The Airline: Subculture Minicase

Recently, Robert Lecoultre became responsible for the coordination of the various
departments of an airline company. This position was created to ensure collaboration between
the different parts of the flight process. Lately, the company has had problems with its image,
most of all because of frequent delays and cancellation that have not been handled correctly
by the firm’s public relations. Robert decides to start his mission by interviewing the
principal employees in the flight process.

Air flight department

Hans Lutz has been with the firm for 12 years. He is a former military pilot and he believes
that “safety is my biggest concern. If I see something that does not work as it should, I stop
everything. Engines do not lie, if a blinker lights up, then there is a reason for that. I am a
veteran. Blinkers are good but I prefer to see the problem with my own eyes. Therefore
before each flight I control and note everything in a book. I talk with the technician. I only
trust him when deciding whether to fly or not.”

Mireille Frey has worked for the company for 8 years. She is a flight attendant and states that
“for me the most important is that the customer is duly welcomed on board. For a long haul
flight that means that 400 passengers have to be welcomed and seated. Smile, know how and
diplomacy are our best tools. I can’t rush people into their seats. If there are children or older
people, which we do not know beforehand, then it takes even more time. We can’t start
boarding before. People complain about the delays but it is not at all our fault. I think people
prefer being a little late than being rushed on and off the plane.”

Ground department:

Suzanne Leroi, is responsible for the ground forces, and explains the delays as follows:
“Passengers are a real pain. Some really exaggerate. They arrive late for check-in when it is
clearly written that they should be at the airport 2 hours before the departure. They exceed
hand baggage, so that they pay less money. Once in the duty free, here they go off buying
cigarettes and alcohol… But the worst are the women who can’t resist buying cosmetics 5
minutes before boarding, and you know as well as me that these things you cannot buy in five
minutes. They do not care if they are late since they know we won’t leave without them,
thanks to this rule on safety. That’s nonsense too. We have to double check all passports and
tickets before boarding, imagine the bottlenecks!. For me it is simple. It has to be fast and if it
was only for me I would make all the people rush, not accept people who are late, not accept
extra large luggage. If they are not happy then they can take a taxi!”

Roberto Verdi, who is responsible for customer service, adds that “Suzanne is right, they are
unbelievable…’I lost my camera, my diamond ring,’ they say, and that is because these items
were in their checked-in luggage that were not locked well. They do it on purpose. They just
want to get the money back from us, or the insurance. I am also sure they often leave
everything at the hotel and they come here to bug me. Each flight implies 4 hours of
complaints. The wall of sighs! And people shout at me directly because the job is not done
properly. I never have the time to type the declarations since I always am at the counter! And
on top of it all, I have to validate the requests of reimbursement, the more I do that the more
my boss says I do not do enough!”
Marketing department
Olivier Dupuis is the head of this department. HEC degree in the pocket, MBA at Harvard
and 15 years experience in the best marketing companies of the world, he is considered the
precious piece of the department. The CEO introduces him as the savior of the company.
“Marketing is not a science; it’s an art of living. Listen to your customer, give him the
impression that you love him, and pamper him and the business is done. Since I am here, we
invested a great deal of money in sophisticated databases, and we conduct opinion surveys
every month, larger surveys twice a year. Our marketing plan is a model for other companies.
Not to speak about our advertising campaign, done by the most prestigious agency at the
moment…beautiful. We set up a loyalty program of course, and the miles are not only
obtained by flying but also at the grocery store. We are at the top. We are every where and
even our logo is far ahead, and our name as American as it could be. We are going to beat the
market, that is for sure!!”

Maintenance department

Jean Louis Debre has been a ground technician for five years. He is also responsible for the
quality for the program of certification the company set up.
“Planes are my babies. I always loved this job. In the team we are all alike, the same fire is
burning in all of us. Just come to the hall to see all that. There is a unique ambiance. All those
planes and pieces… it’s something worth seeing. We know every plane by heart, even though
there are so many models. If you are doing this job, then you must handyman in your soul. Of
course there is all these electronic components, and its true that one amuses oneself trying to
identify the circuit that is causing the problem, but there are also plenty of manual and
routing repairs to make. Everyone can be creative in their own way. It really ends up being
that we all have to write down what we have figured out. That is how each one of us enriches
the instruction manual. And even more, you know, when one thinks about it, we have the
biggest responsibility. If one of us fails to detect a problem, or a defective piece, then there
are hundreds of people at risk of dying. Regarding that, I can tell you that we do not like to do
the things less than perfect.

Questions:
Use the theories from Schein (and properly prepared tables, please answer the following:

• Identify the principal sub cultures in this company

• Explain the origin of these different cultures.
• Do you think that the various subcultures are compatible with what the company has
stated to be its primary values: cost control and customer service?