Continental Airlines Analysis
Meagan Young Chapter 10 I believe that Lorenzo’s confrontation with Continental’s unions could have been conducted a different way. They could simply listen to each other’s viewpoint and not interrupt with one another is speaking. This way each other can hear their viewpoint and maybe understand one another better. If Lorenzo would have listened to what his employees were trying to say, he may have gotten ideas from them and used them for his company. Both these companies experienced commonalities and contrasts.
Both Bethunes and Southwest Airlines experienced debt issues. Both companies were puzzled as how to deal with this situation. Both companies however had the similar approaches as how to deal with the debt situations. Bethune definitely has a better management style than Lorenzo’s. this is because Bethune was willing to come up with solutions to come out of debt. He also made dramatic changes. In 1995, through a “renewed focus on flight schedules and incentive pay,” he greatly improved on-time performance, along with lost-baggage claims and customer complaints.
Better communications was also a key element in improving employee relationships and the spirit of teamwork. Information was shared with employees through newsletters, updates on bulletin boards, email, voice-mail, and electronic signs over worldwide places. As you can see Bethune really wanted to improve Continental Airlines because he wanted what was best for the company. Bethune proved a master at changing employees’ attitudes and their sense of pride. Few top executives ever faced such a negative workforce, reflecting the Lorenzo years. But Bethune changed all this, and in such a short time. is open-door policy and open houses to encourage employees to interact with him and other top executives was a simple gesture, but so effective, as was his opening wide the channels of communication about company plans. The incentive plans for improving performance, and the freeing up of employee initiatives by abolishing the rigidity of formal policies, were further positives. He engendered an atmosphere of teamwork and a personal image of an appreciative CEO. This goes to show that Bethune is a trustworthy man and cares much about his company and the employees.
The paint issue shouldn’t be a big issue. It gave the company a new look I think. Giving employees some kind of reward such as a bonus or incentive seems ideal. When they reach a certain goal or percentage and show they are hardworking employees, they could receive one of these. Before doing this I would supervise how they are working to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to. After studying their work ethics I would then determine what kind of reward I would present to them. Lack of communication is one of the biggest issues with not only top executives but anyone in the company.
I’m sure not all of the upper management had the same ideas for Continental, and because of this some were left behind. This could be a downfall because one of them could have had a really good idea to present to the company. Because workers are not getting paid what they should, you can offer them something else. You can offer them better company benefits. This can help the employee tremendously, especially if they have a family. You could also tell the workers that if they reach a certain percentage that they can receive a raise. All of these ideas can motivate an employee to work harder at their job.
