are accountability, quality, diversity, collaboration, integrity, passion and leadership.

Through these values, the company aims at refreshing the world in spirit, body, and mind; and that of inspiring times of confidence as well as making a difference and creating value. As the two companies try to embrace their corporate cultures, they in one way or the other contravene the conventional ways of managing human resources. Southwest Airlines, for instance, does not consider the knowledge and skills of the candidates being hired. The company instead considers whether the candidate can fit into the organization’s fun-loving culture or not.

On the other hand, the Coca Cola Company considers the diversity of candidates being employed.In terms of performance, the Airline has through its human resources management practices, managed to be the only airline with consistent profitability for more than thirty years. It is a strategy that makes the airline unique in the airline industry. Besides, under the airline’s human resource department, the paramount role played by functional-level and top-level managers in the implementation of the strategy does not go unnoticed.

 The Coca-Cola Company, on the other hand, has managed to be the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitamin water, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle.