Southwest Airline and Their Crises Management - Case Study Example

number Corporate Social Responsibility of Southwest Airline Introduction Southwest Airlines are an airline situated in Dallas in the United States that commenced its activities in the year 1967. Over the years, this airline has grown and is currently serving over 72 travel destinations worldwide. The company firmly positions itself in the industry and has had a number of affiliations with major airports in the world at large. The corporate social responsibility exhibited by this company have been a major player in the determination of the company’s status and progress. The procedures in place for the operational activities of Southwest Airlines are not as rigid and hence the essence of having changes to suit the rapid developments in the airline sector. In short, Southwest Airline dominates corporate social responsibility through its focus on internal and external wellbeing of the employees and clients, planes and the planet as a whole. The management believes that if they can take care of the employees, then the employees will automatically take of the needs of their esteemed clients. For instance, the over 40, 000 employees of Southwest Airline act as the heart and soul of the company. The employees have a modern and multi faceted workforce that aims at giving out a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. The airline also enjoys diversity through the network of employees from different background and individual experiences that form the corporate culture. The mission of Southwest Airline focusses on dedication to providing the best quality customer service bound by a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and company spirit. This paper looks into the core Social Responsibility of Southwest Airlines as a company. The paper also focusses on how Southwest Airline has protected its reputation and dealt with the crisis management in the fuselage hole, Kevin Smith case and open Mic case. Implication on Stakeholders The airline believes in offering the best quality products in the airline market. This is evident through flexible fares, online check ins, drinks and snacks. In this case, the airline is a careful steward of the environment that has assisted in offering flexible travel date airfares and keep their costs down (Usunier 324). This is evident through an open website where clients can search for the lowest fares offered in a given month and travel dates. Given that SouthWest attracts many clients across the globe, they have adopted a flexible and stable travel date airfare search where clients can view the number of available seats offered at the lowest possible fares every time. Also, Southwest has perfect check ins where clients can book or release reservations given that the airline has a perfect database outlining the number of seats available under different categories of fare bucket (Upadhyay 46). Drinks and snacks are a major priority of the company’s dedication to ensuring healthy travelling sessions for all the clients. In this case, the airline has adopted a minimal charge for cocktails, beer and wine served on the flight. Clients can refer to the menu card in the seat back pockets of the seats to learn the offerings available while travelling (Rust, 221). Management of clients is also a major priority of Southwest Airline towards meeting its objectives. The airline offers exceptional customer service through exemplary service. The airline has adopted transformational technology changes aimed at enhancing rewards programs such as social media, data analysis and universal mobility (Thomas 35). According to Splash Media Group, Christi Mcneill states that SouthWest has maintained an upper hand in using social media Solutions to reach out to its clients. This is evident through a reality show named Airline that allowed clients to access the airline behind the scenes to see the operations Southwest employees. This was evident in 2006 when resumes and applications increased after clients watched the show. The company has also adopted private blogs such as Southwest blogs, twitter and media content showcase their services to clients. The mission of Southwest Airline on its employees is to develop commitment towards providing the employees with equal opportunity in a stable work environment that upholds personal growth and learning. Innovation and creativity are promoted in light of improving the overall Southwest Airlines effectiveness(Schiemann 67). Across board, the employees have a provision of similar concerns, caring attitude, and respect in the organization where they can share externally with all the Southwest customers. Southwest remains to be a positive reputation in terms of employee engagement, high employee retention rates, and voluntarism. The management encourages the employees to be natural towards making change and impact on the world while maintaining high levels of communicating with the employees through blogging letters and active response to employee surveys on job satisfaction(Pilbeam & Corbridge 75). The organization provides stable work environment equipped with equal learning and growth opportunities together with a caring spirit for the employees. They embrace diversity in perspectives while bringing the employees best performance. These factors have enhanced a corporate tradition of maintaining the needs of clients. For instance, the corporate employees use social media platforms to send personal messages to the customers (Tjosvold 35). In return, the company upholds client loyalty. The firm has also maintained a customer experience leadership position through creating positive interactions between the airline and clients. Employees of the airline have promoted customer loyalty through maintaining a collective reputation in dealing with clients that access their facilities. That is why the company has been ranked among the best airline industry in 2013 by Temkin experience ratings (Splash Media Group). Southwest airline also pays special treatment to passengers with disabilities and special needs that access their services. The services include assistance of people with disabilities in the airport in order 3) Issues of Crises Management In the first case scenario, a pilot with Southwest Airlines was under suspension without pay as the cockpit microphone was stuck open. There was an obscenity-laced rant of the physical attributes for the flight attendants in broadcast, in the Texas airspace (Velo 35). While the Houston air traffic controller sought to interrupt unsuccessfully the trash talk, he covered the words of the pilot using beeps. Magill made an apologized on pilot’s behalf to Southwest customers, employees, and fellow pilots within the business. Magill observed that the pilot formally made an apology to the FAA controllers (Schiemann 57). The aspects he muttered were inconsistent with and offensive to the code of professional behavior while the overall respect required from employees was under jeopardy. The pilot was well informed that his actions were inadmissible. The major consensus within airline workers was that this became an isolated incident, which did not warrant changes in the training standards of the airline industry. In the second case, Southwest Airlines sought to ground seventy-nine Boeing 737 planes due to a ceiling of one of its flights from Phoenix tearing open(Ott 68). The act prompted sudden disequilibrium for cabin pressure as well as rapid descent resulting into an emergency landing in Yuma within a military base. Southwest Airlines did not report any customer injuries on the Flight 812 even though a flight attendant encountered minor injury in descent. The airline said that the flight attendant fell and injured the nose, passenger. The customers on board added that a number of people passed out due to lack of oxygen in the masks dropping from above in the time of emergency (Pilbeam & Corbridge 25). While the airline insisted that the safety of its customers and employees is a primary concern, the management had much to do in terms of working closely with the supplier-Boeing while conducting the proactive inspections as well as supporting in investigations. The airline is also aggressively working towards attempting to minimize the effects to the travel schedules of its customers. In the third case, Actor-director Kevin Smith who has made a prominent career through saying nothing through, Silent Bob, a character in most hit movies like "Mallrats" and "Clerks", the comedian had much to observe on Twitter immediately after Southwest Airlines deliberately removed his name from a flight Saturday on grounds of being fat (Maude 25). According to the Southwests policy on "customers of size", Kevin Smith had made a purchase of two tickets and later stood waiting for earlier flights that had a single seat remaining. That prompted the airline to compel him from the plane. The association is advancing acceptance of the fat persons sough to conduct a boycott against Southwest (Lawler 47). It presented statements that people with plus sizes to solicit travel airlines without such discriminatory policies. Southwest Airlines added that its policy on "customers of size" has been applied for more than 25 years (Silzer & Dowell 78). Most airlines have such safety rules while the passengers’ comfort levels are concerned even though few carriers have dedication to enforcing them. 4) Media Impact on the Companys Reputation In the open Microphone, Southwests flight operations vice president sprang to action while recording a video of how the sentiments were not tolerated while posting it across internal sites together with an apology. In the event that Southwest did not have adequate preparation for it, it could have spiraled from control (Mark, Aquilano, Balakrishnan & Chase 14). The teamwork communications had a diligent approach to preparing for each contingency including employee slip-ups. The communicators meet on a monthly basis as a way of updating the plans. Pre-approved statements from various scenarios have executive spokespersons attached. In the Fuselage hole, Southwests team of social media experts incessantly monitors social channels. The firm is in the process of generating a "The Listening Post". To allow Southwest Airlines pull together blog posts on such situations (Claude 58). They interviewed with passenger with the initial tweet about the plane’s hole and established that he was a calm person and a Southwest fan. In the case of celebrity, the airline can use accommodative defense based on the relation to this case. The policy on customer of size as implemented requires those passengers that cannot fit comfortably and safely in the seat to by additional seats during travel. If customers are not able to comfortably navigate the armrest and hence infringe on portions subsequent seats, customers will seat adjacent are uncomfortable (Graham 575). Further, the airline added that a timely aircraft exit from in case of emergencies might be under a compromise due to cramping and restriction in the seating arrangement. The airline can also use social media as a way of moderating the adversity in impacts. In some of its statements, the airline sought to assure all people that there was an an expression of concern across the situation that it uses in the experience in customer service program while training the employees for appropriate ways of applying the policy (Davis 86). It is also prudent that the company comes forth to offer an apology to Kevin Smith. This will reassure other customers of similar size and interest have the personal connection to the airline again (Imai & Gelfand 78). This controversy has many public relations challenges to Southwest Airlines. The airline registered higher numbers of passenger complaints across other U.S. airlines in the same year. In amending this, the airline’s goal is that of forcing its staff to change the manner in which they address overweight passengers. 5) Implications on Other Stakeholders With a thorough Supplier Diversity Program within Southwest Airlines, the suppliers ensure that the goal of maintaining high Customer Service and low-cost Leadership in the industry is maintained. The suppliers help the airline maintain low-cost Leadership through efficient and effective procurement, facilities construction, project management, and fuel management practices in spending valuable capital. The airline treats its suppliers fairly and impartially in its selection and evaluation process. They make use of more than a single selection process with reference to the company’s requirements as well as supply market conditions (Babson 38). For the selection process, the focus is on the efficient ways of achieving similar results as well as an ideal way of acquiring value combination for quality, service, and reliability for Southwest Airlines within lowest possible costs. As a business owner, the investors of the airline need to pass on the vision and mission of the company to all the stakeholders. In addition, this needs to be accompanied by a thorough training of internal customers and employees on the implications of the same in case of a breach. The investor need to conduct a number of public relations surveys aimed at establishing the position of the firm in the public’s opinion at any given time (Graham & Mintu-Wimsat 76). It is important to develop a sustained environment free information sharing and interactions. Through the airline’s goal of being the hometown airline for each community it serves, it is important to embrace each of the communities with Southwest Spirit in terms of service, involvement, and care towards making the communities better places for life and work. Southwest Airline should provide community effort through helping where necessary in developing relationships positively affecting these communities (Armstrong 47). The Adopt-A-Pilot program as introduced in 1997 was supplementary approach to educating students based on aviation-themed activities in regards to Math, Science, Writing, Geography, among other core subjects. Southwest Airline has major concerns for efficiency towards making a good business sense as well as doing the right thing for them. Its mission is to strive into an Environmental Steward within the entire system for all the hometowns as well as a component of stewardship through efficiency. This is governed by its nature while translating into elimination of waste and enhanced conservation of resources (Armstrong & Murlis 45). Using environmentally beneficial and cost-effective operating processes (such as equipment and facilities), this provides an allowance to reduce the material amount used. When coupled with the ability of reusing and recycling material, the airline is in a position of preserving the environmental resources. Conclusion It is important to appreciate that public relation professionals have to ensure that there is an allowance towards addressing the significant issues through a transparent manner. Even though issues like regulations, business affiliations, labor conditions, and more, need to remain available to the public. It is not necessary to promote such information across media outlets and events. They need to ensure that the airline allows the data to be provided in case the PR department is in question of the issues. 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