Southwest airlines mission statement

We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.

Their mission is a good one as it aims at motivating and encouraging employees and also ensures that customers are comfortable and well taken care of. It also shows concern for some stakeholders: employees and customers.

Southwest Airlines Vision statement

Our vision is to expand our locations both domestic and overseas by being the largest and most profitable airline company to achieve both short and long-haul carriers efficiently and with low cost. Also to be an airline carrier that has the most productive workforce to guarantee the best flight possible for each and every passenger.

The vision statement for southwest airlines can be considered to be a good one in that, it is also realistic since the targets it has set to achieve are realistic and are therefore not too far-fetched. It’s also believable in that it doesn’t try to compare itself to other already established and successful airlines. It further includes its customers, and employees, who are part of the stakeholders, in the statement.

Statement of goals/objectives and beliefs of Southwest airlines:

• To increase locally through elevating customers’ satisfaction.
• Improve the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines through creativity and innovation.

Goals & Objectives:

Goals and objectives of Southwest airline into two sections (financial & strategic), as each one of them employs a different path in determining the company’s main goals and objectives.

Financial objectives:

1. Lower Costs.

2. Increase profitability for the airlines.

Strategic objectives:

1. Improve corporate performance through applying business intelligence.

2. To grow into an internationally recognized organization.

Southwest airlines have a logical and workable statement of goals. They know they are competing on international grounds and that is an achievable goal considering they are considered to be the largest airline carrier in the world.

Five criteria that are crucial to devising a good mission statement are;

A good mission statement should have real grit and a real meaning. This basically means that a mission should not just be words put together for the sake of show. A mission statement should be realistic, it shouldn’t sound forced it should be easily believable to the customers, employees and the general public. For a mission statement to be considered as good, it should be realistic, it shouldn’t contain lies or false statements, everything it contains should be true.

It should be backed up by company values which dictate how employees should behave, in order to achieve the mission. This implies that the values must be devised before the organization comes up with a mission statement. Values are core to the mission statement since these are the ways in which employees should behave within the organization.

For a mission statement to be considered to be good, it should incorporate the opinions and feelings of customers about the organization and its products and services. Customers make the organization; in fact, the main reason a mission statement is devised in the first place is for the customers. Feedback from customers to satisfy customers, which is the best way to find out what they want from the organization.

A good mission statement should be able to compel action from customers, since they have a meaning. An emotional angle would be a good way to compel action from the customers towards the organization. It should also be able to compel employees to work harder and improve the organization

A good mission statement incorporates the products and services a company offers in brevity. I believe that a mission statement should be direct, it shouldn’t go around in circles, and the organizations, products and services should be inclusive in the mission statement.

Five criteria that are considered when devising a good vision statement

Learn everything you can about the organization so as to come up with a good vision statement. There is no substitute for a thorough understanding of the organization as a foundation for your vision. First and foremost, one should strive to understand the organization completely so as to know what has and hasn’t been done and also what can be done what is allowed is also important to know.

It would make a good vision statement if key people within and outside the organization were involved when coming up with a vision statement. There are people who have an interest in the organization though they aren’t really part of it. If you’re going to get others to buy into your vision, if it’s going to be a wholly shared vision, involvement of at least the key people in the organization is essential. Those from outside the organization can come up with new ideas those in the organization hadn’t thought of. As the saying goes, ‘ two heads are better than one’, therefore it’s advisable to incorporate others.

Keep an open mind as you explore the options for a new vision. Don’t be constrained in your thinking by the organization’s current direction – it may be right, but it may not. When coming up with a new vision ensure that you keep an open mind and try as much as you can to come up with new and original ideas. You don’t have to be bound by the existing organizational direction.

Encourage input from your colleagues and subordinates. Another injunction about not trying to do it alone: those down in the organization often know it best and have a wealth of untapped ideas. Teamwork is a very important in any business organization and it plays a great role in the success of a business in the same way, opinions from colleagues and subordinates on a suitable vision statement is a chance to allow for team work in an organization. A great idea can come from anyone regardless of their post in the organization, be they management or subordinate staff.

Understand and appreciate the existing vision. Provide continuity if possible, and don’t throw out good ideas because you didn’t originate them. A new vision statement can easily come from an existing one thus promoting continuity in the organization.

Differences between a vision and a mission statement.

Vision statement

• It defines the future of the organization, what the organization seeks to achieve in the near or distant future.
• It is used to come up with the mission statement.

Mission statement

• It defines the organization’s purpose currently, what the organization stands for and what it undertakes in its activities.
• It incorporates the vision statement to come up with a comprehensive mission statement.
• It’s brief and straight to the point though it incorporates the products and services of an organization.

Similarities of vision and mission statements

• They should both incorporate the other employees in the organization. It shouldn’t be a decision for the management level only, other employees should be incorporated too in the process.
• They should both be real and have a meaning. They should be more than words so that they can compel one to action.
• Both should be compatible with the company’s work culture and values that guide the employees.

Both should contain some input from customers, employees and other people who have significant interest in the organization. This ensures that the mission and vision statements are strong and good enough for the organization in question. The more varied input there is, the more diverse and improved a mission and/or vision statement.