3년 전 수강했던 Mini-MBA 과정 중 가장 인상 깊었던 PGEC (Principles of great enduring companies) 과정의 둘째주 숙제...
사우스웨스트의 사례를 읽고, 사우스웨스트가 전반적으로 그들의 핵심 이념을 고수했는지, 그 핵심을 보존하는 메커니즘을 이용했는지를 분석하십시오. ‘숭배지향 문화’와 ‘내부 승진 경영자’라는 두 가지 메커니즘에 대해서는 사례 연구에서 분명한 증거를 찾을 수 있을 것입니다. 하지만 '이윤 추구를 넘어서’ 메커니즘에 대한 증거는 사례 연구에서 명시적으로 설명되고 있지 않습니다. 따라서 첫번째 두 번째 메커니즘에 대해서는 각각 세 가지 사례를 들어 토론하고, 세 번째 메커니즘에 대해서는 이를 암시하는 예를 확인하여 간략하게 설명하십시오. 그리고 핵심 이념을 보존하는 기능을 하고는 있지만, 세 가지 메커니즘의 범주에 포함시키기 어려운 예들을 추가로 확인하여 설명하십시오.
[1] ‘숭배지향기업문화’(Cult-like Culture) 메커니즘의 세 가지 예를 들고, 이 것들이 왜 ‘숭배지향기업문화’ 메커니즘에 해당하는지 설명하십시오.
The first example that shows SW’s cult-like culture is its tightness of fit. Good start. SW is extraordinarily selective in recruiting. It recruits primarily for attitude. To ensure fit, there is an emphasis on peer recruiting and teamwork is critical. Applicants must also pass an application, a phone screening interview, a group interview, and three additional interviews. Why the entire hiring process focuses on positive attitude and teamwork is that SW believes most skills can be learned and doesn’t screen heavily for these except for certain specialist jobs. This means SW vigorously screen out those who don’t fit with the ideology and create an almost cult-like environment around the core ideology. (Its core value is work should be fun, work is important, people are important. Its core purpose is the dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit.)
Yes. SWA is adopting many selective hiring processes to secure a tight cultural fit that plays a pivotal role in developing and keeping a cult-like culture. You pointed and explained this point very well with right example.
The second example is that SW pays particular attention to train its employees. At SW’s university for people, 25,000 people are trained each year. The emphasis of the training is on doing things better and understanding other people’s job, delivering outstanding customer service. This training program reinforces the frame of mind SW and rigorously molds SW employees into SW ways of thought and behavior.
Great. You’ve successfully illustrated indoctrination process of SWA training programs. Indoctrination is important criteria for a cult-like culture.
And the third example is that SW creates a sense of belonging to something special through practical, concrete items. It emphasizes having fun at work. Fun is a core value and part of SW style and spirit. This fun atmosphere builds a strong sense of community and pervades the entire company. Serious attention is paid to parties and celebration that occurs continually. At that time, the Love Field corporate headquarters in Dallas is filled with banners and with pictures of SW employees at parties, awards, trips, and celebrations. This can actually enhance the company’s ability to preserve the core and stimulate the progress, precisely because it creates that sense of being part of an elite organization that can accomplish just about anything.
Again, you got it! Elitism is another important characteristic of a visionary company with a cult-like culture. As you put it SWA is emphasizing “fun at work” and trying to make everyone in SWA feel fun through parties, awards, and celebrations. And making its employees fun and happy, SWA has been created a strong sense of belonging to an elite company among them.
[2] ‘내부승진관리’(Home-grown Management) 메커니즘의 세 가지 예를 들고, 이 것들이 왜 ‘내부승진관리’ 메커니즘에 해당하는지 설명하십시오.
SW has long-range succession planning in place to ensure a smooth
transition from one generation to the next. The first example is the chief executive succession planning. SW’s CEO, Herb Kelleher publicly commented that he chose James F. Parker as a new CEO, and Colleen C. Barrett as president and COO. Both Mr. Parker and Ms. Barrett are typical SW persons who have played important roles as top managements in the company for a long time. Mr. Kelleher has been carefully preparing Mr. Parker to assume the role of chief executive through making him participate in the important decision-making. Also, Ms. Barrett has played leading roles of embodying the company’s core ideology by weaving the culture across regional differences and indoctrinating new workers into SW’s ways. Mr. Parker and Ms. Barrett are surely expected to preserve the core ideology without leadership discontinuity. And SW is preparing for the next leadership in advance from appointing three executive vice presidents who are candidates to succeed Mr. Parker down the road. This is a good example of home-grown management mechanisms.
Yes, as you said the CEO succession and preparing a CEO candidate pool are stark examples of a home-grown management mechanism.
The second example is the manager’s training program. Managers take the three-and-a-half day course on the leadership, pricing, revenue management, and how the business works. And frontline leadership gets the experimental training about particular needs through two-day course each year. This means SW has the high possibility of having talent stacked like cordwood from developing managers through internal education program and therefore preserving manager-level leadership continuity.
Also this can be a good example of a home-grown management in that through training program for manager-level employees SWA is preparing candidates for future CEOs. But I want to point one thing here. You did not clearly show that SWA is linking those training programs to selecting future CEO pool.
The third example is that SW is providing information so that people can be involved. SW’s employees act like owners of the airline because they are encouraged to take responsibility and make decisions. This enables employees at low level to have individual initiatives and grow to be a good manager in the future. In brief, SW has good mechanism to grow caliber managers, caliber directors, caliber CEOs.
In this case, you offered a great explanation rather than a good example. Many other learners offered this example, but they have failed to interpret it into this meaning.
[3] ‘이윤추구를 넘어서’(More than Profits) 메커니즘을 암시하는 예를 확인하고, 이를 간략하게 설명하십시오.
The example to show that SW is relatively closer to ‘more than profit’ mechanism than its competitors is SW’s simple fare strategy. Unlike other airlines that rely heavily on computers and artificial intelligence programs to maximize flight revenue, SW typically offers only two fares on a route. SW doesn’t sell interline connection with other carriers and therefore only 55% percent of SW’s seats are booked by travel agents, compared with 90 percent of tickets for major airlines. Also, SW has its own frequent flyer club based on simple model. This strategy made SW a very profitable airline providing the great value to its customers. That means SW is very likely to do more than just make a profit. Actually SW’s simple fare strategy is closer to its core purpose than pursuing profit. Its core purpose is the dedication to the highest quality of customer service.
Good. More than profits means a visionary company pursues core ideology than profits and paradoxically it earn more money by emphasizing core ideology. You have proved concisely that SWA’s fare strategy is based on its core purpose rather than profit orientation.
[4]
핵심 이념을 보존하는 기능을 하고는 있지만, 이 코스에서 제시한 세 가지 메커니즘의 범주에 포함시키기에는 어려운 예 하나를 추가로 확인하여 간략히 설명하십시오.
SW has an additional mechanism that supports the core ideology. It is
‘warrior spirit’. SW has been facing severe competitors’ hindrance since its foundation and used to come to a crisis. This environment made SW people unite closely and fight their competitors feeling that they were crusaders freeing Jerusalem from the Saracens. This aggressive, underdog spirit pervaded the company and became an integral part of the company’s culture and a key to its success. SW people learned to endure and survive from battles with their competitors. This is SW’s own unique mechanism to preserver its core.
Warrior spirit is unique in SWA culture. And this spirit made SWA guys to defend SWA’s status and core ideology but it does not subject to those 3 mechanisms, cult-like culture, home-grown management, and more than profits.
Instructor feedback: You have chosen proper examples and offered good reason why they are proper. Keep this momentum.
Assessment: E
