ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR (HRM-601) Name – Sandeep Shivkote Mallaiah UCID – ss3677 NJIT ID – 31433749 Thought Exercise 6 NAME:- GORDON BETHUNE BIRTH:- AUG 29TH, 1941 TEXAS OCCUPATION :- Chief Executive Officer Continental Airlines(1994-2004) Gordon Bethune is a transformational leader who made dramatic changes to Continental Airlines when he worked as the Chief Executive Officer from 1994 to 2004.Before Gordon took over this responsibility, the company had several black eyes and was on the verge of filing for bankruptcy for third time. Bethune laid out a plan before the Board of Directors, but at first, the Board was hesitant to make him Chief. After six months in a high-level operations position, Bethune won them over with a plan developed with
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It was called the Go Forward plan and included product, finance, people and marketing changes. Company going bankrupt, one of the essential decisions had to be cost cutting. Gordon managed to cut down costs by getting rid of 18% of Continental’s routes because they were cash negative and shifted the airline back to a hub system, which means rather than flying from smaller cities to large ones, he placed focus on popular destinations and increased fares. In no time at all, Continental was earning more revenue while flying fewer planes. The company had lost around $600 million in 1994. In 1995, it made $225 million with the same people and the same airplanes. So Gordon said it wasn’t anything wrong with the employees. It was the management. Gordon had strong bonding with his employees. He hired the best people as he believed that the sickest patients need the best doctor. He told the people he recruited: “You come in here and you’ve got to keep me informed, but you’re the guy, and you’ll make these decisions. It won’t be me second-guessing you. But everybody’s going to win together. We’re part of a team, but you’re going to run your part.” The freedom …show more content…
He quoted “The airline business is the biggest team sport in the world. When you're all consumed with fighting among yourselves, your opponents can run over you every day.” This behavior inspired his employees as well. Customer satisfaction being his important concern, he took measures to understand what is really needed to make the customers happy. Gordon required every senior leader to engage in the customer experience, to learn what was working and what wasn’t. From reservationist and baggage handler to attendant, even customer support representatives. An example of a successful plan he made was “Make Reliability a Reality” program aimed at improving service. Basic improvements were implemented, like prompt baggage service and on-time arrivals. Bethune used on-time percentages from the Department of Transportation as measures of reliability. Customer service complaints turned into glowing reviews. All 200 planes in the fleet got a sleek new look and were painted the same way. Prior to that, Continental was flying five different liveries from the merged airlines. The result of the new uniform look for all Continental aircraft was a visual message that said the carrier had become professional and a better operator, making it renowned and attracting more customers. Some of the insights that Gordon Bethune shared that have guided many people in their career journey are 1)Work for an organization that makes
It was called the Go Forward plan and included product, finance, people and marketing changes. Company going bankrupt, one of the essential decisions had to be cost cutting. Gordon managed to cut down costs by getting rid of 18% of Continental’s routes because they were cash negative and shifted the airline back to a hub system, which means rather than flying from smaller cities to large ones, he placed focus on popular destinations and increased fares. In no time at all, Continental was earning more revenue while flying fewer planes. The company had lost around $600 million in 1994. In 1995, it made $225 million with the same people and the same airplanes. So Gordon said it wasn’t anything wrong with the employees. It was the management. Gordon had strong bonding with his employees. He hired the best people as he believed that the sickest patients need the best doctor. He told the people he recruited: “You come in here and you’ve got to keep me informed, but you’re the guy, and you’ll make these decisions. It won’t be me second-guessing you. But everybody’s going to win together. We’re part of a team, but you’re going to run your part.” The freedom …show more content…
He quoted “The airline business is the biggest team sport in the world. When you're all consumed with fighting among yourselves, your opponents can run over you every day.” This behavior inspired his employees as well. Customer satisfaction being his important concern, he took measures to understand what is really needed to make the customers happy. Gordon required every senior leader to engage in the customer experience, to learn what was working and what wasn’t. From reservationist and baggage handler to attendant, even customer support representatives. An example of a successful plan he made was “Make Reliability a Reality” program aimed at improving service. Basic improvements were implemented, like prompt baggage service and on-time arrivals. Bethune used on-time percentages from the Department of Transportation as measures of reliability. Customer service complaints turned into glowing reviews. All 200 planes in the fleet got a sleek new look and were painted the same way. Prior to that, Continental was flying five different liveries from the merged airlines. The result of the new uniform look for all Continental aircraft was a visual message that said the carrier had become professional and a better operator, making it renowned and attracting more customers. Some of the insights that Gordon Bethune shared that have guided many people in their career journey are 1)Work for an organization that makes