Essay - Southwest Airlines Culture Abstract: This Paper Outlines the Importance of...

Southwest Airlines Culture

*****: This paper outlines the importance of culture in an organization us*****g Southwest ***** as a model. It uses Geert Hofstede Four Dimension of Culture to analyze ***** company and provides an over view of how the company's policies enable it to secure a top pos*****ion in the **********. It ***** 5 sources in MLA Format.

Introduction

Globalization h***** changed the way people do business today. Factors like strategies, re***** or capacity to produce has become secondary ***** ***** agendas. Instead today businesses and businesspeople are m*****e concerned with how ********** can achieve the maximum productivity and prosperity through alliances. These alliances often span far ***** wide, pilfering to foreign cultures. Often the alliances prove beneficial to the companies because of observation and approach ***** take to deal with partner company's culture. On the other hand there are also cases where the alliances have resulted in losses because partner companies fail to understand each ********** culture. For instance an American firm merging with a Japanese company will experience a shocking difference in social, economical and cultural environment. Before studying other's culture, one ********** ***** to observe one's own culture in order ***** detect what needs to be compromised or complimented when dealing with the business partners. The following is a study of Southwest Airlines, outlining their *****s and how they have inc*****porated it to ***** their ***** agendas using Geert ********** Four Dimension of *****.

Hofstede's Four *****s of Culture

Geert Hofstede ***** us ***** a break ***** formula to ***** the degree of differences in cultures and how it could change business transactions. Although he only outlines the kind of cultures ex*****tent in certain countries, ***** IBM's branches as a platform, his work provides students ***** management a guideline to ***** how ***** of countries affect ***** internal culture of *****es. It is important ***** understand the nature of a culture of a country. From it one can easily ***** the way they will likely to do businesses in the future and the consequences ***** their decisions. The four dimensions which ***** ***** used as a guideline in *****nalyz*****g Southwest are as follows:

***** Distance (unequal vs. equal). This b*****ically means the lim*****ations and scope of a culture values power in an *****. Whether it likes to have concentrated power or distributed power among management leaders for organizing business transaction.

Uncertainty Avoidance (rigid vs. flexible). This means the degree with which the company / ***** is willing to adopt r*****k and willingness ***** face ***** consequences. Some organizations tend to stick ***** ***** and regulations and ignore foreign cultures while others alter ***** own to adopt new cultures, constantly innovating.

Individualism/Collectivism (individual vs. group identification). Some organizations ***** a ***** mode ***** operation while others prefer to have ***** operation so that proper credits are given to the one ***** the most innovative ideas ***** drive.

Masculinity/Femininity (ego attainment vs. social connection). Assertiveness and aggressiveness are attributed to masculinity while motivation, values etc. ***** attributed *****