M-CASE4 - Organizational Culture & Diversity. Organizational Culture of South West Airlines and Koch Industries
Prepare a 5-page paper (not including title page and references)
Southwest Airlines and Koch Industries are both known for their distinctive organizational cultures, and both have been highly successful and profitable companies. Southwest Airlines is known as a “fun” place to work, where socialization and humor in the workplace are strongly encouraged. Koch Industries, on the other hand, has a culture defined by the principles of “market-based management,” where performance and revenue growth is emphasized.
Do some background reading on the cultures behind Southwest Airlines and Koch Industries. Here are some articles and video to get you started on your research that will give you some background about the cultures at these two organizations:
Bird, A. (2011, March 13). Southwest: Corporate culture combines work, play. The Post and Courier. Available from ProQuest in the Trident Online Library.
Klein, D. (2011, January-March). Creating cultures that lead to success: Lincoln Electric, Southwest Airlines, and SAS Institute. Organizational Dynamics 41(1), 35-39.
Available in Science Direct in the Trident Online Library. Note: You need only to read the middle portion of the article concerning Southwest Airlines and not the entire article.
Schumpeter, J. A. (2014, June 7). Dissecting the Kochtopus. The Economist, 411, 76. Available from ProQuest in the Trident Online Library.
Whatley, H. (2013). Principles and dimensions of market-based management. Independent Journal of Management & Production, 4(1), 126-135. Available from ProQuest in the Trident Online Library.
Prepare a 5-page critique per the following format:
Title Page. Be sure to include 5 components of relevant information (e.g., Name, Class, Professor, Assignment, Date) on this title page.
Introduction. Discuss the topic of the paper and how you will approach it. It is best to write this section after you have written the rest of the paper.
The Culture of Southwest Airlines. Describe the key elements of the culture of Southwest Airlines and explain why these cultural elements are essential to Southwest Airlines’ success. Be sure to apply the background material by supporting your writing with high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles found in the University’s online library.
The Culture of Koch Industries. Describe the key elements of the culture of Koch Industries and explain why these cultural elements are essential to Koch Industries’ success. Be sure to apply the background material by supporting your writing with high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles found in the University’s online library.
Koch Industries Should Not Purchase Southwest Airlines. Make an argument that Koch Industries should not purchase Southwest Airlines. Discuss the specific differences between the cultures of Southwest Airlines and Koch Industries in support of this position. Be sure to use the background material by supporting your writing with high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles found in the University’s online library.
Conclusion. Discuss the key points in your analysis that demonstrate the importance of understanding that organizational cultures are not easily changed and why culture should be a primary consideration when organizations contemplate a merger.
**Required Reading**
Bird, A. (2011, March 13). Southwest: Corporate culture combines work, play. The Post and Courier. Available from ProQuest in the Trident Online Library.
Hofstede, G. (1980). Cultural dimensions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Retrieved from https://geerthofstede(dot)com/culture-geert-hofstede-gert-jan-hofstede/6d-model-of-national-culture/. CC-BY-SA License.
Klein, D. (2011, January-March). Creating cultures that lead to success: Lincoln Electric, Southwest Airlines, and SAS Institute. Organizational Dynamics 41(1), 35-39. Available in Science Direct in the Trident Online Library.
Note: You need only to read the middle portion of the article concerning Southwest Airlines and not the entire article.
Organizational behavior. (2017). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Edition. Retrieved from http://open(dot)lib(dot)umn(dot)edu/organizationalbehavior/. CC BY-NC-SA License.
Read the following sections in Chapter 2:
Section 2.2 Demographic Diversity
Section 2.3 Cultural Diversity
Read the following sections in Chapter 15:
Section 15.2 Understanding Organizational Culture
Section 15.3 Characteristics of Organizational Culture
Section 15.4 Creating and Maintaining Organizational Culture
Section 15.5 Creating Culture Change
Section 15.6 The Role of Ethics and National Culture
Schumpeter, J. A. (2014, June 7). Dissecting the Kochtopus. The Economist, 411, 76. Available from ProQuest in the Trident Online Library.
TV Choice. (n.d.). Organizational cultures and group norms [Streaming Video]. Kent, UK: TV Choice. Retrieved from video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/organizational-cultures-and-group-norms database. Available in the Trident Online Library.
Whatley, H. (2013). Principles and dimensions of market-based management. Independent Journal of Management & Production, 4(1), 126-135. Available from ProQuest in the Trident Online Library.
Organizational Culture of South West Airlines and Koch Industries
Author’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Organizational Culture of South West Airlines and Koch Industries
Introduction
This aim of this paper is to provide the reader with an in-depth analysis of the organizational culture of South West Airlines and Koch Industries. Research has been conducted on reliable sources that help the reader to understand the differences and the key elements of culture in these organizations. Strong background materials have been utilized to make it clearer to the reader. The paper helps the reader to understand the reason why Koch Industries must avoid purchasing Southwest Airlines. In the end, the conclusion has been given in which the key points of the analysis have been discussed that demonstrate the high need to understand the organizational culture.
The Culture of Southwest Airlines
Considering the organization culture of Southwest Airlines, it is quite interesting and meaningful for employees. While maintaining and developing the corporate culture, the administration of Southwest Airlines has greatly focused on employees. The reason for that is quite simple as the organization considers its employees as the foundation of its commercial aviation business (TV Choice, 2019). There are many policies and programs conducted by Southwest Airlines that serve to maintain morale, increasing motivation, and satisfying employees. There are certain key elements of the culture of Southwest Airlines that pertains to have a high significance.
Employee Recognition and Appreciation
Southwest Airlines culture tends to highlight the importance of its workforce. The organization undoubtedly values its employees and considered them as one of the contributing factors to organizational success (Bird, 2019). The company reinforces its culture with the help of its Culture Service Department. The employees feel valued when they are given recognition and appreciation by the organization (Anonymous, 2017). Apart from this, the organization encourages celebration events which allows the employees to enjoy and have fun while working for the company.
Living the Southwest Way
Along with all benefits and motivation from recognition and appreciation, the organization tends to facilitate the Southwest Way of living when it comes to its employees. There is no doubt that this key element undoubtedly serves as a vital tool for motivating workers to strive to reach ideals in life such as respect, perseverance, and excellence. It must be considered that such values are integrated into the culture of Southwest Airlines in order to optimize employee satisfaction and performance in the workplace (Klein, 2012). In a nutshell, it can simply be assumed that Southwest Airlines applies a holistic organizational culture approach to manage HR for achieving the desired work-life balance.
Working the Southwest Way
The organization has focused on making its way of working as an organizational culture throughout Southwest Airlines. It must be considered that such a key element of the organizational culture of Southwest focus on the performance of employees as it helps in benefitting the business and its stakeholders. The perfect example in this scenario would be the fact that the way of working of Southwest Airlines results in motivating the workers to ensure friendliness, regulatory compliance, and safety (Bird, 2019). It must be considered that such values help to address the work-related strategic objectives which, in turn, indicates the corporate culture of the organization.
The Culture of Koch Industries
As a matter of fact, the Koch Industries culture has been well-defined by certain market-based management principles. The main focus of this culture is on revenue and performance growth. The aim of MBM in Koch Industries is to achieve the highest success by helping others improve their lives. There is no doubt that MBM is one of the main reasons behind the unity of employees working at Koch Industries. The reason for that is quite simple as MBM gives the employees a common goal and common language (Whatley, 2013). Considering the case of Koch Industries, there are certain key elements that pertain to have significant importance in terms of organizational culture.
Vision
It is one of the most important dimensions when it comes to the MBM philosophy for Koch Industries and its culture. In simple words, vision states that where and in what way the company can create productive long-term value. The individuals employed at Koch Industries are dedicated to making their company a market-dominant (Schumpeter, 2014).
Knowledge and P...
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