Dimensions for Most Admired Rankings People Management Quality of Management Innovation Investment value Use of assets Quality of products services Fortune s Most Admired 2013 Southwest Airlines 7 Apple 1 Google 2 Amazon 3 A few more recent SWA Stats 7th most admired company Fortune Magazine 2013 3rd most admired company according to FORTUNE Magazine in 2006 5th in 2007 FORTUNE has ranked Southwest Airlines in the top five of the Best Companies to Work For in America Southwest ranked first in 1997 and 1998 second in 1999 and fourth in 2000 Southwest has chosen not to participate since 2000 Southwest Airlines carried more Customers than any other U S airline in August 2006 marking the first time that Southwest Airlines has topped the monthly list for combined domestic and international passengers according to the U S Department of Transportation s Bureau of Transportation Statistics BusinessWeek along with The Boston Consulting Group named Southwest Airlines in their 2006 Top 25 ranking of The Worlds Most Innovative Companies Southwest was included in the list for being a whiz at wielding operational improvements to outfly its competitors SWA Highest shareholder return of any stock 1972 1992 Return of over 21 000 Consistently profitable even when other airlines sought bankruptcy protection Market share gains California 45 up from 0 in 1989 Turnover 4 5 versus 9 5 industry avg SWA Employees per aircraft 1998 SWA 94 United American 160 Industry 135 Passengers served per employee SWA 2 443 Industry 840 Customer service Triple Crown winner On time performance Fewest lost bags Fewest customer complaints SWA Safest airline in the world of the 85 major world airlines Top company to work for in Fortune Magazine s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America In 2006 hired 3 363 people and received 284 827 applications About 1 of applicants are hired SWA Employees at the gate One agent ground crew of 6 SWA Three agents ground crew of 12 Avg Aircraft turnaround time 15 minutes SWA 30 minutes CA Lite SWA Questions Why is this company so successful Why hasn t the competition been able to imitate them or to achieve their level of success the business model is understandable by any 3 year old Tom Peters How has the company been able to grow to its current size 32 000 employees and to deliver consistent performance over such a long time SWA Quotes They can imitate the airplanes They can imitate the ticket counters and all the other hardware But they can t duplicate the people of Southwest and their attitudes Kelleher SWA Quotes It used to be a business conundrum Who comes first The employees customers or shareholders That s never been an issue to me The employees come first If they re happy satisfied dedicated and energetic they ll take real good care of the customers When the customers are happy they come back And that makes the shareholders happy Herb Kelleher 1996 SWA Values SWA values Work should be fun it can be play enjoy it Work is important don t spoil it with seriousness People are important each one makes a difference Competitive Advantage Through People Founder s philosophy leadership style Recruitment Selection What do they look for in selecting people Who is involved in interview process How do they respond to those who are not selected Why Competitive Advantage Through People Training Socialization Information sharing Monthly statistics on costs operations and financial data Keeps employees focused and builds trust Importance of satisfied customers For every customer who complains 25 remain silent Each unhappy person tells 12 others Top Management People department Behaviors values attitudes etc SWA additional info Who is the most unionized airline in the United States Information sharing Monthly statistics on costs operations and financial data Keeps employees focused and builds trust Importance of satisfied customers For every customer who complains 25 remain silent Each unhappy person tells 12 others SWA The Competition Start up imitators America West had been bankrupt Reno Air Morris Air bought by SWA Kiwi Air Jet Blue Majors Continental Lite lasted two years United Shuttle backed out of 40 of routes it shared with SWA Delta Song TED of United