ishing communication with employees was the most significant element in the new Continental culture. It began with replacing 50 of the 61 officers with 20 new individuals, who were people-oriented and team players. Thus, officers are now more accessible to employees. There are bulletin boards throughout the system to inform the employees of daily news. Newspapers and magazines are published to inform what is happening in the company. Officers of Continental hold an open house every month for employees to get answers to the questions they have. A 24-hour hotline was put in place to handle employees' suggestions and to improve employee involvement. Continental set up incentive plans for employees, for example, employees can earn up to 15% of Continental's profit. The sales forces receive payments linked to the gains in revenue from business travelers. Reservation agents receive bonuses based on responsiveness and the number of completed calls. As a result, the proportion of customer reservation calls answered within 20 seconds jumped from 20 percent to more than 90 percent, the best in the industry. In 1999, Continental was named one of the Best Companies to Work for in America by Fortune magazine. Through hard work and open-minded policies Continental has pulled back from their nosedive. Continental's new focus on employee and customer satisfaction has resulted record profits and shareholder satisfaction. The basic principles of marketing mix (Product, Price, Promotion, and Place) were applied with great success. Continental illustrates the point that the "5th P", or People, is truly the most important. Sources 1. Flynn, Gillian, "A flight plan for success," Workforce, Jul 97,Vol.76 Issue 7, p72, 2. Puffer, Sheila M, "Continental Airlines' CEO Gordon Bethune on teams and new product development," Academy of Management Executive, Aug 99, Vol. 13 Issue3, p28 3. Brenneman, Greg, "Continental Airline Holdings Inc.: organizational change, Man...
