The situation of Southwest Airlines was complicated by the emergence of severe problems stemming from the neglect of specific areas of their activity. They included the inappropriate attitude towards the company’s clients and personnel as well as maintenance issues, which were added to the pandemic’s conditions (Reed, 2019). However, the carrier’s measures were insufficient for overcoming the difficulties since they did not fully address the challenges of improper organizational culture.
The first barrier to establishing suitable practices in Southwest Airlines was related to its inadequate safety methods ensured through irregular technical inspections. As follows from the recent reports, the business struggled with the increasing number of technical defects attributed to the mechanics’ fault instead of being resolved (Reed, 2019). This approach worsened the relationships between managers and employees, especially considering the fact that they had to work under crisis conditions. Meanwhile, in this regard, Southwest Airlines adopted efficient policies by providing their workers with free COVID-19 vaccination (Reuters Staff, 2021). They also apologized to passengers for inconveniences concerning delayed and canceled flights (Reed, 2019). Therefore, there were both efficient and ineffective decisions in the company, which explain the lack of clarity in the future perspectives.
To summarize, Southwest Airlines is generally incapable of maintaining its culture in light of the recent issues related to human factors. This conclusion is conditional upon the organization’s failure to develop beneficial cooperation with their employees while successfully addressing only a limited number of problems. Since the unresolved matters are derived from poor maintenance, the latter can be viewed as the circumstance, which should be eliminated for reaching the specified objective. Otherwise, the cultural aspect of the business will result in an unfavorable working environment.
References
Reed, D. (2019). As it approaches 50, Southwest is dealing with mature airlines’ kind of problems. Forbes. Web.
Reuters Staff. (2021). Southwest Airlines to vaccinate employees against COVID-19 for free. Reuters. Web.