MGMT Communication Issue: Southwest Airlines' 2016 Tech Failure

This essay examines the major communication issue faced by Southwest Airlines in 2016, stemming from a significant technological failure that disrupted their operations for over 72 hours. The essay delves into the background of the issue, highlighting the loss incurred due to the inability of the computer systems. It discusses the reasons behind the crisis, primarily the lack of robust technological protocols and the resulting communication breakdown with passengers. The analysis covers the company's handling of the situation, including the use of emotional intelligence and the CEO's public apology. It also explores communication interventions, such as the application of the Shannon and Weaver model, and the strategies employed by the company, including the use of social media platforms like Facebook. The essay further examines the implementation of social media theories, such as the social staircase and social viral spiral models, to understand the impact on brand reputation. The conclusion offers recommendations for technological improvements and enhanced public relations strategies to prevent future communication crises and improve crisis management.

Running head: MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION
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Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Topic: Major social media communication issue of Southwest Airlines in 2016.
Background of the issue
Communication in business is one of the major aspects that encourage business deals and
provide channels for the new opportunities. Communication strategies and systematic planning,
implementing and monitoring process are the key aspects that help in case of business
understanding. There are some technological tools are also important for the effective business
communication. Designing of the internal and external communication process is the key aspect
of the business development (Prweek.com 2016). Communication is needed in some crisis
situation and organization will manage the situation by the effective use of communication and
state some stable positioning in that case.
In this essay, the main concern of communication issue is the technological failure of
Southwest Airlines. In 2016, the company has faced huge loss, when their all computers are
unable to work for quite a few hours. The duration of the time is more than 72 hours and the
company is just unable to mitigate the process (Convinceandconvert.com 2016). The company
website, passengers name and all the necessary information are that is the crisis situation as
public relation team was just a mere spectator as they had nothing to do until they open the
system as manual data is not formed for informing passengers. Almost 250 flights for that entire
day had cancelled and the situation lasted long for three days and that resulted from more than
1850 flights problem and 250000 irritate passengers (Convinceandconvert.com 2016). The
situation is so drastic that management had to take the apology for the entire incident, as this was
an unexpected incident and no such back up has been made for that situation.
The reason behind the issue

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The media strategy of Southwest Airlines is to raise awareness for products and services
along with protecting their livelihood in media platforms. The engagement issues with
passengers and understands their emotion is also important in that fact (Dallasnews.com 2016).
The company is in most of the social media networks, so they can easily spread their massacre
situation through this, but the problem lies here as an entire computer system is are lacking down
and that will impact on the business dealing. The technical receipt is the key concern that
evolved through the situation, and that signifies their technological protocols are not strong and
flexible enough that will prepare in easy to make and easy to break policy. Hence, the main
reason behind passengers' harassment is the process of lack of communication. Passengers have
to stay in hotels, some of them stayed in airport places and some other retuned their source or
took some other modes of transport.
Situation handling by the company
At the initial stage, when the situation was out of control, all the sections of the business
process staged and they are not communicating with each other, as public relation employees are
unable to handle the situation by calling all passengers to inform about the situation. If
communication was being placed in the right manner, the situation can be avoided in case of man
management. The incident basically hampers the situation of passengers and their irritation was
justified in that case. As southwest is one of the high standard airlines, thus their involvement
and increased customer base are quite common and no passenger will be boarded in that situation
(Swamedia.com 2016). There are some probable hands handling the process like listening to the
problem of passengers as they are on the targeted end. Arguments are not fruitful in that
occasion. Emphasize the issue of a situation and scrutinize the perspective in detail is the key
mater that evolve the problem understating as well. Offer, execute and follow up the process is

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the key concern and some of the mitigation cases are important. The most important handling
process used by Southwest airlines is emotional intelligence (Swamedia.com 2016). EI is one of
the strongest crisis mitigation situations, the impacted on the business and through the
implication of this process, feeling or emotions and understanding the knowledge is the most
important segment in that case. Communication relies on the nature of human discernment which
changes over time. Human intellectual processes use communication to edifice information
within a self-motivated worldview that is continuously altering. The effect of communication is
important and EI also stated in the communication process (Convinceandconvert.com 2016).
Passengers’ acuity and intellectual skill for communication are self-possessed of an active
framework that is continuously updating while obtaining new evidence. In that case, CEO of
Southwest shows EI in Facebook live of took apology to gain attention and stay back their
existing passengers. This is a huge pressure that head of the organization has taken in such
situation, and lack of communication stretches the situation also (Travelmarketreport.com 2017).
The persistence of this isn't to show unprofessional a slant of complaints, rather originate with an
effective proposal for managing the stressors that management has identified is the key aspect of
management, so anyone can perform at their best on the job by the proper implementations of
business understanding.
Communication interventions
The factors of communication intervention are important in that case as the situation is
quite problematic and complicated for the organization. Southwest airlines never dreamed of this
day so they have not taken alternative processes to handle the situation. If manual data through
phone or any recorder gadget will persist then it will be easier for the company to locate those
people and aware them about the situation. This is the reason most of the department officials

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apologies after the massacre situation. This is the way to convince people or their existing
customers with them and explain them through the interaction that, the entire procedure is not in
their hand and they also make suffer due to the situation.
Communication model like Shannon and Weaver model is the appropriate model that can
analyze the situation. In that process, the level of noise is so prominent that prevents the sender's
voice and that cannot reach the receiver. The model is all about flow the message through the
medium and after that sender's encoded forms are decided by the receiver and they deliver their
feedback (Al-Fedaghi 2012). However, the process cannot be formulated if the mediums are not
able to carry encoded form of voice. In that case, all the computer systems are not working in a
proper way and that determines noise level in communication so an entire gap between
management and passengers are persisted in that case.
Figure 1: Shannon and Weaver model of communication

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(Source: Al-Fedaghi 2012)
Some of the extra efforts may be expected from the management to interact with passengers may
be expected but the sudden crash of system haphazard them and they could not even think of the
better approaches and solutions (Lee 2017). As the technological failure is the concern reason
behind that, thus it will be a challenge for the company to communicate with their passenger, so
proper break of the model is persisted in that case.
Strategies took by the company
One of the main goals of Southwest airlines is to deliver critical information to customer
and employees in the crisis situation or emergencies. This was the situation when management
did not understand what actually they need to do. All the service lines are blocked so as the
computers. Data are not located and passengers gathered at the airport time after time. This is
what a massacre situation formed and that showcases all solution options are blocked for the
company. Emotional Intelligence (EI) strategy is the main concern and taken strategy by the
organization. They said sorry and they mean it to their passenger through their website. They
also posted a live video for in Facebook, where their underscore apology is the concerning aspect
of their business sustainability. Passengers understand that situation and deliver their feedback
through a comment, like of anger expression emojis. The company also made a promise that this
website will not experience the same situation and they deliver a written apology in the
discussion forum (Rubinstein et al. 2016). The customer connection will not be fragmented in
any sort of time and they will take care of every occasion and approaches that company can
make. Custom complaints and hurt feeling of customers were there and they had accepted the
entire feeling of customers and seeking for their feeling to explain through their website.

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Social media theories and implementation
In case of productive communication, effective use of social media and technology is the
concern factors that enhance the quality of communication and also ranged the communication
process in a dignified way. Two social model of communication is important in that case, the
social staircase and social viral spiral model is the key aspect of business and that will encourage
the communication opportunities as well.
Figure 2: The social staircase model
(Source: Arora 2012)
In this process strategy interference and establishment is the key matter for the business
process. If Southwest airlines had taken strategies to mitigate this kind of situations, then it will
be quite easy for the management of public relation team to handle the situation. The situational
change has happened is the allocation of proper strategy has been taken (Arora 2012). The next

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stage is the presence of target audience. As the situation becomes so massive for Southwest
airlines, they need to make changes their way of communication and implement new vision in
strategies. The next section is the tool and through the tool in social media enhancement of brand
value is upgraded. The uses of different social media platform are important in that case and that
will signify the reputation of the company in the global market. The define matter of
communication and through the use of social media intervention is the key aspect that
encourages the situation of the company (Uysal 2016). In that case, if Southwest had the facility
to mend their infrastructure and change it drastically then it will be the best ever the outcome of
the process. Social media portrays how the society evolved to a place where one's social
occurrence is cherished more than real thoughts, behavior and eccentricity (Tuten and Solomon
2017). Considering the modern inclination of real social practice affecting to an effective social
world, it can expect the potential to have people either attractive a version of them that are
intrinsically forged and pandering to group individuality.

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Figure 3: Social Viral Spiral Model
(Source: Chiu, Ip and Silverman 2012)
The social viral spiral is the accumulation of all social platforms and depends on the
application of these platforms in slow, medium and fast operation process. The entire process is
related to the acceleration and reaches to people and their response to it. In case of slow and
steady social structure, operation process has been done (Chiu, Ip and Silverman 2012). On the
other hand, in case of the medium section, the impassive value is the key concern of this process
and at the last section of the fast and forward section; the buzz feeling is the key matter of
business. In case of Southwest airlines, buzz approach needs to be done and that will improve the
acceleration of business understating as well. Social media platforms, due to the utter number of

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community, have large impended for distribution the situation and that will showcase the
situation that company is in. This is the key motive for social media flattering a critical
constituent of every company's and organization's promotion approach.
Recommendation
Extra care in technological aspects and improve the use of technologies is the key
recommendation that Southwest airlines. Technological improvement in airline operation and
improved structure of the tools and devices are the key prospects of this recommended process.
Public relation team needs to be improved a lot and that will forecast in their output process also.
Extra beneficiary efforts are provided by the company to customers, so that no such harassment
will be perceived. Mobile messaging will be activated to the registered number of the passenger
if the system breaks down and that will be effective enough for an organization. Southwest needs
to deliver some communication improvement and state some solid reason behind the incident as
the apology is not the best way to interact with passengers so effective communication will be
influenced the process.

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References
Al-Fedaghi, S., 2012. A Conceptual Foundation for the Shannon-Weaver Model of
Communication. International Journal of Soft Computing, 7(1), pp.12-19.
Arora, P., 2012. Typology of Web 2.0 spheres: Understanding the cultural dimensions of social
media spaces. Current Sociology, 60(5), pp.599-618.
Chiu, C., Ip, C. and Silverman, A., 2012. Understanding social media in China. McKinsey
Quarterly, 2(2012), pp.78-81.
Convinceandconvert.com 2016 6 Unforgettable Lessons from Southwest Airlines Social Media
Crisis retrieved from: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-case-studies/6-
unforgettable-lessons-from-southwest-airlines-social-media-crisis/ [Accessed on 4th May 2018]
Dallasnews.com 2016 what businesses can learn from Southwest's social media response
during its tech outage retrieved from: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/southwest-
airlines/2016/08/05/businesses-can-learn-southwests-social-media-response-tech-outage
[Accessed on 4th May 2018]
Lee, I., 2017. Big data: Dimensions, evolution, impacts, and challenges. Business
Horizons, 60(3), pp.293-303.
Prweek.com 2016 How Southwest responded to a nationwide glitch retrieved from:
https://www.prweek.com/article/1403192/southwest-responded-nationwide-glitch [Accessed on
5th May 2018]

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Rubinstein, S., Martin-Rios, C., Erhardt, N., Gittell, J.H. and George, V.P., 2016. Organizational
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pp.181-199.