Running head: SOUTHWEST STRUCTURAL FRAME 1

Personal Case Analysis: Southwest Airlines Structural Frame

Da’Shira R. Craig

Arizona State University

OGL 481 – Organizational Leadership Pro-Seminar

Dr. Kate McCain

January 30, 2022

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Briefly restate your situation from Module 1 and your role.

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic affects Southwest Airlines in many ways, including

passenger safety, canceled flights, and employee shortages. Southwest must protect employees

and passengers from a highly contagious airborne virus. Still, protective measures like mask

mandates contribute to verbal and physical violence against employees and other passengers.

Flights were canceled due to weather, illness, and staffing shortages. After thousands of

employees left Southwest at the beginning of the pandemic, Southwest is ramping up its hiring

efforts to meet customer demand. Southwest's new CEO, Robert Jordan, is also looking to

modernize the airline's operations. For example, increased flight cancellations mean that

equipment and personnel are not at their planned location, and Jordan states new tools could help

the airline manage that problem (Koenig, 2022). He is also looking to upgrade the airplane Wi-Fi

and add power outlets for customer usage. These changes will be necessary if the airline moves

forward with a customer self-service option on flights (Koenig, 2022).

My role in the organization is external, as a shareholder and a frequent customer.

Southwest has always been my go-to airline to travel to nearby cities as a former Southern

California resident. As I started to formulate my investment strategy, Southwest quickly emerged

as a good investment compared to other airlines. Southwest's years of operation, profitability, and

return on investment made me feel like it was an outstanding stock to buy and hold for the long

term.

Describe how the structure of the organization influenced the situation.

Southwest Airlines' corporate structure is a typical vertical hierarchy. At the top of the

organization are the Chief Executive Officer and a Board of Directors. The executive leadership

team consists of a President, Chief Executives, and Vice Presidents representing different

functional groups. For example, there is a Chief Operation Officer and an Executive Vice
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President of Operations. The corporate structure groups resources and activities based on

business function, centralizing control at the executive level (Sherman, 2019). There are

functional groups for finance, daily operations, and marketing, and subgroups that report to the

corresponding Vice President over that function. The organizational structure is designed to

support companywide strategic objectives and allow new function groups to sustain new

products or services.

Some of the structural dilemmas Southwest is dealing with include differentiation versus

integration and gap versus overlap. Differentiation versus integration describes the tensions

between assigning work and synchronizing multiple efforts (Bolman & Deal, 2017. P.73).

Southwest operates over 4,000 daily flights, serving 103 destinations across the United States

and ten additional countries (Southwest Airlines Co., 2020). Coordinating the activities of its

60,000 employees and 747 airplanes has turned into a complex operation. New President Robert

Jordan admits his employees do not have all of the tools to manage their operations. This has led

to airplanes and crew members not being in the correct location, canceled flights, and a gap in

operations.

Another structural dilemma is underuse versus overload. Southwest is looking to fill

5,000 positions. Many employees took early retirement at the beginning of the pandemic, which

accounts for most vacancies. Being short-staffed puts additional strain on the current employees.

In addition, Southwest is feeling wage pressure as one of the lower-paying airlines in the US,

with many employees leaving for higher wages.

Recommend how you would use structure for an alternative course of action
regarding your case.

Southwest has been a successful company for 50 years using its vertical hierarchy

structure. Southwest has built a reputation by operating differently from other major airlines and
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prioritizing their employees. I would not recommend restructuring the organization because I

believe Southwest’s current structure is working. In addition, an airline of its size would have to

be structured as a machine bureaucracy. There are too many regulations, airplanes, locations, and

employees to loosen the structure.

My recommendation to Southwest is to create an advisory board of flight crew,

gate agents, baggage handlers, and aircraft maintenance staff to work with the operations staff on

building the tools needed to manage the fleet and personnel. This board would be a web of

inclusion, defined as an organic social architectural form that is more circular than hierarchal

(Bolman & Deal, 2017. P. 83). I believe getting cross-functional coordination will help the

corporate executives better understand what is happening on the ground. In addition, the

advisory board can help guide the development of the operational tools, which help ensure the

investment will make an impact on day-to-operations.

Reflect on what you would do or not do differently given what you have learned
about this frame.

After learning about the structural frame and examining Southwest Airlines' corporate

structure, I would not do anything differently. The airline industry is large and heavily regulated

by federal and local governments, which means that anyone operating in that space will need to

maintain control at the executive level. Airlines cannot function in an adhocracy, unlike creative

or innovative industries. Airlines are not segmented in a way that encourages a divisionalized

form. To address the problems presented with the Pandemic, Southwest will need to be inclusive

and incorporate staff from all functional groups. Southwest already has a history of getting input

from its functional teams, so my recommendation remains aligned with Southwest’s culture.

References
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Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2017). Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership

(6th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from

https://app.perusall.com/courses/ogl-481-org-leadership-pro-seminar-i-2022-spring-a-

401108891/9781119281849?chapter=cover

Koenig, D. (2022, January 10). Incoming CEO at Southwest Airlines faces numerous challenges.

Retrieved from KOMO News: https://komonews.com/news/coronavirus/incoming-ceo-

at-southwest-airlines-faces-numerous-challenges

O'Reilly, C., & Pfeffer, J. (1995). Southwest Airlines. Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Retrieved from https://canvas.asu.edu/courses/105012/files/41518392/download?wrap=1

Sherman, M. (2019, May 30). Southwest Airlines Co.’s Organizational Structure & Its

Characteristics (An Analysis). Retrieved from Panmore Institute:

http://panmore.com/southwest-airlines-organizational-structure-design-characteristics-

analysis

Southwest Airlines Co. (2020, March 7). Southwest Corporate Fact Sheet. Retrieved from

Southwest.com: https://www.swamedia.com/pages/corporate-fact-sheet