David Neeleman Reinvents Airlines: (Describe the case. What was the purpose of t

Question

David Neeleman Reinvents Airlines:

(Describe the case. What was the purpose of the case? What situations of organizational behavior or leadership issues were addressed? In what way(s) were the topics presented? Who were the stakeholders for the case?

What new knowledge did you gain from this case? What knowledge was reinforced or challenged? Was there anything that surprised you? What were your overall reactions to the case? What did you learn about organizational behavior or leadership as a result of this case?

The bottom is the case.

David Neeleman Reinvents airlines:

David Neeleman is a legend in the airline industry and given credit for some of the major innovations in the airlines industry, including ticketless travel (Bloomberg TV, 2011). In 1984, he cofounded Morris Air and sold it to Southwest Airlines to join the leadership of that airline. He only survived five months before he was fired for being difficult to work with and being disruptive (Bloomberg TV, 2011). He had to wait five years because of a noncompete clause, and in 2000, he launched the highly successful JetBlue Airways before he left in 2007. He is now engaged in a new venture as CEO of the new Brazilian domestic airline Azul (blue in Portuguese), founded in 2008.
His vision for what an airline should be and his leadership style set him apart from most other leaders in the industry. Neeleman says: “I have this huge goal that I want everyone that works for Azul to say that this is the best job they ever had because I think that is central to customer service and then I want every customer who gets off of every flight to say wow that was a great flight probably the best I have ever had” (Bloomberg TV, 2011). He describes himself as: “I’m not a lofty perch guy; I’m a day-to-day guy” (Elite interview, 2013). He believes that success comes from changing people’s lives and contributing to society rather than simply making money.
Neeleman was ousted in 2007 from JetBlue after the airline was caught in a wave of nega- tive publicity after it kept passengers in planes on the tarmac for seven hours during a storm. Neeleman provided a very public and sincere apology (posted on the Web at http://www.jet blue.com/about/ourcompany/apology/index.html), and JetBlue instituted a much-publicized Passenger Bill of Rights to ensure that its much-valued customers continue to remain loyal. JetBlue still has daily flights to more than 50 destinations in the United States and Central America. Continuing to rely on the principles of its founder, the airline emphasizes teamwork and quick decisions and implementation. Top executives and managers consistently inter- act with employees and customers to listen and get feedback from them to keep addressing their concerns (Salter, 2004a), a practice Neeleman has also instituted at Azul (Mount, 2009). The attention to employees and customers has earned JetBlue high ratings and its former CEO awards for being a visionary (www.jetblueairways.com). Programs such as generous profit sharing, excellent benefits, open communication, and extensive training all get the right employees in the company and retain them.
Neeleman not only provides the vision, but also knows to listen to people who, on occa- sion, veto his decisions. He says: “The way I channel the risk is that I surround myself with people who are really smart and have a spine and can speak up and can challenge you” (Bloomberg TV, 2011). He believes that “If you treat people well, the company’s philosophy goes, they’ll treat the customer well.” Azul is made of much of the same mold as JetBlue: simple reservations systems, low prices, more leg room, online Internet, and a TV in every seat (Scanlon, 2008). Neeleman is obsessive about staying in touch with both customers and employees. He stops by the call center at Azul regularly, talks to the trainees, and reminds his executives to talk to customers and those closest to them because “we think we know what happens. But they really know” (Mount, 2009). He strongly believes that “it is the people that make it happen” (Ford, 2004: 140). Neeleman’s leadership style and magic seems to be
continuing to work. Azul is growing fast, with 11,000 passengers when it started up to 45,000 in January 2009 (Azul, 2009), and is flying 70 percent full, which is close to 20 percent better than Brazil’s biggest airline (Moura, 2009).

Please help.

Explanation / Answer

1.The purpose of the case is to showcase the leadership and organization qualities that Neeleman has and because of which his past and present organizations are benefitted for.

2. The situation of organizational behavior or leadership issues that are being addresses is that of taking team together in attaining a goal, addressing customer concerns and balancing the interest of all stakeholders.

3.The main stakeholders in the case are customers, employees and leadership that formulate directions and give vision to organization.

4.The new knowledge that I gain from the case study is that success depends not solely on money making or profit making but simply helping to change the people live in positive way or providing them better services which ultimately will lead to success.

5.The knowledge that understanding of customer choices and needs are important and to address the customers concerns and also making employee happy in the company so they in turn deal with their customer in a good way.

6.The overall reaction from going through the case is that the working style of neeleman is unique in the sense that he cares about the customer service and personally take stock of the situation of employee and customers while putting innovative techniques and services at customer disposal.

7.The overall learning from the case is that having a dynamic leadership style and customer and employee focused leadership style can lead to organizational success.

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